Firstfruits
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G536 names firstfruits, the first portion or first yield viewed in relation to a larger whole. Paul calls the risen Christ the firstfruits of those who have died, identifying His resurrection as the beginning and guarantee of the ordered resurrection harvest in First Corinthians 15.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀπαρχή (G536) · Open the biblical lexicon
G536 names firstfruits, the first portion or first yield viewed in relation to a larger whole. Paul calls the risen Christ the firstfruits of those who have died, identifying His resurrection as the beginning and guarantee of the ordered resurrection harvest in First Corinthians 15.
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [the] firstfruits (2), firstfruits (2), [as] firstfruits (1), [the] first converts (1), first part [of the dough] (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 8:23. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (3), Romans (3), James (1), Revelation (1).
G536 names firstfruits, the first portion or first yield viewed in relation to a larger whole. Paul calls the risen Christ the firstfruits of those who have died, identifying His resurrection as the beginning and guarantee of the ordered resurrection harvest in First Corinthians 15. Romans 8:23 speaks of believers having the firstfruits of the Spirit while awaiting bodily redemption.
Romans 11:16 uses the first portion of dough in an analogy that belongs to Paul's argument about Israel and Gentile branches. The noun can also identify early converts, while James 1:18 and Revelation 14:4 apply firstfruits language to redeemed people. The selected artifact also reflects a textual-witness issue at Second Thessalonians 2:13; the local BSB reads "from the beginning," so that verse must not be presented as an undisputed direct G536 occurrence.
Project witnesses report eight direct BSB tokens and about nine selected-artifact occurrences because of a textual difference at Second Thessalonians 2:13. Direct uses concern Christ's resurrection, the Spirit and future redemption, consecrated first portions, early converts, and redeemed people.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Christ's resurrection is the firstfruits within Paul's answer to those denying resurrection. The next verses connect His risen life to the future resurrection of those who belong to Him.
Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
The Spirit's firstfruits are a present possession within creation's groaning and the believer's eager waiting for bodily redemption. The image supports hope, not triumphal denial of weakness.
If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
The consecrated first portion and root introduce the branch analogy, where Gentile believers are forbidden to boast over branches and reminded that the root supports them.
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. Initial portion offered to God, establishing claim on the whole; prototype or representative sample.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
the first-fruits
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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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
G536 relates a first portion to a larger whole, but the passage must identify both. First Corinthians 15:20-23 calls the risen Christ firstfruits and explicitly connects His resurrection to the later resurrection of those who belong to Him. Romans 8:23 calls the Spirit firstfruits while believers continue groaning for bodily redemption, so present gift and future hope remain together.
Romans 11:16 uses a consecrated first portion within an argument that warns Gentiles against boasting. Other verses name early converts or redeemed people as firstfruits. The selected artifact's additional Second Thessalonians 2:13 count reflects a textual-witness difference; the local BSB reads "from the beginning." Teachers should preserve that evidence boundary and avoid turning firstfruits into a generic promise of material increase or personal superiority.
1Cor.15.20
G536 is a noun for firstfruits or a first portion. Project witnesses differ in scope: the local BSB table has about eight direct tokens, while the selected artifact reports about nine because of textual handling at Second Thessalonians 2:13. That verse must be labeled as a witness difference rather than silently counted as direct BSB evidence.
Israel's firstfruits offerings provide the agricultural and consecratory background for a first portion related to a harvest or whole. New Testament authors apply that imagery differently, so offering laws should illuminate the metaphor without becoming a direct prosperity formula or an unchanged church ritual.