Greek word · Strong's G3739

ὅς

hós · pronoun · “who, which, what”

In a sentence

Hos is the simple relative pronoun (who, which, what) — but in the New Testament it carries some of the gospel’s most weight-bearing claims, identifying who Jesus is.

Hos is a small word with great freight: it introduces relative clauses, often telling us who Jesus is. Hymn-like passages like Philippians 2:6 and Colossians 1:15 hinge on it: “who (hos), though in the form of God…,” “who (hos) is the image of the invisible God.”

Most of the New Testament’s portraits of Christ — pre-existent, incarnate, crucified, risen, exalted — come strung along these relative clauses. Hos is the grammatical thread that ties the church’s confession of Christ together.

Strong's reference

Definition: the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, that

KJV usage: one, (an-, the) other, some, that, what, which, who(-m, -se), etc

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Philippians 2:6 “Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,” Colossians 1:15 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” 1 Timothy 3:16 “By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.