ἐκεῖνος G1565
That, that one; a distal demonstrative pronoun pointing to a previously mentioned person or thing, often with emphatic force.
Ekeinos is the Greek demonstrative pronoun for 'that person' or 'that thing over there' — the distal counterpart to houtos ('this'). In the Gospels it carries significant theological weight, especially in John, where 'that one' (ekeinos) frequently refers to Jesus, the Spirit, or the Father with a kind of reverential distance: 'When the Spirit of truth comes, that one will guide you into all truth' (John 16:13). Used attributively ('that day,' 'that hour'), it marks temporal or narrative distance from the speaker. Used substantively, it functions as an emphatic third-person pronoun, often contrastive — setting one figure against another. Spanish aquel, French celui-la, and German jener all preserve the distal quality, while Korean and Japanese deploy dedicated far-demonstrative forms.
Senses
1. that, those (demonstrative reference) — Attributive or adjectival demonstrative: 'that' or 'those' modifying a noun, pointing to a previously mentioned or contextually distant referent — 170 occurrences. 'On that day' (Matt 7:22), 'in that hour' (Matt 8:13), 'those cities' (Matt 11:24). The temporal use is especially prominent in eschatological discourse, where 'that day' becomes almost a technical term for the day of judgment. Spanish aquel/aquella, French celui-la/celle-la, and German jene all select their dedicated distal demonstrative forms, confirming the deictic distance as cross-linguistically salient. 170×
AR["السَّاعَةِ", "تِلكَ", "تِلْكَ", "ذَٰلِكَ", "ذٰلِكَ"]·ben["সেই"]·DE["jene"]·EN["that"]·FR["celle-là", "celui-là"]·heb["הַ-הִיא", "הַהִיא", "הַהוּא"]·HI["उस", "उसी"]·ID["itu"]·IT["quella", "quello"]·jav["punika", "punika,", "punika."]·KO["그"]·PT["aquela", "aquele", "mesma", "naquela", "naquele"]·RU["то", "того", "той", "тому", "тот", "ту"]·ES["aquel", "aquella"]·SW["ile", "ile,", "ile.", "ile;", "lile", "pale", "ule", "ule,", "ule.", "wakati-ule", "yule"]·TR["o"]·urd["اُس", "اُسی", "وہ"]
Matt 7:22, Matt 7:25, Matt 7:27, Matt 8:13, Matt 8:28, Matt 9:22, Matt 9:26, Matt 9:31, Matt 10:14, Matt 10:15, Matt 10:19, Matt 11:25 (+38 more)
2. that one, he/she (substantive pronoun) — Substantive pronoun referring to a specific individual: 'that one,' 'he,' 'she' — 63 occurrences, especially concentrated in John's Gospel. When John the Baptist says 'I am not the Christ' and then points to Jesus as 'that one who comes after me' (John 1:15, 27, 30), ekeinos carries emphatic, almost reverential force. In John 14-16 the Spirit is repeatedly called ekeinos ('that one will teach you'), creating a pattern of dignified reference. Korean geu-bun ('that honored person') and Swahili yule ('that one, distant') both capture the referential weight. 63×
AR["ذاكَ", "ذَاكَ", "ذَلِكَ"]·ben["তিনি", "সেই", "সেই-জন", "সেই-ব্যক্তি"]·DE["jener"]·EN["that-one"]·FR["celui-là"]·heb["הַהוּא", "הוּא"]·HI["उसने", "उसने,", "उसने।", "उसी-ने", "उसीने", "वह", "वह,", "वह?"]·ID["Dia", "Dialah", "Itu", "dia", "dia-sendiri", "itu,"]·IT["quello"]·jav["Panjenenganipun", "Panjenenganipun,", "Panjenenganipun-punika", "Panjenenganipun.", "Panjenenganipun?", "panjenenganipun", "panjenenganipun-punika", "panjenenganipun-punika,"]·KO["그-가", "그-분은", "그-분이", "그-사람이", "그-자는", "그가"]·PT["Aquele", "aquele", "aquele,", "ele"]·RU["Тот", "Тот,", "тот", "тот,", "тот?"]·ES["aquel"]·SW["yeye", "yule"]·TR["O", "o"]·urd["آئے", "اُس-نے", "خود", "وہ", "وہی", "کرے"]
3. those (substantive, persons) — Substantive plural: 'those people' or 'they' with demonstrative emphasis — 12 occurrences where a group previously identified or contrasted is picked out. In Matt 13:11 the disciples are told 'to you it is given... but to those (ekeinois) it is not'; in Mark 16:13 the risen Jesus' appearance is reported 'to those (ekeinois)' remaining disciples. The demonstrative plural functions as a mild distancing device, separating an in-group from an out-group. Spanish a aquellos and French ceux-la both preserve the contrastive plural force. 12×
AR["أولئِكَ", "أولٰئِكَ", "أُولَئِكَ", "أُولٰئِكَ", "لِأولئِكَ", "لِأولٰئِكَ", "لِأُولَئِكَ", "هٰؤُلاءِ"]·ben["তাদের", "তাদের,", "তাদের-জন্য", "তাদেরও"]·DE["jene"]·EN["for-those", "of-those", "those", "to-those"]·FR["celui-là", "ceux-là"]·heb["אוֹתָם", "בָּהֶם", "הֵם", "לְאֵלֶּה", "לָאֵלֶּה", "לָהֶם", "שֶׁל-הָהֵם", "שֶׁלָּהֶם"]·HI["उन-के-लिए", "उन-को", "उनकि", "उनकी", "उनके", "उनको", "उनसे", "उनहे", "उन्हें", "उन्होंने", "बाहर-वालों"]·ID["Kepada-mereka", "bagi-mereka-itu", "kepada-mereka-itu", "mereka", "mereka-itu", "pada-mereka"]·IT["quelli"]·jav["dhateng-piyambakipun-sadaya", "dhateng-tiyang-punika", "dhateng-tiyang-punika,", "piyambakipun-sadaya", "piyambakipun-sedaya", "tiyang-punika", "tiyang-tiyang-punika", "wong-iku"]·KO["그들-에게", "그들-이", "그들도", "그들에게", "그들을", "그들을-위한", "그들의", "저들-의-것이", "저들에게", "저들에게는"]·PT["aqueles", "deles", "para-aqueles", "Àqueles", "àqueles", "àqueles,"]·RU["с-ними,", "тем", "тех"]·ES["-a-aquellos", "a-aquellos", "a-aquéllos", "aquellos", "de-aquellos", "de-aquéllos", "para-aquéllos"]·SW["akawaambia", "kwa-wale", "wale", "wale-", "wao", "wao,"]·TR["için-", "o-", "onlara", "onların", "onlarınki"]·urd["اُن-سے", "اُن-کا", "اُن-کو", "اُن-کی", "اُن-کے", "اُن-کے-لیے", "اُنھیں", "اُنہیں"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐκεῖνος, ἐκείνη, ἐκεῖνο, also κεῖνος (regular in Epic dialect, Ionic dialect (as Refs 5th c.BC+ only where the metre requires,Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.; but not in Attic dialect Prose, and in Comedy texts only in mock Trag. passages): Aeolic dialect κῆνος Refs 7th c.BC+: Doric dialect τῆνος Refs 3rd c.BC+: in Comedy texts, strengthened ἐκεινοσί Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐκεινοσίν Refs 2nd c.AD+:…