Greek word · G1622

ἐκτός

ektos

outside/except

Ektos means 'outside, apart from'. So the phrase means 'outside the body', not involving the body.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

1. outside , opposite to ἐντός:

2. as preposition with genitive outside, out of, far from , with genitive, (Homer): outside of, free from , (Herdotus Historicus), attic; ἐκτὸς ἐλπίδος beyond hope, Lat. praeter spem, (Sophocles Tragicus)

3. of Time, beyond , (Herdotus Historicus)

4. except , ἐκτὸς ὀλίγων (Xenophon Historicus)

5. absolute, τὰ ἐκτός external things , (Euripides)

6. with Verbs of motion, ῥίπτειν ἐκτός to throw out , (Sophocles Tragicus), etc. (ML)

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 1 Corinthians 6:18

Range of meaning

Ektos means 'outside, apart from'. So the phrase means 'outside the body', not involving the body.

Against the English

KJV 'without the body' uses 'without' in its old sense, 'outside'. Modern readers may hear 'lacking a body'. BSB, ESV, NIV and NASB insert 'other' ('every other sin'), so the line becomes Paul's own comparison. WEB puts the clause in quotation marks as a Corinthian saying. NLT turns it into a comparison of degree: no other sin affects the body 'so clearly'.

How it drifted

The word 'other' is not in the Greek. It is a translator's choice to smooth over a statement that would otherwise seem to contradict obvious facts. Gluttony and drunkenness involve the body too.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul quotes Corinthian slogans elsewhere in this letter and then corrects them: 6:12 'All things are permitted for me'; 6:13 'Food for the stomach and the stomach for food'; 7:1 'It is good for a man not to touch a woman'; 8:1 'We all have knowledge'.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 15:27

Range of meaning

As an adverb it means "outside". As a preposition with the genitive it means "outside of, apart from, except".

Against the English

BSB and NIV turn it into a clause: "does not include". KJV, WEB and ESV say "excepted". All are accurate. "Outside of" also keeps the spatial picture of God standing outside the set of things under Christ.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Corinthians 6:18 ("outside the body"). 2 Corinthians 12:2 ("whether in the body or outside the body"). 1 Corinthians 14:5 and 15:2 ("unless", in the combination ektos ei mē). Common in Hellenistic Greek.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 23:26 ἐκτὸς outside

    Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

    Here: "The outside": the outer surface, the part people see. V. 25 used the near-synonym exōthen for it, and v. 27 applies the same pair to tombs that look beautiful from outside.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 26:22 ἐκτὸς other

    But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:

    Here: "Outside of" or "beyond." His teaching stays inside the limits of what Scripture already said.

1 Corinthians · 4

  1. 1 Corinthians 6:18 ἐκτὸς outside

    Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

    Here: 'Outside of'. The sin is located outside the body, or at least does not involve the body in the way sexual union does.

  2. 1 Corinthians 14:5 ἐκτὸς except

    I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be edified.

  3. 1 Corinthians 15:2 ἐκτὸς unless

    By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

    Here: Together with the next two words it forms the set phrase ektos ei mē, 'unless.'

  4. 1 Corinthians 15:27 ἐκτὸς [is] excepted

    For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him.

    Here: "Outside of" or "except". God stands outside the "all things" that are subjected. He is not one of the things put under Christ.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 12:2 ἐκτὸς out of

    I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows.

    Here: 'Outside (the) body': the possibility that the inner self or spirit was taken while the body stayed behind.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 5:19 ἐκτὸς unless

    Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

    Here: Literally "outside". Here it begins the exception clause.

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