Bible Lexicons

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.).†

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.

 

απαρχαί απαρχαίς απαρχάς απαρχη απαρχή ἀπαρχὴ απαρχην απαρχήν ἀπαρχήν ἀπαρχὴν απαρχής απάρχου απαρχών απήρξαντο απήρξατο aparche aparchē aparchḕ aparchen aparchēn aparchḗn aparchḕn