The Greek noun autoptēs is formed from autos (self) and optē (sight) — one who has seen something with their own eyes, an eyewitness. A hapax legomenon, appearing only in Luke 1:2, where Luke grounds his Gospel in the testimony of those who were present from the beginning. A forensic and historical term guaranteeing testimony's reliability.
Luke 1:2: 'just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses (autoptai) and servants of the word.' Luke grounds his account in autoptai — those who saw Jesus, heard his words, witnessed his death, and encountered the risen Lord. This is the epistemological foundation of Christianity: not myth but the testimony of eyewitnesses (1 John 1:1-3; 2 Peter 1:16).