ἤ G2228
Or (presenting alternatives), or than (after comparatives); the primary Greek disjunctive and comparative conjunction.
A small but vital conjunction that does double duty in the New Testament. In the vast majority of its 352 appearances it means 'or,' setting alternatives side by side -- as when Jesus insists no one can serve two masters, 'either he will hate the one or love the other' (Matt 6:24). German 'oder,' Spanish 'o,' and French 'ou' all track this disjunctive sense cleanly. Yet after comparative adjectives it shifts to 'than,' as in 'more tolerable for Sodom than for that city' (Matt 10:15), where Arabic uses the distinct comparative particle min, confirming the semantic shift.
Senses
1. or (disjunctive) — The disjunctive conjunction 'or,' presenting two or more alternatives. This overwhelmingly dominant sense (313 of 352 occurrences) is rendered uniformly across target languages -- German 'oder,' Spanish 'o,' French 'ou,' Hebrew 'o' -- reflecting its transparent, universal logic. Used in simple either/or constructions (Matt 5:17; 6:24) as well as chains of multiple alternatives. 313×
AR["أَم", "أَو", "أَوْ", "إِمّا"]·ben["অথবা", "নাকি", "বা", "হয়"]·DE["oder"]·EN["Or", "either-", "or", "or-"]·FR["ou"]·heb["אוֹ"]·HI["यअ", "या"]·ID["Atau", "atau", "karena"]·IT["o"]·jav["amargi", "utawi"]·KO["또는"]·PT["ou"]·RU["Или", "или"]·ES["o"]·SW["au", "kwa-maana-ama"]·TR["ya", "ya-da"]·urd["یا"]
2. than (comparative) — The comparative conjunction 'than,' appearing after comparative adjectives or adverbs (39 occurrences). Cross-linguistic evidence is especially revealing here: while French 'ou' and German 'oder' retain the same form as the disjunctive, Arabic deploys the distinct preposition min and Spanish uses 'que,' confirming a genuine semantic distinction. Key passages include Matt 10:15 and 18:8-9, where judgments or body parts are weighed against each other. 39×
AR["أَكْثَرَ-مِنْ", "مِن", "مِنَ", "مِنْ"]·ben["-চেয়ে", "অথবা", "অপেক্ষা", "চেয়ে"]·DE["oder", "oder-"]·EN["than", "than-"]·FR["ou"]·heb["מִ-", "מִן-לַ-", "מִן-לָ-", "מֵ", "מֵ-"]·HI["-से", "अपेक्षा", "इससे-कि", "य", "या", "से", "से-अधिक"]·ID["daripada"]·IT["o"]·jav["katimbang", "langkung", "tinimbang", "utawi"]·KO["-보다", "~보다", "보다", "혹은"]·PT["do-que"]·RU["нежели", "чем"]·ES["que"]·SW["kuliko", "tajiri"]·TR["-dan", "-den", "-den-daha", "-yerine", "dan", "ya-da"]·urd["بجائے", "بجائے-کہ", "بنسبت", "بہ-نسبت", "سے", "یا"]
Matt 10:15, Matt 11:22, Matt 11:24, Matt 18:8, Matt 18:9, Matt 18:13, Matt 19:24, Mark 6:11, Mark 9:43, Mark 9:45, Mark 9:47, Mark 10:25 (+27 more)
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×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἤ, Epic dialect also ἠέ (in signification Refs 4th c.BC+, conjunction with two chief senses, Disj. (or) and comparative (than). __A DISJUNCTIVE, or, ἐγὼ.. ἢ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν Refs 8th c.BC+; θεόσυτος ἢ βρότειος ἢ κεκραμένη Refs 4th c.BC+ __A.2 ἢ.. ἤ either.. or, ἢ νῦν δηθύνοντ᾽ ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα Refs 8th c.BC+, etc.; so ἢ.. ἤτοι.. Refs 5th c.BC+ is emphasized, later no distinction is implied,…