What does πρῶτος (prōtos) mean in the Bible?
Protos means first, foremost, earlier, chief, or first in rank depending on context. The word can mark sequence, importance, priority, or supremacy.
Greek · G4413
πρῶτος
Foremost (in time, place, order or importance)
Reading a lexicon entry
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πρῶτος G4413
Pronunciation prōtos
What does πρῶτος (prōtos) mean in the Bible?
Protos means first, foremost, earlier, chief, or first in rank depending on context. The word can mark sequence, importance, priority, or supremacy.
Reader summary
Full entry for πρῶτος (G4413) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4413?
The BSB source-word alignment has 98 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include first (49), first [one] (5), At first (3), leaders (3), . . . (2).
Where does πρῶτος (prōtos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 10:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (18), Matthew (16), Acts (12), Luke (10).
Are there verse guides for πρῶτος (prōtos)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Protos means first, foremost, earlier, chief, or first in rank depending on context. The word can mark sequence, importance, priority, or supremacy. Jesus uses first language to overturn status-seeking by calling the would-be first person to become last and servant of all. He also identifies the first commandment as the command to love the one Lord with the whole life.
Paul says the gospel he delivered is of first importance, and he contrasts the first man Adam with the last Adam. Hebrews can speak of the first order removed so the second may stand. Revelation places first language on Christ Himself as the First and the Last.
How the Bible Uses It
Protos ranges from simple sequence to theological priority. It can identify the first commandment, the first man Adam, the first covenantal arrangement, or what is of first importance. In Revelation, first language belongs to Christ's divine identity and final authority.
- Mark.9.35
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Jesus redefines greatness by saying the one who wants to be first must be last and servant of all. Protos here exposes pride and reshapes discipleship.
- Mark.12.29
Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Jesus names the most important commandment by returning to the Lord's oneness and the call to whole-person love. First here marks priority in obedience.
- 1Cor.15.3
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
Paul says the death of Christ for sins according to the Scriptures belongs to what is of first importance. The gospel has controlling priority.
- 1Cor.15.45
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
Paul calls Adam the first man while contrasting him with the last Adam, Christ. Sequence becomes part of a larger Adam-Christ argument.
- Heb.10.9
Then He adds, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second.
Hebrews says Christ takes away the first to establish the second. First language serves the argument about old sacrifices and Christ's obedient offering.
- Rev.22.13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
The risen Lord says He is the First and the Last. Protos here belongs to Christ's eternal authority, not merely chronological order.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It first 49× Matthew 10:2, Matthew 12:45, Matthew 20:8, Matthew 20:16
first [one] 5× Matthew 21:28, Matthew 22:25, Mark 12:20, Luke 14:18
At first 3× John 12:16, 2 Peter 2:20, Revelation 2:5
leaders 3× Luke 19:47, Acts 25:2, Acts 28:17
. . . 2× John 19:39, Acts 11:26
[will be] first 2× Matthew 19:30, Mark 10:31
before 2× John 1:15, John 1:30
first [ covenant ] 2× Hebrews 8:7, Hebrews 9:1
first [angel] 2× Revelation 8:7, Revelation 16:2
the first 2× Acts 20:18, Ephesians 6:2
- 1× Revelation 21:1
[on the] first [day] 1× Mark 16:9
[the] chief official 1× Acts 28:7
[the] first 1× Acts 12:10
[the] leading 1× Acts 16:12
[the] most important 1× Mark 12:28
[the] worst 1× 1 Timothy 1:15
[the] worst [ of sinners ] 1× 1 Timothy 1:16
[who are] first 1× Matthew 19:30
best 1× Luke 15:22
first [covenant] 1× Hebrews 9:18
first [day] 1× Matthew 26:17
first [group] 1× Matthew 21:36
first [man] 1× John 19:32
first [room] 1× Hebrews 9:2
first [servant] 1× Luke 19:16
first [speaker] 1× 1 Corinthians 14:30
first importance 1× 1 Corinthians 15:3
first one {obsolete} 1× Hebrews 8:13
former things 1× Revelation 21:4
leading 1× Acts 17:4
leading [men] 1× Mark 6:21
leading men 1× Acts 13:50
most important 1× Mark 12:29
original [workers] 1× Matthew 20:10
vvv 1× Revelation 4:1
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 10:2 πρῶτος to first Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 12:45 πρώτων to first Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural Matthew 19:30 πρῶτοι to [who are] first Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 19:30 πρῶτοι to [will be] first Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 20:8 πρώτων to first Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural Matthew 20:10 πρῶτοι to original [workers] Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 20:16 πρῶτοι to first Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 20:16 πρῶτοι to first Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 20:27 πρῶτος to first Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 21:28 πρώτῳ to first [one] Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 10:2
Aligned rows 98
Books represented 15
Matthew 16 Mark 10 Luke 10 John 9 Acts 12 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 4 Ephesians 1 Philippians 1 1 Timothy 4 2 Timothy 1 Hebrews 9 2 Peter 1 1 John 1 Revelation 18
Source forms
πρῶτος 26x prōtos Matthew 10:2, Matthew 20:27, Matthew 22:25, Mark 9:35
πρώτη 12x prōtē Matthew 22:38, Mark 12:28, Luke 2:2, Acts 16:12
πρῶτοι 11x prōtoi Matthew 19:30, Matthew 20:10, Matthew 20:16, Mark 10:31
πρῶτον 7x prōton John 10:40, John 12:16, John 19:39, Acts 1:1
πρώτων 7x prōtōn Matthew 12:45, Matthew 20:8, Matthew 21:36, Luke 11:26
πρώτῃ 6x prōtē Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Mark 16:9, 2 Timothy 4:16
πρώτην 6x prōtēn Luke 15:22, Acts 12:10, 1 Timothy 5:12, Hebrews 8:13
πρώτης 4x prōtēs Matthew 27:64, Acts 20:18, Philippians 1:5, Hebrews 9:8
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular 30x Matthew 10:2, Matthew 20:27, Matthew 21:31, Matthew 22:25
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular 12x Matthew 22:38, Mark 12:28, Mark 12:29, Luke 2:2
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural 11x Matthew 19:30, Matthew 20:10, Matthew 20:16, Mark 10:31
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular 6x Luke 15:22, Acts 12:10, 1 Timothy 5:12, Hebrews 8:13
Adjective - Dative Feminine Singular 6x Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Mark 16:9, 2 Timothy 4:16
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular 5x John 10:40, John 12:16, John 19:39, Hebrews 10:9
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular 5x Matthew 27:64, Acts 16:12, Acts 20:18, Philippians 1:5
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural 4x Matthew 12:45, Luke 11:26, 2 Peter 2:20, Revelation 2:19
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use context to distinguish sequence, rank, priority, and supremacy.
- Let Jesus' teaching on servanthood correct status-seeking applications.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that protos always means chief or always means earliest.
- Do not claim that human firstness in Mark 9 is praised without Jesus' servant correction.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Foremost in time, place, or rank; often implies priority or supremacy rather than mere sequence.
Source Gloss
foremost (in time, place, order or importance)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 101 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 10:2 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
πρῶτος prwtov
first, before
Read verse Matthew 12:45 Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
πρώτων. prwtwn
first, before
Read verse Matthew 19:30 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
πρῶτοι prwtoi
first, before
Read verse Matthew 19:30 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
πρῶτοι. prwtoi
first, before
Read verse Matthew 20:8 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
πρώτων. prwtwn
first, before
Read verse Matthew 20:10 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
πρῶτοι prwtoi
first, before
Read verse Matthew 20:16 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
πρῶτοι, prwtoi
first, before
Read verse Matthew 20:16 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
πρῶτοι prwtoi
first, before
Read verse Matthew 20:27 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
πρῶτος prwtov
first, before
Read verse Matthew 21:28 Adjective Dative Singular Neuter
πρώτῳ prwtw
first, before
Read verse Matthew 21:31 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
πρῶτος. prwtov
first, before
Read verse Matthew 21:36 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
πρώτων· prwtwn
first, before
Read verse Matthew 22:25 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
πρῶτος prwtov
first, before
Read verse Matthew 22:38 Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine
πρώτη prwth
first, before
Read verse Matthew 26:17 Adjective Dative Singular Feminine
πρώτῃ prwth
first, before
Read verse Matthew 27:64 Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
πρώτης. prwthv
first, before
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.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 10 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.
Form patterns 10 Aligned forms 153 Case pattern Nominative (56) Number pattern Singular (49)
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 10:2 · Matt 20:27 · Matt 21:31 · Matt 22:25 · Mark 9:35 · Mark 10:44 · Mark 12:20 · Luke 14:18 · Luke 19:16 · Luke 20:29 · John 1:15 · John 1:30 · John 20:4 · John 20:8 · Acts 26:23 · Rom 10:19 29×
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 22:38 · Mark 12:28 · Mark 12:29 · Luke 2:2 · Acts 16:12 · Eph 6:2 · Heb 8:7 · Heb 9:1 · Heb 9:2 · Heb 9:18 · Rev 4:1 · Rev 20:5 · Rev 21:1 13×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Matt 19:30 · Matt 20:10 · Matt 20:16 · Mark 10:31 · Luke 13:30 · Luke 19:47 · Acts 25:2 11×
Nominative · Singular · Neuter 1 Cor 15:46 · Rev 4:7 2×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter Rev 21:4 1×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Matt 12:45 · Luke 11:26 · 2 Pet 2:20 · Rev 2:19 4×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 27:64 · Acts 20:18 · Phil 1:5 · Heb 9:8 4×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Matt 20:8 · Matt 21:36 2×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine John 19:32 1×
Genitive · Plural · Feminine Acts 17:4 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Mark 10:23–31 πρῶτος prōtos
first, foremost
Showing 1 selected witness from 153 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
πρῶτος is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Protos is simple in form but not simple in function. It can number what comes first, but it can also reveal what matters most, who seeks status, what God has replaced, and who stands over the whole story. Jesus turns the desire to be first into a call to become servant of all. He names love for the one Lord as the first command. Paul places Christ's death and resurrection at first importance and contrasts Adam with Christ.
Hebrews uses first and second to show the movement from inadequate sacrifices to Christ's obedient offering. Revelation crowns the range by naming Christ the First and the Last.
Anchor passage
1Cor.15.3
Doctrinal connections
- Mark 9:35: kingdom greatness overturns status competition through servanthood.
- Mark 12:29-31: first-commandment language centers obedience on the one Lord and love for God.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: the gospel events of Christ's death and resurrection have first importance.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45-49: first Adam and last Adam language frames humanity in Adam and life in Christ.
- Hebrews 10:9-10: Christ's obedient offering establishes what the first sacrificial order could not complete.
- Revelation 22:13: Christ as First and Last gathers time, authority, and final hope under His lordship.
Protos can function adjectivally or substantively. It may describe order, rank, priority, or chief importance. Teachers should let syntax and context decide whether sequence, status, importance, or identity is foregrounded.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament first language often concerns birth order, firstfruits, priority, and the Lord's exclusive claim. The New Testament uses protos in those ordinary ways, but also presses firstness into Christology, gospel priority, and the contrast between Adam and Christ.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain