The Greek αὐτός and the Hebrew את (’et) are deceptively modest lexemes that, upon closer scrutiny, disclose an underlying metaphysics of selfhood. Both terms serve critical grammatical functions in their respective languages, yet their semantic range and frequency suggest a deeper ontological and phenomenological register. In what follows, I argue that both terms, though distinct in function and form, participate in a shared conceptual architecture: the affirmation of intrinsic identity and the articulation of the self as both subject and object of being.
I. Greek αὐτός: The Reflex and Revelation of the Self
In classical and post-classical Greek, αὐτός operates not only as a third-person pronoun but as an intensifier, isolating the true or essential self of a given subject. In Homer, αὐτός often distinguishes body from soul or highlights the person themselves as opposed to their attributes or possessions (Il. 1.4; Od. 11.602). With the definite article, τὸ αὐτό, it shifts from pronoun to substantive metaphysical expression—”the selfsame” or “that which is identical in itself.”
In Platonic discourse, this shift is crucial. Consider the following paradigmatic examples:
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αὐτὸ τὸ ἀγαθόν – “the Good itself”
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αὐτὸ τὸ καλόν – “the Beautiful itself”
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αὐτὸ τὸ ὄν – “Being itself”
Here, the neuter form αὐτό functions not as a stand-in for a referent, but as the epistemic and ontological anchor of the Form (εἶδος), standing in for a transcendent but intelligible essence. Such usage implies that to name the self is to invoke identity in its purest mode, uncontaminated by contingency or relation.
This metaphysical usage parallels the concrete semantic extension in compounds such as:
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αὐτόπτης (autos + optēs): “self-seer” or “eyewitness”
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αὐτοψία: “seeing for oneself,” hence autopsy or first-hand perception
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αὐτοκίνητος: “self-moving”
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αὐτόνομος: “self-governing”
Each compound illustrates a movement from interiority to agency: the self as seer, mover, governor. In this sense, αὐτός is not merely reflexive but phenomenological: it marks the self not only as an object of reference but as the ground of appearance and volition.
The frequent appearance of αὐτός in the New Testament—surpassing even θεός (“God”) in lexical count by thousands—further lends to its theological and anthropological weight. Its presence supports a textual anthropology in which the individual self, rather than a diffuse collective identity (e.g. a subordinate to a political party, company of people banded together, tribe, culture, nation, affinity group, etc.), is the locus of response, transformation, and destiny:
“And you, yourselves are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy culture/ethnos, a people…”
(1 Peter 2:9 RBT)
“Honor all, agape-love the Brotherhood…”
(1 Peter 2:17 RBT)
II. Hebrew Pronoun את (’et): The Mark of Directed Presence
Read The Eternal Sign of Self. In Hebrew grammar, את is traditionally shrugged off as a direct object marker, as syntactically pointing to the receiver of a verb’s action. However, its etymology—“apparently contracted from ’owth” (Strong’s H853)—offers a different perspective. The root ’owth connotes self and selfhood:
“Apparent contracted from ‘owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self“
(cf. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, emp. add.)
“pr. a demonstrative pronoun, self… This primary strongly demonstrative power which may be generally expressed by the Gr. αὐτός…”
(cf. Gesenius את, emp. add.)
Thus, even when left silent in translation, את functions at minimum as a demonstrative intensifier: not merely indicating “what” is acted upon, but who—that which stands in full (eternal) presence before the agent. In this respect, את resembles the phenomenological role of αὐτός: not a passive object, but a revealed self, encountered in directed relation.
Moreover, its vast frequency in the Tanakh—exceeding 11,000 uses!—powerfully suggests that את is not syntactic ornament but a semantic marker of essential presence. In the narrative structure of Hebrew, the object of action is not grammatically isolated, but ontologically disclosed: a presence that commands recognition and bears identity.
III. Selfhood in Language: A Shared Metaphysics
The semantic consonance between αὐτός and את lies in their ontological function: each word, in its own linguistic system, serves to index the presence of a self—not merely a grammatical agent or object, but an entity capable of appearing, acting, or being acted upon as itself.
In the Greek tradition, this self may be self-seeing (αὐτό-πτης) or self-moving (αὐτο-κίνητος)—a subject constituted through inward awareness and outward action. It may be self-determined (αὐτο-προαίρετος) or self-contained (αὐτο-προαίρετος) or self-written (αὐτό-γρᾰφος autograph). In the Hebrew, the את is the one to whom action is directed—the revealed identity encountered in covenantal or volitional engagement.
What emerges is a shared ancient intuition: to exist is to be known as self, to be marked either through reflexive designation (αὐτός) or through demonstrative encounter (את). Both function as syntactic vessels of metaphysical insight, pointing to a deeper anthropology in which the self is both the ground of agency and the goal of recognition.
Though arising in distinct linguistic and cultural worlds, Greek αὐτός and Hebrew את converge upon a singular philosophical axis: the irreducibility of the self. Whether through the reflexive clarity of αὐτόπτης, the metaphysical depth of τὸ αὐτό, or the demonstrative intensity of את, these terms offer a grammar of presence—a language of selfhood articulated in grammar, realized in thought, and instantiated in the living subject. Let the reader understand!