G749 — ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G749
Original: ἀρχιερεύς
Transliteration: archiereus
Pronunciation: ar-khee-er-yuce
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: ἀρχι- (archi-, "chief") + ἱερεύς (hiereus, "priest"); compound of G746 ἀρχή + G2409 ἱερεύς
Occurrences: 122 tokens across 120 unique verses in 6 books
First Occurrence: Mat 2:4 — "And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G746 (archē) and G2409 (hiereus); the high priest (literally, of the Jews, typically, Christ); by extension, a chief priest.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 53 — Religious Activities
Subdomain: 53.009 — Roles and Functions
Glosses: chief priest, high priest, most important priest
Other words in subdomain: ἱερεύς (G2409, priest), ἱερατεύω (G2407, to serve as priest), ἱεράτευμα (G2406, priesthood), ἀρχιερατικός (G748, highpriestly), ἱερωσύνη (G2420, priesthood), ἀπόστολος (G652, apostle), πρεσβύτερος (G4245, elder), προφήτης (G4396, prophet), ἐπίσκοπος (G1985, overseer)

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 53.009 — Roles and Functions)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Glosses	Library
G2409	ἱερεύς	priest	G2409-hiereus.md
G748	ἀρχιερατικός	highpriestly, of the high priest	—
G2407	ἱερατεύω	to serve as priest	—
G2406	ἱεράτευμα	priesthood	—
G2420	ἱερωσύνη	priesthood	—
G2405	ἱερατεία	priesthood	—
G4245	πρεσβύτερος	elder	G4245-presbyteros.md
G652	ἀπόστολος	apostle, special messenger	—
G4396	προφήτης	prophet	—
G1122	γραμματεύς	expert in the Law	—

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Count	%	Typical Context
Singular	57	47%	"the high priest" — individual officeholder (Caiaphas, Annas, Jesus in Hebrews)
Plural	75	53%	"the chief priests" — ruling priestly aristocracy as a group

Case	Sg	Pl
Nominative	29	46
Genitive	16	12
Accusative	9	11
Dative	3	6

The plural predominates in the Gospels and Acts (the chief priests as opponents of Jesus and the apostles). The singular predominates in Hebrews (Christ as the high priest).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
chief priests	57	47.5%
high priest	38	31.7%
an high priest	7	5.8%
the chief priests	5	4.2%
high priest's	4	3.3%
the high priest	4	3.3%
high priests	2	1.7%
when the chief priests	2	1.7%
High Priest	1	0.8%
chief of the priests	1	0.8%
the high priests	1	0.8%

The KJV translates the plural as "chief priests" (the Sanhedrin's priestly members) and the singular as "high priest" (the individual officeholder or Christ's title in Hebrews).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Hebrews	17	5.6
Mark	21	3.1
John	20	2.3
Matthew	24	2.2
Acts	22	2.2
Luke	16	1.4

Concentrated entirely in narrative (Gospels, Acts) and in Hebrews' priestly theology. Absent from all Pauline epistles (except Hebrews), general epistles, and Revelation. Hebrews has the highest density despite fewer raw occurrences. The Gospels and Acts use the plural form heavily; Hebrews uses almost exclusively the singular.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Ruling Priestly Aristocracy ("chief priests")¶

The plural ἀρχιερεῖς refers to the priestly ruling class — members of the Sanhedrin from high-priestly families who collectively held political and religious authority. - Mat 2:4 — "he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes...he demanded of them where Christ should be born" - Mat 26:59 — "the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus" - Mar 15:11 — "the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas" - Jhn 11:47 — "the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we?"

2. The Individual High Priest in the Passion Narratives¶

The singular identifies the specific officeholder (Caiaphas, Annas) presiding over Jesus' trial. - Mat 26:57 — "they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest" - Mat 26:63 — "the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God" - Mar 14:63 — "the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?" - Jhn 18:19 — "The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine"

3. The High Priest as Persecutor of the Early Church¶

In Acts, the high priest authorizes persecution of the apostles and of Paul before his conversion. - Act 5:17 — "the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him...were filled with indignation" - Act 5:27 — "the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straitly command you?" - Act 9:1 — "Saul...went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus" - Act 23:2 — "the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth"

4. Christ as the True/Eternal High Priest (Hebrews)¶

Hebrews applies archiereus to Jesus as the definitive high priest — superior to the Levitical priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek. - Heb 2:17 — "in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest" - Heb 4:14 — "we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God" - Heb 7:26 — "such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" - Heb 9:11 — "Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle"

5. The OT High Priest and the Day of Atonement Ritual¶

Hebrews refers to the earthly high priest's annual entry into the Most Holy Place as the type that Christ fulfills. - Heb 5:1 — "every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins" - Heb 9:7 — "into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood" - Heb 9:25 — "the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others" - Heb 13:11 — "the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp"

6. The High Priest in OT Historical References¶

Occasional references to historical high priests outside the passion and Hebrews contexts. - Mar 2:26 — "he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest" - Luk 3:2 — "Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests" - Jhn 11:49 — "Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year" - Jhn 11:51 — "being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
γραμματεύς (grammateus)	G1122	23x (19%)	"chief priests and scribes" — paired as Sanhedrin authorities
πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros)	G4245	23x (19%)	"chief priests and elders" — the ruling council together
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	19x (16%)	Jesus as the one arrested/tried by the chief priests, or as high priest in Hebrews
λέγω (legō)	G3004	19x (16%)	Chief priests speaking, accusing, or demanding
λαός (laos)	G2992	15x (12%)	"chief priests...and the people" — priestly leaders vs. the populace
υἱός (huios)	G5207	13x (11%)	"Son of God/man" — the high priest's question at trial; Heb 5:5 appointment
παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi)	G3860	9x (8%)	"delivered him to the chief priests" — betrayal and handover
ἱερόν (hieron)	G2411	8x (7%)	Temple as the chief priests' domain and base of authority
θεός (theos)	G2316	8x (7%)	"things pertaining to God" — the high priest's God-ward function (Heb 5:1)
Πέτρος (Petros)	G4074	8x (7%)	Peter following to the high priest's palace, confronted by servants

Synonyms¶

G2409 ἱερεύς (hiereus) — priest (generic); archiereus is the chief/head priest
G2405 ἱερατεία (hierateia) — the priestly office/service as an abstract function
G2420 ἱερωσύνη (hierōsynē) — priesthood as an institution (Heb 7:11-12)

Antonyms¶

No direct lexical antonyms. Conceptual contrasts in Hebrews: the Levitical high priests with "infirmity" (Heb 7:28) vs. Christ the "perfect" high priest.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἱερεύς (hiereus)	G2409	"high priest" (1x for G2409)	hiereus = any priest; archiereus = the chief/ruling priest specifically

Semantic Domain¶

[053] Religious Activities — Roles and Functions
Other words: ἁγιάζω (G37), ἁγιασμός (G38), ἅγιος (G40), ἁγιωσύνη (G42), ἁγνίζω (G48), ἁγνισμός (G49)

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
בֵּן (bēn)	H1121	3	2.65	Not a direct semantic equivalent; low co-occurrence

The LXX mapping is weak for archiereus. The Hebrew equivalent is the phrase הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל (hakkōhēn haggādōl, "the great priest") — a two-word construction using H3548 כֹּהֵן (kōhēn) + H1419 גָּדוֹל (gādōl), which the LXX rendered as the single Greek compound ἀρχιερεύς. See the kohen-hiereus trace for the base word mapping.

Word Family¶

G746 ἀρχή (archē) — beginning, rule, authority (first element of the compound)
G2409 ἱερεύς (hiereus) — priest (second element)
G748 ἀρχιερατικός (archieratikos) — "of the high priest" (adjective; Acts 4:6 only)
G2406 ἱεράτευμα (hierateuma) — priesthood (collective body; 1 Pet 2:5, 9)
G2407 ἱερατεύω (hierateuō) — to serve as priest (Luke 1:8 only)
G2420 ἱερωσύνη (hierōsynē) — priesthood as institution (Heb 7:11, 12, 24)