flagellating themselves before these images

ἔμπροσθεν (also ἐνπ-; Hdt.+; also in OT quotes w. and against LXX; Mel., P. 61, 444 [ἀπέναντι Dt 28:66]) ἔμπροσθε (SIG 371, 13 [289/288 B.C.]; 915, 27) ApcPt 3:6; orig. adv. of place, then used as prep. (B-D-F §104, 2; 214, 1; 6; Mlt-H. 329).

① pert. to a position in front of an object

ⓐ gener. adv. as marker of something that is relatively removed in distance in front, ahead (opp. ὄπισθεν, as X., Equ. 1, 3; Polyb. 12, 15, 2; Aelian, VH 12, 21; Palaeph. 29, 2; 2 Ch 13:14; Ezk 2:10) Rv 4:6. As subst.: εἰς τὸ ἔ. toward the front (Diod S 11, 18, 5; 19, 26, 10; 19, 83, 2; Jos., C. Ap. 1, 203) προδραμὼν εἰς τὸ ἔ. he ran ahead Lk 19:4 (where εἰς τὸ ἔ. is pleonast., as Artem. 2, 9 p. 93, 2 προϊέναι εἰς τοὔμπροσθεν; B-D-F §484; Semitism [?]: MBlack, An Aramaic Approach³, ’67, 116); τὰ ἔ. (sc. ὄντα; cp. X., An. 6, 3, 14; 1 Macc 13:27; TestJob 27:1; location in a dialogue Just., D. 126, 6; 140, 4) what lies ahead (as a goal) Phil 3:13.—Forward, ahead πορεύεσθαι ἔ. (X., Cyr. 4, 2, 23) Lk 19:28. αἱ ἔ. ἐκκλησίαι the congregations/churches farther on or principal churches (s. JKleist, tr., ’46, ad loc. w. note) IPol 8:1.

ⓑ indicating more immediate presence of the object that is in front, with ἔ. functioning as prep. w. gen. (s. on ἀνά, beg.) in front of, before in a variety of aspects

α. purely local (X., Cyr. 3, 2, 5; Jos., Bell. 6, 366) Hs 9, 2, 7 (opp. ὀπίσω); ἔ. τοῦ ναοῦ before the shrine (Cebes, Tab. 1, 1) 1 Cl 41:2; ἔ. τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου Mt 5:24; ἔ. τοῦ βήματος Ac 18:17; ἔ. τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Lk 5:19; cp. 14:2; ApcPt 3:6; GPt 4:12. γονυπετεῖν ἔ. τινος kneel before someone Mt 27:29; πίπτειν ἔ. τῶν ποδῶν τινος fall at someone’s feet Rv 19:10; 22:8; βάλλειν ἔ. τινος Mt 7:6 (PGM 4, 1229 βάλε ἔ. αὐτοῦ κλῶνας ἐλαίας). μαστιγοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς ἔ. τούτων τῶν εἰδώλων flagellating themselves before these images ApcPt Bodl. (as restored by EWinstedt, s. MJames, JTS 1910, 12, 157).

β. of position without ref. to motion toward, before, in the presence of (Gen 45:5) ὁμολογεῖν and ἀρνεῖσθαι Mt 10:32f; 26:70; Lk 12:8; cp. Gal 2:14. Esp. of appearance before a judge Mt 27:11; also before the divine judge 25:32; Lk 21:36; 1 Th 2:19; 3:13; GPt 11:48; cp. 2 Cor 5:10. But the judicial element is not decisive in all the pass. in which pers. stand or come ἔ. τοῦ θεοῦ or ἔ. τ. χυρίου; cp. 1 Th 1:3; 3:9; 1J 3:19.

γ. of appearance before a large assemblage to discharge an obligation, before, in the sight of (SIG 1173, 14 [138 A.D.] the man who was healed through the intervention of Asklepios ηὐχαρίστησεν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ δήμου) Mt 5:16; 6:1; 17:2; 23:13 in the face of; Mk 2:12; 9:2; Lk 19:27; J 12:37; Ac 10:4.

δ. as a reverential way of expressing oneself, when one is speaking of an eminent pers., and esp. of God, not to connect the subject directly w. what happens, but to say that it took place ‘before someone’ (s. Dalman, Worte 171–74): ἐπακοῦσαι ἔ. αὐτοῦ ἔθνη that the nations should give heed (or obey) (before) God B 12:11 (Is 45:1). ποιεῖν τὸ πονηρὸν ἔ. τοῦ κυρίου Hm 4, 2, 2 (cp. Judg 2:11; 3:12; 4:1). εὐδοκία ἔ. σου pleasing to you Mt 11:26; Lk 10:21; θέλημα ἔ. τ. πατρὸς ὑμῶν Mt 18:14.

ε. before, ahead of, w. motion implied ἔ. τινος (UPZ 78, 15 [159 B.C.] ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν ἐπορευόμην) J 10:4; B 11:4 (Is 45:2); προπορεύεσθαι ἔ. τινος 3:4 (Is 58:8); cp. 4:12; ἀποστέλλεσθαι ἔ. τινος (Gen 24:7; 32:4) J 3:28; σαλπίζειν ἔ. τινος blow a trumpet before someone Mt 6:2; τὴν ὁδὸν κατασκευάζειν ἔ. τινος Mt 11:10; Lk 7:27.

ζ. of rank (Pla., Leg. 1, 631d; 5, 743e; 7, 805d; Demosth. 56, 50 εἶναι ἔ. τινος; Gen 48:20) ἔ. τινος γίνεσθαι rank before (i.e. higher than) someone J 1:15, 30 (Plut., Pericl. 158 [11, 1] οἱ ἀριστοκρατικοὶ … Περικλέα … πρόσθεν ὁρῶντες γεγονόντα τῶν πολιτῶν). If ἔ. τινος γ. is to be understood temporally here (as 3 Km 3:12; 16:25, 33; 4 Km 18:5; Eccl 1:16; 2:7, 9; Jos, Ant. 1, 109; cp. Demetr.: 722 Fgm. 1, 12 Jac. ἔτει ἑνὶ ἔμπροσθεν)=‘be earlier than someone’, the foll. ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν, which gives the reason for it, would simply be an instance of tautology (but s. OCullmann, ConNeot 11, ’47, 31, who holds that the ὅτι-clause refers to the absolute time of the Prologue while the preceding words merely give the order in which the ministries of John and Jesus began). S. on ὀπίσω 2b.

② on the front surface of someth., in front (opp. ὄπισθεν, as cp. Ezk 2:10) Rv 4:6.—DELG s.v. πρόσθε(ν). M-M.