Original Word: εἷς
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: heis
Pronunciation: hays
Phonetic Spelling: (hice)
KJV: a(-n, -ny, certain), + abundantly, man, one (another), only, other, some
NASB: one, first, one thing, alone, individual, one man, someone
Word Origin: [a primary numeral]

1. one

man, one another, only, other, some.

(including the neuter (etc.) Hen); a primary numeral; one -- a(-n, -ny, certain), + abundantly, man, one (another), only, other, some. See also heis kath heis, medeis, mia, oudeis.

see GREEK heis kath heis

see GREEK medeis

see GREEK mia

see GREEK oudeis

Word Origin
a primary number
Definition
one
NASB Translation
agreement (1), alike* (1), alone (3), common (1), detail (1), first (9), individual (2), individually* (1), lone (1), man (1), nothing* (1), one (282), one another (1), one man (2), one thing (5), one* (2), person (1), single (1), smallest (1), someone (2), thirty-nine* (1), unity (1).

STRONGS NT 1520: εἷς

εἷς, μία, ἐν, genitive ἑνός, μιᾶς, ἑνός, a cardinal numeral, one. Used:

1. universally,

a. in opposed to many; and α. added to nouns after the manner of an adjective: Matthew 25:15 (opposed to πέντε δύο); Romans 5:12 (opposed to πάντες); Matthew 20:13; Matthew 27:15; Luke 17:34 (but L WH brackets); Acts 28:13; 1 Corinthians 10:8; James 4:13 (R G), and often; παρά μίαν namely, πληγήν (Winers Grammar, 589 (548); Buttmann, 82 (72)), save one (Winer's Grammar, § 49, g.), 2 Corinthians 11:24; with the article, ὁ εἰς ἄνθρωπος, the one man, of whom I have spoken, Romans 5:15. β. substantively, with a partitive genitive — to denote one, whichever it may be: μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν, one commandment, whichever of the whole number it may be, Matthew 5:19; add, Matthew 6:29; Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 12:27; Luke 17:2, 22; or, that one is required to be singled out from a certain number: Luke 23:39; John 19:34, etc. followed by ἐκ with the genitive of a noun signifying a whole, to denote that one of (out of) a company did this or that: Matthew 22:35; Matthew 26:21; Matthew 27:48; Mark 14:18; Luke 17:15; John 1:40 (); (T WH Tr marginal reading in brackets), (Tr omits ἐκ); (Rec. omits ἐκ); ; Revelation 5:5; Revelation 7:13; Revelation 9:13; Revelation 13:3 (Rec. omits ἐκ. γ. absolutely: Matthew 23:8-10; Hebrews 2:11; Hebrews 11:12; and where it takes the place of a predicate, Galatians 3:20 (cf. Winer's Grammar, 593 (551)), Galatians 3:28 (ye that adhere to Christ make one person, just as the Lord himself); συνάγειν εἰς ἐν, to gather together into one, John 11:52; ποιεῖν τά ἀμφότερα ἐν, Ephesians 2:14; with the article, ὁ εἰς, the one, whom I have named, Romans 5:15, 19.

b. in opposed to a division into parts, and in ethical matters to dissensions: ἐν σῶμα πολλά μέλη, Romans 12:4; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 20; ἐν εἶναι, to be united most closely (in will, spirit), John 10:30; John 17:11, 21-23; ἐν ἑνί πνεύματι, μία ψυχή, Philippians 1:27 cf. Acts 4:32 (cf. Cicero, Lael. 25 (92)amicitiae vis est in eo, ut unus quasi animus fiat ex pluribus); ἀπό μιᾶς (see ἀπό, III., p. 59{b}), Luke 14:18.

c. with a negative following joined to the verb, εἰς ... οὐ or μή (one ... not, i. e.) no one, (more explicit and emphatic than οὐδείς): ἐν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ πεσεῖται, Matthew 10:29; besides, Matthew 5:18; Luke 11:46; Luke 12:6; this usage is not only Hebraistic (as that language has no particular word to express the notion of none), but also Greek (Aristophanes ecclesiastical 153: thesm. 549; Xenophon, an. 5, 6, 12; Dionysius Halicarnassus, verb. comp. 18, etc.), cf. Winers Grammar, 172 (163); (Buttmann, 121 (106)).

2. emphatically, so that others are excluded, and εἰς is the same as 2. a single (Latinunus equivalent tounicus); joined to nouns: Matthew 21:24; Mark 8:14 (οὐκ ... εἰ μή ἕνα ἄρτον); Mark 12:6; Luke 12:52; John 11:50; John 7:21; 1 Corinthians 12:19; Ephesians 4:5, etc.; absolutely: 1 Corinthians 9:24; 2 Corinthians 5:14 (15); 1 Timothy 2:5; James 4:12, etc.; οὐδέ εἰς, not even one: Matthew 27:14; John 1:3; Acts 4:32; Romans 3:10; 1 Corinthians 6:5 (R G); οὐκ ἐστιν ἕως ἑνός (there is not so much as one), Romans 3:12 from Psalm 13:3 (); cf. Latinomnes ad unum, all to a man. Neuter, ἐν, one thing, exclusive of the rest; one thing before all others: Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22; Luke 10:42 (but WH only text); John 9:25; Philippians 3:13 (); James 2:10.

b. alone: οὐδείς ... εἰ μή εἰς ὁ Θεός, Mark 2:7 (for which in Luke 5:21 μόνος ὁ Θεός); Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19.

c. one and the same (not at variance with, in accord with oneself): Romans 3:30; Revelation 17:13, 17 (L omits); ; τό ἐν φρονεῖν, Philippians 2:2 (WH marginal reading αὐτό); ἕν εἶναι are one, i. e. are of the same importance and esteem, 1 Corinthians 3:8; εἰς τό ἐν εἶναι (see εἰμί, V. 2 d.), 1 John 5:8; more fully τό ἐν καί τό αὐτό. 1 Corinthians 12:11; ἐν καί τό αὐτό τίνι, 1 Corinthians 11:5.

3. the numerical force of εἰς is often so weakened that it hardly differs from the indefinite pronoun τίς, or from our indefinite article (Winers Grammar, 117 (111) (cf. 29 note 2; Buttmann, 85 (74))): Matthew 8:19 εἰς γραμματεύς); ; John 6:9 (παιδάριον ἐν, where T Tr WH omit and L brackets ἐν); Revelation 8:13; Revelation 9:13 (Aristophanes av. 1292; Xenophon, mem. 3, 3, 12; Plato, de rep. 6, p. 494 d.; legg. 9, p. 855 d., etc.; especially later writings; (Tobit 1:19 Tobit 2:3; 3Esdr. 4:18 [LXX 1 Esdras 4:18]; Genesis 21:15; 2 Samuel 2:18; Judith 14:6); so the Hebrew אֶחָד, Daniel 8:3; Genesis 22:13; 1 Samuel 1:2; 1 Kings 21:13 (); see Gesenius, Lchrgeb., p. 655); εἰς τίς (Latinunus aliquis), a certain one; one, I know not who; one who need not be named: with a substantive, Mark 14:51 (L Tr WH omit εἰς); or followed by a genitive Mark 14:47 where L Tr omit; WH brackets τίς; followed by ἐκ, ἐξ, with the genitive: Luke 22:50; John 11:49 (ἕν τί τῶν ῤημάτων, Judith 2:13, and often in Greek writings; cf. Wetstein on Mark 14:51; Matthiae, § 487).

4. it is used distributively (Winers Grammar, § 26, 2; especially Buttmann, 102 (90));

a. εἰς ... καί εἰς, one ... and one: Matthew 17:4; Matthew 20:21; Matthew 24:40 L T Tr WH, ; ; Mark 4:8 (R G L WH marginal reading); Mark 4:20 (R G L Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading in brackets); ; Luke 9:33; John 20:12; Galatians 4:22; (in Greek authors, εἰς μέν ... εἰς δέ, as Aristotle, eth. 6, 1, 5; Xcn. Cyril 1, 2, 4); with the article prefixed, ὁ εἰς the one, Luke 24:18 R G; followed by ὁ εἰς, the one ... the other, Matthew 24:40 R G; followed by ὁ ἕτερος, Matthew 6:24; Luke 7:41; Luke 16:13{b}; R WH; R G T WH marginal reading; Acts 23:6; εἰς (without the article ... ὁ ἕτερος: Luke 16:13{c}; G L T Tr; L Tr WH text; πέντε ... ὁ εἰς ... ὁ ἄλλος, Revelation 17:10.

b. εἰς ἕκαστος, everyone: Acts 2:6; Acts 20:31; Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 4:6; followed by a partitive genitive: Luke 4:40; Luke 16:5; Acts 2:3; Acts 17:27; Acts 21:26; 1 Corinthians 12:18; Ephesians 4:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:11; cf. Buttmann, 102f (89f); ἀνά εἰς ἕκαστος (see ἀνά, 2), Revelation 21:21.

c. a solecism, common in later Greek (cf. Lucian, solace. (Pseudosoph.) § 9; Winers Grammar, § 37, 3; Buttmann, 30f (26f); Fritzsche on Mark, p. 613f; (Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word καθεῖς)), is καθ' εἰς, and in combination καθεῖς (so that either κατά is used adverbially, or εἰς as indeclinablc): ὁ καθ' εἰς, equivalent to εἰς ἕκαστος, Romans 12:5 (where L T Tr WH τό καθ', as respects each one, severally; cf. what is said against this reading by Fritzsche, commentary, iii., p. 44f, and in its favor by Meyer); with a partitive genitive 3Macc. 5:84; εἰς καθ' (T WH Tr marginal reading κατά) εἰς, everyone, one by one, Mark 14:19; John 8:9; καθ' ἕνα, καθ' ἕν (as in Greek writings), of a series, one by one, successively: καθ' ἐν, all in succession, John 21:25 (not Tdf.); καθ' ἕνα πάντες, 1 Corinthians 14:31 (Xenophon, venat. 6, 14); καθ' ἕν ἕκαστον, Acts 21:19 (Xenophon, Cyril 1, 6, 22 (27); Ages. 7, 1); ὑμεῖς οἱ καθ' ἕνα ἕκαστος, ye severally, every one, Ephesians 5:33.

5. like the Hebrew אֶחָד, εἰς is put for the ordinal πρῶτος, first (Winers Grammar, § 37, 1; Buttmann, 29 (26)): μία σαββάτων the first day of the week, Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2 (L T Tr WH μία σαββάτου); (in Greek writings so used only when joined with other ordinal numbers, as εἷς καί τριηκοστος, Herodotus 5, 89: Diodorus 16. 71. Cicero, de senect. 5uno et octogesimo anna. (Cf. Sophocles Lexicon, under the word)).

Semantic and Theological Scope

The word translated “one” is woven through the New Testament to denote singularity, uniqueness, unity, or an individual item or person. Its appearances range from everyday enumeration to the loftiest theological affirmations, binding together the Bible’s testimony about God, Christ, salvation, and the church.

Divine Unity and Biblical Monotheism

• Mark 12:29 quotes Deuteronomy 6:4 to affirm: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” In a world of many gods, the Gospels announce the same uncompromising monotheism found in the Old Testament.
• James 2:19 reminds believers: “You believe that God is One. Good!” The early church held to one living God against pagan polytheism.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4–6 contrasts idols with the truth: “There is no God but One… yet for us there is one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Christological Oneness with the Father

• John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.” The term secures both the distinction of Persons and their essential unity, informing Trinitarian doctrine.
• John 17:11, 21-23 records Jesus’ high-priestly prayer that His followers “may be one as We are one,” rooting Christian unity in the relational oneness of the Godhead.

Soteriology: One Mediator, One Sacrifice

• 1 Timothy 2:5 proclaims: “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Redemption revolves around a single, sufficient Mediator.
• Hebrews 10:12 testifies that Christ “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time,” stressing the finality and completeness of His atonement.
• Romans 5:12-19 repeatedly contrasts the ruin brought by “one man” (Adam) with the grace brought by “one Man” (Jesus Christ), anchoring federal headship and justification in singular representatives.

Ecclesiology: One Body, One Spirit, One Faith

• Ephesians 4:4-6 unites the church’s confession: “There is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.”
• Romans 12:5: “So in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.” Unity is not uniformity but Spirit-wrought cohesion.
• 1 Corinthians 12:13 shows how this unity is effected: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… and we were all given one Spirit to drink.”

Personal Worth and Individual Accountability

• Luke 15:4-10 emphasizes heaven’s joy over “one sinner who repents,” displaying God’s loving pursuit of the individual.
• Matthew 18:6 cautions against causing “one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble,” underscoring personal responsibility.
• Matthew 5:19 elevates every command: “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments… will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”

Ethical Illustrations and Parables

The singular term often personalizes teaching:

– One unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:24).

– One pearl of great value (Matthew 13:46).

– One talent entrusted (Matthew 25:18).

These examples sharpen moral instruction by focusing on a single figure or object.

Eschatological Notes

• Matthew 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-36 warn that “one will be taken and the other left,” illustrating sudden separation at the Son of Man’s appearing.
• Revelation employs the word for decisive acts: “In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin” (Revelation 18:17).

Historical Significance in Early Christian Witness

The singular confession of one God and one Lord distinguished Christians from a pluralistic Greco-Roman society, while the insistence on one body challenged ethnic and social divisions. Baptism into “one name” became both the boundary marker and unifying badge of believers.

Ministry Implications Today

1. Guard the gospel’s exclusivity—one Savior, one way (John 14:6 implied).
2. Promote congregational unity grounded in shared participation in the one Spirit.
3. Value each person; shepherds leave the ninety-nine for the one.
4. Teach obedience to every command, not discarding even “one jot or one tittle” (Matthew 5:18).

Representative New Testament Occurrences

Matthew 9:18; 19:17; 23:8; 26:21

Mark 12:28-32; 14:18-20

Luke 17:15; 18:19; 22:47

John 1:40; 6:70; 11:49-52; 17:22

Acts 4:32; 11:28

Romans 3:30; 12:5

1 Corinthians 8:6; 10:17

Ephesians 2:14-16; 4:4-6

Philippians 2:2

1 Timothy 2:5

James 4:12

Revelation 7:13; 21:21

The pervasive use of “one” therefore not only counts or identifies; it preaches—centering revelation on the single, sovereign God, the unique Redeemer, and the Spirit-created unity of His people.

εις εἴς εἷς εν ἕν ἓν ενα ένα ἕνα ενι ενί ένι ἑνί ἑνὶ ενος ενός ἑνός ἑνὸς καθ' μια μιά μιᾷ μία μιαν μίαν μιας μιάς μιᾶς eis eís en ena eni enos heis heîs hen hén hèn hena héna heni hení henì henos henós henòs mia mía miā̂i mian mían mias miâsInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts