Exploring the Meaning of Hekastos in Greek

ἕκαστος means “each,” marking distribution across individuals within a group rather than treating the group as a single whole. In the passages below it repeatedly sharpens responsibility, allocation, and personal participation by focusing attention on individuals one by one.

Occurrences

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds.” (Matthew 16:27)

Here “each” functions in a judicial setting: the coming of the Son of Man leads to recompense that is not vague or merely collective. The wording “to everyone according to his deeds” presses the point that the standard is applied person by person, with deeds belonging to the individual (“his”).

“So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.” (Matthew 18:35)

In this warning, “each” takes what could be heard as a general moral principle and turns it into an individualized demand. Forgiveness is not left as a community posture or an abstract ideal; the statement targets every member of the listening group, insisting that forgiveness must be enacted by each person and must be heartfelt (“from your hearts”).

“To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.” (Matthew 25:15)

“Each” belongs to the story’s careful distribution: three servants receive differing sums, and the giving is explicitly tailored. The phrase “to each according to his own ability” frames the allocation as individualized and measured, matching the gift to the recipient rather than flattening everyone into the same assignment.

“They were exceedingly sorrowful, and each began to ask him, ‘It isn’t me, is it, Lord?’” (Matthew 26:22)

In the shared sorrow of the group, “each” highlights a repeated, individual reaction. The disciples do not ask as a chorus; the question is voiced one after another, with each person applying the suspicion to himself: “It isn’t me, is it?” The word drives the scene toward personal self-examination within a communal setting.

“It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.” (Mark 13:34)

Here “each” underscores assigned responsibility in the master’s absence. Authority is given to “his servants,” but the work is not left undefined; it is parceled out so that each servant has “his work.” The result is an ordered household in which vigilance and duty are distributed rather than centralized.

“All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.” (Luke 2:3)

In the movement of “all,” “each” prevents the mass action from becoming faceless. Enrollment requires a personal destination: “everyone to his own city.” The word points to individual compliance and to a pattern repeated across the population—one person, one city, one act of going.

“When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.” (Luke 4:40)

“Each” adds tactile and personal detail to the healing scene. Many sick people are present (“all those who had any sick”), and the diseases are varied, yet the ministry is not generalized. “He laid his hands on every one of them” depicts attention to individuals within the crowd, with the healing action applied one by one.

“For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.” (Luke 6:44)

In this proverb-like teaching, “each” supports discernment at the level of particulars. The point is not merely that trees in general have fruit, but that each individual tree is identified by what it bears—“its own fruit.” The distribution is conceptual: identity and outcome are assessed case by case.

“Therefore the Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water?’” (Luke 13:15)

“Each” here confronts the audience with a customary, individual practice. The question assumes repeated behavior among them—each person loosens and leads an animal to water even on the Sabbath. The word turns the charge of hypocrisy into something concrete: their own individual actions supply the comparison the rebuke relies on.

“Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’” (Luke 16:5)

“Each” structures the steward’s strategy as a series of private encounters rather than a single announcement. Debtors are handled one by one, beginning with “the first.” The narrative emphasis is on individualized negotiation, where each debtor’s account can be addressed distinctly.

“Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little.’” (John 6:7)

“Each” measures the shortage in terms of individuals. The problem is not simply feeding a crowd in the abstract; Philip’s concern is that even a large amount of bread would fail to ensure that each person “may receive a little.” The word keeps the focus on personal portions, however small, and thus intensifies the scale of need.

“Everyone went to his own house,” (John 7:53)

With a brief sentence, “each” depicts dispersal as an individual return to private space: “everyone” goes “to his own house.” The effect is to show a group breaking apart into separate units, each person resuming his own place.

Sense and Usage

Across these contexts, “each” regularly performs the same kind of work: it distributes an action, condition, or outcome across persons or items so that the reader imagines a set of particulars rather than a blur. In Matthew 16:27 and Matthew 18:35, the distribution carries moral weight. Rendering “to everyone according to his deeds” presents judgment as individually fitted; the warning about forgiveness makes the demand personally binding on every hearer. In these lines, “each” is not simply a count word—it tightens accountability by tying deeds and forgiveness to the individual.

In Matthew 25:15 and Mark 13:34, “each” shapes how responsibility is assigned. The talents are given “to each according to his own ability,” and the servants receive “to each one his work.” These are not interchangeable roles. The word helps the stories portray order: multiple recipients, distinct allotments, and duties that belong to particular people within a larger household economy.

Several occurrences use “each” to individualize experience within crowds or groups. Matthew 26:22 depicts a shared emotional moment (“exceedingly sorrowful”), yet “each began to ask,” showing that the communal scene contains repeated individual speech. Luke 4:40 likewise moves from “all those who had any sick” to hands laid “on every one of them,” portraying care that reaches individuals despite the press of numbers and variety (“various diseases”). John 6:7 speaks of a crowd in terms of portions, envisioning each person receiving at least “a little.” Even Luke 2:3, in describing a mass enrollment, turns the mass into a multitude of personal journeys—each one to “his own city.”

“Each” can also distribute a principle across items rather than people. Luke 6:44 applies it to “each tree,” stressing that recognition operates at the level of the individual tree and its specific fruit. The same distributive force supports argumentation in Luke 13:15: “each one of you” is drawn into the reasoning by appeal to a repeated, personal act with “his ox or his donkey.” Finally, Luke 16:5 and John 7:53 show “each” in orderly sequence and dispersal: debtors are summoned individually, and a group departs into separate homes.

Imagery

The passages give “each” a consistent feel of one-by-one movement and one-by-one attention. Individuals step forward to ask a question (Matthew 26:22), receive tasks and resources (Matthew 25:15; Mark 13:34), travel to particular destinations (Luke 2:3; John 7:53), and are touched and healed in turn (Luke 4:40). Even when the subject is a tree and its fruit (Luke 6:44), the word keeps the imagery concrete and particular, pressing the reader to see singular instances rather than an undifferentiated mass.

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).