Exploring the Meaning of Hotan in Greek

ὅταν expresses “when,” linking an action or condition to the time at which another action, command, or result is to be understood. In these Gospel contexts it regularly frames expected situations—public opposition, devotional practice, persecution, deliverance, spiritual danger, growth, table customs, and future enthronement—so the reader hears what follows as timed to a particular moment.

Occurrences

“Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” (Matthew 5:11)

Here ὅταν introduces the circumstance in which the blessing is to be recognized: the time marked by reproach, persecution, and false accusations. The word gathers several hostile actions into a single temporal frame—whenever that kind of treatment arrives, the statement of blessedness applies to that moment.

Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. (Matthew 6:2)

In this instruction, ὅταν sets the time for a prohibition: the moment of doing “merciful deeds.” It does not describe a rare occasion but assumes the deed will occur and specifies how one is to act at that time, contrasting discreet giving with the hypocrites’ public display “in the synagogues and in the streets.”

“When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. (Matthew 6:5)

ὅταν again introduces a recurring act—prayer—and places ethical guidance inside its timing: at the time of praying, one must not imitate a pattern of praying “to be seen by men.” The temporal connector makes the instruction practical and situational: the warning is to govern behavior precisely during prayer.

But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:6)

With ὅταν the command is anchored to the prayer event itself: when prayer happens, it is to happen in an “inner room” with a shut door. The word coordinates time and setting, so that the secrecy described (“in secret”) belongs to the very moment of praying, and the promised reward is tied to that same timed practice.

“Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. (Matthew 6:16)

Here ὅταν situates guidance within fasting: at the time one fasts, the outward appearance must not be shaped for public recognition. The connector frames fasting as a real, anticipated practice and makes the instruction a rule for conduct during that practice, contrasting authentic fasting with performed sadness.

Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:15)

In this saying, ὅταν marks a future turning point: the time when “the bridegroom will be taken away.” The word ties the practice of fasting to that specific time (“and then they will fast”), distinguishing present time (“as long as the bridegroom is with them”) from the coming time introduced by ὅταν.

But when they deliver you up, don’t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say. (Matthew 10:19)

ὅταν introduces a pressured scenario—being “deliver[ed] up”—and places counsel inside it: anxiety is not to rule at that time. The phrase “in that hour” reinforces the temporal focus: when the delivery happens, speech will be supplied in that very moment, so the instruction addresses the immediate time of crisis.

But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man has come. (Matthew 10:23)

Here ὅταν frames a conditional response tied to timing and location: at the time persecution arises “in this city,” the instructed action is flight “into the next.” The temporal connector turns persecution into the trigger moment for movement, and it sits alongside another time marker (“until the Son of Man has come”), sharpening the urgency of what must be done when persecution occurs.

When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. (Matthew 12:43)

ὅταν introduces the time sequence beginning with an “unclean spirit” exiting a person. The word establishes the starting point for what follows—wandering through “waterless places” and seeking rest—so the reader understands the subsequent actions as occurring in the aftermath timed to the spirit’s departure.

which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.” (Matthew 13:32)

In the growth comparison, ὅταν marks the transition from smallness to maturity: the key moment is “when it is grown.” The result (“it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree”) is presented as what holds true at that time, and even the birds’ lodging is tied to the tree’s grown state.

“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.” (Matthew 15:2)

ὅταν fixes the alleged failure to a customary time: “when they eat bread.” The dispute is not about washing in general but about washing at the meal-time moment; the word locates the practice in the act of eating, making the accusation specific to that setting and timing.

Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28)

Here ὅταν introduces an eschatological time within “the regeneration”: the time “when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory.” The disciples’ promised role (“you also will sit on twelve thrones”) is anchored to that moment, so the word functions as a hinge connecting the Son of Man’s enthronement with their enthronement and judging.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages ὅταν serves as a time-linker that makes statements and instructions situational. In Matthew 6 it repeatedly frames ordinary acts—merciful deeds, prayer, fasting—so the focus is not merely that such acts exist but how conduct is to be shaped at the moment of performing them. The repeated pattern also contrasts two ways of occupying the same time: the hypocrites use the time of giving, praying, or fasting to be “seen by men,” whereas the instruction redirects that same time toward secrecy before “your Father who is in secret.”

In Matthew 10, ὅταν marks threatening moments (being delivered up, being persecuted) and turns them into decision points: the time of threat becomes the time for calm trust about speech “in that hour,” and for decisive flight “into the next” city. The word thus helps present discipleship as lived in timed contingencies—events that may arrive and must be met with a prepared response.

Several occurrences show ὅταν structuring narrative sequence and development. In Matthew 12:43 it establishes the departure of the unclean spirit as the temporal starting line for its subsequent wandering; in Matthew 13:32 it marks the completion of growth as the time when greatness and sheltering branches become true. In Matthew 9:15 and 19:28 it points forward to defining future moments: the taking away of the bridegroom as the time for fasting, and the Son of Man’s sitting on the throne as the time when followers also sit and judge. In each case, ὅταν ties an outcome or obligation to a particular time so the reader tracks not only what happens but when it properly applies.

Imagery in Context

The passages pair ὅταν with vivid “when” moments: public streets and synagogues where deeds and prayers can be displayed (Matthew 6:2, 6:5), an inner room with a shut door (Matthew 6:6), days of absence after the bridegroom is taken away (Matthew 9:15), the tense hour of being delivered up (Matthew 10:19), a hurried departure from one city to another under persecution (Matthew 10:23), waterless places searched for rest (Matthew 12:43), a seed’s transformation into a tree that birds can lodge in (Matthew 13:32), a meal where hands are expected to be washed (Matthew 15:2), and a throne of glory with thrones for judging (Matthew 19:28). ὅταν is the small connective that places each image at its appointed time and makes the scene’s action hang on that timing.

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).