Original Word: ἤτοι
Part of Speech: Conjunction
Transliteration: étoi
Pronunciation: AY-toy
Phonetic Spelling: (ay'-toy)
KJV: whether
NASB: either
Word Origin: [from G2228 (ἤ - or) and G5104 (τοί - The)]

1. either indeed

whether.

From e and toi; either indeed -- whether.

see GREEK e

see GREEK toi

Word Origin
from é and toi
Definition
whether
NASB Translation
either (1).

STRONGS NT 2273: ἤτοι

ἤτοι, see ἤ, 4 e.

Definition and Overview

Ἤτοι (Strong’s Greek 2273) is a robust disjunctive connector that places two mutually exclusive alternatives before the reader. Rather than offering a mild option, the particle insists on a decisive choice, sharpening the contrast and pressing the hearer toward commitment. By employing ἤτοι, Scripture underscores the reality that allegiance to God cannot coexist with allegiance to sin.

Biblical Context: Romans 6:16

“Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).

Here Paul frames the believer’s life as an unavoidable dichotomy: ἤτοι … ἤ sets “sin leading to death” against “obedience leading to righteousness.” The word signals that no third avenue exists; every person is already enslaved to one master or the other. The verse therefore anchors the larger argument of Romans 6, which moves from the believer’s union with Christ in death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5) to the call to present every faculty to God as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:12-13).

Rhetorical Force in Pauline Argument

1. Clarifying Lordship: Ἤτοι makes explicit that lordship is binary. For Paul, confessing Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9) necessarily renounces sin as master.
2. Exposing Consequences: By linking each option to its inevitable outcome—death or righteousness—ἤτοι confronts the listener with both present allegiance and future destiny.
3. Demanding Decision: The particle sharpens exhortation. Paul’s rhetorical question (“Do you not know…?”) followed by ἤτοι obliges the Roman believers to acknowledge the reality they may have taken for granted.

Theological Implications

• Bondage and Freedom: Scripture consistently portrays true freedom as slavery to God. Ἤτοι highlights that what appears “freedom” in sin is servitude leading to death (John 8:34; Romans 6:20-21).
• Sanctification: Obedience “leading to righteousness” stresses progressive conformity to Christ’s character, anticipating glorification (Romans 8:29-30).
• Covenant Exclusivity: Just as Israel could not “serve both the LORD and the Baals,” believers cannot serve both righteousness and sin (Joshua 24:15; Matthew 6:24). Ἤτοι preserves this covenantal exclusivity in New-Covenant terms.

Historical Exegesis

• John Chrysostom saw in Romans 6:16 a pastoral antidote to complacency, remarking that Paul “cleaves through excuses by showing the one allegiance we must keep.”
• Augustine cited the verse to refute Pelagian claims of moral neutrality, arguing that the human will is either captivated by sin or liberated for righteousness through grace.
• Reformation commentators (Luther, Calvin) used the passage to defend sola gratia, noting that ἤτοι unambiguously ties sinful mastery to death, thus magnifying the necessity of divine regeneration.

Pastoral Applications

1. Discipleship Diagnostics: Teachers may ask congregants, “Which master do your habitual choices reveal—sin or obedience?”
2. Counseling Addiction: The verse counsels that lasting freedom comes not by willpower alone but by exchanging masters through union with Christ.
3. Evangelistic Clarity: Presenting the gospel involves exposing the false neutrality people assume; ἤτοι provides the biblical framework for urging repentance and faith.

Connections with Old Testament Wisdom

Proverbs contrasts “the path of the righteous” with “the way of the wicked” (Proverbs 4:18-19). Psalm 1 juxtaposes “the righteous” and “the wicked.” Ἤτοι in Romans 6:16 echoes this wisdom tradition, now grounded in the redemptive work of Christ, demonstrating Scripture’s unified call to choose the fear of the LORD over rebellion.

Illustrations for Preaching

• Two Gates (Matthew 7:13-14): The narrow gate and the broad gate visualize the ἤτοι choice.
• Two Builders (Matthew 7:24-27): Only one foundation stands.
• Two Trees (Luke 6:43-45): Fruit identifies the root; allegiance identifies the master.

Summary

Strong’s 2273, though appearing only once, wields disproportionate influence by forcing a stark, life-defining decision. In Romans 6:16 the Spirit employs ἤτοι to shatter illusions of neutrality, reveal the inevitability of spiritual slavery, and summon every believer to wholehearted obedience that issues in righteousness and life.

ητοι ήτοι ἤτοι etoi ētoi ḗtoiInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts