What does ἀλλήλων (allḗlōn) mean in the Bible?
Allēlōn is a reciprocal pronoun meaning one another or each other. Its force is carried by the action people direct mutually.
Greek · G240
ἀλλήλων
One another
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ἀλλήλων G240
Pronunciation allḗlōn
What does ἀλλήλων (allḗlōn) mean in the Bible?
Allēlōn is a reciprocal pronoun meaning one another or each other. Its force is carried by the action people direct mutually.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀλλήλων (G240) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G240?
The BSB source-word alignment has 100 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include one another (64), each other (5), - (4), . . . (3), themselves (3).
Where does ἀλλήλων (allḗlōn) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:10. Its strongest book concentrations include John (15), Romans (14), Luke (11), Acts (8).
What This Word Actually Means
Allēlōn is a reciprocal pronoun meaning one another or each other. Its force is carried by the action people direct mutually. Jesus warns that under pressure people will betray and hate one another. He commands disciples to wash one another's feet, embodying humble service. Paul tells believers to stop judging one another and instead avoid placing a stumbling block in a sibling's path.
He prays that love will increase toward one another and everyone. Revelation depicts rebellious inhabitants rejoicing and exchanging gifts with one another over the prophets' deaths. The pronoun does not make mutuality automatically good. It can intensify betrayal, judgment, love, service, or shared hostility.
How the Bible Uses It
Allēlōn marks reciprocal action within a group. People betray and celebrate evil together, but disciples also serve, refuse harmful judgment, and abound in love. The verb and moral setting determine what mutuality accomplishes.
- Matt.24.10
At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,
Matthew 24:10 says many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another amid tribulation and deception. Community bonds can unravel when allegiance to Jesus becomes costly.
- John.13.14
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
John 13:14 says that if the Lord and Teacher washed the disciples' feet, they also ought to wash one another's feet. Jesus' enacted humility establishes a pattern of mutual service.
- Rom.14.13
Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
Romans 14:13 tells believers not to judge one another but to decide never to put an obstacle or stumbling block before a brother or sister. Mutual responsibility protects conscience amid disputed practices.
- 1Thess.3.12
And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
First Thessalonians 3:12 prays that the Lord will cause love to increase and overflow for one another and for everyone. Mutual church love expands outward rather than becoming a closed circle.
- Rev.11.10
And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.
Revelation 11:10 shows earth-dwellers rejoicing, celebrating, and sending gifts to one another over the witnesses' deaths. Reciprocity can reinforce collective rebellion and moral blindness.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It one another 64× Matthew 24:10, Mark 4:41, Mark 8:16, Mark 9:50
each other 5× Luke 24:14, Luke 24:32, Acts 7:26, 1 Corinthians 7:5
- 4× Matthew 24:10, Luke 23:12, Galatians 5:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:11
. . . 3× Mark 9:34, Luke 24:17, Acts 21:6
themselves 3× Mark 15:31, Luke 20:14, John 6:52
to one another 3× Luke 7:32, Romans 13:8, Ephesians 5:21
one another’s 2× John 13:14, Galatians 6:2
to each other 2× Galatians 5:17, James 5:16
[and] their 1× Romans 2:15
[themselves] 1× Acts 28:25
another 1× Romans 12:5
company 1× Acts 15:39
each other’s 1× Romans 1:12
mutual 1× Romans 14:19
of one another 1× Ephesians 4:25
one another [ there ] 1× Acts 19:38
one another {on} 1× Hebrews 10:24
one from another 1× Matthew 25:32
others 1× Philippians 2:3
together 1× Acts 4:15
toward one another 1× 1 Peter 5:5
yourselves 1× John 6:43
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 24:10 ἀλλήλους to - Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 24:10 ἀλλήλους to one another Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 25:32 ἀλλήλων to one from another Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Genitive Masculine Plural Mark 4:41 ἀλλήλους to one another Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural Mark 8:16 ἀλλήλους to one another Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural Mark 9:34 ἀλλήλους to . . . Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural Mark 9:50 ἀλλήλοις to one another Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Dative Masculine Plural Mark 15:31 ἀλλήλους to themselves Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 2:15 ἀλλήλους to one another Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 4:36 ἀλλήλους to one another Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 24:10
Aligned rows 100
Books represented 21
Matthew 3 Mark 5 Luke 11 John 15 Acts 8 Romans 14 1 Corinthians 4 2 Corinthians 1 Galatians 7 Ephesians 4 Philippians 1 Colossians 2 1 Thessalonians 5 2 Thessalonians 1 Titus 1 Hebrews 1 James 4 1 Peter 4 1 John 6 2 John 1 Revelation 2
Source forms
ἀλλήλους 67x allēlous Matthew 24:10, Mark 4:41, Mark 8:16, Mark 9:34
ἀλλήλων 19x allēlōn Matthew 25:32, Luke 23:12, John 5:44, John 6:43
ἀλλήλοις 13x allēlois Mark 9:50, Luke 7:32, John 13:35, Acts 19:38
Ἀλλήλων 1x Allēlōn Galatians 6:2
Parsing patterns
Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural 67x Matthew 24:10, Mark 4:41, Mark 8:16, Mark 9:34
Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Genitive Masculine Plural 20x Matthew 25:32, Luke 23:12, John 5:44, John 6:43
Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Dative Masculine Plural 12x Mark 9:50, Luke 7:32, John 13:35, Acts 19:38
Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun - Dative Neuter Plural 1x Galatians 5:17
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not call a practice healthy merely because everyone in a group agrees or participates.
- Do not use one-another commands to demand access, silence boundaries, or bypass protection from abuse.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not call a practice healthy merely because everyone in a group agrees or participates.
- Do not use one-another commands to demand access, silence boundaries, or bypass protection from abuse.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Reciprocal pronoun expressing mutual action between two or more parties, never subjects acting alone
Strong's G240
Lexical occurrences 100 verses Greek text appearances 100 times 16 shown below Word forms 4 forms 100 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Ephesians 4:25-32 Source Gloss
one another
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 100 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 24:10 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους allhlouv
one another
Read verse Matthew 24:10 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους. allhlouv
one another
Read verse Matthew 25:32 Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλων, allhlwn
one another
Read verse Mark 4:41 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους, allhlouv
one another
Read verse Mark 8:16 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους, allhlouv
one another
Read verse Mark 9:34 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους allhlouv
one another
Read verse Mark 9:50 Dative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλοις. allhloiv
one another
Read verse Mark 15:31 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους allhlouv
one another
Read verse Luke 2:15 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους, allhlouv
one another
Read verse Luke 4:36 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους, allhlouv
one another
Read verse Luke 6:11 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους, allhlouv
one another
Read verse Luke 7:32 Dative Plural Neuter
ἀλλήλοις, allhloiv
one another
Read verse Luke 8:25 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους, allhlouv
one another
Read verse Luke 12:1 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους, allhlouv
one another
Read verse Luke 23:12 Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλων· allhlwn
one another
Read verse Luke 24:14 Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀλλήλους allhlouv
one another
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 4 Aligned forms 100 Case pattern Accusative (67) Number pattern Plural (100)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Matt 25:32 · Luke 23:12 · John 5:44 · John 6:43 · John 11:56 · John 13:14 · John 16:19 · Acts 15:39 · Rom 2:15 · Rom 12:5 · 1 Cor 12:25 · Gal 5:15 · Gal 6:2 · Eph 4:2 · Eph 4:25 · Col 3:13 20×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Mark 9:50 · Luke 7:32 · John 13:35 · Acts 19:38 · Rom 1:12 · Rom 15:5 · Gal 5:13 · Gal 5:26 · Eph 5:21 · Jas 5:16 · 1 Pet 5:5 · Rev 11:10 12×
Dative · Plural · Neuter Gal 5:17 1×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 24:10 · Mark 4:41 · Mark 8:16 · Mark 9:34 · Mark 15:31 · Luke 2:15 · Luke 4:36 · Luke 6:11 · Luke 8:25 · Luke 12:1 · Luke 20:14 · Luke 24:14 · Luke 24:17 · Luke 24:32 · John 4:33 · John 6:52 67×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Mutual ethical conduct among believers, speaking truth and showing forgiveness reciprocally
Reciprocal bearing with patience and love to maintain unity in the church community
Mutual fulfillment of the law through loving neighbors reciprocally, summarizing all commandments
Believers welcoming and accepting each other mutually as Christ accepted them
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 100 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀλλήλων is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Allēlōn makes Christian ethics irreducibly relational. Under persecution and deception, people may betray and hate each other, proving that proximity does not guarantee fidelity. Jesus gives His disciples a contrary pattern by taking the servant's place and commanding mutual foot-washing. Paul applies that posture to disputed matters: stop sitting in judgment and act so a sibling's conscience is not harmed.
He also prays for love that overflows beyond the church. Revelation supplies the dark mirror, a society bonding through celebration of faithful witnesses' deaths. Churches are always forming reciprocal habits. The question is whether those habits imitate the self-giving Lord or amplify fear, pride, and cruelty. Mutual care must remain truthful, holy, and open toward the neighbor beyond the group.
Anchor passage
John.13.14
Doctrinal connections
- Christology: the Lord and Teacher defines greatness through self-humbling service.
- Discipleship: Jesus' followers embody His pattern in concrete care for one another.
- Perseverance: pressure can turn communities toward betrayal and hatred unless allegiance to Christ endures.
- Conscience: mutual responsibility limits freedom for the spiritual good of a sibling.
- Love and mission: church love should overflow toward everyone rather than become tribal.
- Human rebellion: groups can normalize evil through mutual celebration and reinforcement.
Allēlōn is a reciprocal pronoun, usually plural, meaning one another or each other. It supplies reciprocal participants while the governing verb and context provide the action and moral content.
From Old to New Testament
Covenant law repeatedly governs neighbor-to-neighbor conduct, wisdom warns how companions reinforce good or evil, and prophets condemn communities united in injustice. Jesus forms a people of reciprocal love and service.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain