Exploring the Meaning of Hosautos in Greek

ὡσαύτως expresses a comparison of actions or outcomes: one thing happens “likewise” in relation to another. Across the passages where it appears, it links a fresh event to an earlier one, either as a repeated deed, a repeated response, or a shared pattern.

Occurrences

“Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.” (Matthew 20:5)

Here ὡσαύτως ties the landowner’s later trips (“about the sixth and the ninth hour”) to what he had already been doing earlier in the story. The adverb marks his repeated initiative: he “went out” again and acted in the same manner as before, continuing the same practice rather than starting a different plan.

“He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go.” (Matthew 21:30)

In this scene the comparison is carried by the phrase “said the same thing,” which conveys the same kind of linkage: the father’s approach to “the second” is matched to what he had already said to the first. ὡσαύτως functions to align the second interaction with the first, setting up the contrast between spoken agreement (“I’m going, sir”) and the action that fails to follow (“but he didn’t go”).

“Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they treated them the same way.” (Matthew 21:36)

The adverb frames the tenants’ reaction as a repeated pattern. Even though the owner sends “other servants more than the first,” the response does not change: “they treated them the same way.” ὡσαύτως makes the point that increased numbers do not produce a new outcome; the later servants meet the same kind of treatment as the earlier ones.

“In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two.” (Matthew 25:17)

ὡσαύτως connects one servant’s outcome to another’s. After the report of a doubling, this line states that the one entrusted with “the two” mirrors that result: “gained another two.” The adverb emphasizes similarity of faithfulness and result, not merely that something happened next, but that it happened in a corresponding manner.

“The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;” (Mark 12:21)

In the sequence of marriages and deaths, ὡσαύτως compresses repetition into a single word: “The third likewise;” The adverb signals that what has just been narrated—taking the woman and dying without children—is the template for what follows. It propels the chain forward by insisting the pattern continues unchanged.

“But he spoke all the more, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” They all said the same thing.” (Mark 14:31)

ὡσαύτως here binds the group response to Peter’s intensified pledge. After “he spoke all the more,” the disciples’ speech is aligned with his: “They all said the same thing.” The word highlights shared resolve expressed in the same terms, making their collective statement echo the leading voice.

“I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.” (Luke 13:5)

In this warning, ὡσαύτως marks a parallel of outcome rather than an imitation of action. The phrase “perish in the same way” links the audience’s potential end to a previously referenced example of perishing, pressing the seriousness of repentance by stating that the same kind of end can be shared if the condition (“unless you repent”) is not met.

“The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died.” (Luke 20:31)

As in Mark’s account, ὡσαύτως functions in a narrative list to carry forward a repeated result. It extends the description beyond “The third” to “the seven,” stating that the same sequence holds across all of them: marriage, no children, death. The adverb makes the repetition explicit and total.

“Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20)

ὡσαύτως links Jesus’ action with the cup to a preceding, corresponding action at the meal. By placing “Likewise” at the front, the verse presents the taking of the cup (“after supper”) as matching what has just been done in a similar ritual gesture, and then it moves to the spoken interpretation: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

“In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)

Here ὡσαύτως introduces an analogy in instruction rather than a simple repetition in narrative. “In the same way” establishes that the Spirit’s help corresponds to an earlier point in Paul’s flow of thought, and then it specifies the matching action: the Spirit “helps our weaknesses.” The comparison is sharpened by the human limitation (“we don’t know how to pray as we ought”) and the Spirit’s corresponding intervention (“makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered”).

“In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”” (1 Corinthians 11:25)

ὡσαύτως again joins the cup action to a prior, parallel action at the meal. The adverb holds the sequence together: as one action was performed, “in the same way” another is performed—“he also took the cup, after supper.” The quoted words then direct an ongoing practice: “Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me,” and the comparison strengthens the sense that the cup belongs to the same patterned set of actions being handed on.

“In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety, not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing,” (1 Timothy 2:9)

In this instruction, ὡσαύτως introduces guidance by tying it to what has just been addressed, extending a parallel expectation. “In the same way” sets women’s adornment (“decent clothing, with modesty and propriety”) as corresponding to the preceding direction, and it frames the contrast that follows: adornment is not to be defined “just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing.” The adverb thus functions as a hinge that carries a line of instruction from one group or topic to the next in a consistent manner.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, ὡσαύτως consistently signals that the writer wants the reader to measure one item against another and recognize a match. In narrative, it often works as a compact device for repeated actions and repeated outcomes. Matthew 20:5 and Matthew 21:36 show repetition across time (“Again… and did likewise”; “Again… and they treated them the same way”), while Mark 12:21 and Luke 20:31 use it to keep a sequence moving without retelling every detail: “The third likewise;” and “likewise the seven…”

In other settings, ὡσαύτως is less about saving words and more about shaping interpretation. In Matthew 25:17 the comparison clarifies how to read the second servant’s report: his gain is to be understood as parallel to the first servant’s gain, not as an unrelated achievement. In Mark 14:31 it highlights corporate solidarity: “They all said the same thing,” making the group’s pledge echo a single expressed commitment.

The adverb can also press urgency by drawing a parallel of consequence, as in Luke 13:5. There the “same way” is not a casual likeness but a warning: a shared pattern of perishing is placed before the hearers as a real possibility conditioned on repentance. In Romans 8:26 the comparison has an explanatory role: it introduces the Spirit’s help as corresponding to an earlier point and then names the specific form that help takes—intercession amid human inability. Finally, in Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25, ὡσαύτως binds actions at the table together as coordinated gestures, linking what is done with the cup to what has just been done in a similar manner, and thereby presenting the actions as belonging to a unified pattern accompanied by interpretive words.

Imagery

Because ὡσαύτως often appears where events repeat, it carries the feel of footsteps retraced and outcomes recurring: a landowner going out again (Matthew 20:5), servants being treated again as before (Matthew 21:36), and a bleak sequence that continues “likewise” from one man to the next (Mark 12:21; Luke 20:31). In other places the word evokes coordinated actions performed “in the same way,” especially the taking of a cup “after supper” with words spoken over it (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25), where likeness marks a deliberate correspondence within a set of actions.

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).