Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, November 24th, 2024
the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
Bible Encyclopedias
Alpha and Omega
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Search for…
or
al´fa , ō´me -ga , o -mē´ga (Alpha and Omega = A and O): The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, hence, symbolically, "beginning and end"; in Revelation "The Eternal One" in Revelation 1:8 of the Father, in Revelation 21:6 and Revelation 22:13 of the Son. Compare Theodoret, Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica , iv. 8: "We used alpha down to omega, i.e. all ." A similar expression is found in Latin (Martial, v.26). Compare Aretas (Cramer's Catenae Graecae in New Testament ) on Revelation 1:8 and Tertullian ( Monog , 5): "So also two Greek letters, the first and last, did the Lord put on Himself, symbols of the beginning and the end meeting in Him, in order that just as alpha rolls on to omega and omega returns again to alpha, so He might show that both the evolution of the beginning to the end is in Him and again the return of the end to the beginning." Cyprian, Testim , ii.1; vi.22, iii.100, Paulinus of Nola Carm. xix.645; xxx.89; Prudentius, Cathem ., ix.10-12. In Patristic and later literature the phrase is regularly applied to the Son. God blesses Israel from 'ālēph to taw (Leviticus 26:3-13 ), but curses from waw to mem (Lev 26:14-43). So Abraham observed the whole law from 'ālēph to taw . Consequently, "Alpha and Omega" may be a Greek rendering of the Hebrew phrase, which expressed among the later Jews the whole extent of a thing.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and were generously provided by the folks at WordSearch Software.
Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Alpha and Omega'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/isb/a/alpha-and-omega.html. 1915.
