G2078 — ἔσχατος (éschatos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2078
Original: ἔσχατος
Transliteration: éschatos
Pronunciation: es'-khat-os
Part of Speech: Adjective
Root: Superlative probably from ἔξω (exō) in the sense of contiguity
Occurrences: 49 unique verses (54 tokens) in NT
Books: 14
First Occurrence: Mat 5:26 — "till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Superlative adjective: farthest, final (of place, sequence, or time); last, lowest, uttermost. From the script: "-khat-os; a superlative probably from (in the sense of contiguity)"

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 61 — Sequence - 87.004 — Low Status or Rank

Other words in 61: ἄλφα (G1a), ἀπαρχή (G536), καθεξῆς (G2517), λοιπός (G3062) Other words in 87.004: ἐλάχιστος (G1646), ἐλάσσων (G1640), ἄτιμος (G820), μικρός (G3398)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [061] Sequence - [087] Status

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
last	34	69.4%
the last	7	14.3%
lowest	2	4.1%
latter end	1	2.0%
the ends	1	2.0%
the uttermost part	1	2.0%
uttermost	1	2.0%
very last	1	2.0%
Other	1	2.0%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Peter	2	3.3
1 Peter	2	1.9
Revelation	7	1.7
2 Timothy	1	1.2
1 Corinthians	5	1.1
1 John	1	1.0
John	8	0.9
James	1	0.9
Matthew	8	0.7
Mark	4	0.6
Luke	5	0.4
Acts	3	0.3
Hebrews	1	0.3
Jude	1	—

Concentrated in eschatological literature: Revelation (highest density), Petrine epistles, John's Gospel. Matthew and Mark carry Jesus' "first/last" reversal sayings. The eight Johannine occurrences cluster entirely in the "last day" resurrection formula.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Self-Designation: "The First and the Last"¶

Christ identifies himself as the absolute eschatos — no one comes after or beyond him. - Rev 1:11 — "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" - Rev 1:17 — "Fear not; I am the first and the last" - Rev 2:8 — "These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive" - Rev 22:13 — "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last"

2. The Last Day (Resurrection Anchor)¶

John uses ἡ ἐσχάτη ἡμέρα as a formulaic anchor for the final resurrection — repeated four times in a single discourse (John 6). - Jhn 6:39–40 — "I should lose nothing… but should raise it up again at the last day" - Jhn 6:44 — "I will raise him up at the last day" - Jhn 11:24 — "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day" - Jhn 12:48 — "the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day"

3. The Last Days / Last Times (Eschatological Era)¶

The apostolic formula declaring the present age as the final epoch before consummation. - Acts 2:17 — "it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit" - 2Ti 3:1 — "in the last days perilous times shall come" - Heb 1:2 — "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son" - 1Pe 1:5 — "salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" - 2Pe 3:3 — "there shall come in the last days scoffers" - 1Jo 2:18 — "it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come"

Jesus inverts the calculus of status — those who are last in earthly ranking shall be first in the kingdom. - Mat 19:30 — "many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first" - Mat 20:16 — "So the last shall be first, and the first last" - Mar 9:35 — "If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all" - Luk 13:30 — "there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last"

5. The Last in Eschatological Events¶

Final items in an eschatological sequence — plagues, trumpet, enemy. - Rev 15:1 — "seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God" - Rev 21:9 — "one of the seven angels which had the seven last plagues" - 1Co 15:26 — "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" - 1Co 15:45 — "the last Adam was made a quickening spirit" - 1Co 15:52 — "at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised"

6. Spatial / Sequential Extremity¶

The farthest or outermost position — used of geographic ends of the earth, the lowest seat, the final penny. - Mat 5:26 — "till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing" - Luk 14:9–10 — "begin with shame to take the lowest room… Go and sit down in the lowest room" - Acts 1:8 — "witnesses unto me… unto the uttermost part of the earth" - Acts 13:47 — "I have set thee to be a light… to the ends of the earth"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πρῶτος (prōtos)	G4413	16x (33%)	"first/last" reversal formula (Mat 19:30, 20:16) and divine title (Rev 1:17, 22:13)
ἡμέρα (hēméra)	G2250	14x (29%)	"last day" (John's resurrection formula) and "last days" (prophetic era)
ἔσομαι (ésomai)	G2071	12x (24%)	predictive "shall be last" — future state in kingdom sayings
ἀνίστημι (anístēmi)	G450	5x (10%)	resurrection "at the last day" — anastasis anchor
πνεῦμα (pneûma)	G4151	5x (10%)	last days Spirit outpouring (Acts 2:17) and "last Adam" as quickening spirit (1Co 15:45)
νεκρός (nekrós)	G3498	4x (8%)	dead raised at last trump / last enemy destroyed
ἄγγελος (ággelos)	G32	4x (8%)	"seven angels… the seven last plagues" (Rev 15–16)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2079 ἐσχάτως (eschátōs) — adverb: extremely, at the last (Mk 5:23: "at the point of death"; hapax of this adverb form)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms surfaced from search_relationships.py for this lemma.

Antonyms¶

G4413 πρῶτος (prōtos) — first, foremost (explicit first/last contrast in Matt 19:30; 20:16; Mark 9:35; Luke 13:30; Rev 1:17; 22:13)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Translation	Key Difference
אַחֲרוֹן (ʼachărôwn)	H314	both → "last"	Hebrew adjective "hinder, hindmost, last"; H314 is éschatos' primary Hebrew source via LXX (33 co-occ)
אַחֲרִית (ʼachărîyth)	H319	both → "last/latter end"	Hebrew noun "the aftermath, latter end, future"; translated into NT Greek as éschatos 36x in LXX — nearly as strong a bridge as H314
ὕστερον (hústeron)	G5305	both → "last" (2 shared verses)	G5305 = "afterward, subsequently" (temporal relative sequence); éschatos = the absolute final point (not relative to something else)

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Word	Strong's	LXX Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
אַחֲרוֹן (ʼachărôwn)	H314	33x	25.20	Primary source — "hinder, last, latter" (adj)
אַחֲרִית (ʼachărîyth)	H319	36x	25.19	Nearly equal — "latter end, future" (noun)
רִאשׁוֹן (riʼshôwn)	H7223	20x	13.95	LXX sometimes translates "first/last" as a pair; riʼshôwn → éschatos in contrasting contexts
יְרֵכָה (yᵉrêkâh)	H3411	8x	13.28	"flank, remotest parts" — spatial extremity usage
קָצֶה (qâtseh)	H7097	7x	8.53	"edge, extremity" — overlaps in geographic "ends of earth" contexts