What does ἀρχηγός (archēgós) mean in the Bible?
Archegos names a leading originator, founder, author, prince, or pioneer figure. It occurs only a few times in the New Testament, but every use is Christologically weighty.
Greek · G747
ἀρχηγός
A chief leader
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ἀρχηγός G747
Pronunciation archēgós
What does ἀρχηγός (archēgós) mean in the Bible?
Archegos names a leading originator, founder, author, prince, or pioneer figure. It occurs only a few times in the New Testament, but every use is Christologically weighty.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀρχηγός (G747) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G747?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Author (3), [as] Prince (1).
Where does ἀρχηγός (archēgós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 3:15. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Hebrews (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Archegos names a leading originator, founder, author, prince, or pioneer figure. It occurs only a few times in the New Testament, but every use is Christologically weighty. Peter says Israel killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, and later says God exalted Jesus as Prince and Savior to grant repentance and forgiveness. Hebrews says God made the author of salvation perfect through suffering, and then calls Jesus the author and perfecter of faith.
The word does not present Jesus as a distant example only. It presents Him as the living source, leader, and saving pioneer whose suffering, resurrection, exaltation, and completed work secure the path for His people.
How the Bible Uses It
Archegos gathers leadership, origination, and saving priority around Jesus. Acts uses the word in proclamation of the crucified and exalted Christ. Hebrews uses it for the suffering author of salvation and the author and perfecter of faith.
- Acts.3.15
You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of this fact.
Peter says the people killed the Author of life, but God raised Him. The word heightens the contrast between human rejection and divine vindication.
- Acts.5.31
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
God exalted Jesus as Prince and Savior to grant repentance and forgiveness. Archegos is tied to royal saving authority.
- Heb.2.10
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
God made the author of salvation perfect through suffering while bringing many sons to glory. The word presents Jesus as the saving pioneer who leads through suffering into glory.
- Heb.12.2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Believers fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. He begins and completes the path of faithful endurance through the cross to enthronement.
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 Author 3× Acts 3:15, Hebrews 2:10, Hebrews 12:2
[as] Prince 1× Acts 5:31
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 3:15
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 2
Acts 2 Hebrews 2
Source forms
ἀρχηγὸν 2x archēgon Hebrews 2:10, Hebrews 12:2
Ἀρχηγὸν 2x Archēgon Acts 3:15, Acts 5:31
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 4x Acts 3:15, Acts 5:31, Hebrews 2:10, Hebrews 12:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use this word to direct faith to Jesus' finished and sustaining work.
- Keep proclamation, repentance, forgiveness, suffering, and endurance together when teaching the word.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that archegos means Jesus is merely the first believer.
- Do not claim that the word makes human leaders saving authors in the same sense.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Leader who originates or pioneers; combines foundational authority with active guidance of followers.
Strong's G747
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 1 form 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 5:27-42 Source Gloss
a chief leader
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 3:15 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀρχηγὸν archgon
originator, author, founder
Read verse Acts 5:31 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀρχηγὸν archgon
originator, author, founder
Read verse Hebrews 2:10 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀρχηγὸν archgon
originator, author, founder
Read verse Hebrews 12:2 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀρχηγὸν archgon
originator, author, founder
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 1 Aligned forms 4 Case pattern Accusative (4) Number pattern Singular (4)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Acts 3:15 · Acts 5:31 · Heb 2:10 · Heb 12:2 4×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Author, pioneer, or ruler.
pioneer, founder
pioneer, champion
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 4 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀρχηγός is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Identifies Christ as the one who blazed the path of redemptive faith. Acts 5:27-42
Christ leads His people into glory through suffering. Hebrews 12:1-3
Jesus is exalted as the sovereign originator and ruler of salvation. Hebrews 2:10-18
Canonical Themes
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
Archegos gives teachers a compact way to show that Jesus leads by saving, not by standing at a distance from His people. In Acts, the Author of life is killed, raised, and exalted as Prince and Savior. His leadership grants repentance and forgiveness. In Hebrews, He is the author of salvation who is made perfect through suffering, and the author and perfecter of faith who endures the cross and sits at God's right hand.
The word therefore resists thin moralism. Jesus is not merely first across the finish line; He opens the way, secures salvation, and brings His people to glory by His own suffering and exalted life.
Anchor passage
Heb.12.2
Doctrinal connections
- Acts 3:15: the Author of life was killed and raised, joining human guilt to divine vindication.
- Acts 5:31: Christ's exaltation as Prince and Savior grants repentance and forgiveness.
- Hebrews 2:10: the author of salvation leads many sons to glory through suffering.
- Hebrews 12:2: Jesus begins and completes the way of faith through cross and enthronement.
- G4990 Soter: Savior language in Acts 5:31 shows that archegos is royal and redemptive.
- G4102 Pistis: faith in Hebrews 12 is fixed on Jesus as author and perfecter, not on human resolve alone.
Archegos combines ideas of beginning, leadership, and origination. English renderings vary because context may stress author, founder, pioneer, prince, or leader. In all New Testament uses the referent is Jesus.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament patterns of appointed leaders, deliverers, and royal sons prepare readers for a greater leader who does more than guide from the front. Jesus fulfills and surpasses those patterns as the crucified, risen, and exalted author of life and salvation.
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