ὁσάκις G3740
as often as, as many times as; a correlative conjunction indicating frequency of repeated action
A temporal conjunction meaning 'as often as' or 'whenever,' this word marks the repetition of an action. Paul uses it twice in his instructions about the Lord's Supper, emphasizing that 'as often as' believers drink the cup or eat the bread, they proclaim the Lord's death (1 Cor 11:25-26). In Revelation, it describes the frequency with which the two witnesses can shut the sky or strike the earth 'as often as' they wish (Rev 11:6). The term underscores not just repetition but the correlation between the timing and the significance of the action.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The multilingual glosses all capture the frequency aspect: English 'as-often-as', Spanish 'cuantas-veces', French 'autant-de-fois', German 'sooft'. The lexicon notes this is correlative to 'so many times' (τοσσάκι) in classical usage. Paul's use in 1 Cor 11:25-26 emphasizes that each observance of the Lord's Supper is a proclamation, while Rev 11:6 stresses the repeated power of the witnesses. The word highlights frequency and correlation rather than mere repetition. 3×
AR["كُلَّما"]·ben["যতবার"]·DE["sooft"]·EN["as-often-as"]·FR["autant-de-fois", "sooft"]·heb["כַּמָּה", "כָּל-פַּעַם-שֶׁ-"]·HI["जितनी-बार"]·ID["Setiap-kali", "sesering", "setiap-kali"]·IT["osakis", "quante-volte"]·jav["saben", "sapinten-pinten"]·KO["몇-번이든지"]·PT["Tantas-vezes-quantas", "quantas-vezes", "tantas-vezes-quantas"]·RU["Всякий-раз-когда", "всякий-раз-когда", "сколько-раз"]·ES["Cuantas-veces", "cuantas-veces"]·SW["kila-mara", "mara-ngapi"]·TR["bunu", "ne zaman ki-", "ne-kadar-sık"]·urd["جب-بھی", "جتنی-بار"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G2250 1. day (388×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H3915 1. night, period of darkness (234×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H5750 2. still, yet (continuative) (166×)G5119 1. then (160×)G3568 1. now (147×)G2193 1. until (143×)G3825 1. (141×)G3752 1. (123×)H6153 1. evening, time of day (123×)H0227a 1. then (122×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ὁσάκις [ᾰ], Epic dialect ὁσσάκι, as always in Refs 8th c.BC+; also ὁσσάκις, Refs 3rd c.BC+: (ὅσος):— as many times as, as of ten as, Relat. to τοσσάκι, Refs 8th c.BC+; Attic dialect form in NT+5th c.BC+:—also ὁσᾰκισδήποτε, Refs K.; ὁσᾰκισοῦν, Refs 2nd c.AD+