A head shepherd
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ἀρχιποίμην (archipoimēn) means Chief Shepherd and occurs directly in the New Testament at 1 Peter 5:4. The compound title places Christ over every human shepherd addressed in the surrounding exhortation.
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Full entry for ἀρχιποίμην (G750) · Open the biblical lexicon
ἀρχιποίμην (archipoimēn) means Chief Shepherd and occurs directly in the New Testament at 1 Peter 5:4. The compound title places Christ over every human shepherd addressed in the surrounding exhortation.
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include Chief Shepherd (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Peter 5:4. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Peter (1).
ἀρχιποίμην (archipoimēn) means Chief Shepherd and occurs directly in the New Testament at 1 Peter 5:4. The compound title places Christ over every human shepherd addressed in the surrounding exhortation. Elders are to shepherd God's flock willingly, eagerly, and by example rather than through greed or domination because the flock belongs to God and the Chief Shepherd will appear.
The term is therefore deliberately Christological and proportionate: it is not a general honorific for senior church leaders. Supporting shepherd passages clarify its canonical weight. Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd whose personal care and self-giving death secure His flock, and Hebrews names Him the great Shepherd brought from the dead through the blood of the eternal covenant.
When the Chief Shepherd appears, faithful under-shepherds receive an unfading crown of glory. The title grounds pastoral humility, accountability, hope, and reward in Christ's ownership and return. It should make leaders smaller in their own eyes and Christ larger before the flock.
ἀρχιποίμην occurs directly only in 1 Peter 5:4, where Christ's appearing and promised reward govern the service of human elders. Four explicitly labeled supporting shepherd passages clarify the title through Christ's self-giving care, knowledge of His sheep, resurrection, covenant blood, and ownership of the flock.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
This is the direct occurrence of ἀρχιποίμην. The title places the elders' hidden and public service under Christ's future appearing and promises reward from Him rather than status extracted from the flock.
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
Supporting context; G750 does not occur in this verse. The command defines under-shepherding as care for God's flock and excludes compulsion and greed, preparing for the Chief Shepherd title in verse 4.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Supporting canonical context; G750 does not occur here. Jesus' Good Shepherd saying supplies the self-giving pattern that prevents Chief Shepherd authority from being imagined as domination.
I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
Supporting canonical context; G750 does not occur here. Christ's shepherding includes personal knowledge and reciprocal recognition, not remote institutional control.
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
Supporting canonical context; G750 does not occur here. Hebrews joins Jesus' shepherding identity to resurrection and the blood of the eternal covenant, giving the title redemptive depth beyond organizational leadership.
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. Chief shepherd role applied to Christ as ultimate pastoral authority over all lesser shepherds
Chief shepherd role applied to Christ as ultimate pastoral authority over all lesser shepherds
[in Sm.: 4Ki.3:4 * ;] found on an Egyptian mummy label (Deiss., LAE, 97 ff.; cf. MM, see word); used by modem Greeks of tribal chiefs; chief shepherd. of Christ, 1Pe.5:4.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
1 Greek text appearance shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
the chief shepherd
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 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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Affirms Christ’s ultimate authority over His church and its leaders. 1 Peter 5:1-4
Peter's title Chief Shepherd gives human leaders both a boundary and a hope. The boundary is ownership: elders shepherd God's flock, not their own following. The manner of service must therefore reject compulsion, greed, and domination and instead display willingness, eagerness, and example. John 10 shows why Christ's supremacy is good news rather than mere hierarchy.
The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and lays down His life for them. Hebrews 13 adds resurrection and covenant blood, presenting Jesus as the great Shepherd whose saving work equips His people. The hope is His appearing. Leaders whose service is unseen, costly, or misunderstood do not need to manufacture recognition from the flock, because the Chief Shepherd Himself gives the unfading crown of glory.
The title cannot be transferred upward into a grander human office; its force moves in the opposite direction. It relativizes every human title, places every elder under review, protects the flock from possession, and teaches pastoral workers to seek Christ's approval through Christlike care.
1Pet.5.4
ἀρχιποίμην combines the established title-forming prefix ἀρχι-, denoting chief or principal rank, with ποιμήν, shepherd. Its single direct occurrence and definite Christological reference require proportionate treatment. The compound identifies Christ's supremacy among shepherds; it does not create a lexical basis for a human chief-shepherd office.
The Lord shepherds His people in Psalm 23, condemns self-serving shepherds and promises to seek His flock in Ezekiel 34, and ties future care to a Davidic shepherd. Jesus fulfills this divine and royal shepherding hope through self-giving death, resurrection, covenant blood, and final appearing as the Chief Shepherd.
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