Exploring the Meaning of Hostis in Greek

ὅστις expresses “who/which” by pointing to an identified person or thing in view within a statement, command, warning, or comparison. In the passages below, it regularly links a description to the one being spoken of, often marking the individual who performs (or fails to perform) some action.

Occurrences

‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’ ” (Matthew 2:6)

Here ὅστις introduces a descriptive clause about the coming “governor,” identifying what characterizes him in relation to “my people, Israel.” The word ties the role (“a governor”) to the action that defines his governance in this sentence (“shall shepherd”).

Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. (Matthew 5:25)

In this warning, ὅστις participates in the chain of persons involved in escalation (“prosecutor,” “judge,” “officer”), keeping the focus on which party is acting at each step. It helps specify the relevant individual(s) in the unfolding sequence that ends with being “cast into prison.”

But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:39)

ὅστις frames the scenario by marking the one who performs the initiating act (“strikes you on your right cheek”). The instruction that follows applies to that particular “whoever,” so the word functions to connect the conditional situation to the demanded response (“turn to him the other also”).

Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. (Matthew 5:41)

In this concise directive, ὅστις identifies the agent who imposes a demand (“compels you to go one mile”). The word’s force is to keep the command anchored to the concrete case of the one doing the compelling, so that the response (“go with him two”) is directed toward that same person.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. (Matthew 7:15)

Here ὅστις introduces a defining description of “false prophets.” It specifies which prophets are in view by the way they approach (“come to you in sheep’s clothing”) and by their inner reality (“inwardly are ravening wolves”), linking outward appearance and inward character to the group being warned against.

“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. (Matthew 7:24)

ὅστις marks two identifying clauses: first, the kind of person “Everyone therefore” refers to (“who hears these words of mine, and does them”), and then the comparable figure in the illustration (“a wise man, who built his house on a rock”). The word thus serves both to set the qualifying condition and to shape the analogy by attaching an action to the “wise man.”

Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. (Matthew 7:26)

As in the prior verse, ὅστις identifies the person under discussion by a response to “these words of mine,” now defined negatively (“doesn’t do them”). It also anchors the comparison by specifying the action that embodies folly (“a foolish man, who built his house on the sand”), keeping the focus on which kind of hearer matches which builder.

Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)

ὅστις identifies the person characterized by a public act (“confesses me before men”). The reciprocal promise that follows is directed to that same “Everyone therefore,” so the word ties the condition and the corresponding response together within a single relational frame (“I will also confess him before my Father”).

But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)

ὅστις again marks the person in question by a specific action, here the opposite (“denies me before men”). The clause that follows applies to that “whoever,” so the word sets the scope of the warning: the one who does the denying is the one who will be denied “before my Father.”

For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12:50)

ὅστις identifies the one who belongs within the familial terms Jesus uses by stating the defining criterion (“does the will of my Father who is in heaven”). The word connects the performance of that will to the resulting designation (“my brother, and sister, and mother”), functioning to specify which person fits these relational names.

For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. (Matthew 13:12)

In this balanced statement, ὅστις marks two contrasted cases by identifying “whoever has” and “whoever doesn’t have.” The outcomes are then attached to each marked subject (“to him will be given… but… from him will be taken away”), so the word helps present the principle as applying to whichever person fits each description.

He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.” (Matthew 13:52)

ὅστις introduces the description that narrows “every scribe” to a particular kind (“who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven”). It then contributes to the layered comparison by adding descriptive clauses about the figure used in the analogy (“a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things”), attaching characteristic activity to the “householder.”

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, ὅστις functions as a connector that identifies “who/which” is being described, addressed, warned, or compared. The word regularly does more than point to a person; it brings into view a qualifying description that defines which person is meant in the sentence at hand. This can take the form of (1) a defining action (“who hears… and does them” in Matthew 7:24; “whoever denies me” in Matthew 10:33), (2) a defining character portrayal (“who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves” in Matthew 7:15), or (3) a defining role that is immediately clarified (“a governor, who shall shepherd my people” in Matthew 2:6).

In commands (Matthew 5:39; Matthew 5:41), ὅστις sets up a concrete case—someone does something to you—and the instruction is tailored to that “whoever.” The word thereby frames ethical direction in terms of identifiable encounters rather than abstract ideals: the listener is to respond in a particular way to the particular person defined by the clause.

In warnings (Matthew 7:15; Matthew 5:25), ὅστις helps draw boundaries: the warning is not indiscriminately against all prophets or all legal processes, but against those who match the description at issue, or against the sequence of actors that can lead to imprisonment. In statements of comparison (Matthew 7:24; Matthew 7:26; Matthew 13:52), it is key to the logic of likeness: the person marked by ὅστις is the one being likened, and the illustrative figure marked by ὅστις is the one whose defining action makes the picture intelligible (building on rock or sand; bringing out “new and old things”).

In the paired declarations of Matthew 10:32–33 and the family statement of Matthew 12:50, ὅστις establishes who stands within a relationship by specifying a decisive action: confessing or denying “before men,” or doing “the will of my Father who is in heaven.” The relational outcome that follows is not detached from that action; ὅστις keeps the connection tight by identifying the person precisely through the described response.

Imagery in Context

Several occurrences pair ὅστις with vivid pictures in which identity is shown through what someone does. The “wise man, who built his house on a rock” (Matthew 7:24) and the “foolish man, who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:26) present two builders whose defining actions embody the difference between the two kinds of hearers. Likewise, “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15) uses outward dress and inward appetite to mark which ones are being named. In Matthew 13:52 the “householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things” links a person’s identity to the visible act of bringing forth, so that the “scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven” is pictured through that patterned action.

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).