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Bible Lexicons
Old & New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary Greek Lexicon
Strong's #746 - ἀρχή
- Thayer
- Strong
- Mounce
- beginning, origin
- the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader
- that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
- the extremity of a thing
- of the corners of a sail
- the first place, principality, rule, magistracy
- of angels and demons
- Book
- Word
- Parsing
did not use
this Strong's Number
ἀρχή, ἡ, (v. ἄρχω)
I
1. beginning, origin, νείκεος ἀ. Il. 22.116; πήματος Od. 8.81; φόνου 21.4, etc.; opp. τέλος, Hdt. 7.51, etc.; opp. τελευτή, Thgn. 607, cf. Pl. Lg. 715e, Hp. Morb. 1.1; ἀ. γενέσθαι κακῶν Hdt. 5.97; ἀ. ποιήσασθαί τινος Th. 1.128, And. 2.37, Isoc. 12.120, etc.; ἀ. λαβεῖν τινός Aeschin. 1.11; τὰς ἀρχὰς εἰληφέναι Plb. 4.28.3; ἀρχὴν ὑποθέσθαι lay a foundation, D. 3.2, etc.; βαλέσθαι Pl. 326e (and Pass., ἀρχαὶ βέβληνται Pi. N. 1.8); ἀρχὴν ἄρχεσθαί τινος Pl. Ti. 36e; source of action, [ ὁ ἄνθρωπος] ἔχει ἀρχὴν ἐλευθέραν Plot. 3.3.4. with Preps. in adverbial usages, ἐξ ἀρχῆς from the beginning, from the first, from of old, Od. 1.188, Xenoph. 10, etc.; οὑξ ἀ. φίλος S. OT 385; ἡ ἐξ ἀ. ἔχθρα D. 54.3; τὸ ἐξ ἀ. X. Cyn. 12.6; but πλουτεῖν ἐξ ἀ. πάλιν anew, afresh, Ar. Pl. 221; λόγον πάλιν ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀ. κινεῖν Pl. R. 450a; ὁ ἐξ ἀ. λόγος the original argument, Id. Tht. 177c, etc.; τὰ ἐξ ἀ. the principal sum, Arist. Pol. 1280a30: — also ἀπ' ἀ. Hes. Th. 425, Hdt. 2.104, Pi. P. 8.25, A. Supp. 344, Pl. Tht. 206d; κατ' ἀρχάς in the beginning, at first, Hdt. 3.153, 7.5; αὐτίκα κατ' ἀ. Id. 8.94; τὸ κατ' ἀ. Pl. Lg. 798a, al. acc. ἀρχήν, abs., to begin with, at first, Hdt. 1.9, 2.28, 8.132; τὴν ἀρχήν And. 3.20: pl., τὰς ἀρχάς Plb. 16.22.8: freq. followed by a neg., not at all, ἀρχὴν μηδὲ λαβών Hdt. 3.39, cf. 1.193, al.; ἀ. δὲ θηρᾶν οὐ πρέπει τἀμήχανα S. Ant. 92; ἀ. κλύειν ἂν οὐκ.. ἐβουλόμην Id. Ph. 1239, cf. El. 439, Philol. 3, Antipho 5.73, Pl. Grg. 478c; sts. c. Art., τοῦτο οὐκ ἐνδέκομαι τὴν ἀ. Hdt. 4.25; τὴν ἀ. γὰρ ἐξῆν αὐτῷ μὴ γράφειν D. 23.93.
2. first principle, element, first so used by Anaximander, acc. to Simp. in Ph. 150.23, cf. Arist. Metaph. 983b11, etc.; Ἡράκλειτος τὴν ἀ. εἶναί φησι ψυχήν Id. de An. 405a25; of ὕλη and θεός, opp. στοιχεῖα, Placit. 1.3.25; practical principle of conduct, τῶν πράξεων τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ὑποθέσεις D. 2.10; principles of knowledge, Arist. Metaph. 995b8, al.
3. end, corner, of a bandage, rope, sheet, etc., Hdt. 4.60, Hp. Off. 9, E. Hipp. 762, Aen.Tact. 18.14, Acts 10:11; of a compound pulley, Hero Bel. 84.14.
4. Math., origin of a curve, τῆς ἕλικος Archim. Spir. 11 Def. 2, etc.; ξυνὸν ἀ. καὶ πέρας ἐπὶ κύκλου περιφερείας Heraclit. 103.
5. branch of a river, LXX Genesis 2:10 (pl.).
6. sum, total, ib. Numbers 1:2.
7. vital organs of the body, Gal. 1.318, al.
II
1. first place or power, sovereignty (not in Hom.), Διὸς ἀρχά Pi. O. 2.64, cf. Hdt. 1.6, etc.; γενέσθαι ἐπ' ἀρχῆς Arist. Pol. 1284b2: metaph., μεγάλην μεντἂν ἀ. εἴης εὑρηκώς, of a stroke of fortune, D. 21.196: pl., ἀρχαὶ πολισσονόμοι A. Ch. 864 (lyr.); τὰς ἐμὰς ἀρχὰς σέβων S. Ant. 744, etc.: c. gen. rei, τῆσδ' ἔχων ἀρχὴν χθονός S. OT 737; ἀ. τῶν νεῶν, τῆς θαλάσσης, power over them, Th. 3.90, X. Ath. 2.7, etc.: prov., ἀ. ἄνδρα δείξει Biasap. Arist. EN 1130a1, cf. D. Prooem. 48; method of government, οὐδὲ τὴν ἄλλην ἀ. ἐπαχθής Th. 6.54.
2. empire, realm, Κύρου, Περδίκκου ἀ., Hdt. 1.91, Th. 4.128, etc.
3. magistracy, office, ἀρχὴν ἄρχειν, παραλαμβάνειν, Hdt. 3.80, 4.147; καταστήσας τὰς ἀ. καὶ ἄρχοντας ἐπιστήσας Id. 3.89; εἰς ἀ. καθ[]στασθαι Th. 8.70; εἰς τὴν α[]. εἰσιέναι D. 59.72, etc.; ἀ. λαχεῖν to obtain an office, Id. 57.25; Ἑλληνοταμίαι τότε πρῶτον κατέστη ἀ. Th. 1.96; ἐνιαύσιος ἀ. Id. 6.54; ἀ. χειροτονητή, κληρωτή, Lex ap. Aeschin. 1.21; withsg. Noun, Κυθηροδίκης ἀ. ἐκ τῆς Σπάρτης διέβαινεν αὐτόσε Th. 4.53; term of office, ἀρχῆς λοιποὶ αὐτῷ δύο μῆνες Antipho 6.42; ἀρχαὶ καὶ λειτουργίαι POxy. 119.16 (iii A.D.).
4. in pl., αἱ ἀρχαί the authorities, the magistrates, Th. 5.47, cf. Decr. ap. And. 1.83; ἐν ταῖς ἀ. ε[]ναι Th. 6.54; ἡ ἀρχή collectively, 'the board', D. 47.22, cf. IG 1.229, etc.; παραδιδόναι τινὰ τῇ ἀ. Antipho 5.48; but ἡ ἀ., of a single magistrate, PHal. 1.226 (iii B.C.); κατ' ἀρχῆς γὰρ φιλαίτιος λεώς against authority, A. Supp. 485; πομποὺς ἀρχάς Id. Ag. 124 (anap.).
5. command, i.e. body of troops, LXX 1 Samuel 13:17, al.
6. pl., heavenly powers, Romans 8:38, al., cf. Dam. Pr. 96; powers of evil, Ephesians 6:12, al.
III = εἶδος μελίσσης ἀκέντρου, Hsch.
ἀρχή, ἀρχῆς, ἡ (from Homer down), in the Sept. mostly equivalent to רֹאשׁ, רֵאֹשִׁית, תְּחִלָּה;
1. beginning, origin;
a. used absolutely, of the beginning of all things: ἐν ἀρχή, John 1:1f (Genesis 1:1); ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, Matthew 19:4 (with which cf. Xenophon, mem. 1, 4, 5 ὁ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ποιῶν ἀνθρώπους), Matthew 19:8; John 8:44; 1 John 1:1; 1 John 2:13; 1 John 3:8; more fully ἀπ' ἀρχῆς κτίσεως or κόσμου, Matthew 24:21; Mark 10:6; Mark 13:19; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (where L (Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading) ἀπαρχήν, which see); 2 Peter 3:4; κατ' ἀρχάς, Hebrews 1:10 (Psalm 101:26
b. in a relative sense, of the beginning of the thing spoken of: ἐξ ἀρχῆς, from the time when Jesus gathered disciples, John 6:64; John 16:4; ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, John 15:27 (since I appeared in public); as soon as instruction was imparted, 1 John 2:(
2. the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader: Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:8 Rec.;
3. that by which anything begins to be, the origin, active cause (a sense in which the philosopher Anaximander,
4. the extremity of a thing: of the corners of a sail, Acts 10:11; Acts 11:5; (Herodotus 4, 60; Diodorus 1, 35; others.).
5. the first place, principality, rule, magistracy (cf. English 'authorities') (ἄρχω τίνος): Luke 12:11; Luke 20:20; Titus 3:1; office given in charge (Genesis 40:13, 21; 2 Macc. 4:10, etc.), Jude 1:6. Hence, the term is transferred by Paul to angels and demons holding dominions entrusted to them in the order of things (see ἄγγελος, 2 (cf. Lightfoot on Colossians 1:16; Meyer on Ephesians 1:21)): Romans 8:38; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:16; Colossians 2:10, 15. See ἐξουσία, 4{c}. ββ.
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ἀρχή , -ῆς , ἡ ,
[in LXX for H6924, H7218, H7218, etc.;]
1. beginning, origin;
(a) absol., of the beginning of all things: of God as the Eternal, the First Cause, Revelation 21:6 (cf. 18); similarly, of Christ, Revelation 22:13; of Christ as the uncreated principle, the active cause of creation, Revelation 3:14; in his relation to the Church, Colossians 1:18; ἐν ἀ ., John 1:1-2; ἀπ᾽ ἀ . (and ἀπ᾽ ἀ . κτισεως ), Matthew 19:4; Matthew 19:8; Matthew 24:21, Mark 10:6; Mark 13:19, John 8:44, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Peter 3:4, 1 John 1:1; 1 John 2:13-14; 1 John 2:24; κατ ἀρχἀς , Hebrews 1:10;
(b) relatively: Hebrews 7:3; ἀ . ὠδίνων , Matthew 24:8, Mark 13:9; τ . σημείων , John 2:11; τ . ὑποστάσεως , Hebrews 3:14; τ . λογίων , Hebrews 5:12; ὁ τ . ἀρχῆς τ . Χριστοῦ λόγος , the account of the beginning, the elementary view of Christ, Hebrews 6:1; ἀρχὴν λαμβάνειν , to begin, Hebrews 2:3; ἐξ ἀ ., John 6:64; John 16:4; ἀπ᾽ ἀ ., Luke 1:2, John 15:27, 1 John 2:7; 1 John 2:24; 1 John 3:11, 2 John 1:5-6; ἐν ἀ ., Acts 11:15; Acts 26:4, Philippians 4:15; τὴν ἀρχήν , adverbially, at all (Hdt., al.; v MM, s.v.): John 8:25.
2. an extremity, a corner: Acts 10:11; Acts 11:5.
3. sovereignty, principality, rule (cf. DB, i, 616 f.): Luke 12:11; Luke 20:20, Romans 8:38, 1 Corinthians 15:24, Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12, Colossians 1:16; Colossians 2:10; Colossians 2:15 Titus 3:1, Judges 1:6 (Cremer, 113).†
Copyright © 1922 by G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L.. T & T Clarke, London.
The double meaning, answering to ἄρχειν and ἄρχεσθαι severally, can be freely paralleled. The great difficulty of John 8:25 τὴν ἀρχὴν ὅτι καὶ λαλῶ ὑμῖν; makes it desirable to quote P Oxy III. 472.16 f. (c. A.D. 130) οὐ δύναται γὰρ κεκλέφθαι τὸ μηδ᾽ ἀρχὴν γενόμενον μὴ δυνατὸν δ᾽ εἶναι, ";for it is impossible for that to have been stolen which neither ever existed at all nor could exist"; (Edd.); but the absence of the article, and the fact that we cannot quote other examples of this once familiar usage, makes the quotation of little weight for confirming the RV mg. here (";How is it that I even speak to you at all?";), though it is probably right. For τὴν ἀ. = ";originally"; (without negative) we may quote Syll 256.23 (c. B.C. 200, Magnesia) τῶν ἄλλων ἀ [γ ]ώνων τ (ὴ)ν ἀρχὴ (ν) μὲν ἐπ᾽ ἀργ [ύρωι τε ]θέντων —later they had wreaths for prizes. So without article ib. 921.2 (Thera, iii/B.C.) ex suppl. For ἀρχή, as in John 1:1, we may quote the remarkable inscr. of Q. Pompeius A.f. from Eleusis, dated by Dittenberger not later than Augustus, dedicated to Αἰών, ἀρχὴν μεσότητα τέλος οὐκ ἔχων, μεταβολῆς ἀμέτοχος (Syll 757) Some prepositional phrases may be illustrated. Ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς P Tor I. 1x. 4 (B.C. 116) (= Chrest. II., p. 39), Syll 929.23 (? B.C. 139) τῶν διὰ προγόνων ἀπὸ τ. ἀ. γεγενημένων, ib..57 οὖσαν δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τ. ἀ. Ἰτανίων : usually anarthrous, as BGU IV. 1141.44 (c. B.C. 14) διὰ τί ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ι ̣τ ̣υ ̣ι ̣ (?) οὐκ ἐνεφάνισας ταῦτα;—so P Tor II, 2.15 (B.C. 131) τ [ὴ ]ν κατοικίαν [ἔ ]χοντες ἐ [ν τ ]οῖς Μεμνο [ν ]είοις ἔτι [ἀ ]π᾽ ἀρ [χ ]ῆς, and Syll 328.20 (B.C. 84) ἀπ᾽ ἀρχ [ῆς τε τ ]οῖς ἐκχθίστοις πολεμίοις [ἐβοήθ ]ει. Ἐξ ἀρχῆς is more frequent : thus P Gen I. 7.8 (i/A.D.) κατὰ τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔθος, BGU IV. 1118.21 (B.C. 22) τοὺς ἐξ ἀ. ἐ ̣θ ̣[ισμούς, P Théad 1.8 (A.D. 306) κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀ. καὶ μέχρει νῦν συνήθειαν, Syll 246.9 (B.C. 220–16) ὅπως ἂν. . . ἡ πόλις [ἀ ]ποκατασταθεῖ εἰς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εὐδαιμονίαν, ib. 292.4 (B.C. 179, Olympia, in dialect) εἰς τὰν ἐξ ἀρχᾶς ἐ [οῦσαν ] φιλ [ίαν ἀποκ ]αταστάσαντα, ib. 540.174 (B.C. 175–1) πάλιν ] τε ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἄρας ποιήσει ";do it over again,"; P Oxy VII. 1032.40 (A.D. 162) τὰ ἐξ ἀ. ἐπιζητηθέντα, ";the statement originally required"; (Ed.). Ἐν ἀρχῇ occurs P Petr II. 37 2b verso.4 (p. [120]) ἐπισκεψάμενος ἐν ἀρχῆι ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἔργα (c. B.C. 245). For ἀρχὴν λαβεῖν (Hebrews 2:3) add to Wetstein’s exx. Diog. Laert. Prooem. iii. 4.
Ἀρχή, ";beginning, foundation,"; may be illustrated by Wünsch AF 4.35 ὁρκίζω σε τὸν θεὸν. . . τῶν πελάγων τὴν ἀρχὴν συνβεβλημένον. P Oxy VII. 1021.10, a document notifying the accession of Nero, calls the new Emperor ";good genius of the world,"; and [ἀρ ]χ ̣η ̣̣ πάντων ἀγαθῶν, ";source of all good things"; (Ed.); but unfortunately the reading (which is followed by an erasure) is noted as extremely doubtful. For the meaning ";office, authority,"; cf. Preisigke 176.13 (A.D. 161–80) ἄρξαντος τὰς αὐτὰς ἀρχάς, etc., etc. Deissmann BS, p. 267 n.3, notes a use of τόπος (vid. s.v.) parallel with ἀρχή in this sense, and compares Judges 1:6. P Hal 1.226 (iii/B.C.) μαρτυρείτω ἐ [π ]ὶ [τῆ ]ι ἀρχῆι καὶ ἐπὶ τ [ῶι ] δικαστηρίωι shows us ἀρχή in a concrete sense = ";magistrate,"; as in Titus 3:1. In MGr it means ";beginning.";
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