πρῶτος, πρώτη, πρῶτον (superlative of πρό, contracted from προατος, whence the Doric πρατός; the comparitive πρότερος see in its place) (from Homer down), the Sept. for ψΔΰωΡεο and often for ΰΖηΗγ and ψΙΰωΡ, first; 1. either in time or place, in any succession of things or of persons; a. absolutely (i. e. without a noun) and substantively; α. with the article: ὁ πρῶτος καί ὁ ἔσχατος, i. e. the eternal One, Rev_1:17; Rev_2:8; Rev_22:13; ὁ πρῶτος, namely, τῶν κεκλημένων, Luk_14:18; the first of two (cf. Winers Grammar, § 35, 4 N. 1; (Buttmann, 32 (28))), Joh_19:32; 1Co_14:30; plural opposed to οἱ ἔσχατοι, Mat_20:16, on which see ἔσχατος, 2 a. Neuter τό πρῶτον, opposed to τό δεύτερον, Heb_10:9; τά πρῶτα, opposed to τά ἔσχατα, one's first state, Mat_12:45; Luk_11:26; 2Pe_2:20; the first order of things, Rev_21:4. β. without the article: Mat_10:2 (πρῶτος, namely, of the apostles to be mentioned); plural, Mat_19:30; Mar_10:31; Luk_13:30 (on the meaning of which three passages, see ἔσχατος, 2 a.); neuter ἐν πρώτοις (A. V. first of all), among the first things delivered to you by me, 1Co_15:3. b. where it agrees with some substantive; α. anarthrous, and in place of an adjective: πρώτη (namely, ἡμέρα) σαββάτου, on the first day of the week, Mar_16:9; φυλακή, opposed to δευτέρᾳ, Act_12:10; as a predicate Luk_2:2 (on which cf. Winers Grammar, § 35, 4 N. 1; (Buttmann, § 127, 31)). where it is added to the subject or the object of the verb (and we often use an adverb; Winers Grammar, § 54, 2; (Buttmann, § 123, 9)): εὑρίσκει οὗτος πρῶτος, Joh_1:41(42) (where L Tr WH πρῶτον); add, Joh_8:7; Joh_20:4; Joh_20:8; Act_27:43; Rom_10:19; 1Ti_1:16; 1Jn_4:19; opposed to εἶτα, 1Ti_2:13 πρῶτος ἐμβάς, Joh_5:4 (the article belongs to ἐμβάς (G T Tr WH omit the passage)); but Act_26:23 πρῶτος ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν is to be translated as the first. By a later Greek usage it is put where πρότερος might have been expected with the genitive (cf. Herm. ad Vig., p. 717; Passow, under the word πρότερος, B. I. 2 c. ii, p. 1243a; (Liddell and Scott, ibid. B. I. 4 c.); Fritzsche, Ep. ad Romans, ii., 420f; Winers Grammar, § 35, 4 N. 1; Buttmann, § 123, 14): πρῶτος μου ἦν, Joh_1:15; Joh_1:30 (οἱ πρῶτοι μου ταῦτα ἀνιχνευσαντες, Aelian nat. anim. 8, 12). β. with the article: (ὁ (ἡ, τό) πρῶτος (πρώτη, πρῶτον), in a series which is so complete, either in fact or in thought, that other members are conceived of as following the first in regular order; as, τόν πρῶτον λόγον, Act_1:1; add, Mar_14:12; 2Ti_4:16; Rev_4:1; Rev_4:7; Rev_13:12, etc.; (opposed to ὁ ἔσχατος), ἡ πρῶτος πλάνη, Mat_27:64; add, Mat_20:8; Mat_20:10; Mat_20:16; 1Co_15:45, etc.; also 'the first' of two, where Latin usage requires and the Vulg. ordinarily employs prior (cf. Winers Grammar (and Buttmann), as above): Mat_21:28; Mat_21:31 (L Tr WH ὕστερος); ἄλλους δούλους πλείονας τῶν πρώτων, Mat_21:36; ἡ πρώτη διαθήκη, Heb_8:7; Heb_8:13; Heb_9:15; Heb_9:18; ἡ πρώτη, namely, διαθήκη, Heb_9:1 G L T Tr WH; σκηνή, Heb_9:1 Rec., 2, 6, 8; ἡ πρώτη γῆ, ὁ πρῶτος οὐρανός, Rev_21:1; ἀνάστασις, Rev_20:5-6; ἄνθρωπος 1Co_15:47; followed by ὁ δεύτερος, τρίτος, etc.: Mat_22:25; Mar_12:20; Luk_19:16; Luk_20:29; Rev_8:7; Rev_16:2; Rev_21:19; followed by ἕτερος, Luk_16:5; ὁ πρῶτος, equivalent to the former, previous, pristine: τήν πρώτην πίστιν, the faith which they formerly plighted, 1Ti_5:12; ἡ πρώτη ἀγάπη, Rev_2:4; τά πρῶτα ἔργα, Rev_2:5. 2. first in rank, influence, honor; chief; principal: without the article, and absolutely, πρῶτος chief (opposed to δοῦλος), Mat_20:27; Mar_10:44; opposed to ἔσχατος and διάκονος, Mar_9:35; added to a noun, principal, ἐντολή, Mat_22:38; Mar_12:30 (T WH omit; Tr marginal reading brackets the clause); Eph_6:2; with a partitive genitive, Mar_12:28-29 (see πᾶς, II. 2 b. γ.); 1Ti_1:15; with the article, Luk_15:22; Act_17:4; οἱ πρῶτοι τῆς Γαλιλαίας, the chief men of Galilee, Mar_6:21 : τοῦ λαοῦ, Luk_19:47; τῆς πόλεως, Act_13:50; τῶν Ἰουδαίων, Act_25:2; Act_28:17; τῆς νήσου, Act_28:7 (cf. Lewin, St. Paul, ii., p. 208f, but see Πόπλιος). 3. neuter πρῶτον as adverb, first, at the first; a. in order of time: Luk_10:5; Joh_18:13; Act_11:26 (here T Tr WH πρώτως, which see); followed by εἶτα, ἔπειτα, or δεύτερον, Mar_4:28; 1Co_15:46; 1Th_4:16; 1Ti_3:10; followed by μετά ταῦτα Mar_16:9 cf. Mar_16:12; the first time, opposed to ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ (the second time), Act_7:12-13; τέ πρῶτον καί, first and also (or afterward), i. e. as well as, Rom_1:16 (but here L Tr marginal reading WH brackets πρῶτον); ; without τέ, 2Co_8:5; 2Ti_1:5; first i. e. before anything else is done; first of all: Mat_6:33; Luk_12:1; Joh_7:51 L Tr WH; Rom_1:8; 1Ti_5:4; 2Pe_1:20; 2Pe_3:3; πρῶτον πάντων, 1Ti_2:1. first, i. e. before something else: Mat_8:21; Mar_7:27; Mar_9:11-12; Luk_11:38; Luk_14:28; Rom_15:24; 2Th_2:3; 1Pe_4:17, etc.; before other nations, Act_3:26; Act_13:46; before others (R. V. the first to partake etc.), 2Ti_2:6; followed by τότε or καί τότε, Mat_5:24; Mat_7:5; Mat_12:29; Mar_3:27; Luk_6:42; Joh_2:10 (T WH omit; L Tr brackets τότε); ἐμέ πρῶτον ὑμῶν (Tdf. omits ὑμῶν) me before it hated you, Joh_15:18 (see 1 b. ἆ.). τό πρῶτον. at the first, i. e. at the time when one did a thing for the first time: Joh_10:40; Joh_12:16; Joh_19:39. b. in enumerating several particulars; first, then, etc.: Rom_3:2; 1Co_11:18; 1Co_12:28; Heb_7:2; Jas_3:17.

πρῶτος prōtos 95x first in time, order, etc., Mat_10:2 ; Mat_26:17 ; first in dignity, importance, etc., chief, principal, most important, Mar_6:21 ; Luk_19:47 ; Act_13:50 ; Act_16:12 ; as an equivalent to the compar. πρότερος (G4754), prior, Joh_1:5 ; Joh_1:30 ; Joh_15:18 ; Mat_27:64 ; adverbially, first, Joh_1:42 ; Joh_5:4 ; Joh_8:7 first.

* πρώτως , adv. , first : Act_11:26 .†

πρῶτος [page 557] In the LXX regularly (Thackeray Gr . i. p. 183) and in the Κοινή , frequently, especially in the Ptolemaic period,πρῶτος stands for πρότερος , so reversing the usual Hellenistic rule that the comparative does duty for both degrees of comparison. For an ex. almost contemporary with the NT we may cite P Oxy II. 297 9 (A.D. 54), where a man asks for information for a supplementary return of lambs born since the first or former return for the year had been made παρὰ τὴν πρώτην ἀπογραφήν . No stress can, therefore, be laid on the use of πρῶτος in Act_1:1 , as if Luke meant to write a third treatise (cf. Ramsay Paul , p. 28). To illustrate Joh_1:15 ; Joh_15:18 , we may quote P Leid W xii. 49 (ii/iii A.D.) (= II. p. 125) ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Φόβος αὐτοῦ ἰσχυρότερον ἀντέστη αὐτῷ λέγων· σοῦ πρῶτός εἰμι , prior sum quam tu. Abbott ( Foh. Gr . p. 510 f.) suggests that the Leiden papyrus may have been dependent on Joh_1:15 , and translates the latter passage my Chief ( ib . p. II ff.), but see Moulton ( Proleg . pp. 79, 245) in support of the ordinary rendering before me. That πρώτη in Act_16:12 is not to be understood geographically (as Lightfoot Php_2:1-30 p. 49) but politically has been made clear by Ramsay in C. and B . ii. p. 429 (cf. Paul , p. 206 f.) in connexion with the rivalries of Greek cities to be regarded as first or chief of their respective districts. For the suggestion that the true reading in Ac l.c . is not πρώτη but πρώτης , see Field Notes , p. 124, Blass Philology p. 67 ff. In P Hib I. 110 .72 ( c . B.C. 255) (= Chrest . I. p. 514 ) a certain Phoenix is described as τῶν πρώτων Εσ̣ο̣π̣[.].[. ., one of the first company of E . . ., and the editors compare for a similar military title an unpublished Tebtunis papyrus of iii/B.C. τῶν Μενελάου πρώτων ἐκ τοῦ Ἑρμοπολίτου καὶ (ἑκατοντάρουρος ) : cf. also IG XIV. 601 cited s.v . Μελίτη . In P Oxy VIII. 1101 .3 (A.D. 367 70) π [αρ᾽ ὀ ]λίγων τῶν πρώτων is rendered by the editor from a few first comers, and in Syll 523 (= .3 578) .10 (ii/B.C.) τὸ πρῶτον ἔργον is used in the sense of the highest class class 1 in connexion with the instruction of youths (see the editor s note). The adverbial πρῶτον is seen in the soldier s letter to his father BGU II. 423 .12 (ii/A.D.) (= Selections , p. 91) γράψον μοι ἐπιστόλιον πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας σου , δεύτερον περὶ τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου , and τὸ πρῶτον , as in Joh_10:40 al ., in P Oxy IV. 811 ( c . A.D. 1) καὶ τὸ πρῶτον ἔγρ [αψά σο ]ι εὐχαριστῶν Ἑρμίππου ( l . Ἑρμίππῳ ), where the meaning is either at the first or earlier (= πρότερον ), see Olsson Papyrusbriefe , p. 53. For the double superlative πρώτιστος cf. P Eleph 10 .4 (B.C. 223 2) ἀπὸ τοῦ πρωτίσ̣του χρόνου , and BGU II. 665 ii. 16 (i/A.D.) ὅτι πρώτι [σ ]τα λαμβάνει ( sc . ὀψώνιον ), and see Proleg . p. 236. In BGU III. 830 .20 (i/A.D.) ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔχω τὸ προτερ [ικό ]ν ( l . πρωτερικόν ), Herwerden understands πρωτερικόν as = praeoptatio, praerogativa (?, ) but cf. Olsson Papyrusbriefe p 198.

B. Superl., πρῶτος, -η, -ον, [in LXX chiefly for רִאשׁוֹן, also for אֶחַד, etc. ;] first, __1. of Time or Place; __(a) absol., as subst., ὁ π.., Luk.14:18, Jhn.19:32, 1Co.14:30; ὁ π. καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος, Rev.1:17 2:8 22:13; neut., τὸ π., opposite to τ. δεύτερον, Heb.10:9; τὰ π., opposite to τ. ἔσχατα, Mat.12:45, Luk.11:26, 2Pe.2:20; anarth., Mat.10:2; pl., Mat.19:30, Mrk.10:31, Luk.13:30; ἐν πρώτοις (EV, first of all), 1Co.15:3; __(b) as adj.: πρώτῃ; (sc. ἡμέρᾳ) σαββάτου, Mk 16:[9]; φυλακή, opposite to δευτέρα, Act.12:10; equiv. to adv. in English, Jhn.8:[7] 20:4, 8 Act.27:43, Rom.10:19, 1Ti.1:16, 1Jn.4:19; = πρότερος (see infr.; cf. M, Pr., 79; Bl, §11, 5; Thackeray, Gr., 183f.): with genitive, π. μου ἦν (my chief: Abbott, Jg., 509ff.; but cf. M, Pr., 245), Jhn.1:15, 30; with art., Mrk.14:12, Act.1:1, al.; before ὁ δεύτερος, etc., Mat.22:25, Mrk.12:20, al. __2. Of Rank or Dignity, chief, principal: Mat.20:27 22:38, Mrk.9:35, Eph.6:2, al.; with genitive, Mrk.12:28, 29 al.; πόλις (Field, Notes, 124), Act.16:12; with art., Luk.15:22 19:47, Act.13:50, al. __3. Neut., πρῶτον, as adv., first, at the first; __(a) of Time: Mat.8:21, Mrk.4:28, al.; τὸ π., Jhn.10:40, al.; __(b) of Order: Rom.3:2, 1Co.11:18, al. (AS)