ἐκ G1537
Preposition: from, out of (source/origin); at, on (position/side); by means of, with (instrument/cause).
The Greek preposition ek (before vowels, ex) is fundamentally a word of origin and emergence — 'from out of.' Governing the genitive case exclusively, it covers spatial extraction ('he went out of the house'), genealogical descent ('of the seed of David'), material source ('by the works of the law'), and partitive separation ('one of the twelve'). With 922 NT occurrences, it ranks among the most frequent prepositions and challenges translators because its semantic range extends well beyond spatial movement. Spanish de, French de, and German aus all capture the core 'from' sense, but the positional use in ek dexion ('at the right hand,' Matt 22:44) and the instrumental use in ek denariou ('for a denarius,' Matt 20:2) push translators toward prepositions they would not normally associate with 'out of.'
1. from, out of (source/origin) — The primary sense of source, origin, separation, or extraction — 'from, out of.' This overwhelming majority usage (886 occurrences) encompasses spatial movement out of a place (Matt 2:15, 'out of Egypt I called my son'), genealogical origin (Matt 1:3-16, the genealogy's repeated ek to mark parentage), material source, cause, and partitive separation ('one from among you'). Spanish de, French de, German aus, and Arabic من all converge on a basic ablative/source preposition. The genealogical thread is especially revealing: Matthew's ek tou David, ek tes Marias shows origin-marking as a core NT function. 886×
AR["الَّتِي-مِنْهَا","فَ-مِنَ","لِأَنَّ-مِنْ","مِن","مِنَ","مِنْ"]·ben["-থেকে","থেকে","মধ্য-থেকে","মধ্যে"]·DE["aus"]·EN["from","from-","of","of-","out-of","out-of-"]·FR["de-"]·heb["מִ","מִ-","מִ-אֲשֶׁר","מִן-","מֵ-"]·HI["-मेइन-से","-से","में-से","से"]·ID["dari","di-antara"]·IT["da"]·jav["saking"]·KO["-에게서","-에서","~로부터"]·PT["de","deles","destas","do","dos"]·RU["ибо-по","из","из-","от","с"]·ES["*-porque","de"]·SW["ambaye-kutoka-kwake","kutoka","kutoka-","kutoka-kwa","kutoka-kwako","kutokana-na-","miongoni","miongoni-mwenu","wao"]·TR["-dan","-den"]·urd["-سے","سے"]
Matt 1:3, Matt 1:5, Matt 1:5, Matt 1:6, Matt 1:16, Matt 1:18, Matt 1:20, Matt 2:6, Matt 3:9, Matt 3:17, Matt 5:37, Matt 6:27 (+38 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. at (position/side) — A positional or locative sense meaning 'at, on (a side),' concentrated in the fixed expressions ek dexion ('at the right hand') and ex euonymon ('at the left'). With 31 occurrences, this specialized usage appears prominently in eschatological judgment scenes (Matt 25:33-34, sheep at the right, goats at the left) and royal seating requests (Matt 20:21, 'that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right and one at your left'). The shift from directional 'out of' to static 'at' likely traces to the idiom's origin: one stands 'from the right side' and thus 'at the right.' Spanish a and German zu sometimes replace the expected de/aus here, showing that translators feel the positional force. 31×
AR["عَن","عَنِ","عَنْ"]·ben["-থেকে","থেকে"]·DE["aus","aus-"]·EN["at","at-"]·FR["de-"]·heb["ימִין","מִ-"]·HI["-पर","-से","पर","से"]·ID["di"]·IT["da"]·jav["ing","saking","wonten-ing"]·KO["-에서","~에","~에서","에서"]·PT["da","à","à-"]·RU["по","по-"]·ES["a","de"]·SW["kulia","kushoto","mkono-wa","mkono-wa-kushoto","mkono-wa-kuume","upande-wa"]·TR["-de","-den"]·urd["-سے","سے","پر"]
Matt 20:21, Matt 20:21, Matt 20:23, Matt 20:23, Matt 22:44, Matt 25:33, Matt 25:33, Matt 25:34, Matt 25:41, Matt 26:64, Matt 27:38, Matt 27:38 (+19 more)
3. by means of, with (instrument/cause) — An instrumental or causal sense: 'by means of, with, for' — indicating the means, instrument, basis, or price of an action. Only about 5 clear occurrences, but each is distinctive: Matt 20:2, 'having agreed with the workers for (ek) a denarius'; Matt 27:7, 'they bought the potter's field with (ek) them [the thirty silver coins]'; John 3:34, God gives the Spirit 'not by (ek) measure.' Spanish con/por and French par/de replace de in these contexts, and German aus sometimes shifts to mit or fuer, all confirming that translators recognize a genuine instrumental reading distinct from simple source. 5×
AR["بِ","بِ-","عَلى","مِنَ"]·ben["-দ্বারা","জন্য","থেকে"]·DE["aus","aus-"]·EN["-","by-","for","with-"]·FR["de-"]·heb["בְּ-","לְ-","מִ-"]·HI["-पर","-से","से"]·ID["dari","dengan","untuk"]·IT["da"]·jav["kaping","mawi","saking"]·KO["-로","~에서"]·PT["com","pela","por","por-"]·RU["в-","во-","за-","по","по-"]·ES["con","por"]·SW["-mara","kwa","kwa-hizo","kwa-kipimo"]·TR["-dan","-den"]·urd["سے","سے-","پر"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐκ, before a vowel ἐξ, also __A ἐξ τῳ ϝοίκῳ Refs and less frequently ; ἐγ- in Inscrr. before β γ δ λ μ ; Cretan dialect and Boeotian dialect ἐς Refs 6th c.BC+; ἐχ frequently in Attic dialect Inscrr. before χ φ θ (and in early Inscrr. before ς, Refs:—preposition governing GEN. only (except in Refs 4th c.BC+:—radical sense, from out of, frequently also simply, from. __A.I OF PLACE, the most…