What does ἀρχιερεύς (archiereús) mean in the Bible?
Archiereus means high priest or chief priest, depending on context. In the Gospels and Acts it often names the Jerusalem priestly leadership involved in opposition to Jesus and the apostles.
Greek · G749
ἀρχιερεύς
High-priest
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ἀρχιερεύς G749
Pronunciation archiereús
What does ἀρχιερεύς (archiereús) mean in the Bible?
Archiereus means high priest or chief priest, depending on context. In the Gospels and Acts it often names the Jerusalem priestly leadership involved in opposition to Jesus and the apostles.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀρχιερεύς (G749) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G749?
The BSB source-word alignment has 122 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include chief priests (62), high priest (45), a high priest (5), [the] chief priests (2), [the] high priest (2).
Where does ἀρχιερεύς (archiereús) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (25), Acts (22), Mark (22), John (21).
What This Word Actually Means
Archiereus means high priest or chief priest, depending on context. In the Gospels and Acts it often names the Jerusalem priestly leadership involved in opposition to Jesus and the apostles. Matthew shows Jesus brought to Caiaphas the high priest. John records Caiaphas serving as high priest during the plot against Jesus. Hebrews uses the same word family to proclaim Jesus as the great high priest who has passed through the heavens, the appointed representative who offers gifts and sacrifices, and the sinless priest who offers Himself once for all.
The word therefore requires careful context: some uses expose corrupt priestly opposition, while Hebrews reveals Christ as the true and final high priest.
How the Bible Uses It
Archiereus can refer to historical high priests, chief-priestly authorities, or Jesus' priestly office. The Gospels show priestly leaders in the passion narrative. Hebrews develops Jesus' superior high-priestly ministry, His heavenly access, and His once-for-all self-offering.
- Matt.26.57
Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered.
Jesus is led to Caiaphas the high priest after His arrest. The word appears in the passion narrative where religious authority opposes the righteous Son.
- John.11.49
But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all!
Caiaphas is identified as high priest that year while speaking during the council's plot. The office is historically real, yet morally compromised in the narrative.
- Heb.4.14
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
Hebrews calls Jesus the great high priest who has passed through the heavens. The word becomes a confession of Christ's superior priestly access.
- Heb.5.1
Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Every high priest is appointed to represent people before God. The verse supplies the category of priestly representation that Hebrews applies to Christ.
- Heb.7.27
Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.
Jesus does not need repeated sacrifices like other high priests because He offered Himself once for all. His priesthood surpasses the old pattern.
- Heb.9.11
But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.
Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come and entered the greater tabernacle. The word is tied to heavenly, fulfilled priestly ministry.
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 chief priests 62× Matthew 2:4, Matthew 16:21, Matthew 20:18, Matthew 21:15
high priest 45× Matthew 26:3, Matthew 26:51, Matthew 26:57, Matthew 26:58
a high priest 5× Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 5:5, Hebrews 6:20, Hebrews 7:26
[the] chief priests 2× Luke 22:52, Luke 22:66
[the] high priest 2× John 18:13, Acts 23:5
[the] high priesthood 1× Luke 3:2
as high priests 1× Hebrews 7:28
chief priest 1× Acts 19:14
high priest’s 1× John 18:26
high priests 1× Hebrews 7:27
the high priesthood 1× Mark 2:26
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 2:4 ἀρχιερεῖς to chief priests Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 16:21 ἀρχιερέων to chief priests Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural Matthew 20:18 ἀρχιερεῦσιν to chief priests Noun - Dative Masculine Plural Matthew 21:15 ἀρχιερεῖς to chief priests Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 21:23 ἀρχιερεῖς to chief priests Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 21:45 ἀρχιερεῖς to chief priests Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 26:3 ἀρχιερεῖς to chief priests Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 26:3 ἀρχιερέως to high priest Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Matthew 26:14 ἀρχιερεῖς to chief priests Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Matthew 26:47 ἀρχιερέων to chief priests Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 2:4
Aligned rows 122
Books represented 6
Matthew 25 Mark 22 Luke 15 John 21 Acts 22 Hebrews 17
Source forms
ἀρχιερεῖς 50x archiereis Matthew 2:4, Matthew 21:15, Matthew 21:23, Matthew 21:45
ἀρχιερεὺς 24x archiereus Matthew 26:62, Matthew 26:63, Matthew 26:65, Mark 14:60
ἀρχιερέως 16x archiereōs Matthew 26:3, Matthew 26:51, Matthew 26:58, Mark 2:26
ἀρχιερέων 10x archiereōn Matthew 16:21, Matthew 26:47, Matthew 27:12, Mark 8:31
ἀρχιερέα 8x archierea Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, John 18:24, Acts 23:4
ἀρχιερεῦσιν 6x archiereusin Matthew 20:18, Matthew 27:3, Matthew 28:11, Mark 10:33
ἀρχιερεύς 4x archiereus Acts 7:1, Acts 23:5, Hebrews 7:26, Hebrews 9:7
ἀρχιερεῖ 3x archierei John 18:15, John 18:22, Acts 9:1
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural 40x Matthew 21:15, Matthew 21:23, Matthew 21:45, Matthew 26:3
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 28x Matthew 26:62, Matthew 26:63, Matthew 26:65, Mark 14:60
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular 16x Matthew 26:3, Matthew 26:51, Matthew 26:58, Mark 2:26
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 10x Matthew 2:4, Matthew 26:14, Mark 14:10, Luke 22:52
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural 10x Matthew 16:21, Matthew 26:47, Matthew 27:12, Mark 8:31
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 9x Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, John 18:24, Acts 23:4
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 6x Matthew 20:18, Matthew 27:3, Matthew 28:11, Mark 10:33
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 3x John 18:15, John 18:22, Acts 9:1
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Distinguish corrupt religious authority from Christ's perfect priestly ministry.
- Use Hebrews to lead readers toward confidence in Christ, not fascination with priestly mechanics alone.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that archiereus always refers to Jesus.
- Do not claim that earthly priestly office guaranteed faithfulness to God.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Singular or plural office representing the Jewish priesthood's apex; includes ex-high-priests and aristocratic priestly families.
Strong's G749
Lexical occurrences 122 verses Greek text appearances 123 times 16 shown below Word forms 8 forms 122 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 22:30-23:5 Source Gloss
high-priest
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Singular or plural office representing the Jewish priesthood's apex; includes ex-high-priests and aristocratic priestly families.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 123 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 2:4 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῖς arciereiv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 16:21 Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερέων arcierewn
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 20:18 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῦσι arciereusin
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 21:15 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῖς arciereiv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 21:23 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῖς arciereiv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 21:45 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῖς arciereiv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:3 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῖς arciereiv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:3 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ἀρχιερέως arcierewv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:14 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῖς, arciereiv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:47 Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερέων arcierewn
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:51 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ἀρχιερέως arcierewv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:57 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀρχιερέα, arcierea
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:58 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ἀρχιερέως, arcierewv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:59 Noun Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀρχιερεῖς arciereiv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:62 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀρχιερεὺς arciereuv
high priest, chief priest
Read verse Matthew 26:63 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀρχιερεὺς arciereuv
high priest, chief priest
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 8 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 8 Aligned forms 122 Case pattern Nominative (68) Number pattern Plural (66)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Matt 21:15 · Matt 21:23 · Matt 21:45 · Matt 26:3 · Matt 26:59 · Matt 27:1 · Matt 27:6 · Matt 27:20 · Matt 27:41 · Matt 27:62 · Mark 11:18 · Mark 11:27 · Mark 14:1 · Mark 14:53 · Mark 14:55 · Mark 15:1 40×
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 26:62 · Matt 26:63 · Matt 26:65 · Mark 14:60 · Mark 14:61 · Mark 14:63 · John 11:49 · John 11:51 · John 18:13 · John 18:19 · Acts 4:6 · Acts 5:17 · Acts 5:21 · Acts 5:27 · Acts 7:1 · Acts 22:5 28×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine Matt 26:3 · Matt 26:51 · Matt 26:58 · Mark 2:26 · Mark 14:47 · Mark 14:54 · Mark 14:66 · Luke 3:2 · Luke 22:50 · Luke 22:54 · John 18:10 · John 18:15 · John 18:16 · John 18:26 · Acts 19:14 · Heb 13:11 16×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Matt 16:21 · Matt 26:47 · Matt 27:12 · Mark 8:31 · Mark 14:43 · Luke 9:22 · John 18:3 · Acts 9:14 · Acts 26:10 · Acts 26:12 10×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Matt 20:18 · Matt 27:3 · Matt 28:11 · Mark 10:33 · Luke 22:4 · Acts 23:14 6×
Dative · Singular · Masculine John 18:15 · John 18:22 · Acts 9:1 3×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 2:4 · Matt 26:14 · Mark 14:10 · Luke 22:52 · Luke 23:4 · Luke 23:13 · John 7:45 · Acts 9:21 · Acts 22:30 · Heb 7:28 10×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Matt 26:57 · Mark 14:53 · John 18:24 · Acts 23:4 · Heb 3:1 · Heb 4:14 · Heb 4:15 · Heb 5:5 · Heb 8:1 9×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Chief priestly authority.
high priest
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 122 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
Why This Word Matters
Identifies Jesus as the supreme mediator. Acts 22:30-23:5
Represents official religious leadership confronting Paul. Hebrews 4:14-16
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
Archiereus is one of the clearest examples of a word whose meaning must be governed by context. In the passion narratives, high-priestly authority may be real and still opposed to Jesus. Caiaphas and the chief-priestly circle act within recognizable offices, yet the narrative exposes their guilt. Hebrews takes the priestly category in a different direction, showing that Jesus is the great high priest who represents His people, passes through the heavens, needs no sacrifice for His own sins, offers Himself once for all, and ministers in the greater tabernacle.
The word therefore lets teachers warn against corrupt religion while leading hearers to Christ's finished priestly work.
Anchor passage
Heb.4.14
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 26:57: Jesus stands before the high priest in the path toward His suffering.
- John 11:49-53: Caiaphas' office intersects with the council's plot and God's larger purpose in Jesus' death.
- Hebrews 4:14-16: Jesus' great high-priestly access gives believers confidence to draw near.
- Hebrews 5:1-10: priesthood involves appointment, representation, and compassion, fulfilled in Christ.
- Hebrews 7:27: Christ's once-for-all self-offering surpasses repeated sacrifices.
- Hebrews 9:11-12: Jesus' priestly ministry belongs to the greater tabernacle and eternal redemption.
Archiereus can be singular for the high priest or plural for chief priests and priestly authorities. The term identifies office or group, not moral faithfulness by itself.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament priesthood, tabernacle, sacrifice, and the Day of Atonement stand behind Hebrews' use of archiereus. The New Testament does not discard those categories; it shows their fulfillment and surpassing reality in Christ.
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