What does ἀρχαῖος (archaîos) mean in the Bible?
ἀρχαῖος (archaîos) is a Greek word meaning "original or primeval".
Greek · G744
ἀρχαῖος
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 the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
ἀρχαῖος G744
Pronunciation archaîos
What does ἀρχαῖος (archaîos) mean in the Bible?
ἀρχαῖος (archaîos) is a Greek word meaning "original or primeval".
Full entry for ἀρχαῖος (G744) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G744?
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).
Where does ἀρχαῖος (archaîos) appear in Scripture?
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).
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 ancient 3× Acts 15:21, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 20:2
old 3× Luke 9:8, Luke 9:19, 2 Corinthians 5:17
ancients 2× Matthew 5:21, Matthew 5:33
[the] ancient 1× 2 Peter 2:5
[the] early 1× Acts 15:7
an early 1× Acts 21:16
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:21 ἀρχαίοις to ancients Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural Matthew 5:33 ἀρχαίοις to ancients Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural Luke 9:8 ἀρχαίων to old Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural Luke 9:19 ἀρχαίων to old Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural Acts 15:7 ἀρχαίων to [the] early Adjective - Genitive Feminine Plural Acts 15:21 ἀρχαίων to ancient Adjective - Genitive Feminine Plural Acts 21:16 ἀρχαίῳ to an early Adjective - Dative Masculine Singular 2 Corinthians 5:17 ἀρχαῖα to old Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural 2 Peter 2:5 ἀρχαίου to [the] ancient Adjective - Genitive Masculine Singular Revelation 12:9 ἀρχαῖος to ancient Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:21
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 6
Matthew 2 Luke 2 Acts 3 2 Corinthians 1 2 Peter 1 Revelation 2
Source forms
ἀρχαίων 4x archaiōn Luke 9:8, Luke 9:19, Acts 15:7, Acts 15:21
ἀρχαίοις 2x archaiois Matthew 5:21, Matthew 5:33
ἀρχαῖος 2x archaios Revelation 12:9, Revelation 20:2
ἀρχαῖα 1x archaia 2 Corinthians 5:17
ἀρχαίου 1x archaiou 2 Peter 2:5
ἀρχαίῳ 1x archaiō Acts 21:16
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural 2x Matthew 5:21, Matthew 5:33
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Plural 2x Acts 15:7, Acts 15:21
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural 2x Luke 9:8, Luke 9:19
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Revelation 12:9, Revelation 20:2
Adjective - Dative Masculine Singular 1x Acts 21:16
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Singular 1x 2 Peter 2:5
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural 1x 2 Corinthians 5:17
Evidence Summary
Greek word. original or primeval
Strong's G744
Lexical occurrences 11 verses Greek text appearances 12 times Word forms 7 forms 11 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
original or primeval
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
(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.
Synonymsπαλαιός, old, without the reference to beginning and origin contained in ἀ. The distinction is observed in π. (MM, see word). ἀ. is the antithesis to καινός: παλ. to vέος (see Westc., He., 223; Cremer, 116)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:21 Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
ἀρχαίοις, arcaioiv
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Matthew 5:27 Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
ἀρχαίοις, arcaioiv
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Matthew 5:33 Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
ἀρχαίοις, arcaioiv
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Luke 9:8 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀρχαίων arcaiwn
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Luke 9:19 Adjective Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀρχαίων arcaiwn
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Acts 15:7 Adjective Genitive Plural Feminine
ἀρχαίων arcaiwn
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Acts 15:21 Adjective Genitive Plural Feminine
ἀρχαίων arcaiwn
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Acts 21:16 Adjective Dative Singular Masculine
ἀρχαίῳ arcaiw
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse 2 Corinthians 5:17 Adjective Nominative Plural Neuter
ἀρχαῖα arcaia
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse 2 Peter 2:5 Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine
ἀρχαίου arcaiou
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Revelation 12:9 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀρχαῖος, arcaiov
original, primitive, ancient
Read verse Revelation 20:2 Adjective Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀρχαῖον, arcaion
original, 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.
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form patterns 7 Aligned forms 11 Case pattern Genitive (5) Number pattern Plural (7)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Rev 12:9 · Rev 20:2 2×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter 2 Cor 5:17 1×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Luke 9:8 · Luke 9:19 2×
Genitive · Plural · Feminine Acts 15:7 · Acts 15:21 2×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine 2 Pet 2:5 1×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Matt 5:21 · Matt 5:33 2×
Dative · Singular · Masculine Acts 21:16 1×
Word Origins
ἀρχαῖος 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.
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