4384. protassó

Lexical Summary

protassó: To appoint beforehand, to command, to prescribe

Original Word: προτάσσω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: protassó
Pronunciation: pro-tas'-so
Phonetic Spelling: (prot-as'-so)
KJV: before appoint
Word Origin: [from G4253 (πρό - before) and G5021 (τάσσω - appointed)]

1. to pre-arrange, i.e. prescribe

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

appoint beforehand

From pro and tasso; to pre-arrange, i.e. Prescribe -- before appoint.

see GREEK pro

see GREEK tasso

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
variant reading for prostassó, q.v.

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4384: προτάσσω

προτάσσω: perfect passive participle προτεταγμενος;

1. to place before.

2. to appoint before, define beforehand: χρόνον, Sophocles Trach. 164; καιρούς, passive, Acts 17:26 Rec. (see προστάσσω, 2); νόμους, passive, 2 Macc. 8:36.

Topical Lexicon

Etymology and Semantic Nuance

προτάσσω unites τάσσω, “arrange/order,” with the preposition πρό, “before, in advance.” The composite idea is intentional, orderly placement that occurs ahead of time. In military Greek it described lining up troops before the main formation advanced; in civic and legal contexts it referred to decrees or protocols issued prior to an event. When Scripture speaks of God’s works prepared “beforehand,” the same conceptual field is in view, although the New Testament does not employ προτάσσω itself.

Occurrences Outside the New Testament

• Septuagint translators occasionally used προτάσσω to render Hebrew verbs of prior appointment or fixed decree (e.g., Psalm 88:3 [LXX 87:3]; Judith 2:13).
• Greek writers from Herodotus to Polybius applied the verb to strategic planning and to laws laid down before deliberation. These parallels illuminate the biblical motif of a sovereign who fore-orders events.

Related Biblical Vocabulary

• τάσσω — “appoint, set in order” (Acts 13:48; Romans 13:1; 1 Corinthians 16:15).
• προορίζω — “predestine” (Romans 8:29–30; Ephesians 1:5).
• προτίθημι — “set forth beforehand” (Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:9).

Together these words sketch a coherent portrait of divine, intentional preparation that προτάσσω encapsulates etymologically.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Sovereignty and Prior Decree

The concept underlying προτάσσω safeguards the conviction that God’s purposes precede human history. “He works out everything according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). This prior ordering reassures believers that redemptive history unfolds by design, not chance.

2. Predestination and Salvation History

Paul’s golden chain—“those He foreknew He also predestined…He also called…justified…glorified” (Romans 8:29–30)—reflects the logical and temporal priority conveyed by προτάσσω’s semantic field. Salvation is not an ad-hoc rescue but a plan arranged beforehand.

3. Prepared Works for Believers

“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Though προτάσσω is absent, the notion of works laid out in advance mirrors its meaning, encouraging Christians to discover and fulfill divinely pre-arranged callings.

4. Ecclesiastical Order

“God has appointed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets…” (1 Corinthians 12:28). τάσσω here reflects the orderly arrangement implied by προτάσσω, reminding leadership that structure and function stem from prior divine intent, not mere pragmatism.

Historical Reception in Early Christian Writings

Irenaeus argued that the incarnation followed “a pre-ordained economy” (Against Heresies 3.16.6), echoing the language family of προτάσσω. Augustine later contended that history is a “divine ordering of successive ages,” harmonizing with the same idea. The Fathers drew comfort and polemical strength from the truth that Christian doctrine was not a reaction but a prior appointment by God.

Ministerial Implications

• Strategic Planning: Leaders may confidently plan initiatives, trusting that human stewardship cooperates with God’s earlier ordering (Proverbs 16:9).
• Pastoral Assurance: In counseling, the promise of prior divine arrangement offers hope amid apparent chaos (Jeremiah 29:11).
• Missional Motivation: Knowing God has “many people” appointed in a city (Acts 18:10) emboldens evangelism.
• Ethical Accountability: Because works are set before us, negligence becomes not merely a missed opportunity but disobedience to prior command (James 4:17).

Worship and Liturgy

Hymns that celebrate God’s eternal counsel (“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”) echo the spirit of προτάσσω. Liturgical calendars themselves—Advent before Christmas, Lent before Easter—embody the principle of prior arrangement leading to fulfillment.

Summary

Though προτάσσω does not surface in the Greek New Testament, its idea saturates Scripture: God orders, appoints, and prepares in advance every aspect of creation, redemption, and Christian service. Recognizing this truth fosters trust in providence, zeal in ministry, and reverence for the meticulous wisdom of the Lord who “declares the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10).

Englishman's Concordance

προσφωνοῦντα — 1 Occ.
προσφωνοῦσιν — 1 Occ.
πρόσχυσιν — 1 Occ.
προσψαύετε — 1 Occ.
προσωπολημπτεῖτε — 1 Occ.
προσωπολήμπτης — 1 Occ.
προσωπολημψία — 3 Occ.
προσωπολημψίαις — 1 Occ.
πρόσωπα — 7 Occ.
προσώπῳ — 7 Occ.
πρόσωπόν — 44 Occ.
προσώπου — 18 Occ.
προέτειναν — 1 Occ.
προτέραν — 1 Occ.
πρότερον — 10 Occ.
προεθέμην — 1 Occ.
προέθετο — 2 Occ.
προτρεψάμενοι — 1 Occ.
προδραμὼν — 1 Occ.
προέδραμεν — 1 Occ.