ἀρχή
archē
beginning
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word ἀρχή (archē) is a fundamental concept in the New Testament, appearing 57 times in the Bible. Its short definition is "beginning," suggesting that it refers to the starting point or origin of something. This meaning is consistent across various contexts, including the creation of the world (Genesis 1:1, where it is translated as "in the beginning"), the start of a new era or period (Matthew 19:4, where it describes the creation of humans), and the origin of a particular idea or concept (John 1:1, where it refers to the beginning of Jesus Christ). The range of usage for ἀρχή is broad, encompassing both literal and figurative meanings. It can describe the initial moment of something, as well as the underlying principle or cause that gives rise to it. For example, in Matthew 24:3, Jesus refers to the beginning of the end times, while in 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul describes the beginning of the gospel. This versatility suggests that ἀρχή is a key concept for understanding the structure and themes of the New Testament. The significance of ἀρχή lies in its emphasis on the importance of origins and beginnings. By highlighting the starting point of something, the word draws attention to the underlying principles and causes that shape its development. This focus on beginnings can be seen as a call to examine the roots of ideas, events, and institutions, and to
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
57 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,
Matthew 19:8He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.
Matthew 24:8But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Matthew 24:21for then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.
Mark 1:1The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 10:6But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.
Mark 13:8For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains.
Mark 13:19For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.
Luke 1:2even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,
Luke 12:11When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don’t be anxious how or what you will answer, or what you will say;
Luke 20:20They watched him and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2The same was in the beginning with God.
John 2:11This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 6:64But there are some of you who don’t believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn’t believe, and who it was who would betray him.
John 8:25They said therefore to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
John 15:27You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
John 16:4But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
Acts 10:11He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth,
Acts 11:5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain container descending, like it was a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. It came as far as me.
Acts 11:15As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning.
Acts 26:4“Indeed, all the Jews know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning among my own nation and at Jerusalem;
Romans 8:38For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
1 Corinthians 15:24Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
Ephesians 1:21far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
Ephesians 3:10to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 6:12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Philippians 4:15You yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning of the Good News, when I departed from Macedonia, no assembly shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you only.
Colossians 1:16For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:18He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Colossians 2:10and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power.
Colossians 2:15Having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Hebrews 1:10And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands.
Hebrews 2:3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation—which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard,
Hebrews 3:14For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end,
Hebrews 5:12For although by this time you should be teachers, you again need to have someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the revelations of God. You have come to need milk, and not solid food.
Hebrews 6:1Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let’s press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God,
Hebrews 7:3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God), remains a priest continually.
Titus 3:1Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
2 Peter 3:4and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
1 John 1:1That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life
1 John 2:7Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
1 John 2:7Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
1 John 2:13I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father.
1 John 2:14I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
1 John 2:24Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
1 John 2:24Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
1 John 3:8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:11For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;