Greek word · G1838

ἕξις

hexis

habit/practice

From echō (have, hold), so 'a having'. It means a state, condition, or settled disposition, especially a stable quality acquired over time. In Aristotle it is a technical term: virtues are hexeis, settled dispositions formed by repeated action (Nicomachean Ethics II).

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐξις, -εως, ἡ

(ἔχω), [in LXX, cf. Sir, prol.9 ;]

habit, use, experience: Hebrews 5:14.†

(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 5:14

Range of meaning

From echō (have, hold), so 'a having'. It means a state, condition, or settled disposition, especially a stable quality acquired over time. In Aristotle it is a technical term: virtues are hexeis, settled dispositions formed by repeated action (Nicomachean Ethics II). The repeated action itself is usually ethos, askēsis or gymnasia, not hexis.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'by reason of use', NASB 'because of practice', BSB/NIV/ESV 'constant use / constant practice'. All of these render it as a repeated activity. A few scholars and translations prefer 'by reason of their (mature) condition' or 'by habit'.

How it drifted

The 'use/practice' rendering goes back at least to the Latin and Reformation-era tradition (Vulgate pro consuetudine, 'by habit/custom'). It slid toward 'exercise' because 'trained' follows directly. J.A.L. Lee argued that this rests on a misunderstanding of the Greek word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Aristotle, Nic. Eth. 2.1–5: a hexis is a settled state formed by habituation. Sirach 30:14 (LXX) has hexis for a good bodily condition or constitution. Medical and philosophical writers used hexis for a person's physical or mental condition. Hebrews 5:14 is its only NT occurrence.

Where it appears

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 5:14 ἕξιν constant use

    But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.

    Here: In Greek usage this is a settled condition or stable disposition that a person has acquired, especially through training. Most translations render it as the practice that builds the condition ('constant use', 'practice'). Others render it as the condition itself ('because of their mature state'). See the debates.

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