756. archomai

Lexical Summary

archomai: to begin, to commence

Original Word: ἄρχομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: archomai
Pronunciation: ar'-khom-ahee
Phonetic Spelling: (ar'-khom-ahee)
KJV: (rehearse from the) begin(-ning)
Word Origin: [middle voice of G757 (ἄρχω - began) (through the implication, of precedence)]

1. to commence (in order of time)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

commence, rule

Middle voice of archo (through the implication, of precedence); to commence (in order of time) -- (rehearse from the) begin(-ning).

see GREEK archo

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
mid. of archó, q.v.

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 756: ἄρχομαι

ἄρχομαι, see ἄρχω.

Topical Lexicon

General Meaning and Theological Nuance

The verb translated “to begin” consistently marks a decisive point where intention turns into action. Whether the action proves good or evil, temporary or enduring, ἄρχομαι signals a threshold moment in God’s unfolding plan. It routinely appears in the middle voice, stressing the subject’s personal engagement in what is commencing.

Distribution in the Canon

Eighty-four occurrences span the Synoptic Gospels, John, Acts, Paul, and Peter. Luke–Acts employs the word most (forty-three times), underscoring Luke’s interest in historical transitions. Mark follows (twenty-eight times), characteristically highlighting pivotal shifts in Jesus’ ministry. Matthew (nine), John (two), Paul (one), and Peter (one) round out the usage.

Christological Turning Points

• Luke 3:23: “Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry”. The verb anchors the Incarnation in real time, affirming both historicity and messianic purpose.
• Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:45; Luke 4:21: Jesus begins preaching, healing, and teaching, inaugurating the Kingdom’s public revelation.
• Mark 8:31; Matthew 16:21: He “began to teach” about the cross, marking a doctrinal hinge from popular expectations to the redemptive plan.
• Acts 1:1: Luke describes “all that Jesus began to do and to teach,” implying His ongoing work through the Church.

Spirit-Empowered Initiatives

Acts stresses beginnings birthed by the Holy Spirit:
• Acts 2:4: At Pentecost they “began to speak in other tongues,” a public start to worldwide witness.
• Acts 10:37 – 11:15: Peter recalls how the Gentile mission “began” with John’s baptism and was confirmed when “the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He had come on us at the beginning.” The verb highlights continuity between Jewish and Gentile inclusion.

Eschatological Onsets

• Luke 21:28: “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
• 1 Peter 4:17: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.” Both texts speak of a divinely timed commencement that believers must meet with readiness and hope.

Warnings Concerning Sinful Beginnings

Negative uses remind readers that small starts can snowball into grave sin:
• Matthew 24:49; Luke 12:45: the faithless servant “begins to beat” fellow servants before final judgment.
• Luke 14:30: mockers jeer at a builder who “began to build and was not able to finish,” illustrating the cost of discipleship and the danger of halfhearted starts.

Progress of Revelation and Instruction

Luke notes how Jesus “began to speak first to His disciples” (Luke 12:1), and later “began with Moses and all the Prophets” to explain Scripture (Luke 24:27). The verb frames divine revelation as progressive yet coherent, moving from promise to fulfillment.

Pastoral and Missional Implications

1. Ministry Launch: Leaders find precedent for Spirit-directed beginnings (Acts 13:2–3).
2. Perseverance: The call is not merely to begin well but to carry through (Luke 14:29–30).
3. Evangelism: Philip “began with this Scripture” (Acts 8:35) to proclaim Christ, modeling Scripture-based witness.
4. Church Discipline: Judgment “begins with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17), promoting holiness within the community before outreach to the world.

Historical and Cultural Background

In Greek narrative style, ἄρχομαι serves as the storyteller’s signal that a new episode is unfolding. Luke appropriates this literary device to present salvation history as an orderly, researched sequence (Luke 1:3). The verb therefore bridges Greco-Roman historiography with Hebrew redemptive chronology.

Contemporary Application

Believers are called to discern God-ordained beginnings—personal, congregational, or cultural—trusting that He who initiates also completes (Philippians 1:6). Careful attention to the Scriptural pattern of ἄρχομαι instills faith that every Spirit-led start is grounded in the unchanging counsel of God and aims toward His consummate glory.

Forms and Transliterations

άρξαι αρξαμενοι αρξάμενοι ἀρξάμενοι αρξάμενον αρξαμενος αρξάμενος ἀρξάμενος αρξαμενου αρξαμένου ἀρξαμένου άρξαντες αρξασθαι άρξασθαι άρξασθαί ἄρξασθαι ἄρξασθαί άρξασθε άρξε άρξει αρξεις άρξεις αρξεσθε άρξεσθε ἄρξεσθε άρξεται αρξη άρξη ἄρξῃ αρξησθε άρξησθε ἄρξησθε αρξηται άρξηται ἄρξηται άρξομαι αρξονται άρξονται ἄρξονται άρξουσι άρξωμαι αρξωνται άρξωνται ἄρξωνται άρχει άρχειν άρχετε αρχέτωσαν άρχομαι Αρχομεθα αρχόμεθα Ἀρχόμεθα αρχομένης αρχομενος αρχόμενος ἀρχόμενος Αρχομενων αρχομένων Ἀρχομένων άρχου άρχουσα άρχουσαι αρχούσας αρχουσών αὐτῷ ήργμαι ήρκται ηρξάμην ήρξαν ηρξαντο ήρξαντο ήρξαντό ἤρξαντο ἤρξαντό ήρξας ηρξατο ήρξατο ἤρξατο ήρξεν ήρξω Archomenon Archomenōn Archoménon Archoménōn archomenos archómenos Archometha Archómetha arxamenoi arxámenoi arxamenos arxámenos arxamenou arxaménou arxasthai árxasthai árxasthaí arxe arxē árxei árxēi arxesthe arxēsthe árxesthe árxēsthe arxetai arxētai árxetai árxētai arxontai arxōntai árxontai árxōntai auto autō erxanto ērxanto ḗrxanto ḗrxantó erxato ērxato ḗrxato

Englishman's Concordance

Matthew 4:17 V-AIM-3S
GRK: ΑΠΟ ΤΟΤΕ ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς
KJV: that time Jesus began to preach, and
INT: From that time began Jesus

Matthew 11:7 V-AIM-3S
GRK: δὲ πορευομένων ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς
KJV: Jesus began to say
INT: moreover were going began Jesus

Matthew 11:20 V-AIM-3S
GRK: Τότε ἤρξατο ὀνειδίζειν τὰς
KJV: Then began he to upbraid the cities
INT: Then he began to insult the

Matthew 12:1 V-AIM-3P
GRK: ἐπείνασαν καὶ ἤρξαντο τίλλειν στάχυας
KJV: and began to pluck
INT: were hungry and began to pluck [the] heads of grain

Matthew 14:30 V-APM-NMS
GRK: ἐφοβήθη καὶ ἀρξάμενος καταποντίζεσθαι ἔκραξεν
KJV: and beginning to sink,
INT: he was afraid and having begun to sink he cried out

Matthew 16:21 V-AIM-3S
GRK: ΑΠΟ ΤΟΤΕ ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς
KJV: that time forth began Jesus
INT: From that time began Jesus

Matthew 16:22 V-AIM-3S
GRK: ὁ Πέτρος ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾷν αὐτῷ
KJV: took him, and began to rebuke him,
INT: Peter began to rebuke him

Matthew 18:24 V-APM-GMS
GRK: ἀρξαμένου δὲ αὐτοῦ
KJV: And when he had begun to reckon, one
INT: having begun moreover he

Matthew 20:8 V-APM-NMS
GRK: τὸν μισθὸν ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῶν
KJV: [their] hire, beginning from
INT: the wages having begun from the

Matthew 24:49 V-ASM-3S
GRK: καὶ ἄρξηται τύπτειν τοὺς
KJV: And shall begin to smite
INT: and should begin to beat the

Matthew 26:22 V-AIM-3P
GRK: λυπούμενοι σφόδρα ἤρξαντο λέγειν αὐτῷ
KJV: sorrowful, and began every one
INT: being grieved exceedingly they began to say to him

Matthew 26:37 V-AIM-3S
GRK: υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου ἤρξατο λυπεῖσθαι καὶ
KJV: of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful
INT: sons of Zebedee he began to be sorrowful and

Matthew 26:74 V-AIM-3S
GRK: τότε ἤρξατο καταθεματίζειν καὶ
KJV: Then began he to curse and
INT: Then he began to curse and

Mark 1:45 V-AIM-3S
GRK: δὲ ἐξελθὼν ἤρξατο κηρύσσειν πολλὰ
KJV: he went out, and began to publish
INT: moreover having gone out the began to proclaim much

Mark 2:23 V-AIM-3P
GRK: μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἤρξαντο ὁδὸν ποιεῖν
KJV: disciples began, as they went,
INT: disciples of him began [their] way to make

Mark 4:1 V-AIM-3S
GRK: Καὶ πάλιν ἤρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ
KJV: And he began again to teach
INT: And again he began to teach beside

Mark 5:17 V-AIM-3P
GRK: καὶ ἤρξαντο παρακαλεῖν αὐτὸν
KJV: And they began to pray him
INT: And they began to implore him

Mark 5:20 V-AIM-3S
GRK: ἀπῆλθεν καὶ ἤρξατο κηρύσσειν ἐν
KJV: he departed, and began to publish in
INT: he departed and began to proclaim in

Mark 6:2 V-AIM-3S
GRK: γενομένου σαββάτου ἤρξατο διδάσκειν ἐν
KJV: was come, he began to teach
INT: having come [the] Sabbath he began to teach in

Mark 6:7 V-AIM-3S
GRK: δώδεκα καὶ ἤρξατο αὐτοὺς ἀποστέλλειν
KJV: and began to send
INT: twelve and began them to send forth

Mark 6:34 V-AIM-3S
GRK: ποιμένα καὶ ἤρξατο διδάσκειν αὐτοὺς
KJV: a shepherd: and he began to teach them
INT: a shepherd And he began to teach them

Mark 6:55 V-AIM-3P
GRK: ἐκείνην καὶ ἤρξαντο ἐπὶ τοῖς
KJV: region round about, and began to carry about
INT: that and they began on the

Mark 8:11 V-AIM-3P
GRK: Φαρισαῖοι καὶ ἤρξαντο συζητεῖν αὐτῷ
KJV: and began to question
INT: Pharisees and began to dispute with him

Mark 8:31 V-AIM-3S
GRK: Καὶ ἤρξατο διδάσκειν αὐτοὺς
KJV: And he began to teach them,
INT: And he began to teach them

Mark 8:32 V-AIM-3S
GRK: Πέτρος αὐτὸν ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾷν αὐτῷ
KJV: took him, and began to rebuke him.
INT: Peter to him began to rebuke him

Strong's Greek 756
84 Occurrences

Ἀρχομένων — 1 Occ.
ἀρχόμενος — 1 Occ.
Ἀρχόμεθα — 1 Occ.
ἀρξάμενοι — 2 Occ.
ἀρξάμενος — 8 Occ.
ἀρξαμένου — 1 Occ.
ἄρξασθαί — 2 Occ.
ἄρξῃ — 1 Occ.
ἄρξησθε — 2 Occ.
ἄρξηται — 2 Occ.
ἄρξεσθε — 1 Occ.
ἄρξωνται — 1 Occ.
ἄρξονται — 1 Occ.
ἤρξαντο — 19 Occ.
ἤρξατο — 41 Occ.