This/he/she/it
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Houtos is a Greek demonstrative that points to this person, this thing, these matters, or this statement in the surrounding discourse. It is a small word with large interpretive consequences because many theological sentences turn on what 'this' identifies.
Reader summary
Full entry for οὗτος (G3778) · Open the biblical lexicon
Houtos is a Greek demonstrative that points to this person, this thing, these matters, or this statement in the surrounding discourse. It is a small word with large interpretive consequences because many theological sentences turn on what 'this' identifies.
The BSB source-word alignment has 1,391 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include this (447), - (119), . . . (112), these things (97), these (76).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:20. Its strongest book concentrations include John (240), Acts (237), Luke (230), Matthew (149).
This entry includes 25 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Houtos is a Greek demonstrative that points to this person, this thing, these matters, or this statement in the surrounding discourse. It is a small word with large interpretive consequences because many theological sentences turn on what 'this' identifies. The heavenly voice says, 'This is My beloved Son.' John says, 'This is the verdict.' Jesus says, 'This is the will' of the One who sent Him.
Paul says salvation by grace through faith is not from ourselves, and John says, 'This is that testimony.' The word does not invite readers to choose the doctrine they prefer. It asks them to track the sentence, the referent, and sometimes the whole explanation that follows. Houtos trains readers to ask what the text is pointing at before they build conclusions.
Houtos points within the discourse to a person, statement, matter, or summary. Its theological value is not in a hidden meaning of the pronoun, but in the precision it demands when Scripture identifies the Son, verdict, will, gift, testimony, or ethical summary in view.
And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
The heavenly voice points to Jesus and identifies Him as the beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased.
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
John's phrase 'this is the verdict' points forward to the explanation of light, darkness, and human love for evil deeds.
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
Jesus uses 'this is the will' to identify the Father's will concerning those given to the Son and raised at the last day.
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Paul's 'this not from yourselves' must be read within the grace-through-faith salvation statement rather than isolated from the sentence.
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
John points to the testimony's content: God has given eternal life, and that life is in His Son.
In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
Jesus uses 'this is' language to summarize the Law and the Prophets in the ethical command to do to others as one would have them do.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Demonstrates proximity or immediacy; contrasts with ἐκεῖνος (that) as near versus distant.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 1,428 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
this, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
Read versethis, he, she, it
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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 10 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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 1,385 lexical occurrence verses.
οὗτος is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Houtos is pastorally important because careless handling of 'this' can bend a passage away from its own argument. In Matthew 3:17, the referent is the Son standing before the voice from heaven. In John 3:19, the referent is not a loose idea of judgment but the verdict explained in the following clause: light has come and people loved darkness. In Ephesians 2:8, the demonstrative sits inside Paul's salvation-by-grace statement and must be read in relation to the whole gift of salvation, not as an isolated grammar puzzle.
In 1 John 5:11, the testimony is not vague religious feeling but God's gift of eternal life in His Son. Houtos teaches readers that pronouns are not filler. They are handles that direct attention, and faithful teaching must follow where the handle points.
John.3.19
Houtos changes form by case, gender, and number, but its meaning depends on discourse reference. It may point backward, forward, or to a person present in the scene. Grammar can narrow the field, but the surrounding sentence and argument decide what the demonstrative identifies.
Scripture frequently uses pointing and identifying language to make revelation clear: this is the covenant sign, this is the word of the Lord, this is the way, this is the Son. The New Testament's demonstrative language continues that pattern by directing readers to God's own identifications. It is a humble word because it does not create the truth; it points to what God has said, shown, promised, or summarized in the text.
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