Matthew 1:19

αὐτός The True Self את

The pronoun αὐτός, used "inordinately" throughout the New Testament, is a word that fundamentally denotes one’s true self, often distinguishing the soul from the body (Od. 11.602) or, conversely, the body from the soul (Il. 1.4). It functions reflexively as “self” and, in oblique cases, as a personal pronoun (“him, her, it”).

It emphasizes individual identity in contrast to others, such as a king vs. his subjects (Il. 6.18), Zeus vs. the other gods (Il. 8.4), or a warrior vs. his weapons (Il. 1.47).

With the article (ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό), it signifies "the same" or "the very one."

In prose, αὐτός can appear without the article for proper names (αὐτὸς Μένων, X. An. 2.1.5) and is used impersonally in phrases like αὐτὸ δείξει ("the result will show," Cratin. 177). It also expresses volition (“of one’s own accord,” Il. 17.254) or personal presence (“in person,” D. 1.2).

The most frequent noun word used in the NT is not "God" (θεός), found 1,317 times, but rather αὐτός self, found over 5,600 times in all its forms. The only words more frequent are "and" (9,000 times) and "the" (20,000 times). Similarly, and of no small consequence, the most frequent word in the Old Testament Hebrew is את the eternal self, occuring over 11,000 times.

In ancient Greek, αὐτό—specifically the neuter singular form of αὐτός—is the only appropriate and attested lexical item to express the metaphysical concept of "the self", especially in Platonic and post-Platonic philosophical discourse.

1. Philosophical Usage:

   • In Plato and later authors, expressions like τὸ αὐτό ("the selfsame") or αὐτὸ τὸ ὄν ("being itself") represent the essence or pure identity of a thing, distinct from its accidents or manifestations.

   • Notably, in Plato's dialogues, constructions such as:

     • αὐτὸ τὸ ἀγαθόν – “the Good itself”

     • αὐτὸ τὸ καλόν – “the Beautiful itself”
       are paradigmatic examples of Forms or Ideas, i.e., entities existing in themselves and through themselves — the metaphysical “Selves” of their kind.

2. Semantic Range:

   • While αὐτός generally functions as a third-person pronoun or intensifier, its neuter form, especially when used absolutely or with the definite article, becomes substantive and ontologically loaded:

     • τὸ αὐτό = "the same", "the selfsame", "the self (in essence)"

     • αὐτῷ "to self" (dative neuter is identical to dative masculine)

   • This contrasts with ἑαυτοῦ, which is grammatically reflexive and bound to a subject, not abstract or metaphysical.

3. Terminological Precedence:

   • Later philosophical traditions (Neoplatonic, Stoic, etc.) frequently use forms of αὐτός to express inner identity, core being, or metaphysical selfhood.

(cf. LSJ αὐτός)

λά̄̆θρᾳ (adv.), from λανθάνω, means “furtively, on the sly.” Used frequently in Homeric and Classical texts

• Od. 17.80 (ἐμὲ λάθρῃ κτείναντες — “killing me by treachery”)

• Il. 19.165 (λάθρῃ γυῖα βαρύνεται — “little by little my limbs become heavy”)

• Hdt. 4.79.5 (αὐτούς … λάθρῃ ἐπὶ πύργον κατεῖσε — “he secretly brought them up on the tower”)

• Xen. Hell. 2.4.35 (λάθρᾳ πέμπων — “sending [a message] on the sly”)