Heis vs Hen (Grk Masculine and Neuter “One”)

A White Paper by Bishop Jerry L Hayes, D.D.

The First Commandment

The Hebrew concept of God is clearly seen in the Shema Israel, “HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE
LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD.” (Deut 6:4). The ONE, here referred to, is a Solitary, not a Compound, One. (The Pluralists will challenge this by positing that the word “echad” in the Shema indicates a compound one. See Chapter LVIII, page 555, for Modalism’s response.) We do see this beyond question in Deuteronomy 32:39. Let us look closely at this scripture.

“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”

Here the spokesman is Yahweh, Who alone is the Most High.  Who speaks of Himself as a single Being. Thus, the Divine person, in this verse, speaks of Himself as a single person, and states that no other person of deity exists.

It is abundantly clear that Hebrew Monotheism was a belief in one solitary God. It was not an understanding of “one” in a compound sense. To believe in God as a solitary being is of so much importance that Jesus taught it to be the first of all commandments. When Jesus was asked, by a young man, which of the Commandments was the first of all, he was told by Christ that the first commandment was “Here O, Israel the Lord Our God Is One Lord.” (Mark 12:29).

A Solitary “One!” (Heis, the Masculine One)

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.’” (Mark 12:29 NKJV)

ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν, Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν, 

In Mark 12:29 the Greek word John used, to put Jesus’ state-ment concerning God’s number into Greek, is the Greek masculine word for “one.” This word is εἷς, “heis.” The use of this particular word is very important in our study to establish the true meaning for the term “one,” as this term relates to God. 

The interest, here, lies in the fact that the word, “heis,” did not have to be used. Other Greek words for “one” could have been employed, such as “hen,” “tis,” or even “mia.” There are reasons why the particular word “heis,” and not any other words for one, is used to describe the number of God. For example, “mia” could not have been used because it is the feminine gender. If the word “mia’” was used, it would mean that God was feminine. The word “hen” could not have been used because it is the neuter gender; if “hen” would have been used it would mean that God was a compound one (Trinitarians really need this word to be in Mark 12:29; it is not!). The choice of the masculine “heis” is descriptive of just how God is one. 

The following is a list of recognized Greek scholars and their comments on the Greek masculine “one.”

• Joseph Henry Thayer: “Heis” means the cardinal numeral ONE. Where the word “heis” takes the place of a predicate it means one person. (Page 186. A Greek, English Lexicon of the New Testament.)
• Mr. A. T. Robertson: “One,” when masculine sets forth the idea of the cardinal numeral “one.” When referring to people or beings, ALWAYS the numeral “one” is implied. (Page 186 vol 5; pages 526 and 527, vol 4; page 299 vol 4. Word Pictures of the Greek New Testament. )
• Bauer: The masculine “one” means, a single; only one. (Page 230 Bauer’s Greek Lexicon.)
• Gingrich: The masculine “one,” (heis), is equivalent to ‘protos’ which means ‘first’. Only one; single.  (Page 57, Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament).

The amazing truth is that “heis” is found 93+ times in the New Testament relating to people; in those 93+ times never is “heis” used for more than one person. Never!

 Hen - Neuter “One”

As has already been stated, the neuter “one” (hen) is the word used when a compound “one” is in view. It would seem that this word would be very important to the Trinitarian doctrine of the compound one. It is this Greek word that is used when a number of things, or beings, are said to be one, such as a husband and wife, etc. Let us look to the scholars of the Greek language for a better understanding of this word: 

• Robert Young: “‘One’ when neuter means ‘one thing.’” (Page 719 Young’s Analytical Concordance of the Bible.)
• Joseph Henry Thayer: “‘One’ when neuter means, to be UNITED in one will or spirit.” (Page 186 and 187,  A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.)
• Archibald Thomas Robertson: “‘One’ when neuter shows a unity; a oneness of identity.” (Page 526, vol. 4; page 186 vol 5, Word Pictures of the Greek New Testament.)
• William Edwy Vine: “One” when neuter may be used to show a numeral one of a thing, or it may be used to show UNITY of more than someone, or thing. (Page 809, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words.)

The form of the numeral used when two or more persons are said to exist as “one” is the nominative neuter form “hen.” This is very pronounced in the following scriptures:

• John 11:52 “And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one (hen) the children of God that were scattered broad.” ～ In this text we are told that many people are to be made ONE. Therefore, it is the nominative neuter from of the word “one” which is used. “Hen” would have been the only proper word in this case.
• 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one (hen)”.  ～ In this passage, the word “one” is “hen,” because two people are said to be one in the sense of UNITY.
• Ephesians 2:14 “For he is our peace, who hath made both one (hen), and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” ～ Here, “both” means Jews and Gentiles. These two groups of people are made “one.” Because it is UNION of more that ONE person or group, the neuter word “hen” is required to describe the oneness.

Both Robert Young and William Edwy Vine say that the neuter “hen” may also show the numeral One of a thing. This is demonstrated in James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (πταίσῃ δὲ ἐν ἑνί). The word ἑνί, “one,” is the Greek “hen,” which clearly is indicative of a solitary one of a thing: i.e. one point of the Law. This is pointed out here in order to show that even the Greek neuter “one” does not ALWAYS reference a compound.

The importance of all this to our question, How is God One, Compound or Solitary? is that the oneness of God is NEVER referred to with the neuter word, which must be the case, if a plurality of persons are in view. The Pluralists may, with hope, point to John 10:30, where Jesus said “I and my Father are one” (ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν.), and garner hope in finding a text in support of the Father and Jesus being a compound, instead of a solitary, one; here, the word for “one” is “hen.” We would point out, that, according to scholars Young and Vine, in our above example from James 2:10, the neuter “one” may, indeed, reference a single “one” of a thing. Just because it is required to show a plurality being one in unity, or one metaphorically, it is not confined to that purpose by that requirement.  So, then, it could be strongly argued that Jesus was saying that His "hand" and the Father's hand were, indeed, the same hand. This is actually the subject: v28, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. v29, My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30, I and my Father are one". This is seen to be the case, especially when the response of the Jews is considered. They collected stones to stone Him to death, because, to their ears and minds, at any rate, He had declared Himself to be God.  Jesus is saying more than He and the Father are one person, He is also saying that they are one thing. The context is “hand.”  The idea is: support, safety, protection—the “work” of God as the Shepherd of His people. Jesus had addressed this subject earlier in the chapter, and is continuing to address it here. In vv28 and 29 Jesus spoke of His hand and the Father’s hand, then said they (the hands, which are metaphors for the work of Christ, and the work of the Father) were “hen” (one).  It is certain that the religious Jews had no understanding that Yahweh could have peers. So, insofar as the Jews understanding  Jesus’ words to be a claim to Deity, we may be certain that it was Yahweh they understood Him claiming to be. They were incensed enough to stone Him, for saying He was God. 

Having said all that, concerning the neuter ‘one’ (hen), it behooves us to point out that whenever the Bible says that God is ONE, the masculine word “heis” is ALWAYS employed. 

Facts of the Masculine and Neuter ‘ONE’

• Fact One: The nominative masculine form ‘heis’ is used throughout the New Testament to indicate only one person.
• Fact Two: Scholars confirm that ‘heis’ means only one person.
• Fact Three: No other evidence in Scriptures, or otherwise, has been presented in Trinitarian controversies to indicate that ‘heis’ ever refers to a plurality of persons.
• Fact Four: Whenever two or more persons are stated to be ONE in the Scripture, their state of unity is described by ‘hen.’ This form is used to depict the unity of many members (1 Cor 12:12).
• Fact Five: Scholars verify that ‘hen’ is used when plural PERSONS are involved.
• Fact Six: ‘Hen’ is NEVER used in Scripture to modify the noun, God.
• Fact Seven: Each time the Greek New Testament speaks of God as being ONE, it employs ‘heis’ to describe that oneness. Thus, eleven (11) times the New Testament speaks of God as ONE PERSON.
• Fact Eight: The above facts may be contested, but they cannot be disputed. In plain simple Greek, God conveys to the world that He is ONE. The evidence is overwhelming: the word chosen by Him, to assert His Oneness, means ONE PERSON, or ONE SINGLE SOLITARY INDIVIDUAL.

Eleven Witnesses

The following eleven texts declare God to be One Person, a Solitary Being. This is shown by the usage of the Greek masculine “one” (heis). As we list these, the truth becomes clear to us that each time the Greek New Testament uses the word “One” in reference to God, it always employs the numeral ‘heis;’ these eleven (11) passages are as follows:

1. Mark 2:7, “...who can forgive sins but one (heis), even God?” (ASV).
2. Mark 10:18, “there is none good but one (heis), that is, God.”
3. Mark 12:29, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one (heis) Lord.”
4. Luke 18:19, “... none is good save one (heis), that is, God.”
5. Romans 3:30, “... it is one (heis) God, which shall justify...”
6. 1 Corinthians 8:4, “...there is none other God but one (heis).”
7. 1 Corinthians 8:6, “But to us there is but one (heis) God, the Father, ...”
8. Galatians 3:20, ”... God is one (heis).”
9. Ephesians 4:6, “One (heis) God and Father of all, ...”
10. 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one (heis) God, ...”
11. James 2:19, “Thou believest there is one (heis) God; thou doest well: ...”

The Power of the Masculine ‘ONE’

Nowhere in the Word of God does the masculine “one” demonstrate its power to convey the idea of one person as strongly as Galatians 3:20, 28. This passages states: “but God is one (heis) ... for ye are all one (heis) in Christ.” 

Thayer: “... and where it takes the place of a predicate, Galatians 3:20 (cf. Winer's Grammar, p593 [p551]), Galatians 3:28 (ye that adhere to Christ make one person, just as the Lord himself).”

Vincent: “Ye are all one One moral personality. The individual differences are merged in the higher unity into which all are raised by their common life in Christ. This is the one new man, Eph 2:15.”

In Galatians 3:28 Paul uses the masculine “one” to show that the whole of the Church is as but One Individual. In this verse it is not the unity of many members that is in view, but the blending of all saints into ONE MORAL PERSONALITY; such as “The Body of Christ.” So, on the strength of the masculine “one” (heis), the Church is, here, said to be “one” individual—one man! (Vincent; Thayer.)

Conclusion: 

The Monotheism of the Bible, is such, that, it demands the existence of One Only Sentient Being as God, and, further, that this One Sentient Being must, alone, be worshipped. The worship of any God-person beyond the number ONE is unbiblical, un-Christian, and even blasphemous.

Apostolically Speaking,
Bp. Jerry L Hayes, D.D.

View the video version of this epistle at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF5o_W0kB0w&ab_channel=BishopJerryLHayes