Matthew 19:8:16Matt.19.8.W16TAB
ἀρχῆς
arkhês
“beginning”
- Transliteration
- ar-KHÊS
- Extended
- ar-KHÊS
- IPA
- /ar.ˈkʰeːs/
Meaning by language
- English
- beginning
Greek · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Alpha | ah — as in father | |
| Rho | r — rolled r | |
| Chi | h/kh — like Bach | |
| Eta | i — as in machine | |
| Sigma (final) | s — used only at end of words |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ar-KHÊS
- phraseyour reading level
ap ar-KHÊS DE ou YE-go-nen HOU-tôs
- sentence
LE-yei au-TOIS HO-ti mô-y-SÊS PROS TÊN sklê-ro-kar-DI-an hy-MÔN e-PE-trep-sen hy-MEEN a-po-LY-sai TAS gy-NAI-kas hy-MÔN ap ar-KHÊS DE ou YE-go-nen HOU-tôs
Exegesis
The clause introduced by ap’ archēs de {ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς δὲ | ap ar-khēs de} is adversative: de {δὲ | de} sets a strong contrast between Mosaic concession and divine intention “from the beginning.”
The prepositional phrase ap’ archēs {ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς | ap ar-khēs} temporally anchors the statement in creation, while the perfect gegonen {γέγονεν | gé-go-nen} with the negation ou {οὐ | ou} (“has not been”) expresses a state that has never come into existence in God’s design. In translation, the causal ordering is preserved by placing “because of your hardness of heart” before “Moses permitted,” and the adversative de is carried over with “but,” clearly contrasting human concession with original creation intent.
Root and etymology
archēalpha–rho–chi–eta
“beginning, first point”
In context — Matthew 19:8
He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart , Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been this way.”
About this coordinate
Matthew 19:8:16 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 16 of Matthew 19:8, so the Greek word ἀρχῆς (arkhês) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Matt.19.8.W16, which extends further down to each syllable (Matt.19.8.W16.S1) and character.