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G1855 · Greek · New Testament
ἔξωθεν
exothen
Adverb
from outside, outwardly, on the exterior

Definition

Exothen (G1855) is an adverb meaning 'from without' or 'on the outside' — the spatial and metaphorical exterior. It appears in Jesus's condemnation of the Pharisees (Matt 23:25-28, Luke 11:39-40), Paul's description of external hardships (2 Cor 7:5), and the description of the New Jerusalem's exterior (Rev 21:18). The word defines the surface versus the interior — the appearance versus the reality.

Usage & Theological Significance

Jesus used exothen most powerfully in the woes against the Pharisees: they cleansed the outside (exothen) of the cup while the inside was full of extortion (Matt 23:25). The whitewashed tombs were beautiful exothen but full of dead men's bones within (Matt 23:27). This inside/outside distinction cuts to the heart of authentic versus performative religion. God looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7); humans see only the exothen. The Gospel works from the inside out — a transformed heart produces transformed exterior behavior, not the reverse.

Key Bible Verses

Matthew 23:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside [exothen] of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
Matthew 23:27 You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly [exothen] appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones.
Luke 11:40 Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
2 Corinthians 7:5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn — fighting without [exothen] and fear within.
1 Samuel 16:7 For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.

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