Exploring the Meaning of Allelon in Greek

ἀλλήλων expresses mutuality between two or more parties: actions, words, or attitudes directed reciprocally. In the passages below it binds groups together in shared speech, shared conflict, or shared peace—sometimes for good, sometimes for harm.

Occurrences

Matthew 24:10 — “Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.”

Here ἀλλήλων frames a breakdown of solidarity: those who “stumble” turn on fellow members of their own circle. The word makes the hostility reciprocal and internal—betrayal and hatred moving back and forth within the same community rather than merely coming from outside pressure.

Matthew 25:32 — “Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

In this scene the word marks distinction within a gathered whole: “all the nations” stand together, yet are “separate[d] … one from another.” ἀλλήλων gives the separation its relational clarity—group A is set apart in relation to group B, like sheep in relation to goats.

Mark 4:41 — “They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””

Among the disciples, ἀλλήλων situates speech inside the group’s shared reaction to fear and wonder. Their question is not addressed outward but circulates among them, showing a collective attempt to make sense of the event together.

Mark 8:16 — “They reasoned with one another, saying, “It’s because we have no bread.””

The term ties the disciples’ reasoning to an internal conversation. ἀλλήλων marks an exchange of interpretation—an assessment that forms and is reinforced within the group as they speak back and forth.

Mark 9:34 — “But they were silent, for they had disputed with one another on the way about who was the greatest.”

Here ἀλλήλων emphasizes the mutual nature of the dispute: it was not a single complaint but a contest among peers “about who was the greatest.” The silence that follows implies the group’s awareness that their reciprocal arguing is exposed and now uncomfortable.

Mark 9:50 — “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

In the command to “be at peace,” ἀλλήλων points to peace as a shared state maintained between members of the community. The word makes peace relational: it is not merely inward calm but a posture enacted toward each other.

Mark 15:31 — “Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, “He saved others. He can’t save himself.”

Although the English reads “among themselves,” ἀλλήλων captures the reciprocal, group-to-group dynamic of the mockery: chief priests and scribes share a common scorn and feed it in mutual speech. Their words form a closed circle of derision that reinforces itself as they speak to each other.

Luke 2:15 — “When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.””

ἀλλήλων situates the shepherds’ response as a mutual decision-making moment. Their invitation—“Let’s go”—is not a private resolution but an exchange that gathers the group into one coordinated action.

Luke 4:36 — “Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!””

The word stands in a public setting: “all” are amazed, and their talk spreads among the crowd. ἀλλήλων conveys shared astonishment expressed through mutual conversation, as people compare reactions and jointly articulate the significance of what they have witnessed.

Luke 6:11 — “But they were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what they might do to Jesus.”

Here mutual speech becomes the channel of escalating hostility. ἀλλήλων marks a collaborative plotting: the rage does not remain individual but is exchanged and sharpened through discussion “with one another” about a course of action.

Luke 7:32 — “They are like children who sit in the marketplace, and call to one another, saying, ‘We piped to you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned, and you didn’t weep.’”

In this comparison, ἀλλήλων depicts a back-and-forth of calls in a public place. The children’s words presume responsiveness from their peers; the mutual address (“call to one another”) highlights an expectation of shared play and shared emotional cues, even as the quoted complaints underline relational frustration.

Luke 8:25 — “He said to them, “Where is your faith?” Being afraid they marveled, saying to one another, “Who is this then, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?””

As in Mark 4, ἀλλήλων locates the disciples’ fear-filled amazement inside their own circle. The question is exchanged among them as a communal reckoning with Jesus’ authority over “the winds and the water.”

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, ἀλλήλων consistently marks reciprocity—what happens between persons within a shared setting. It appears in scenes of speech most often: people “said to one another,” “reasoned with one another,” “talked with one another,” “call to one another,” and “spoke together, one with another.” In such contexts, the word does more than identify multiple speakers; it highlights the relational circulation of words, where meaning, emotion, and intent pass among participants and become a shared possession of the group. Fear and wonder spread among the disciples (Mark 4:41; Luke 8:25), confusion crystallizes through internal discussion (Mark 8:16), and amazement becomes public consensus (Luke 4:36).

The same reciprocal force operates in conflict. Mutuality can be corrosive: betrayal and hatred are pictured as inward-facing, member-against-member actions (Matthew 24:10). Dispute becomes a competitive dynamic among equals, not merely disagreement with an outsider (Mark 9:34). Mockery is strengthened by being shared “among themselves,” turning scorn into a group performance (Mark 15:31). Even rage takes shape as a collective project through reciprocal talk (Luke 6:11). In these instances ἀλλήλων exposes how a group can form a shared posture—whether violent, contemptuous, or scheming—through mutually reinforcing interaction.

Yet ἀλλήλων also frames ordered and constructive relationships. Separation “one from another” (Matthew 25:32) portrays clear differentiation within a gathered multitude, emphasizing relational boundaries drawn between groups. More personally, the command to “be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50) presents mutuality as the sphere where peace must be practiced—peace is something held and maintained in the space between people. Likewise, the shepherds’ invitation (Luke 2:15) shows mutual speech as a means of shared obedience and shared movement: their response is communal, not solitary.

Imagery in Context

The passages give ἀλλήλων a social texture: circles of people speaking, reacting, and aligning with each other. Sometimes the circle tightens into secrecy—mocking “among themselves” (Mark 15:31) or deliberating “what they might do” (Luke 6:11). Sometimes it opens into public exchange—voices “spoke together” in astonishment (Luke 4:36) and children “call to one another” in a marketplace (Luke 7:32). Whether the result is peace, decision, confusion, or hostility, ἀλλήλων consistently draws attention to what takes place in the shared space between persons.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).