the Week of Proper 23 / Ordinary 28
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Bible Lexicons
Old & New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary Greek Lexicon
Strong's #744 - ἀρχαῖος
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- Strong
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- that has been from the beginning, original, primal, old ancient
- of men, things, times, conditions
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ἀρχαῖος, α, ον, (ἀρχή I)
from the beginning or origin:
I
1. mostly of things, ancient, σκότος S. OC 106; ἐσθής Hdt. 5.88; δόμοις ἐπασσάλευσαν ἀρχαῖον γάνος A. Ag. 579 codd.; Ζηνὸς ἀρχαίοις νόμοις S. OC 1382; χερὸς σῆς πίστιν ἀρχαίαν faith firm for ever, ib. 1632 codd.
2. old-fashioned, antiquated, A. Pr. 317 (lyr.), Ar. Nu. 984, D. 22.14; of literary style, Demetr. Eloc. 244. simple, silly, Ar. Nu. 915, al., Pherecr. 205; -ότερος εἶ τοῦ δέοντος Pl. Euthd. 295c, etc.
3. ancient, former, τὸ ἀ. ῥέεθον Hdt. 1.75; τοῦ ἀ. λόγου Id. 7.160; οὐ γὰρ δὴ τό γ' ἀ. δέμας S. OC 110; οἱ ἀ., opp. οἱ ὕστερον, Th. 2.16; ἀ. φύσις A. Ch. 281, Hp. Art. 53, Pl. Smp. 193c, etc.; φύσις καὶ κατάστασις ἀ. Democr. 278; coupled with παλαιός, παλαιὸν δῶρον ἀρχαίου θηρός S. Tr. 555, cf. Lys. 6.51, D.l.c.
4. old, worn out, ὑποδήματα X. An. 4.5.14; πινάκια BGU 781i1 (i A. D.).
II of persons, Θέμιν.. ἀρχαίαν ἄλοχον Διός Pi. Fr. 6.5; ἀ. θεαί, of the Erinyes, A. Eu. 728; Πέλοψ S. Aj. 1292; οἱ ἀ.
1. the Ancients, name given by Arist. to the pre-Socratics, Metaph. 1069a25, GC 314a6; in Lit. Crit., ancient, classical writers, Demetr. Eloc. 15, 67; in Plot., the philosophers down to Aristotle, 5.1.9; in NT, the Fathers, Matthew 5:21, al.
2. ancient, old, βαλὴν ἀ., of Darius, A. Pers. 657 (lyr.); λάτρις E. Hec. 609; ἑταῖρος X. Mem. 2.8.1; οἱ ἀ. κύριοι the original owners, BGU 992 ii 6 (ii B. C.); τὰς ἀ. πόλεις (banished from) their original cities, Polystr. p.22 W.; ἀ. μαθητής an original disciple, Acts 21:16; ἀ. μύστης Inscr.Magn. 215 b; παιδαγωγὸς ἀ., i.e of old, formerly, E. El. 287, cf. 853.
III neut. as Adv., τὸ ἀρχαῖον, Ion. contr. τὠρχαῖον,
1. anciently, Hdt. 1.56, 173, al., Att. τἀρχαῖον A. Supp. 326; ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀ. Hdt. 4.117; ἐξ ἀρχαίων D.S. 1.14.
2. regul. Adv. ἀρχαίως in olden style, καινὰ ἀ. λέγειν Pl. Phdr. 267b, cf. Isoc. 4.8, D. 9.48; ἀ. καὶ σεμνῶς Aeschin. 1.183. irreg. Comp. ἀρχαιέστερος Pi. Fr. 45 (on ἀρχέστατος v. h. v.); usual Comp. -ότερος Ar. Av. 469: Sup. -ότατος Hdt. 1.105, etc. as Subst., τὸ ἀρχαῖον, of money, prime cost, πλέον τοῦ ἀ. X. Vect. 3.2;
1. principal, mostly in pl., Ar. Nu. 1156, etc.; τἀρχαῖα ἀποδιδόναι D. 34.26, etc.; τῶν ἀρχαίων ἀπέστησαν lost their capital, Id. 1.15: opp. ἔργον, Id. 27.10; opp. πρόσοδοι, Isa 6.38.
2. ἀρχαίη, ἡ, = cross ἀρχή, Eust. 475.1, etc.
ἀρχαῖος, ἀρχαῖα, ἀρχαῖον (from ἀρχή beginning, hence) properly, that has been from the beginning, original, primeval, old, ancient, used of men, things, times, conditions: Luke 9:8, 19; Acts 15:7, 21; Acts 21:16; 2 Peter 2:5; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2; οἱ ἀρχαιοι the ancients, the early Israelites: Matthew 5:21, 27 (Rec.),33; τά ἀρχαῖα the man's previous moral condition: 2 Corinthians 5:17. (In Greek writings from Pindar and Herodotus down.) [SYNONYMS: ἀρχαῖος, παλαιός: In παλαιός the simple idea of time dominates, while ἀρχαῖος ("σημαίνει καί τό ἀρχῆς ἔχεσθαι," and so) often carries with it a suggestion of nature or original character. Cf. Schmidt, chapter 46; Trench, § lxvii.]
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ἀρχαῖος , -αία , -αῖον
(< ἀρχή ),
[in LXX chiefly for H6924;]
original, ancient: Matthew 5:21; Matthew 5:33, Luke 9:8; Luke 9:19, Acts 15:7; Acts 15:21; Acts 21:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Peter 2:5, Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2.†
SYN.: παλαιός G3820, old, without the reference to beginning and origin contained in ἀ . The distinction is observed in Papyri (MM, s.v.). ἀ . is the antithesis to καινός G2537: παλ . to νέος G3501 (v. Westc., He., 223; Cremer, 116).
Copyright © 1922 by G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L.. T & T Clarke, London.
That this word retains in general the sense of original, as distinguished from παλαιός = old, is seen commonly in vernacular sources as in the NT. Thus Acts 21:16, where Mnason is described as an ἀρχαῖος μαθητής, ";an original disciple,"; one who belongs to the ";beginning of the Gospel"; (Philippians 4:15), is illustrated by Magn 215b, a contemporary inscription, where an ἀρχαῖος μύστης inscribes an ἀρχαῖος χρησμός : the ";ancient initiate"; is opposed to the neophyte, the ";ancient oracle"; to one just uttered—the citation is made by Thieme, p. 26. So BGU III. 992ii. 6 (B.C. 160) καθὰ καὶ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι κύριοι ἐκ [έκ ]τηντο, ";the original owners."; It is from the meaning ";original"; that τὸ ἀρχαῖον becomes a term for ";capital,"; as in the Will, Michel 1001viii. 8 (Thera, c. B.C. 200), or ";principal,"; as in Syll 517.16f. (ii/B.C., Amorgos), opposed to τόκος. For the more general sense of ";ancient,"; recurrent in Matthew 5:21, etc., we may comcompare the horoscope P Oxy II. 235.6 (A.D. 20–50) where a date is given κατ [ὰ δὲ τοὺς ] ἀρχαίους χρόνους, i.e. ";old style"; : see also P Fay 139.6 (late ii/A.D.), Preisigke 1011 (ii/A.D.), 3462 (A.D. 154–5), and P Grenf II. 67.10 (A.D. 237) (= Selections, p. 108). The reference is to the old Egyptian system of reckoning 365 days to the year without a leap-year, which continued to be used in many non-official documents even after the introduction of the Augustan calendar. The neuter = ";original condition"; may be seen in OGIS 672.6 ff. (A.D. 80) where a river is dredged, etc., καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀπεκατεστάθη : similarly in 2 Corinthians 5:17, the ";original conditions"; pass away before the fiat that καινὰ ποιεῖ πάντα (Revelation 21:5). The standard of ";antiquity"; may be illustrated by Syll 355.11 (c. A.D. 3), where ἀρχαιοτάτου δό (γ)μα [τος refers to a senatus consultum of B.C. 80. We find towns partial to the adj. : cf. P Lond 1157 verso .2 (A.D. 246) (= III. p. 110) Ἑρμουπόλεως τῆς μεγα l avrcai,aj kai. lampra/j kai. semnota,τ ̣η ̣ς. The standing title of Heracleopolis (as BGU III. 924.1—iii/A.D.), ἀ. καὶ θεόφιλος, reminds us of ";ancient and religious foundations"; at Oxford or Cambridge to-day. Reference may also be made to a payment for ἀρχαίων ἱππέων, Ostr 323 (c. i/B.C.), evidently a cavalry regiment (the ";Old Guard";), see ib, i. p. 161 f., Archiv ii. p. 155; and to a land survey, P Tebt II. 610 (ii/A.D.) [ἄλ ]λης ποταμοφο (ρήτου) ἀρχαίας. In P Par 60 bis.2 (c. B.C. 200) we find τὸ ἀνήλωμα εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἀπὸ τῶν πληρωμάτων [ἀρ ]χαίων : on the grammar cf. Proleg. p. 84 n.1. The distinction between ἀ. and παλαιός is naturally worn thin on occasion, as in BGU III. 781 (i/A.D.), an inventory including sundry ";old"; crockery, as πινάκια βωλητάρια ἀρχαῖα i. 1, ἄλλα ἀρχαῖα ὠτάρια ἔχοντα iv. 4. ᾽Α of relative antiquity is well illustrated by Kaibel 241a.8 (p. 521) ἀρχαίων κηδομένη λεχέων. Note further the comparative in a British Museum papyrus, cited in Archiv vi. p. 103 (A.D. 103), ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρχεωτέρων χρόνω (ν). The adj. survives in MGr.
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