What does ἄρχομαι (árchomai) mean in the Bible?
ἄρχομαι (árchomai) is a Greek word meaning "to commence (in order of time)".
Greek · G756
ἄρχομαι
To commence (in order of time)
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ἄρχομαι G756
Pronunciation árchomai
What does ἄρχομαι (árchomai) mean in the Bible?
ἄρχομαι (árchomai) is a Greek word meaning "to commence (in order of time)".
Full entry for ἄρχομαι (G756) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G756?
The BSB source-word alignment has 84 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include began (29), [and] began (9), he began (8), beginning (6), [Jesus] began (5).
Where does ἄρχομαι (árchomai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 4:17. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (31), Mark (26), Matthew (13), Acts (10).
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 began 29× Matthew 4:17, Matthew 11:7, Matthew 12:1, Matthew 16:21
[and] began 9× Matthew 16:22, Matthew 26:22, Matthew 26:37, Mark 8:32
he began 8× Matthew 26:74, Mark 6:2, Mark 6:34, Mark 8:31
beginning 6× Matthew 14:30, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:47, John 8:9
[Jesus] began 5× Matthew 11:20, Mark 4:1, Mark 12:1, Luke 7:24
vvv 5× Mark 6:55, Luke 9:12, Luke 11:29, Luke 14:29
They began 4× Mark 14:19, Mark 15:18, Luke 15:24, Luke 23:2
begin 2× Luke 3:8, Luke 21:28
he begins 2× Matthew 24:49, Luke 12:45
you will 2× Luke 13:25, Luke 13:26
[and] 1× Mark 14:69
[the people] began 1× Mark 5:17
Are we beginning 1× 2 Corinthians 3:1
He proceeded 1× Luke 20:9
opened 1× Acts 24:2
she began 1× Luke 7:38
starting 1× Matthew 20:8
they became 1× Mark 10:41
to begin 1× 1 Peter 4:17
what he started 1× Luke 14:30
when He began [His ministry] 1× Luke 3:23
you will have 1× Luke 14:9
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 4:17 ἤρξατο to began Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 11:7 ἤρξατο to began Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 11:20 ἤρξατο to [Jesus] began Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 12:1 ἤρξαντο to began Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 14:30 ἀρξάμενος to beginning Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 16:21 ἤρξατο to began Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 16:22 ἤρξατο to [and] began Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 18:24 ἀρξαμένου to began Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Genitive Masculine Singular Matthew 20:8 ἀρξάμενος to starting Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 24:49 ἄρξηται to he begins Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 4:17
Aligned rows 84
Books represented 7
Matthew 13 Mark 26 Luke 31 John 2 Acts 10 2 Corinthians 1 1 Peter 1
Source forms
ἤρξατο 39x ērxato Matthew 4:17, Matthew 11:7, Matthew 11:20, Matthew 16:21
ἤρξαντο 17x ērxanto Matthew 12:1, Matthew 26:22, Mark 2:23, Mark 5:17
ἀρξάμενος 7x arxamenos Matthew 14:30, Matthew 20:8, Luke 23:5, Luke 24:27
ἀρξάμενοι 2x arxamenoi Luke 24:47, John 8:9
ἄρξησθε 2x arxēsthe Luke 3:8, Luke 13:25
ἄρξηται 2x arxētai Matthew 24:49, Luke 12:45
Ἤρξατο 2x Ērxato Mark 10:28, Luke 20:9
Ἀρξάμενος 1x Arxamenos Acts 11:4
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 41x Matthew 4:17, Matthew 11:7, Matthew 11:20, Matthew 16:21
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 19x Matthew 12:1, Matthew 26:22, Mark 2:23, Mark 5:17
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular 8x Matthew 14:30, Matthew 20:8, Luke 23:5, Luke 24:27
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle 2x Acts 11:15, 1 Peter 4:17
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural 2x Luke 24:47, John 8:9
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 2nd Person Plural 2x Luke 3:8, Luke 13:25
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 24:49, Luke 12:45
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Genitive Masculine Singular 1x Matthew 18:24
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to commence (in order of time)
Strong's G756
Lexical occurrences 0 verses Greek text appearances 84 times 16 shown below Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 3:23-38 Source Gloss
to commence (in order of time)
Extended definition
:--(rehearse from the) begin(-ning).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 84 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 4:17 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Matthew 11:7 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Matthew 11:20 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Matthew 12:1 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξαντο hrxanto
I begin
Read verse Matthew 14:30 Verb Aorist Middle Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀρξάμενος arxamenov
I begin
Read verse Matthew 16:21 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Matthew 16:22 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Matthew 18:24 Verb Aorist Middle Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
ἀρξαμένου arxamenou
I begin
Read verse Matthew 20:8 Verb Aorist Middle Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀρξάμενος arxamenov
I begin
Read verse Matthew 24:49 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Subjunctive
ἄρξηται arxhtai
I begin
Read verse Matthew 26:22 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξαντο hrxanto
I begin
Read verse Matthew 26:37 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Matthew 26:74 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Mark 1:45 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
Read verse Mark 2:23 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξαντο hrxanto
I begin
Read verse Mark 4:1 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἤρξατο hrxato
I begin
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.
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 83 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 78 future 3 present 2
Voice
middle 83
Mood
indicative 64 participle 12 subjunctive 5 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 4:17 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 11:20 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 11:7 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 12:1 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 14:30 ἀρξάμενος aorist middle participle participle Matthew 16:21 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 16:22 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 18:24 ἀρξαμένου aorist middle participle participle Matthew 20:8 ἀρξάμενος aorist middle participle participle Matthew 24:49 ἄρξηται aorist middle subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 26:22 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 26:37 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Matthew 26:74 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 1:45 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 2:23 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 4:1 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 5:17 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 5:20 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 6:2 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 6:34 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 6:55 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 6:7 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 8:11 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 8:31 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 8:32 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 10:28 Ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 10:32 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 10:41 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 10:47 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 11:15 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 12:1 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 13:5 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 14:19 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 14:33 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 14:65 ἤρξαντό aorist middle indicative completed Mark 14:69 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 14:71 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 15:18 ἤρξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Mark 15:8 ἤρξατο aorist middle indicative completed Luke 3:8 ἄρξησθε aorist middle subjunctive subjunctive
+43 more occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Biblical Witnesses
Jesus commencing his ministry at approximately thirty years of age
The commencement or starting point of righteous rule and its effects
Word Origins
ἄρχομαι 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