Greek · G746 · unreviewed

ἀρχή

Beginning

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ἀρχή G746

Pronunciation archḗ

What does ἀρχή (archḗ) mean in the Bible?

ἀρχή (archḗ) is a Greek word meaning "beginning". ἀρχή, -ῆς, ἡ [in LXX for קֶדֶם, רֹאשׁ, רֹאשׁ, etc. This guards against viewing Jesus as a late, secondary figure. The One John proclaims is the eternal Son rooted in God’s own eternal being and purpose. This term runs through the canonical themes of Creation, Messiah.

Full entry for ἀρχή (G746) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

beginning

Extended definition

Beginning as origin or first cause; also means rule/authority when referring to cosmic powers or earthly governance.

1beginning, origin;

aabsol., of the beginning of all things: of God as the Eternal, the First Cause, Rev.21:6 (cf. 18); similarly, of Christ, Rev.22:13; of Christ as the uncreated principle, the active cause of creation, Rev.3:14; in his relation to the Church, Col.1:18; ἐν ἀ., Jhn.1:1-2; ἀπ᾽ ἀ. (and ἀπ᾽ ἀ. κτισεως), Mat.19:4, 8 24:21, Mrk.10:6 13:19, Jhn.8:44, 2Th.2:13, 2Pe.3:4, 1Jn.1:1 Jn 2:13-14 Jn 2:24; κατ ἀρχἀς, Heb.1:10;

brelatively: Heb.7:3; ἀ. ὠδίνων, Mat.24:8, Mrk.13:9; τ. σημείων, Jhn.2:11; τ. ὑποστάσεως, Heb.3:14; τ. λογίων, Heb.5:12; ὁ τ. ἀρχῆς τ. Χριστοῦ λόγος, the account of the beginning, the elementary view of Christ, Heb.6:1; ἀρχὴν λαμβάνειν, to begin, Heb.2:3; ἐξ ἀ., Jhn.6:64 16:4; ἀπ᾽ ἀ., Luk.1:2, Jhn.15:27, 1Jn.2:7 Jn 2:24 Jn 3:11, 2Jn.5-6; ἐν ἀ., Act.11:15 26:4, Php.4:15; τὴν ἀρχήν, adverbially, at all (Hdt., al.; v MM, see word): Jhn.8:25.

2an extremity, a corner: Act.10:11 11:5.

3sovereignty, principality, rule (cf. DB, i, 616 f.): Luk.12:11 20:20, Rom.8:38, 1Co.15:24, Eph.1:21 3:10 6:12, Col.1:16 2:10, 15 Tit.3:1, Ju 6 (Cremer, 113).

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith

Why This Word Matters

This guards against viewing Jesus as a late, secondary figure. The One John proclaims is the eternal Son rooted in God’s own eternal being and purpose. 1 John 1:1-4

Mature believers are anchored in the unchanging, eternal Christ rather than novel teachings. 1 John 2:12-14

Faithfulness is measured by continuity with the foundational gospel, not by novelty. 1 John 2:24-27

Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 24:8 · Mark 1:1 · Mark 13:8 · Col 1:18 · Rev 3:14 · Rev 21:6 · Rev 22:13 7×

Nominative · Plural · Feminine Rom 8:38 · Col 1:16 2×

Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 19:4 · Matt 19:8 · Matt 24:21 · Mark 10:6 · Mark 13:19 · Luke 1:2 · John 6:64 · John 8:44 · John 15:27 · John 16:4 · Acts 26:4 · Eph 1:21 · Col 2:10 · Heb 5:12 · Heb 6:1 · 2 Pet 3:4 26×

Dative · Singular · Feminine Luke 20:20 · John 1:1 · John 1:2 · Acts 11:15 · Phil 4:15 5×

Dative · Plural · Feminine Acts 10:11 · Acts 11:5 · Eph 3:10 · Titus 3:1 4×

Accusative · Singular · Feminine John 2:11 · John 8:25 · 1 Cor 15:24 · Heb 2:3 · Heb 3:14 · Heb 7:3 · Jude 1:6 7×

Accusative · Plural · Feminine Luke 12:11 · Eph 6:12 · Col 2:15 · Heb 1:10 4×

Canonical Themes

CreationMessiah

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses

1 John 1:1-4 from the beginning archḗ

Either the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry as heard by the apostles or, in light of Johannine usage, the eternal preexistence of the Son with the Father, now revealed in history.

1 John 2:12-14 from the beginning archḗ

Referring to the eternal preexistence of Christ or the original apostolic message.

1 John 2:24-27 from the beginning archḗ

Referring to the original apostolic proclamation of the gospel.

Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Colossians 1 — The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel of Reconciliation Colossians 2 — Fullness in Christ and Freedom from Christ-Plus Religion John 15 — The True Vine, Abiding Fruitfulness, Christlike Love, and the World’s Hatred Mark 1 — The Beginning of the Gospel: The Servant-King Appears with Authority Matthew 19 — Marriage from Creation, Children Received, Riches Renounced, and the Reward of Following Christ

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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