Quick Definition
πρωτότοκος, ον Adj first-born
Strong's Definition
from 4413 and the alternate of 5088; first-born (usually as noun, literally or figuratively)
KJV Usage: firstbegotten(-born)
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
adjc. | -ον | πρωτεύω + τίκτω
10.43 · Kinship Terms · Kinship Relations Involving Successive Generations
firstborn pertaining to being a firstborn child (normally in contexts speaking of people but also used in reference to domestic animals) In Jewish society the rights and responsibilities of being a firstborn son resulted in considerable prestige and status. The firstborn son, for example, received twice as much in inheritance as any other offspring.
The use of πρωτότοκος ‘firstborn’ does not imply in Greek that other children were also born to a woman, though in a number of languages one would never use ‘firstborn’ unless other children followed. Such an individual would be spoken of merely as ‘the only child.’ It is also frequently necessary to employ an appropriate qualifier for ‘firstborn’ in order to mark clearly the fact that it is ‘a firstborn son’ rather than ‘a firstborn daughter.’
The figurative meaning of πρωτότοκος in the messianic title πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως ‘firstborn of all creation’ (COL 1:15 may be interpreted as ‘existing before all creation’ (see 13.79) or ‘existing superior to all creation’ (see 87.47).
LUK 2:7 · COL 1:15 · COL 1:18 · HEB 1:6 · HEB 11:28 · HEB 12:23 · REV 1:5
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
πρωτότοκος, -ov, (πρῶτος, τίκτω), Sept. for 433, jfirstborn; a. prop.: τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτ. Mt. i. 25 (where τὸν πρωτότ. is omitted by L T Tr WH but found in cod. Sin. [see Tdf., WH., ad loc.]); Lk. ii. 7; τὰ πρωτότοκα αὐτῶν (gen. of the possessor [(?); αὐτῶν is more naturally taken w. θίγῃ (W. § 30, 8 6.), as by Prof. Grimm himself s. v. @ryyavw]), the first-born whether of man or of beast, Heb. xi. 28 (πᾶν πρωτότοκον . . ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους. Ex. xii. 29; Ps. civ. (ev.) 36; [Philo de cherub. § 16; Poll. 4, 208]). b. trop. Christ is called rpwrdroxos πάσης κτίσεως (partit. gen. [see below], as in τὰ πρωτότοκα τῶν προβάτων, Gen. iv. 4; τῶν βοῶν, Deut. xii. 17; τῶν υἱῶν σου, Ex. xxii. 29), who came into being through God prior to the entire universe of created things [R. V. the firstborn of all creation] (see κτίσις, 2 b.), Col. i. 15; —this passage does not with certainty prove that Paul reckoned the Adyos in the number of created beings (as, among others, (/steri, Paulin. Lehrbegriff, p. 315, and Baur, Das Christenthum der drei ea! - avo ersten Jahrhh. Ist ed. p. 295, hold); since even Origen, who is acknowledged to have maintained the eternal generation of the Son by the Father, did not hesitate to eall him (ef. Gieseler, Kirch.- Gesch. i. p. 261 sq. ed. 3; [i. 216 Eng. trans. of ed. 4, edited by Smith]) τὸν ἀγένηTov καὶ πάσης γενετῆς φύσεως πρωτότοκον (ὁ. Cels. 6, 17), and even κτίσμα (a term which Clement of Alexandria also uses of the λόγος) ; ef. Joan. Damascen. orthod. fid. 4, 8 καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ κτίσις ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ; [ἃ]. would make the gen. in Col. 1. ο. depend upon the compar. force in (the first half of) πρωτότ. (cf. πρωτύτοκος ἐγὼ ἢ σύ, 3 5. χῖχ. 43): but see Bp. Lghtft. ad loc. (esp. for the patristic interpretation) ]. In the same sense, apparently, he is called simply ὁ πρωτότοκος, Heb. 1. 6 ; mp. ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, the first of the dead who was raised to life, Col. i. 18; also τῶν νεκρῶν (partit. gen.), Rev. i. 5 [Ree. inserts ἐκ]; πρωτύτοκος ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, who was the Son of God lone before those who by his agency and merits are exalted to the nature and dignity of sons of God, with the added suggestion of the supreme rank by which he excels these other sons (ef. Ps. Ixxxviii. (Ixxxix.) 28; Ex. iv. 22; Jer. xxxviii. (xxxi.) 9), Ro. viii. 29; ἐκκλησία πρωτοτύκων, the congregation of the pious Christian dead already exalted to the enjoyment of the blessedness of heaven (tacitly opp. to those subsequently to follow them thither), Heb. xii. 23; cf. De Wette ad loc. (Anthol. 8, 34; 9, 213.)
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
πρωτότοκος prōtotokos 8x
first-born, Lk. 2:7; Heb. 11:28; in NT prior in generation, Col. 1:15; a firstborn head of a spiritual family, Rom. 8:29; Heb. 1:6; firstborn, as possessed of the peculiar privilege of spiritual generation, Heb. 12:23
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
πρωτότοκος, -ον
(< πρῶτος, τίκτω), [in LXX chiefly for בְּכוֹר;]
first-born: Lk 2:7; pl., He 11:28. Metaph., of the priority of Christ (originally perh. a Messianic title, cf. Ps 88 (89):28, He 1:6; v. ICC on Col 1:15): He 1:6; π. πάσης κτίσεως, Col 1:15; ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, Ro 8:29; π. (ἐκ) τ. νεκρῶν, Col 1:18, Re 1:5; pl., of the elect, ἐκκλησία πρωτοτόκων, He 12:23.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
πρωτότοκος, “* firstborn.” taken out of the list of purely ‘‘ Biblical’ words, Deissmann (LAE, p. 88) cites the undated pagan sepulchral inscr. Kaibel 4604 ipeds yap εἰμι πρωτοτόκων ἐκ τελεθβ] ὧν 0] (= τελετ[ῶν] ἢ), ‘for Iam a priest by the rites of the firstborn,” and notes that the editor suggests that in the family of the deceased the firstborn always exercised the office of priest. He also refers to a Christian metrical epitaph from ii/iil Kaibel 730° πρωτότοκον, διετές, with reference to a firstborn ‘‘sun-child’’ (ἡλιόπαις), 1.6. child born on a Sunday, who died at the age of two years. Note further a sacrificial decree of c. B.c. 200, Sy/? 615 (=*1024)"", in which mention is made of ὗν ἐνκύμονα πρωτότοκον, and a decree of adoption of a.p. 381, P Lips 5981" (=Archiv iii. p. 173) mpld]s τὸ εἶναί cov vild]y γνήσιον Kal πρωτότοκον ὡς ἐξ ἰδίου αἵματος γεννηθέντα σοι, and the magical P Osl I. 1512 (iv/A.p.) λαβὼν πρωτοτόκου κριοῦ ὀμφάλιον. As additional proof that this word is to be
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos) — firstborn. πρωτοτόκ-ος (paroxytone), Doric dialect πρᾱτοτόκος, ον, bearing or having borne her first-born, μήτηρ π., of a heifer, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὗς, ταὧς, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; of women, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
II. proparoxytone πρωτότοκος, ον, passive,first-born, [LXX+NT+4th c.AD+]; π. ἐγὼ ἢ σύ [LXX]
II.2. metaphorically, π. πάσης κτίσεως [NT]; of Homer, opposed to Nicander, [Refs]