ἕως

From the study of John 5:17

Range of meaning

'Until now', 'up to the present moment', 'to this very day'. The phrase means continuous action stretching from some starting point up to now. It does not by itself say the action will stop.

Against the English

KJV 'hitherto' is accurate but archaic, and some readers take it as 'previously' (implying God has now stopped). NIV and NLT 'always' keep the sense of continuity but lose 'up to now'. That phrase points back to Genesis 2 and possibly forward to a completion still to come.

How it drifted

'Hitherto' has fallen out of everyday English, and 'always' generalizes.

Used elsewhere in the period

The phrase recurs in John: 2:10 ('you have kept the good wine until now'), 16:24 ('until now you have asked nothing'). In both places it means right up to the present moment.

From the study of Matthew 22:26

Range of meaning

ἕως as a preposition with the genitive means 'until, as far as, up to', in time or in a series. With a number it means 'all the way through' that many (compare Matthew 18:21-22, ἕως ἑπτάκις, 'up to seven times').

Against the English

Nearly every English version says 'unto/to/down to the seventh', using the ordinal. The Greek has the cardinal number with a plural article: 'up to the seven'. The meaning comes out almost the same, but the Greek stresses the whole group: all seven, without exception.

Used elsewhere in the period

ἕως with a genitive number is ordinary Koine Greek usage. The Latin Vulgate turns it into an ordinal (usque ad septimum, 'up to the seventh'), and most later translations follow that.

From the study of Matthew 26:38

Range of meaning

Literally "as far as death". In biblical idiom this measures intensity: sorrow so great it could kill, or so heavy that death seems preferable. It can also mean faithfulness or endurance "until death" (e.g. Sirach 4:28, "strive for the truth unto death").

Against the English

KJV "even unto death" and ESV "even to death" are literal and leave the sense open. NIV, NASB, NLT and BSB, "to the point of death", rightly take it as a measure of how intense the grief is.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Jonah 4:9: Jonah says sphodra lelypēmai egō heōs thanatou, "I am exceedingly grieved, unto death". Here grief and the wish to die are joined. Sirach 37:2: "Is it not a grief unto death (lypē heōs thanatou) when a companion and friend turns into an enemy?" Compare Elijah's "take my life" (1 Kings 19:4).