Prior, sooner
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Prin is the Greek term for before or prior to, usually setting one event, condition, or action in relation to another. It can describe ordinary sequence, as in events before a death, denial, accusation, or birth.
Reader summary
Full entry for πρίν (G4250) · Open the biblical lexicon
Prin is the Greek term for before or prior to, usually setting one event, condition, or action in relation to another. It can describe ordinary sequence, as in events before a death, denial, accusation, or birth.
The BSB source-word alignment has 13 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include before (13).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:18. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (3), John (3), Matthew (3), Luke (2).
Prin is the Greek term for before or prior to, usually setting one event, condition, or action in relation to another. It can describe ordinary sequence, as in events before a death, denial, accusation, or birth. It can also carry heavy theological weight when the surrounding sentence supplies it. In John 8:58, Jesus says, 'before Abraham was born, I am,' so the word helps mark the temporal contrast while the statement as a whole reveals His preexistence and divine identity.
In John 14:29, Jesus tells the disciples before events happen so they may believe when they unfold. In Acts, the word can mark the Day of the Lord or the fairness of hearing charges before judgment. Prin therefore teaches timing, not speculation: context decides whether the prior relation is ordinary, prophetic, legal, or Christological.
Prin sets one reality before another. It may mark birth, death, denial, fulfilled warning, cosmic sign, or legal sequence. The word orders time, while the passage supplies the theological weight.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew uses the word before Joseph and Mary came together, guarding the birth account's claim about the Spirit's work.
“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Jesus places His 'I am' before Abraham's birth, so the temporal marker serves a major Christological claim supplied by the whole saying.
And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe.
Jesus tells the disciples before events happen so later fulfillment will strengthen belief rather than surprise them into unbelief.
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
Peter remembers Jesus' word before the rooster crows, showing painful fulfillment of a prior warning.
The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.
Peter quotes the prophetic sign before the Day of the Lord, placing cosmic disturbance in an eschatological sequence.
I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.
Festus names the principle of facing accusers before judgment, showing ordinary procedural sequence rather than a theological mystery.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. prior, sooner
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
14 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
formerly, before
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
πρίν is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Prin is a modest word that often stands near large claims. Matthew 1 uses before to protect the timing of Mary's conception in relation to Joseph. John 8 uses before in a sentence where Jesus places Himself before Abraham and speaks the divine 'I am.' John 14 shows Jesus preparing His disciples by speaking before fulfillment. Luke 22 makes Peter's denial unforgettable because the rooster crows after Jesus' warning, exactly as He said.
Acts 2 looks toward signs before the Day of the Lord, while Acts 25 uses the same kind of prior sequence in a legal setting. The word itself does not create doctrine, but it helps readers follow ordered time. Scripture's God knows, warns, sends, fulfills, and judges within time without being surprised by it.
John.8.58
Prin is a temporal marker. It is not automatically emphatic. The word simply places one event or state before another, and the surrounding clause determines whether the relation is ordinary, prophetic, legal, or theological.
Biblical history is full of before-and-after movement: promise before fulfillment, warning before judgment, preparation before mission, and the Son who is before Abraham while entering history in the fullness of time. Prin helps readers notice sequence without making sequence carry more than the text gives.
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