ἔσχατος

ἔσχατος — éschatos

ἔσχατος, ἐσχάτῃ, ἔσχατον (from ἔχω, ἔσχον adhering, clinging close; (according to others (Curtius, § 583 b.) superlative from ἐξ, the outermost)), the Sept. for אַחֲרון, אַחֲרִית; (from Homer down); extreme, last in time or in place;

1. joined to nouns: τόπος, the last in a series of places (A. V. lowest), Luk 14:9 f; in a temporal succession, the last: ἔσχατος ἐχθρός, that remains after the rest have been conquered, 1Co 15:26; κοδράντης, that remains when the rest have one after another been spent, Mat 5:26; so λεπτόν, Luk 12:59; ἡ ἐσχάτῃ σάλπιγξ, the trumpet after which no other will sound, 1Co 15:52, cf. Meyer ad loc.; αἱ ἔσχαται πληγαί, Rev 15:1; Rev 21:9; ἡ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρα τῆς ἑορτῆς, Joh 7:37. When two are contrasted it is equivalent to the latter, opposed to ὁ πρῶτος the former (Deu 24:1-4): thus τά ἔργα (opposed to τῶν πρώτων), Rev 2:19; ἡ πλάνη, Mat 27:64 (where the meaning is, 'lest the latter deception, caused by the false story of his resurrection, do more harm than the former, which was about to produce belief in a false Messiah'); ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδάμ, the latter Adam, i. e. the Messiah (see Ἀδάμ, 1), 1Co 15:45. ἡ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρα, the last day (of all days), denotes that with which the present age (הַזֶּה הָעולָם, see αἰών, 3) which precedes the times of the Messiah or the glorious return of Christ from heaven will be closed: John 6:39f, 44;. of the time nearest the return of Christ from heaven and the consummation of the divine kingdom, the following phrases are used: ἐσχάτῃ ὥρα, 1Jn 2:18; ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ 1Pe 1:5; ἐν ἐσχάτῳ χρόνῳ, Jud 1:18 Rec., ἐπ' ἐσχάτου χρόνου Jud 1:10. Tr WH; ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, Act 2:17; Jas 5:3; 2Ti 3:1; for other phrases of the sort see 2 a. below; ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων, 1Pe 1:20 R G, see below.

2. ὁ, ἡ, τό ἔσχατον absolutely or with the genitive,

a. of time: οἱ ἔσχατοι, who had come to work last, Mat 20:8; Mat 20:12,(14); the meaning of the saying ἔσονται πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι καί ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι is not always the same: in Luk 13:30 it signifies, those who were last invited to enter the divine kingdom will be first to enter when the opportunity comes, i. e. they will be admitted forthwith, while others, and those too who were first among the invited, will be shut out then as coming too late; in Mat 19:30; Mat 20:16 it means, the same portion in the future kingdom of God will through his goodness be assigned to those invited last as to those invited first, although the latter may think they deserve something better; cf. Mar 10:31. ὁ πρῶτος καί ὁ ἔσχατος i. e. the eternal, Rev 1:11 Rec.,;. ἔσχατος as a predicate joined to a verb adverbially (cf. Winer's Grammar, 131 (124); § 54, 2): Mar 12:6; ἐσχάτῃ (R G; but see below) πάντων ἀπέθανε, Mar 12:22. ἔσχατον, ἔσχατα, used substantively (cf. Buttmann, 94 (82) § 125, 6) in phrases, of the time immediately preceding Christ's return from heaven and the consummation of the divine kingdom: ἐπ' ἐσχάτου or ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν, Heb 1:2 (1); 2Pe 3:3 (the Epistle of Barnabas 16, 5 [ET]); τῶν χρόνων, 1Pe 1:20; ἐπ' ἐσχάτου τοῦ χρόνου, Jud 1:18 L T (see 1 above, and ἐπί, A. II. at the end), cf. Riehm, Lehrbegr. d. Hebrärbriefes, p. 205f τά ἔσχατα with the genitive of person the last state of one: Mat 12:45; Luk 11:26; 2Pe 2:20 (but without the genitive of person). Neuter ἔσχατον, adverb, lastly: (with the genitive of person, Mar 12:22 L T Tr WH); 1Co 15:8.

b. of space: τό ἔσχατον τῆς γῆς, the uttermost part, the end, of the earth, Act 1:8; Act 13:47.

c. of rank, grade of worth, last i. e. lowest: Mar 9:35; Joh 8:9 Rec.; 1Co 4:9.