What does ἀλλότριος (allótrios) mean in the Bible?
Ἀλλότριος means belonging to another, foreign, or not one's own. Paul uses the adjective to define boundaries of responsibility and authority.
Greek · G245
ἀλλότριος
Another’s
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ἀλλότριος G245
Pronunciation allótrios
What does ἀλλότριος (allótrios) mean in the Bible?
Ἀλλότριος means belonging to another, foreign, or not one's own. Paul uses the adjective to define boundaries of responsibility and authority.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀλλότριος (G245) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G245?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of others (2), others (2), . . . (1), a strange (1), a stranger (1).
Where does ἀλλότριος (allótrios) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 17:25. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (3), 2 Corinthians (2), John (2), Matthew (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Ἀλλότριος means belonging to another, foreign, or not one's own. Paul uses the adjective to define boundaries of responsibility and authority. First Timothy 5 warns Timothy not to share in the sins of others through hasty recognition. Second Corinthians 10 rejects boasting in another person's labors beyond the field God assigned. Romans 14 asks who one believer is to judge another's household servant, since that servant answers to the Lord who is able to make him stand.
The word does not eliminate mutual correction, church discipline, or accountability. It confronts appropriation, presumptuous judgment, and responsibility carelessly assumed or imposed. Christian leaders honor what God has entrusted to others and remember that every servant finally belongs to Christ.
How the Bible Uses It
Paul uses ἀλλότριος for what belongs to another. The adjective restrains complicity, stolen credit, and judgment that forgets the Lord's ownership of His servants.
- 1Tim.5.22
Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
Timothy must avoid becoming implicated in others' sins through premature endorsement, while maintaining his own purity.
- 2Cor.10.15
Neither do we boast beyond our limits in the labors of others. But we hope that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you will greatly increase as well,
Paul refuses to claim another worker's labor as his own or boast outside the sphere God has measured to him.
- Rom.14.4
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
The disputed-practice servant belongs to another Master, the Lord, which limits contemptuous judgment while preserving divine accountability.
Passage contextBook context
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 of others 2× 2 Corinthians 10:15, 1 Timothy 5:22
others 2× Matthew 17:25, Matthew 17:26
. . . 1× John 10:5
a strange 1× Acts 7:6
a stranger 1× John 10:5
another man’s 1× 2 Corinthians 10:16
foreign 1× Hebrews 11:34
in a foreign [country] 1× Hebrews 11:9
of another 1× Luke 16:12
someone [else’s] 1× Romans 15:20
someone else’s 1× Romans 14:4
that is not his own 1× Hebrews 9:25
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 17:25 ἀλλοτρίων to others Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural Matthew 17:26 ἀλλοτρίων to others Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural Luke 16:12 ἀλλοτρίῳ to of another Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular John 10:5 ἀλλοτρίῳ to a stranger Adjective - Dative Masculine Singular John 10:5 ἀλλοτρίων to . . . Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural Acts 7:6 ἀλλοτρίᾳ to a strange Adjective - Dative Feminine Singular Romans 14:4 ἀλλότριον to someone else’s Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular Romans 15:20 ἀλλότριον to someone [else’s] Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular 2 Corinthians 10:15 ἀλλοτρίοις to of others Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 2 Corinthians 10:16 ἀλλοτρίῳ to another man’s Adjective - Dative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 17:25
Aligned rows 14
Books represented 8
Matthew 2 Luke 1 John 2 Acts 1 Romans 2 2 Corinthians 2 1 Timothy 1 Hebrews 3
Source forms
ἀλλοτρίῳ 4x allotriō Luke 16:12, John 10:5, 2 Corinthians 10:16, Hebrews 9:25
ἀλλοτρίων 4x allotriōn Matthew 17:25, Matthew 17:26, John 10:5, Hebrews 11:34
ἀλλότριον 2x allotrion Romans 14:4, Romans 15:20
ἀλλοτρίᾳ 1x allotria Acts 7:6
ἀλλοτρίαις 1x allotriais 1 Timothy 5:22
ἀλλοτρίαν 1x allotrian Hebrews 11:9
ἀλλοτρίοις 1x allotriois 2 Corinthians 10:15
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural 4x Matthew 17:25, Matthew 17:26, John 10:5, Hebrews 11:34
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular 2x Romans 14:4, Romans 15:20
Adjective - Dative Masculine Singular 2x John 10:5, 2 Corinthians 10:16
Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular 2x Luke 16:12, Hebrews 9:25
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular 1x Hebrews 11:9
Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural 1x 1 Timothy 5:22
Adjective - Dative Feminine Singular 1x Acts 7:6
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 1x 2 Corinthians 10:15
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Clarify whether the boundary concerns ownership, calling, conscience, credit, or complicity before applying “another's.”
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use ἀλλότριος to forbid all correction or church accountability; Romans 14 addresses judgment in disputed practices under one Lord.
- Do not use leadership responsibility to claim ownership of another believer's conscience, labor, or calling.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Denotes what belongs to another person or is foreign/alien, emphasizing outsider status or estrangement.
Strong's G245
Lexical occurrences 14 verses Greek text appearances 14 times Word forms 8 forms 14 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 16:1-13 Source Gloss
another’s
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
14 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 17:25 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀλλοτρίων; allotriwn
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Matthew 17:26 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀλλοτρίων. allotriwn
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Luke 16:12 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
ἀλλοτρίῳ allotriw
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse John 10:5 Adjective Dative Singular Masculine
ἀλλοτρίῳ allotriw
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse John 10:5 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀλλοτρίων allotriwn
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Acts 7:6 Adjective Dative Singular Feminine
ἀλλοτρίᾳ, allotria
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Romans 14:4 Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀλλότριον allotrion
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Romans 15:20 Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀλλότριον allotrion
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse 2 Corinthians 10:15 Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
ἀλλοτρίοις allotrioiv
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse 2 Corinthians 10:16 Adjective Dative Singular Masculine
ἀλλοτρίῳ allotriw
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse 1 Timothy 5:22 Adjective Dative Plural Feminine
ἀλλοτρίαις· allotriaiv
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Hebrews 9:25 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
ἀλλοτρίῳ· allotriw
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Hebrews 11:9 Adjective Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀλλοτρίαν, allotrian
belonging to another person, foreign
Read verse Hebrews 11:34 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀλλοτρίων. allotriwn
belonging to another person, foreign
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 8 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 8 Aligned forms 14 Case pattern Dative (7) Number pattern Singular (8)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Matt 17:25 · Matt 17:26 · John 10:5 · Heb 11:34 4×
Dative · Singular · Neuter Luke 16:12 · Heb 9:25 2×
Dative · Singular · Masculine John 10:5 · 2 Cor 10:16 2×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Acts 7:6 1×
Dative · Plural · Masculine 2 Cor 10:15 1×
Dative · Plural · Feminine 1 Tim 5:22 1×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Rom 14:4 · Rom 15:20 2×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Heb 11:9 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Property or possessions belonging to someone else, not one's own
Foreign people or those outside one's own group, alien to one's nation
Land or country that is strange and not one's native homeland
Territory belonging to others, foreign land where one is an alien
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀλλότριος 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
The gospel gives believers real responsibility without making them owners of everyone else's calling. Timothy's choices can connect him to another person's public ministry and sin, so restraint is necessary. Paul refuses to build his reputation on work God assigned to another servant. Romans 14 locates conscience disputes under the lordship of Christ: believers may reason, teach, and admonish, but they may not act as the ultimate master of another servant.
These boundaries protect both accountability and humility. Churches should not use “not my responsibility” to ignore clear duties of love, discipline, or protection. They should also resist leaders who appropriate labor, demand ownership of consciences, or treat people as extensions of a personal platform. Ἀλλότριος reminds every servant that gifts, fields, reputations, and fellow believers remain under the Lord's authority.
Anchor passage
1Tim.5.22
Doctrinal connections
- 1 Timothy 5:17-25, public recognition, responsibility, and purity
- 2 Corinthians 10:12-18, measured fields and boasting in the Lord
- Romans 14:1-12, conscience and accountability to one Lord
- Deuteronomy 19:14, respecting another's boundary
- 1 Kings 21:1-19, seizing another's inheritance
- 1 Peter 4:15, avoiding meddling in another's affairs
Ἀλλότριος is an adjective from ἄλλος, another, and commonly means belonging to another, foreign, or alien. Its force depends on the noun or implied possession: another's servant, labor, sin, property, or field.
From Old to New Testament
The law protects inheritance and property from seizure, while kings are judged for taking what belongs to others. Under Christ, leaders honor assigned fields, believers recognize one Master, and love respects boundaries without abandoning responsibility.
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