Why can “the” mean “some”?

The disciples see the risen Christ and Matthew remarks, “And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some hesitated (οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν).”

Before delving into the word ὁ, it is an interesting question as to why some “hesitated.” διστάζω means “to have doubts, to waiver; to be uncertain, to hesitate (in doubt) (BDAG). Carson comments that διστάζω “does not denote intellectual disbelief but hesitation.” This is an important distinction. Did they not recognize Jesus? Were they not sure how to respond? Did it take just a bit for those present (who probably were not part of the Eleven) to move from disbelief to faith? Or were the “some” a group who would not believe even in the face of a resurrection?

But back to the question of where does the translation “some” come from? We all know that ὁ does not just mean “the.” It has a wide range of uses, and the entry in BDAG is torturously long and complicated.

But we need to be careful to note not only what the word means, but what it means in conjunction with other words. In 1.b of BDAG, we find the construction οἱ μὲν . . . οἱ δέ meaning “some … others.” This is where the "some" come from.

As you read down the entry, you see “also without such a relationship expressed τοὺς μὲν ἀποστόλους, τοὺς δὲ προφήτας, τοὺς δὲ εὐαγγελιστάς Eph 4:11.” The NRSV properly brings out the meaning of ὁ using “some”: “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.”

The ESV’s use of “the” doesn’t accurately convey the meaning: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (also NIV). CSB, NET, and NASB use “some.” The NLT rewrites the sentence structure: “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.”

So the lesson learned is that while words have meaning when used by themselves, they can also have a specialized meaning when used with other words. In the singular, ὁ δέ can be the indefinite “the other.” In the plural, οἱ δέ can be the indefinite “some.” This is such a common construction that it should be memorized.

On another note, I would suggest that this verse helps us with one of the more important discussions for the modern church, especially when connected to verse 12: “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” There is an unhealthy and dysfunctional idea in the church that somehow the preacher is responsible to do everything. Mow the lawn. Visit everyone in the hospital. Be at every meeting. It’s no wonder that so many pastors burn out within 10 years of graduating from Seminary. God has given many gifts to the church, each one to accomplish a specific task. There is no gift of doing everything.