Original Word: ἀρχηγός
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: archégos
Pronunciation: ar-khay-GOS
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-khay-gos')
KJV: author, captain, prince
NASB: author, Prince
Word Origin: [from G746 (ἀρχή - beginning) and G71 (ἄγω - brought)]

1. a chief leader

author, captain, prince.

From arche and ago; a chief leader -- author, captain, prince.

see GREEK arche

see GREEK ago

747 arxēgós(from 746 /arxḗ, "the first" and 71 /ágō, "to lead") – properly, the first in a long procession; a file-leader who pioneers the way for many others to follow. 747 (arxēgós) does not strictly mean "author," but rather "a person who is originator or founder of a movement and continues as the leader – i.e. 'pioneer leader, founding leader' " (L & N, 1, 36.6).

Word Origin
from archó and hégeomai
Definition
founder, leader
NASB Translation
author (2), Prince (1), prince (1).

STRONGS NT 747: ἀρχηγός

ἀρχηγός, ἀρχηγόν, adjective, leading, furnishing the first cause or occasion: Euripides, Hipp. 881; Plato, Crat., p. 401 d.; chiefly used as a substantive, ὁ, ἡ, ἀρχηγός (ἀρχή and ἄγω);

1. the chief leader, prince: of Christ, Acts 5:31; (Aeschylus Ag. 259; Thucydides 1, 132;. The Sept. Isaiah 3:5; 2 Chronicles 23:14, and often).

2. "one that takes the lead in anything (1 Macc. 10:47, ἀρχηγός λόγων εἰρηνικῶν) and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter": τῆς πίστεως, of Christ, Hebrews 12:2 (who in the prominence of his faith far surpassed the examples of faith commemorated in Hebrews 11) (others bring this under the next head; yet cf. Kurtz at the passage). So ἀρχηγός ἁμαρτίας, Micah 1:13; ζήλους, Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 14, 1 [ET]; τῆς στάσεως καί διχοστασίας, ibid. 51, 1; τῆς ἀποστασιας, of the devil, Irenaeus 4, 40, 1; τοιαυτης φιλοσοφίας, of Thales, Aristotle, met. 1, 3, 7 (p. 983{b} 20). Hence,

3. the author: τῆς ζωῆς, Acts 3:15; τῆς σωτηρίας, Hebrews 2:10. (Often so in secular authors: τῶν πάντων, of God (Plato) Tim. Locr., p. 96 c.; τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων, of God, Diodorus 5, 72; ἀρχηγός καί αἴτιος, leader and author, are often joined, as Polybius 1, 66, 10; Herodian, 2, 6, 22 (14, Bekker edition)). Cf. Bleek on Heb. vol. ii. 1, p. 301f.

Overview

Ἀρχηγός (archegos) portrays one who blazes a trail so that others may follow—an originator, leader, captain, or pioneer whose personal triumph becomes the shared victory of a people. In the New Testament it functions as a uniquely christological title that gathers up themes of creation, redemption, and consummation into the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Key New Testament Occurrences

• Acts 3:15 — “You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of this fact.”
• Acts 5:31 — “God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
• Hebrews 2:10 — “For it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
• Hebrews 12:2 — “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Historical Background

In Greek literature archegos could describe the founder of a city, the first leader of a philosophical school, or a champion whose single combat secured corporate freedom. The Septuagint occasionally employs cognate terms for tribal chiefs or military heads (for example, Judges 11:6). Against this backdrop, the New Testament writers apply the title to Christ, emphasizing His foundational role in the new covenant community.

Christological Significance

1. Originator of Life (Acts 3:15) — Peter’s sermon assigns to Jesus the same creative prerogatives attributed to God in Genesis and Psalms, revealing the crucifixion as an attempted overthrow of life’s very source.
2. Pioneer of Salvation (Hebrews 2:10) — By undergoing suffering, Jesus establishes the path by which many sons are led to glory, fulfilling Isaiah’s portrait of the Servant whose stripes heal the nation.
3. Captain of Faith (Hebrews 12:2) — The race imagery pictures Jesus not merely at the finish line but at the front, running ahead, securing the course, and guaranteeing the prize.
4. Exalted Prince (Acts 5:31) — His resurrection and ascension verify His royal authority to grant repentance and forgiveness, confirming Psalm 110’s enthronement language.

Soteriological Implications

• Representative Obedience: As archegos, Christ’s faithfulness counts for His people, paralleling Adam’s representative disobedience (Romans 5:12–19).
• Mediated Access: He pioneers a new and living way through the veil (Hebrews 10:20), enabling believers to draw near with confidence.
• Secured Perseverance: Because He is both “Author and Perfecter,” the faith He initiates He also sustains to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Ecclesiological Application

The church receives its identity and mandate from its Archegos. Apostolic preaching in Acts frames evangelism as a summons to submit to the exalted Prince. Church leadership is patterned after His servant-leadership (1 Peter 5:3), and congregational life revolves around the continual gaze of faith upon Him (Hebrews 12:2).

Eschatological Perspective

The title anticipates consummation. The One who inaugurated salvation will also consummate it, bringing “many sons to glory.” His role as forerunner (Hebrews 6:20) guarantees that believers will share His resurrection life and royal reign (2 Timothy 2:11–12).

Old Testament Foreshadowing

• Moses as deliverer (Exodus 3:10) — a partial archegos leading Israel out of bondage.
• David as champion (1 Samuel 17) — a singular victory imputed to the nation.
• Joshua as pathfinder into the promised land (Joshua 3:14–17) — prefiguring Christ’s entrance into heavenly rest (Hebrews 4:8–10).

Practical Ministry Lessons

1. Preach Christ as the sole ground and goal of faith; avoid presenting Him merely as a helper.
2. Encourage perseverance by pointing believers to the completed work and ongoing intercession of their Archegos.
3. Model leadership that clears obstacles for others rather than building platforms for self.
4. Counsel sufferers by uniting their trials to the Captain who was made perfect through suffering.

Patristic Reception

Early fathers such as Athanasius and Chrysostom expounded archegos to defend the full divinity of Christ: only the Creator could be “Author of life.” They also drew ethical exhortations—if the Captain endured the cross, believers must shoulder their lighter loads.

Summary

Strong’s Greek 747 gathers the breadth of redemptive history into a single title for Jesus Christ. As Archegos He brings life out of death, leads captives into freedom, and carries faith from its first spark to its eternal consummation. Believers therefore live, worship, and serve under the pioneering leadership of the One who has gone before them and who now reigns until every foe is put under His feet.

αρχηγοί αρχηγοίς αρχηγον αρχηγόν ἀρχηγὸν αρχηγός αρχηγούς αρχηγών αρχιδεσμοφύλακος αρχιδεσμοφύλαξ αρχιδεσμώτης archegon archegòn archēgon archēgònInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts