Greek word · G1485

ἔθος

ethos

custom

Custom, habit, usual practice; also an established religious or legal custom (Luke 1:9; Acts 6:14; 25:16).

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἔθος, -εος (-ους), τό

(ἔθω), [in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 14:16, Da TH Bel 15, 1Ma.10:89, 2Ma.11:25 13:4, 4Ma.18:5 א R* ;]

habit, custom; Luke 22:39, John 19:40, Acts 16:21 25:16, Hebrews 10:25; in Luke 1:9 Acts 6:14 15:1 21:21 26:3 28:17, almost in the narrower sense of law (Deiss., BS, 251 f.).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Hebrews 10:25

Range of meaning

Custom, habit, usual practice; also an established religious or legal custom (Luke 1:9; Acts 6:14; 25:16).

Against the English

KJV 'the manner of some', BSB 'as some have made a habit', WEB 'the custom of some'. All fine. 'Habit' is the most natural modern equivalent.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 22:39, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives 'as was his custom'; John 19:40, 'as is the burial custom of the Jews'. It describes a settled, repeated pattern.

From the study of Acts 6:14

Range of meaning

Custom, habit, usage. In Hellenistic Jewish and Lukan usage it also means the established ancestral laws and practices of a people, their constitution as a way of life.

Against the English

'Customs' to a modern ear sounds like folkways, traditions that could change without much loss. Here it means the practices commanded in the Torah that made Israel Israel.

How it drifted

Modern English separates 'law' from 'custom' (a custom is unwritten and optional). Ancient people saw ancestral custom as binding and sacred, especially when it went back to a divine lawgiver.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke-Acts uses it repeatedly for the Mosaic way of life: 'circumcised according to the custom of Moses' (Acts 15:1), 'not to walk according to the customs' (21:21), 'the customs of the fathers' (28:17), 'customs and controversies of the Jews' (26:3). Josephus speaks of the Jews' ancestral customs (ta patria ethē) as the laws they would die rather than break. 2 Maccabees 11:24–25 and 4 Maccabees 18:5 use similar language for the ancestral law under Seleucid pressure.

From the study of Acts 15:1

Range of meaning

A habit, a usage or established custom. Of a people, it meant their ancestral practices, the inherited way of life that defined them, often with the force of law. Luke uses it more than any other New Testament writer for Jewish practice: the priestly custom (Luke 1:9), the feast custom (Luke 2:42), 'the customs Moses handed down to us' (Acts 6:14), 'not to walk according to the customs' (21:21), 'the customs of our fathers' (28:17).

Against the English

Modern 'custom' suggests tradition or etiquette, something you can drop without real loss. The KJV's 'manner of Moses' sounds even lighter. In Greek, 'the customs' of a people meant its ancestral laws and its identity.

How it drifted

Over time, English 'custom' narrowed toward social habit as distinct from law. Greek made no such sharp divide: a nation's ancestral customs were its constitution.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus often speaks of 'the ancestral customs' (τὰ πάτρια ἔθη) of the Jews as their laws, for example Antiquities 20.100 on Tiberius Alexander, who 'did not remain in the ancestral customs'. Greek historians use ἔθη for the binding customs of nations. The Vulgate translates it morem ('the custom').

Where it appears

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 1:9 ἔθος custom

    he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

    Here: The settled practice handed down among the priests. Luke likes this word for the inherited ways of Jewish life (Luke 2:42; Acts 6:14; 28:17). Here it covers how duties were shared out: by lot.

  2. Luke 2:42 ἔθος custom

    And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast.

  3. Luke 22:39 ἔθος custom

    Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.

    Here: Jesus' own regular practice during that week in Jerusalem: spending the night on the Mount of Olives. Because it was regular, it was predictable, and that is how Judas could find him (22:47).

John · 1

  1. John 19:40 ἔθος [the] custom

    So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

Acts · 7

  1. Acts 6:14 ἔθη customs

    For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

    Here: The ancestral practices of the Mosaic Law, such as circumcision, sacrifice, Sabbath, food and purity laws. This is the whole way of life given by the Law, not optional habits.

  2. Acts 15:1 ἔθει custom

    Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

    Here: 'By the custom', meaning the established, handed-down practice. For Luke, 'the customs of Moses' are Israel's ancestral, binding way of life, not optional habits.

  3. Acts 16:21 ἔθη customs

    by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”

  4. Acts 21:21 ἔθεσιν customs

    But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.

  5. Acts 25:16 ἔθος [the] custom

    I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.

  6. Acts 26:3 ἐθῶν customs

    especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently.

  7. Acts 28:17 ἔθεσιν customs

    After three days, he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 10:25 ἔθος [is the] custom

    Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

    Here: A settled pattern of behaviour, not a one-off absence. For some, staying away had already become their normal way of life.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.