Bible Dictionary
EITHER
Either normally means one or the other, but in older biblical English it can mean both, each, or “or.” Its exact sense must be determined from context.
Definition
Either ordinarily means one or the other. In older biblical English, however, it may also mean both, each, or “or.” Its precise meaning must therefore be determined from the context in which it occurs.
Biblical Usage
The word is used in its ordinary sense of “one or the other” in passages such as 1 Chronicles 21:21 and Matthew 6:24. It also has the older senses “both” or “each,” and in some passages it represents “or,” including Luke 6:42, Luke 15:8, Philippians 3:12, and James 3:12.
Historical Background
The differing senses reflect older English usage represented in the King James Version and revised in some passages. The word may function as a pronoun, a determiner, or a substitute for “or.”
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>e'-ther, i'-ther:</p><p>Often in the sense still common, "one or the other" (1Ch 21:21; Mt 6:24, etc.), but also in the obsolete sense of "both" or "each" (Le 10:1; 1Ki 7:15; Joh 19:18; Re 22:2), or in place of (Revised Version) "or" (Lu 6:42; 15:8; Php 3:12; Jas 3:12).</p>