Why do some modern versions shy away from translating "arche" as "beginning" at Rev. 3:14?

Question

"Beginning": King James Version, New King James Version, New American Standard Version, English Standard Version, Latin Vulgate [principium], Syriac [resha'], Sahidic Coptic [houeite], and others.

"The First of God's creation," The Message Bible

"Source": Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Contemporary English Version, and others.

"Origin": New Revised Standard Version, and others.

"Ruler": New Living Translation, New International Version, and others.

The first meaning of "arche" in the BDAG (English-Greek Lexicon) is "the commencement of something, as an action, process, or state of being, beginning." (page 137)

Do the newer versions clarify or obfuscate?

Answer 1

Your research has shown one thing:

The different orientations of Bible translating all felt that a simple translation of arche as "beginning" did not do the trick for the text.

And of course, you are surely aware that one does not translate well if one simply drops in the first definition that comes to mind. If one did that, there would be no need for translators: we would just have clerks with books who would just copy the "correct" word into the blank.

Your sources cover an impressive distribution of orientations, so we can safely say that translators across the spectrum found this word problematic.

I have a simple solution, which is to discourage all reading of that letter, since it doesn't really add anything to our Christian doctrine, and it's wildly Ezekiel-like imaginings can be interpreted in all sorts of similarly wildly imaginative ways, some of which have little to do with good Bible scholarship.

Answer 2

Because "beginning" is the primary meaning of the word.

Moreover, Greek texts (NA, UBS, WH) footnote this as a citation of Proverbs 8:22 (where the LXX uses Ktizo and arche) q.v.

Answer 3

*looks up new word "obfuscate"*

Ooh- Vot is so going to use that word from now on. :-D

Well, seeing they slant towards the idea that Jesus is not created, I'd say those examples from the newer versions obfuscate alright.

:-)

Answer 4

G746

ἀρχή

archē

ar-khay'

From G756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank): - beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

The beginning of the creation of God, either of the first creation, and so he is the beginning, that is, the first cause, the Creator, and the Governor of it; or of the second creation, the church; and so he is the head of that body, the first-born from the dead, as it is in Rev_1:5, whence these titles are taken. Christ, having raised up himself by his own divine power, as the head of a new world, raises up dead souls to be a living temple and church to himself.

Answer 5

I would think that the modern versions tend to confuse in this. It seems clear to me.

Answer 6

I don't know but you are talking about the first born of all creation .

The one who God said to, let us create.

The one in John 1:1 who was with God.

Micheal/Jesus

Answer 7

because like most words, it has a range of meanings.  Also the book was written in Hebrew, so the Greek is a questionable translation from the underlying Hebrew.  In context, 'head' seems the clear choice. (That way you are not reading anything in, and it can have either meaning)