Original or primeval
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
G744 describes what belongs to ancient, original, or early times, including former teaching, early disciples, the ancient world, and the ancient serpent. The adjective can identify people of old, long-standing proclamation, early events, original creation, the former state that passes in Christ, or the primeval enemy, so age alone never establishes truth or goodness.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀρχαῖος (G744) · Open the biblical lexicon
G744 describes what belongs to ancient, original, or early times, including former teaching, early disciples, the ancient world, and the ancient serpent. The adjective can identify people of old, long-standing proclamation, early events, original creation, the former state that passes in Christ, or the primeval enemy, so age alone never establishes truth or.
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include ancient (3), old (3), ancients (2), [the] ancient (1), [the] early (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (3), Luke (2), Matthew (2), Revelation (2).
G744 describes what belongs to ancient, original, or early times, including former teaching, early disciples, the ancient world, and the ancient serpent. The adjective can identify people of old, long-standing proclamation, early events, original creation, the former state that passes in Christ, or the primeval enemy, so age alone never establishes truth or goodness.
In 2Cor. 5. 17, paul declares that the person in Christ is new creation, with the old things passed away and the new having come. In Acts. 15. 7, peter recalls that in the early days God chose him so Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. G744 opens teaching on how the gospel relates to ancient testimony, early witnesses, the old that passes in new creation, and an ancient enemy whose age does not make his deception true.
It corrects both contempt for the past and automatic reverence for whatever is ancient, calling readers to test inherited claims by Gods revelation and Christs new-creation work. G744 gives antiquity no automatic moral halo: Paul says the ancient things have passed for anyone in Christ as new creation comes, Peter recalls Gods early choice that Gentiles hear the gospel, and Revelation identifies the dragon as the ancient serpent and deceiver.
The past can contain Gods faithful action, a former life that must pass, or rebellion continuing from the beginning. Christ, not age, is the measure. For G744, responsible teaching keeps lexical meaning, passage context, canonical synthesis, and present application distinguishable. G744 does not teach that every tradition is obsolete, make novelty a sign of truth, erase a believers history, or imply that Satans long activity rivals Gods eternal sovereignty.
G744 appears across passages that develop ancient testimony, early gospel work, original creation, new creation, inherited teaching, old rebellion, judgment, and faithful continuity. For G744, the immediate setting decides which part of the range is active, so the witnesses must remain distinct rather than being merged into one formula.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
Paul declares that the person in Christ is new creation, with the old things passed away and the new having come.
After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
Peter recalls that in the early days God chose him so Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.
And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
John identifies the hurled-down dragon as the ancient serpent, the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.
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. original or primeval
(ἀρχή), [in LXX chiefly for קֶדֶם ;] original, ancient: Mat.5:21, 33, Luk.9:8, 19, Act.15:7, 21 21:16, 2Co.5:17, 2Pe.2:5, Rev.12:9 20:2.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
original, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
Read verseoriginal, primitive, ancient
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 7 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.
ἀρχαῖος 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.
G744 gives antiquity no automatic moral halo: Paul says the ancient things have passed for anyone in Christ as new creation comes, Peter recalls Gods early choice that Gentiles hear the gospel, and Revelation identifies the dragon as the ancient serpent and deceiver. The past can contain Gods faithful action, a former life that must pass, or rebellion continuing from the beginning.
Christ, not age, is the measure. G744 describes what belongs to ancient, original, or early times, including former teaching, early disciples, the ancient world, and the ancient serpent. The selected witnesses keep the teaching concrete: 2Cor. 5. 17 shows that paul declares that the person in Christ is new creation, with the old things passed away and the new having come, while Acts.
15. 7 Shows that peter recalls that in the early days God chose him so Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. Rev. 12. 9 adds that john identifies the hurled-down dragon as the ancient serpent, the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. G744 opens teaching on how the gospel relates to ancient testimony, early witnesses, the old that passes in new creation, and an ancient enemy whose age does not make his deception true.
It corrects both contempt for the past and automatic reverence for whatever is ancient, calling readers to test inherited claims by Gods revelation and Christs new-creation work. A church teaching G744 faithfully will name both the promise and the boundary carried by these contexts, attend to vulnerable hearers, and refuse to make the lexical item prove more than its passages support.
G744 does not teach that every tradition is obsolete, make novelty a sign of truth, erase a believers history, or imply that Satans long activity rivals Gods eternal sovereignty.
2Cor.5.17
G744 is a Greek adjective related to beginning or origin and means ancient, original, primeval, or belonging to early times; its noun or context supplies the thing dated.
Scripture remembers creation, covenant, law, prophets, ancient rebellion, and Gods long faithfulness. The New Testament receives that history as fulfilled in Christ, calls people into new creation, and exposes the ancient serpent without treating biblical continuity as captivity to human tradition.