I. Name

The Gk. term archē, and its equivalent Lat. translation principium, carries the basic meaning of primacy in time or rank. It is an abstract term for power often used with the meaning ‘sphere of authority’, i.e. power which is wielded by someone in a position of political, social or economic authority, such as a public official (Luke 20.20; Sib. Or. 5, 20, 153). In the singular or plural archē is sometimes paired with exousia with the meaning ‘office and authority’ (Plato Alcibiades 135a; Philo Leg. 71; Luke…