adjective
eschatos
Strong’sG2078
last, at the last, finally
stem eschat-52 times in the New Testamentin 14 of 27 books0 of 26 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
Ἔσχατος most often means last or final, marking the end of a sequence, whether that is a numbered order, a period of time, or a series of events. It stands in contrast to "first," as in "the last will be first" 1, and describes the final day, hour, time, or age — including set phrases about the last days, the last time, or the last hour of the present age 14. Applied to God, it describes the one who is both the first and the last 1. As an adverb it can mean "finally, at last" 234.
The same word also describes what is farthest or extreme in place — the outermost, remotest, or hindmost point or part of something 13.
It can further describe what is lowest in rank or honor — the least important or least regarded position or person, as opposed to the highest 13.
Related to the sense of "last," the word is also used of someone being at the last extremity, that is, in the final, most critical stage of an illness, near death 3.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἔσχατος, -η, -ον
[in LXX chiefly for אַחֲרִית אַחֲרוֹן;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2078 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saides'-khat-os
farthest, final (of place or time)
Froma superlative probably from G2192 (in the sense of contiguity);
King Jamesends of, last, latter end, lowest, uttermost.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
also ος, ον Refs 4th c.BC+(probably from ἐκ, ἐξ, perhaps eĝhzκατος (compare ἐχθός) like{ἔγ-κατα}): <br /><b class="sn">I</b> of Space, as always in [Refs 8th c.BC+, farthest, uttermost, extreme, θάλαμος ἔ. the hindmost chamber, Refs 8th c.BC+at the end of the lines, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἔσχατοι ἀνδρῶν, of the Aethiopians, Refs 8th c.BC+; τάξις ἐ. the farthest part of the army, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐξ ἐσχάτων ἐς ἔσχατα ἀπικέσθαι from end to end, Refs 5th c.BC+:—in various senses, uppermost, ἐ. πυρά Refs 5th c.BC+; lowest, deepest, ἀΐδας Refs 3rd c.BC+; innermost, σάρκες Refs 5th c.BC+; last, hindmost, ἤλαυνε δ᾽ ἔ. Refs; ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτῳ at the close of a document, Refs 2nd c.BC+
I.2 of Degree, uttermost, highest, τὸ ἔ. κορυφοῦται βασιλεῦσι Refs 5th c.BC+; of misfortunes, sufferings, etc., utmost, last, worst, πόνος, ἀδικία, κίνδυνοι, Refs 5th c.BC+; δῆμος ἔ. extreme democracy, Refs 4th c.BC+
I.2.b substantive, τὸ ἔ., τὰ ἔ., the utmost, ἐς τὸ ἔ. κακοῦ ἀπιγμένοι Refs 5th c.BC+; ζημιοῦσθαι πᾶσι τοῖς ἐ., Latin extremis suppliciis, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔσχατ᾽ ἐσχάτων κακά worst of possible evils, Refs 5th c.BC+: comparative οὔτε γὰρ τοῦ ἐσχάτου -ώτερον εἴη ἄν τι Refs 4th c.BC+ falsa lectio in Refs 5th c.BC+
I.3 of Persons, lowest, meanest, Refs 1st c.BC+ i.e. the meanest of mankind,Refs 5th c.BC+ it seems to mean the remotest of mankind, compare πρὸς ἐσχάτην Μυσῶν variant in Refs 1st c.AD+
I.4 of Time, last, ἐς τὸ ἔ. to the end, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔ. πλόος, ναυτιλίαι, the end of it, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐσχάτας ὑπὲρ ῥίζας over the last scion of the race, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔ. Ἑλλήνων, Ῥωμαίων, Refs 1st c.AD+ as adverb, for the last time, Refs 5th c.BC+; finally, best of all, NT; at the latest, ἔ. ἐν τρισὶ μησίν Refs 4th c.BC+; εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην at the last, LXX; ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτῳLXX substantive ἐσχάτη, ἡ, end, οὐχ ἕξεις ἐ. καλήν Refs 2nd c.AD+
I.5 in the Logic of Refs 4th c.BC+ are the last or lowest species, Refsindividuals, Refs
I.5.b ὁ ἔ. ὅρος the minor term of a syllogism, Refs
I.5.c last step in geometrical analysis or ultimate condition of action, τὸ ἔ. ἀρχὴ τῆς πράξεως Refs
II adverb -τως to the uttermost, exceedingly, πῦρ ἐ. καίει Refs 5th c.BC+
II.b -τως διακεῖσθαι to be at the last extremity, NT+2nd c.BC+
II.2 so ἐς τὸ ἔ.,=ἐσχάτως, Refs 5th c.BC+finally, in the end, Refs 5th c.BC+; but, τὸ ἔ. what is worst of all, Refs
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | eschatos | eschatas | eschatem | eschatois | eschatais | eschateim |
| object accusative | eschaton | eschatan | eschatoin | eschatain | ||
| direct address vocative | eschator | eschatar | eschatoir | eschatair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | eschatou | eschatau | eschateu | eschatoiu | eschataiu | eschateiu |
| to, for dative | eschato | eschata | eschate | eschatoi | eschatai | eschatei |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
eschat is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
52 occurrences, every one of them listed
eschatois9×
Matthew 19:30pollois de eli prōtois eschatois kai eschatois prōtois.… many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.[’’]
Matthew 19:30pollois de eli prōtois eschatois kai eschatois prōtois.… first will be last, and the last will be first.[’’]
Matthew 20:12legarōntois; Houtois tois eschatois henan hōran poiala, kai isoin autoin …‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said …
Matthew 20:16houtōs eli tois eschatois prōtois kai tois prōtois eschatois.… first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:16… tois eschatois prōtois kai tois prōtois eschatois.So the last will be first, and the first …
Mark 10:31pollois de eli prōtois eschatois kai tois eschatois prōtois.… many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Mark 10:31… de eli prōtois eschatois kai tois eschatois prōtois.… first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Luke 13:30kai idou alō eschatois hois eli prōtois, kai alō prōtois …And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who …
Luke 13:30… prōtois, kai alō prōtois hois eli eschatois.… some who are first will be last.”
eschata8×
John 6:39… ek auteu alla anastēameia autem ta eschata hēmera.… but raise them up at the last day.
John 6:40… aiōnian, kai anastēami auton mis ta eschata hēmera.… will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:44… auton, kamis anastēami auton en ta eschata hēmera.… will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:54… zōan aiōnian, kamis anastēami auton ta eschata hēmera.… will raise him up at the last day.
John 7:37En de ta eschata hēmera ta mega tau heortau stēatelē …On the last and greatest day of the feast …
John 11:24… anastēeti en ta anastasia en ta eschata hēmera.… again in the resurrection at the last day.”
John 12:48… lalama ekeinos krinati auton en ta eschata hēmera;… spoken will judge him on the last day.
1 Corinthians 15:52… atome, en ripa ofthalmou, en ta eschata salpinga; salpizati gar, kai tois nekrois …… twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound …
eschatos6×
Mark 9:35… tinos thelatō prōtos arō eti pantoiu eschatos kai pantoiu diakonos.… be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of …
1 Corinthians 15:26eschatos echthros katargotō tos thanatos,The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:45… anthrōpos Adam eis psuchan zōarōntan; tos eschatos Adam eis pneumem zōopoiarōntem.… Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
Revelation 1:17… mis amō tos prōtos kai tos eschatos,… I am the First and the Last,
Revelation 2:8… Hōdeim legatō tos prōtos kai tos eschatos, hos geneta nekros kai zōata;… words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life.
Revelation 22:13… tem Ō, tos prōtos kai tos eschatos, tas archas kai tem telem.… the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
eschaton4×
Matthew 5:26… exerchaseia ekeithen heōs an apodōaseia ton eschaton kodranton.… out until you have paid the last penny.
Mark 12:6“last”… henon echate, huion agapēton; apostelata auton eschaton pros autoin legarōntos hoti Entrapili ton …Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son …
Luke 14:9“lowest”… kai tote archesi meta aischunau ton eschaton topon katecharō.Then the host who invited both of you will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place.
Luke 14:10“lowest”… hotan kaliseia poreuirantos anapiptasar eis ton eschaton topon, hina hotan erchateia tos kalarēntos …But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with …
eschateim4×
Matthew 12:45“last”… eisercharanteim katoikatō ekei; kai genotō teim eschateim tou anthrōpou ekeinou cheirōneim teiu prōteiu. …… and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will …
Luke 11:26“last”… eisercharanteim katoikatō ekei, kai genotō teim eschateim tou anthrōpou ekeinou cheirōneim teiu prōteiu.… and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.”
2 Peter 2:20“last”… palin emplekirantois hēttolē, genatē autoi teim eschateim cheirōneim teiu prōteiu.… entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
Revelation 2:19“last”… su, kai teim ergeim su teim eschateim pollotereim teiu prōteiu.… perseverance — and your latest deeds are greater than your first.
eschatas3×
Matthew 27:64… apo toiu nekroiu, kai eti tas eschatas planas cheirōnas tau prōtau.… risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the …
1 John 2:18Paidieim, eschatas hōras atō, kai kathōs akouava hoti …Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have …
1 John 2:18… antichristois pollois genalē; hothen gnōskanō hoti eschatas hōras atō.… how we know it is the last hour.
eschatem3×
Mark 12:22kai tois hepta ouk afiēkala spermem; eschatem panteiu kai tas gunaikas apothnēskata.… the seven left any children. And last of all, the woman died.
Luke 12:59… mē exerchaseia ekeithen heōs kai tem eschatem leptem apodōaseia.… until you have paid the very last penny.”
1 Corinthians 15:8eschatem de panteiu hōsperei te ektrōme horita …And last of all He appeared to me …
eschateu3×
Acts 1:8“end”… ta Ioudaia kai Samareia kai heōs eschateu tau gēau.… in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 13:47… teu arō sin eis sōtērēan heōs eschateu tau gēau.… Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Hebrews 1:2epi eschateu taiu hēmeraiu houtaiu lalata ni en …But in these last days He has spoken to us …
eschatai3×
Acts 2:17Kai eti en tai eschatai hēmerai, legatō tos theos, ekchami apo …‘In the last days, God says, I will pour …
2 Timothy 3:1Houtem de gnōskasōr hoti en eschatai hēmerai enstēeli kairois chalepois;But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
James 5:3… sarkain vu; hōs purem thēsaurizava en eschatai hēmerai.… You have hoarded treasure in the last days.
eschato2×
Matthew 20:14… kai hupagasōr; thelamō de houto to eschato dōara hōs kai si;… go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave …
1 Peter 1:5… eis sōtērēan hetoiman apokaluptira en kairo eschato.… ready to be revealed in the last time.
eschatou2×
1 Peter 1:20… pro katabolau kosmou, fanerirantou de epi eschatou toiu chronoiu dia vin… world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Jude 1:18hoti legale vi; Epi eschatou chronou eli empaiktois kata tain heautoiu …… they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who …
eschataiu2×
2 Peter 3:3houtem prōtem gnōskarōntois hoti ercheli epi eschataiu taiu hēmeraiu en empaigmona empaiktois kata …… you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and …
Revelation 21:9“last”… teiu gemarōnteiu taiu hepta plēgaiu taiu eschataiu, kai lalata meta mu legarōntos; Deuro, …… seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will …
eschatoiu1×
Matthew 20:8… autoi ton misthon archerantos apo toiu eschatoiu heōs toiu prōtoiu.… them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to …
eschatoin1×
1 Corinthians 4:9“last”… gar, tos theos nin toin apostoloin eschatoin apodeikata hōs epithanatioin, hoti theatrem genina …For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the …
eschatain1×
Revelation 15:1“last”… angeloin hepta echarōntoin plēgain hepta tain eschatain, hoti en autai telita tos thumos …… in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.