noun · neuter
ethem
Strong’sG1485
a custom
stem eth-12 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books4 of 6 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
ἔθος means a custom, habit, or usage — something done regularly because it is the accepted or established practice 1234. It covers both a personal habit and a settled communal practice or way of doing things 13.
In some New Testament passages the word is used in a narrower sense, closer to a prescribed law or established rule rather than a mere personal habit 1.
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
** ἔθος, -εος (-ους), τό
(< ἔθω), [in LXX: Wi 14:16, Da TH Bel 15, I Mac 10:89, II Mac 11:25 13:4, IV Mac 18:5 א R*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1485 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saideth'-os
a usage (prescribed by habit or law)
Fromfrom G1486;
King Jamescustom, manner, be wont.
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
(ἔθω) custom, habit, ἔ. τὸ πρόσθε τοκήων (but probably falsa lectio for{ἦθος}) Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν ἔθει τῇ πόλει εἶναι to be the habit, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔ. ἐστίν τινι, with infinitive, Refs 4th c.BC+; ἔθος ἔχειν, with infinitive, Refs 1st c.AD+; ἔθει by habit, habitually, opposed to φύσει, Refs 4th c.BC+; δι᾽ ἔθος, opposed to ἐκ γενετῆς, Refs; ἐξ ἔθουςRefs 3rd c.AD+-, cf. Latin suesco; see at {βεσόν}.)
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 | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject or object direct | ethem3×ἔθος | etheim |
| of, belonging to genitive | etheu | etheiu1×ἐθῶν |
| to, for dative | ethe1×ἔθει | ethei2×ἔθεσιν |
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
ethe 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.
12 occurrences, every one of them listed
ethem“custom”subject or objectdirect singular3×
John 19:40… autem othoniei meta teiu arōmeiu, kathōs ethem atō toi Ioudaioi entafiazarō.… spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
Acts 25:16pros hoin apokrinima hoti ouk atō ethem Rōmaioi charizorō tinon anthrōpon prin ē …… that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before …
Hebrews 10:25mē enkataliparōntois tan episunagōgan heautoiu, kathōs ethem tinoi, alla parakalarōntois, kai tosoute mallon …… together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another …
ethe“custom”to, fordative singular1×
Acts 15:1… adelfoin hoti Ean mē peritemiveia te ethe te Mōusou, ouk dunovō sōzira.… you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
etheiu“customs”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
Acts 26:3… arōnton sin panteiu teiu kata Ioudaioin etheiu tē kai zētēmeiu; dio domō makrothumōs …… are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore …
ethei“customs”to, fordative plural2×
Acts 21:21… peritemarō autoin teim tekneim mēde tei ethei peripatarō.… circumcise their children or observe our customs.
Acts 28:17… enantiem poiarantos to lao ē tei ethei tei patrōei desmios ek Hierosolumeiu paradōima …… nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, I was taken …
ethem3×
Luke 1:9kata tem ethem tau hierateiau lanchanata teu thumiara eisercharantos …… chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the …
Luke 2:42… eteiu dōdeka, anabainarōntoiu autoiu kata tem ethem tau heortau… they went up according to the custom of the Feast.
Luke 22:39“custom”Kai exercharantos poreuita kata tem ethem eis tem Orem taiu Elaiaiu; akolouthala …Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.
etheim2×
Acts 6:14… ton topon houton kai allaxati teim etheim heim paradōata ni Mōusos.… destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
Acts 16:21kai katangelalō etheim heim ouk exestinatō ni paradechorō oude …by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans …