Hapax Legomena and the Meanings of
Hapax (Ἅπαξ) and Ephapax (Ἐφάπαξ)
(Copyright©2026 by Daniel B. Sedory. All Rights Reserved.)

Introduction

  Beginning Greek or Hebrew students are often introduced to the term "hapax legomena" (plural) or "legomenon" (singular) in relation to words used only once in either a single book of the Scriptures or its entirety. The two words in this phrase are in fact comprised of the Greek words hapax (ἅπαξ) and legomenon (λεγόμενον; from legō λέγω) which are used separately in the NT. But together, they are used to mean "once said" (or "something said only once").

Concerning the Words Hapax and Ephapax

  However, this article is about the words hapax (ἅπαξ) and ephapax (ἐφάπαξ) (see their meanings below), as a cautionary example that one should always strive to not create needless ambiguities when translating NT Greek passages! One must always be careful to identify any idioms, but also any words you might assume to be commonly understood phrases in the language you are translating into!

The following verse includes one of those words (with a very rough so-called word-for-word English translation):

ὃ (which) γὰρ (for) ἀπέθανεν (he died), τῇ (the) ἁμαρτίᾳ (to sin) ἀπέθανεν (he died) ἐφάπαξ (once-for-all-time)· ὃ (which) δὲ (but) ζῇ (he lives), ζῇ (he lives) τῷ (the) θεῷ (to God). (Romans 6:10)

This succinct verse requires extra work on the part of those learning to translate Greek, because “ὃ γὰρ” and “ὃ δὲ” begin what are both correlative or explanatory phrases which cannot be translated as individual words. (It also shows why you cannot have a truly word-for-word translation of Greek into English.) The neuter relative pronoun ho (“ὃ”) for both of these phrases has been called either a cognate accusative or an adverbial relative by Greek grammarians. They function as an object of the verb (basically taking the place of a noun that is not explicitly included, but implied from the verb), emphasizing the manner of Christ’s death and life. So, as BDAG points out, “ὅ is to be understood as an objective accusative and gains its content from what immediately follows,” then it gives the following words from this verse as an example: “ὃ ... ἀπέθανεν” = “τὸν [the] θάνατον [death], ὃν [that] ἀπέθανεν [he died]”.^[1] Therefore, most English translations have the words the death after For and the life after but as seen here: “For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” But that’s not the main point of this article, so moving on:

  The phrase “once for all” was used by William Tyndale way back in the early 14th-century to translate the adverb ephapax (ἐφάπαξ) in Hebrews 7:27; 9:12 and 10:10 in his 1534 Tyndale New Testament, and that phrase was subsequently copied by almost every English translation since then (including the ASV, NASB, NET Bible, ESV and others); though Tyndale used only “once” to translate it in Romans 6:10.
  And for centuries, “once for all” was understood by English readers as a temporal reference; no different than when a mother might finish yelling at her child by adding “once and for all!” Was she implying it was for all other children too? Of course not. She simply meant that she did not want to repeat her words again; and if they didn’t do (or stop doing) as she asked, there could be consequences!

  But translators are realizing that some today may not correctly understand this phrase; that they might actually believe it refers to something “for all (people)”! So the latest revision of the CSB (Christian Standard Bible, by Holman Bible Publishers); which had used the phrase “once and for all” (2009 edition), now translates the word ephapax in all such occurrences as “once for all time” (since their 2017 revision).^[2] In all the verses concerning Jesus, this word has always meant that His sacrifice was “a unique and decisive occurrence”.^[3]

Note: Once anyone discovers that the phrase “once for all” is a translation of a single Greek adverb (a word which modifies a verb), such as the verb made or did (ἐποίησεν) in Hebrews 7:27 (to describe that Christ’s offering up of himself was a one time only event), the incorrect thought should disappear. If the English words “for all” actually meant something like for all people, then the Text would have at least included the adjective all or every (pas, pasa or pan; πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν). For example, in Hebrews 5:9, the word pasin (πᾶσιν) is translated as “for all” by the NKJV, and in Acts 2:39, many English Bibles have translated that same Greek word as either “to all” (Tyndale, Geneva, 1611 AV, ASV, etc.) or “for all” (NASB, CSB, NET Bible, ESV, etc.). But no translation of hapax or ephapax has ever intended for the English word “all” to refer to anything other than something unique, a one time occurrence.

The Meanings of These Words in Context

ἅπαξ (an adverb): once (sometimes, once for all [time]). Can be used:
1) As just a numerical reference in the sense of one time, once (as in 2 Cor. 11:25 or Heb. 9:7),
2) Something done uniquely only once, once for all (Heb. 9:28),
3) Idiomatically; e.g., “ἅπαξ καὶ δίς” (literally "once and twice"), so more than once, several times (as in Phil. 4:16).

ἐφάπαξ (also an adverb): at once; once; once for all [time]. Can be used:
1) As a numerical time reference, such as: at the same time, at once, all together (most likely in 1 Cor. 15:6),
2) As a special term in the NT for the unique and definitive event of Christ's death; that His “once (and) for all” death brought about the redemption of Believers (Heb. 10:10), putting an end to repeated sacrifices for sin.

All the Occurrences of Ephapax (Ἐφάπαξ) in the NT:

1. With the meaning “once for all (time)”:

2. With the meaning of “at the same time”:
1 Corinthians 15:6 (“ἔπειτα ὤφθη ἐπάνω πεντακοσίοις ἀδελφοῖς ἐφάπαξ, ἐξ ὧν οἱ πλείονες μένουσιν ἕως ἄρτι, τινὲς δὲ ἐκοιμήθησαν·” Or: “Then he appeared to more than 500 brethren at the same time; most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”)

All the Occurrences of Hapax (Ἅπαξ) in the NT:

1. With the meaning of “once” or “once for all (time)” in reference to Jesus:

2. With the meaning of “once” in reference to others:
Hebrews 10:2 (“ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἂν ἐπαύσαντο προσφερόμεναι διὰ τὸ μηδεμίαν ἔχειν ἔτι συνείδησιν ἁμαρτιῶν τοὺς λατρεύοντας ἅπαξ κεκαθαρισμένους;” Or: “For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have no further consciousness of sin?” — NET Bible.)

3. With the meaning of “once” or “once for all (time)” in reference to abstract objects:

4. With the simple meaning of once as in recounting an event (like saying, "one time I..." which does not mean there couldn't be any others like it): 2 Corinthians 11:25 (“Once [ἅπαξ] I was stoned.”)
Hebrews 6:4 (“Ἀδύνατον [impossible] γὰρ [for] τοὺς ἅπαξ [once, one time] φωτισθέντας [enlightened],...”)
Hebrews 9:7 (“εἰς [into] δὲ [But] τὴν δευτέραν [the second] ἅπαξ [once] τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ [a year] μόνος [only] ὁ ἀρχιερεύς [the high priest] ...”)
Hebrews 9:27 (“καὶ καθ᾽ ὅσον ἀπόκειται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἅπαξ [once] ἀποθανεῖν [to die], μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο κρίσις,”)
Hebrews 12:26-27 (“ "ἔτι [yet] ἅπαξ [once more] ἐγὼ [ I ] σείσω [will shake] οὐ [not] μόνον [only] τὴν γῆν [the earth] ἀλλὰ [but] καὶ [also] τὸν οὐρανόν [the heaven]. [See Haggai 2:6] ²⁷τὸ δὲ [idiomatic phrase equivalent to putting quotation marks around the words that follow it, so This:] "ἔτι ἅπαξ" ["Yet once more"] δηλοῖ [declares/indicates] ...”)

5. As part of an idiom ("καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς"; literally: "both once and twice") meaning more than once, several times:
Philippians 4:16 (“ὅτι καὶ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς εἰς τὴν χρείαν μοι ἐπέμψατε.”); “For even in Thessalonikē, several times for my needs you sent (something/help).”
1 Thessalonians 2:18 (“διότι ἠθελήσαμεν ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἐγὼ μὲν Παῦλος καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δίς, καὶ ἐνέκοψεν ἡμᾶς ὁ σατανᾶς.”); on more than one time and perhaps several occasions, Paul tried to see the Thessalonians again.

Footnotes

¹[Return to Text]   “BDAG” refers to A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition by Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer (Copyright © 2000 by The University of Chicago Press; often abbreviated as: BDAG), and the quote above is from the entry “5396 ὅς • ὅς, ἥ, ὅ” under 1. g. “The neut. is used” and γ. (“ὅ is to be understood as an obj. acc. and gains its content fr. what immediately follows in these places (s. W-S. §24, 9; Rob. [Robertson, p.] 715):”).

²[Return to Text]   You can view the CSB translations here; after selecting a book and chapter.

³[Return to Text]   Under entry “647 ἅπαξ” in The Concise Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament by Frederick William Danker with Kathryn Krug (© 2009 by The University of Chicago): “b. as unique and decisive occurrence once (for all) Hb 6:4; 10:2; Jd 3, 5. See also ἐφάπαξ.”

First Published on: 19 JUL 2026 (2026.07.19).

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