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Bible Lexicons
Old & New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary
Strong's #536 - ἀπαρχή
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ἀπαρχή, ἡ,
mostly in pl. ἀπαρχαί (cf. ἄπαργμα):
1 beginning of a sacrifice, primal offering (of hairs cut from the forehead), ἀπαρχαὶ κόμης E. Or. 96, cf. Ph. 1525 (lyr.); later, a banquet held on this occasion, Plu. 2.40b.
2. firstlings for sacrifice or offering, first-fruits, ἁπάντων ἀπαρχαί Hdt. 4.71; ἀπαρχὰς ἄγειν θεοῖσι S. Tr. 183; ἀπαρχὰς θύειν E. Fr. 516; ἀ. σκυλευμάτων Ph. 857; ἐπιφέρειν ἀ. τῶν ὡραίων Th. 3.58; τῶν ὄντων Isa 5.42, cf. Epicur. Fr. 130, etc.: — so also in sg., λείας ἀ. S. Tr. 761; ἀ. τῶν πατρων χρημάτων Hdt. 1.92, etc.; ἀνθρώπων ἀ. εἰς Δελφοὺς ἀποστέλλειν Arist. Fr. 485; ἀ. ἀπό τινος ἀνατιθέναι Hdt. 4.88; inscribed on votive offerings, [ ἀνέθηκεν].. τόδ' α. IG 1.382, etc.; freq. in LXX, as Exodus 25:2, al., cf. Romans 11:16, and metaph., ἀ. τῶν κεκοιμημένων 1 Corinthians 15:20; τῶν κτισμάτων James 1:18.
3. metaph., ἀπαρχαὶ τῶν ἐμῶν προσφθεγμάτων E. Ion 402; ἀπαρχὴν τῆς σοφίας ἀνέθεσαν Pl. Prt. 343b, etc.; ἀ. ἀπὸ φιλοσοφίας Plu. 2.172c.
4. tax on inheritances, PTaur. 1.7.10; tax paid by Jews, Stud.Pal. 4.72 (i A. D.).
5. entrance fee, PTeb. 316.10 (i A.D.), al.
6. board of officials (cf. sq.), IG 12(8).273 (Thasos).
7. birth-certificate of a free person, PTeb. 316.10 (i A. D.), PGnom. 131 (ii A. D.): perh. metaph. in Romans 8:23.
ἀπ -αρχή , -ῆς , ἡ
(< ἀπάρχομαι , to make a beginning in sacrifice, offer first fruits),
[in LXX chiefly for H8641, H7225;]
1. the beginning of a sacrifice.
2. first fruits: τοῦ φυράματος (cf. Numbers 15:20), Romans 11:16. Metaph., ἀ . τοῦ πνεύματος : Romans 8:23; of Christians: Romans 16:5; Romans 16:1 Co_16:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (WH, mg., R, mg., txt., ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ; v. Lft., Notes, 119 f.), James 1:18, Revelation 14:4; of Christ: 1 Corinthians 15:20; 1 Corinthians 15:23 (Cremer, 117; MM, VGT, s.v.).†
Copyright © 1922 by G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L.. T & T Clarke, London.
In P Tor I. 1vii. 10 (B.C. 117) the word is used for ";legacy-duty"; : see Wilcken Ostr. i. p. 345 f., Archiv iii. p. 7 f., and Mitteis in Chrest. II. p. 421. In P Tebt II. 316.10 (A.D. 99) καὶ μὴ ἀλλοτρίᾳ ἀπαρχῇ μηδὲ ὁμονυμίᾳ κεχρῆσται, the editors understand it of the ";entrance-fee"; paid by ephebi on enrolment in the Alexandrian demes, and suggest the same meaning for P Flor I. 57.81 (A.D. 166) τ ̣οῦ παι ̣δὸς ἀπαρχή, where, however, Vitelli refers it to ";la tassa di successione,"; and Wilcken (Chrest. I. p. 168) regards the sense as still obscure. See also BGU I. 30 ἡ ἀπαρχὴ Μάρκου Ἀντωνίου Διοσκύρου, and ib. IV. 1150.11 (B.C. 11) ἀνακεκόμισται δὲ ἡ Ὀπώρα παρὰ τῆ (ς) Ἀρτέμιδ (ος) ἃς ἔδωκ (εν) αὐτῇ ἐν ὑπ (αλλάγματι) ἀπαρχὰς δύο κατὰ δουλικ (ῶν) σωμάτων Δ. καὶ Ἐ. οἵας καὶ ἔλαβεν. The editor (Schubart) compares P Tebt II. 316 and the note there (see above), but observes that the meaning will not suit the present passage : neither ";legacy-duty"; nor ";entrance-fee"; will serve, nor ";an impost upon Jews."; Schubart suggests it was some pecuniary rights in these slaves which Artemis had ";deposited in pledge"; with Opora. In the Magnesian inscriptions the word is very common in the sense of a personal ";gift"; to the goddess : thus in 83, ἀ. τῆι θεᾶι Ἀρ [τέμιδι ]. It is a very old use of the word, as may be seen from the lines inscribed by an Athenian potter of vi/B.C. on a base intended for a vase (Syll 772)—Νέαρχος ἀν [έ ]θηκε [ν ὁ κεραμε ]ὺς ἔργον ἀπαρχὲ [ν τ ]ἀθεναίαι. Thieme (p. 26) throws out the suggestion that this sense might possibly be recognized in Romans 8:23. From Syll we may also cite 529.24 (i/B.C.—";i.e. sacrificium,"; notes Dittenberger); 587.263 al (B.C. 329—ἐπαρχῆς, as throughout this long inscription, except in .297 : it is ἀ. τοῦ σίτου, first-fruits given to Demeter and Kore at Eleusis); 588.114 (ii/B.C.); 611.21 (ii/i B.C.—see note). So OGIS 179.12 (B.C. 95) δίδοσθαι. . κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἀπαρχὴν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν. . πυροῦ ἀρτά (βας) ρ ̄π ̄β ̄ ̯(182½), i.e. ½ art. of wheat for each day of the year. It is clear that the connotation ";first-fruits"; could not be pressed in our exegesis of the term when it appears in NT, apart from associations wholly outside the field surveyed in this article; and we are perhaps at liberty to render ";sacrifice"; or ";gift"; where it improves the sense. The uses of this liberty must not be discussed here. For a discussion of the word, see Gradenwitz in Berl. Philol. Woch. 1914, p. 135 ff.
Copyright © 1914, 1929, 1930 by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan. Hodder and Stoughton, London.
Derivative Copyright © 2015 by Allan Loder.
the Fourth Week after Epiphany