the first to rise from the dead

πρῶτος, η, ον (Hom.+; loanw. in rabb.).

① pert. to being first in a sequence, inclusive of time, set (number), or space, first of several, but also when only two persons or things are involved (=πρότερος; exx. in Hdb. on J 1:15; Rdm.² 71f; Thackeray 183; s. also Mlt. 79; 245; B-D-F §62; Rob. 516; 662; and s. Mt 21:31 v.l.).

ⓐ of time first, earliest, earlier

α. as adj. ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἡμέρας ἄχρι τοῦ νῦν Phil 1:5; cp. Ac 20:18 (on the absence of the art. [also Phil 1:5 v.l.] s. B-D-F §256; Rob. 793). ἡ πρώτη ἀπολογία 2 Ti 4:16 (MMeinertz, Worauf bezieht sich die πρώτη ἀπολογία 2 Ti 4:16?: Biblica 4, 1923, 390–94). ἡ πρ. διαθήκη Hb 9:15. τὰ πρῶτα ἔργα Rv 2:5. ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ πρώτη 20:5f. ἡ πρώτη ὅρασις Hv 3, 10, 3; 3, 11, 2; 4. ἡ ἐκκλησία ἡ πρ. 2 Cl 14:1.—Subst. τὰ πρ. … τὰ ἔσχατα (Job 8:7): γίνεται τὰ ἔσχατα χείρονα τῶν πρώτων Mt 12:45; cp. Lk 11:26; 2 Pt 2:20; Hv 1, 4, 2. οἱ πρῶτοι (those who came earlier, as Artem. 2, 9 p. 93, 19 those who appeared earlier) Mt 20:10; cp. vs. 8. ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους πλείονας τῶν πρώτων 21:36. Cp. 27:64. πρῶτος ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν the first to rise from the dead Ac 26:23. ὁ πρῶτος the first one J 5:4; 1 Cor 14:30. On the self-designation of the Risen Lord ὁ πρ. καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος Rv 1:17; 2:8; 22:13; s. ἔσχατος 2b (πρ. of God: Is 44:6; 48:12).—As a predicate adj., where an adv. can be used in English (ParJer 1:8 εἰ μὴ ἐγὼ πρῶτος ἀνοίξω τὰς πύλας; B-D-F §243; Rob. 657), as the first one = first ἦλθεν πρῶτος he was the first one to come = he came first J 20:4; cp. vs. 8. πρῶτος Μωϋσῆς λέγει Ro 10:19. Ἀβραὰμ πρῶτος περιτομὴν δούς Abraham was the first to practice circumcision B 9:7. οἱ ἄγγελοι οἱ πρῶτοι κτισθέντες the angels who were created first Hv 3, 4, 1; Hs 5, 5, 3.—1 Ti 2:13; 1J 4:19; AcPlCor 2:9.—ἐν ἐμοὶ πρώτῳ in me as the first 1 Ti 1:16.—Used w. a gen. of comparison (Ocelus Luc. 3 ἐκεῖνο πρῶτον τοῦ παντός ἐστιν=prior to the All; Manetho 1, 329; Athen. 14, 28 p. 630c codd.) πρῶτός μου ἦν he was earlier than I = before me J 1:15, 30 (PGM 13, 543 σοῦ πρῶτός εἰμι.—Also Ep. 12 of Apollonius of Tyana: Philostrat. I p. 348, 30 τὸ τῇ τάξει δεύτερον οὐδέποτε τῇ φύσει πρῶτον). So perh. also ἐμὲ πρῶτον ὑμῶν μεμίσηκεν 15:18 (s. β below) and πάντων πρώτη ἐκτίσθη Hv 2, 4, 1.—As a rule the later element is of the same general nature as the one that precedes it. But it can also be someth. quite different, even its exact opposite: τὴν πρώτην πίστιν ἠθέτησαν 1 Ti 5:12. τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀφῆκες Rv 2:4.—Used elliptically ἡ πρώτη (i.e. ἡμέρα sim. Polyb. 5, 19, 1; 18, 27, 2 τῇ πρώτῃ) τῶν ἀζύμων Mt 26:17. πρώτῃ σαββάτου on the first day of the week Mk 16:9. In some of the passages mentioned above the idea of sequence could be predom.

β. the neuter πρῶτον as adv., of time first, in the first place, before, earlier, to begin with (Peripl. Eryth. 4; Chariton 8, 2, 4; ApcEsdr 3:11; Just., D. 2, 4) πρῶτον πάντων first of all Hv 5:5a. ἐπίτρεψόν μοι πρῶτον ἀπελθεῖν καὶ θάψαι let me first go and bury Mt 8:21. συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια gather the weeds first 13:30. Cp. 17:10, 11 v.l.; Mk 7:27; 9:11f; 13:10; Lk 9:59, 61; 12:1 ( first Jesus speaks to his disciples, and only then [vs. 15] to the people. If one prefers to take πρ. w. what follows, as is poss., it has mng. 2a); 14:28, 31; J 7:51; 18:13; Ac 26:20; Ro 15:24 al. in NT; B 15:7; Hv 3, 1, 8; 3, 6, 7; 3, 8, 11; 5:5b. τότε πρῶτον then for the first time Ac 11:26 D. πρῶτον … καὶ τότε first … and then (Sir 11:7; Jos., Ant. 13, 187) Mt 5:24; 7:5; 12:29; Mk 3:27; Lk 6:42; IEph 7:2. τότε is correlative w. πρῶτον without καί J 2:10 v.l. Likew. πρῶτον … εἶτα (εἶτεν) first … then (Just., D. 33, 2 al.; s. εἶτα 1) Mk 4:28; 1 Ti 3:10; B 6:17. πρῶτον … ἔπειτα (ἔπειτα 2) 1 Cor 15:46; 1 Th 4:16. πρῶτον … μετὰ ταῦτα Mk 16:9, s. vs. 12. πρῶτον … εἶτα … μετὰ ταῦτα 1 Cl 23:4; 2 Cl 11:3 (in both cases the same prophetic saying of unknown origin). πρῶτον … ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ Ac 7:12.—Pleonastically πρῶτον πρὸ τοῦ ἀρίστου Lk 11:38.—W. gen. (Chariton 5, 4, 9 cod. πρῶτον τ. λόγων=before it comes to words) ἐμὲ πρῶτον ὑμῶν μεμίσηκεν it hated me before ( it hated) you J 15:18 (but s. 1aα).—W. the art. τὸ πρῶτον (Hom. et al.; Jos., Ant. 8, 402; 14, 205) the first time J 10:40; 19:39; at first (Diod S 1, 85, 2; Jos., Ant. 2, 340) 12:16; 2 Cl 9:5. τὰ πρῶτα (Hom. et al.; Appian, Syr. 15 §64; Ps.-Phoc. 8) the first time, at first MPol 8:2.

ⓑ of number or sequence (the area within which this sense is valid cannot be marked off w. certainty from the area 1aα)

α. as adj. Mt 21:28; 22:25; Mk 12:20; Lk 14:18; 16:5; 19:16; 20:29; J 19:32; Ac 12:10; 13:33 v.l.; Rv 4:7; 8:7; 21:19; Hs 9, 1, 5. τὸ πρῶτον … τὸ δεύτερον (Alex. Aphr., An. p. 28, 9 Br.) Hb 10:9. On πρώτης τῆς μερίδος Μακεδονίας πόλις Ac 16:12 s. μερίς 1 and RAscough, NTS 44, ’98, 93–103.—Since πρῶτος can stand for πρότερος (s. 1 at beg.; also Mlt-Turner 32), it by no means follows from τὸν μὲν πρῶτον λόγον Ac 1:1 that the writer of Luke and of Ac must have planned to write a third book (Zahn, NKZ 28, 1917, 373ff, Comm. 1919, 16ff holds that he planned to write a third volume; against this view s. EGoodspeed, Introd. to the NT ’37, 189; Haenchen, et al.—Athenaeus 15, 701c mentions the first of Clearchus’ two books on proverbs with the words ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ περὶ παροιμιῶν, but 10, 457c with ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ περὶ παροιμιῶν. Diod S 1, 42, 1 the first half of a two-part work is called ἡ πρώτη βίβλος and 3, 1, 1 mentions a division into πρώτη and δευτέρα βίβ. In 13, 103, 3 the designation for the first of two works varies between ἡ πρώτη σύνταξις and ἡ προτέρα ς. See Haenchen on Ac 1:1).—πρῶτος is also used without any thought that the series must continue: τὸν πρῶτον ἰχθύν the very first fish Mt 17:27. αὕτη ἀπογραφὴ πρώτη ἐγένετο Lk 2:2, likewise, does not look forward in the direction of additional censuses, but back to a time when there were none at all (Ael. Aristid. 13 p. 227 D. παράκλησις αὕτη [=challenge to a sea-fight] πρώτη ἐγένετο; for interpolation theory s. JWinandy, RB 104, ’97, 372–77; cp. BPearson, CBQ, ’99, 262--82).—τὰ τείχη τὰ πρῶτα Hs 8, 6, 6 does not contrast the ‘first walls’ w. other walls; rather it distinguishes the only walls in the picture (Hs 8, 7, 3; 8, 8, 3) as one edifice, from the tower as the other edifice.

β. adv., the neuter πρῶτον of sequence in enumerations (not always clearly distinguished fr. sense 1aβ) first πρῶτον ἀποστόλους, δεύτερον προφήτας, τρίτον … 1 Cor 12:28 (Mitt-Wilck. I/2, 20 II, 10ff [II A.D.] τὸ πρ. … τὸ δεύτερον … τὸ τρίτον. Without the art. 480, 12ff [II A.D.]; Diod S 36, 7, 3; Tat. 40, 1). See Hb 7:2; Js 3:17.—Not infrequently Paul begins w. πρῶτον μέν without continuing the series, at least in form (B-D-F §447, 4; Rob. 1152. For πρ. without continuation s. Plat., Ep. 7, 337b, Plut., Mor. 87b; Jos., Ant. 1, 182; Ath. 27, 1 πρῶτα μέν) Ro 1:8; 3:2; 1 Cor 11:18. S. also 2 Cl 3:1.

ⓒ of space outer, anterior σκηνὴ ἡ πρώτη the outer tent, i.e. the holy place Hb 9:2; cp. vss. 6, 8.

② pert. to prominence, first, foremost, most important, most prominent

ⓐ adj.

α. of things (Ocellus [II B.C.] 56 Harder [1926] πρώτη κ. μεγίστη φυλακή; Ael. Aristid. 23, 43 K.=42 p. 783 D.: πόλεις; Ezk 27:22; PsSol 17:43; χρυσίον τὸ πρῶτον τίμιον; JosAs 15:10) ἡ μεγάλη καὶ πρώτη ἐντολή Mt 22:38; cp. Mk 12:29. ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων vs. 28 (OLehmann, TU 73, ’59, 557–61 [rabb.]; CBurchard, ZNW 61, ’70, cites JosAs 15:10; 18:5). Without superl. force ἐντολὴ πρώτη ἐν ἐπαγγελίᾳ a commandment of great importance, with a promise attached Eph 6:2 (the usual transl. ‘first commandment w. a promise’ [NRSV, REB et al.] loses sight of the fact that Ex 20:4–6=Dt 5:8–10 has an implied promise of the same kind as the one in Ex 20:12=Dt 5:16. πρ. here is best taken in the same sense as in Mk 12:29 above). στολὴν τὴν πρώτην the special robe Lk 15:22 (JosAs 15:10).—ἐν πρώτοις among the first = most important things, i.e. as of first importance 1 Cor 15:3 (Pla., Pol. 522c ὸ̔ καὶ παντὶ ἐν πρώτοις ἀνάγκη μανθάνειν; Epict., Ench. 20; Mitt-Wilck I/2, 14 II, 9 ἐν πρώτοις ἐρωτῶ σε; Josh 9:2d).

β. of persons (Dio Chrys. 19 [36], 35 πρ. καὶ μέγιστος θεός; TestAbr B 4 p. 108, 18 [Stone p. 64]; ApcSed 5:2; Jos., Ant. 15, 398; Just., A I, 60, 5 al. τὸν πρῶτον θεόν) ὸ̔ς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος whoever wishes to be the first among you Mt 20:27; Mk 10:44; cp. 9:35. πρῶτος Σίμων Mt 10:2 is not meant to indicate the position of Simon in the list, since no other numbers follow, but to single him out as the most prominent of the twelve. W. gen. ὧν (=τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν) πρῶτός εἰμι 1 Ti 1:15. Pl. (οἱ) πρῶτοι in contrast to (οἱ) ἔσχατοι Mt 19:30; 20:16; Mk 9:35; 10:31; Lk 13:30; Ox 654, 25f (cp. GTh 4; sim. Sallust. 9 p. 16, 21f τοῖς ἐσχάτοις … τοῖς πρώτοις; s. ἔσχατος 2).—αἱ πρώται prominent women (in the phrase γυναικῶν τε τῶν πρώτων οὐκ ὀλίγαι) Ac 17:4 (s. New Docs 1, 72). οἱ πρῶτοι the most prominent men, the leading men w. gen. of place (Jos., Ant. 7, 230 τῆς χώρας) οἱ πρ. τῆς Γαλιλαίας Mk 6:21; cp. Ac 13:50 (in phrasing sim. to πολλὰς μὲν γυναῖκας εὐγενεῖς καὶ τῶν πρώτων ἀνδρῶν ἤισχυναν=‘they dishonored many well-born women as well as men of high station’ Theopomp.: 115 Fgm. 121 Jac. p. 563, 33f), or of a group (Strabo 13, 2, 3 οἱ πρ. τῶν φίλων; Jos., Ant. 20, 180) οἱ πρ. τοῦ λαοῦ (Jos., Ant. 11, 141) Lk 19:47; cp. Ac 25:2; 28:17. On ὁ πρῶτος τῆς νήσου vs. 7 (πρῶτος Μελιταίων IGR I, 512=IG XIV, 601; cp. CB I/2, 642 no. 535 ὁ πρῶτος ἐν τῇ πόλει; p. 660 no. 616; SEG XLI, 1345, 14f; cp. CIL X, 7495, 1; s. Hemer, Acts 153, n. 152; Warnecke, Romfahrt 119ff) s. Πόπλιος.

ⓑ adv. πρῶτον of degree in the first place, above all, especially (Jos., Ant. 10, 213) ζητεῖτε πρῶτον τὴν βασιλείαν Mt 6:33. Ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνι Ro 1:16; cp. 2:9f.—Ac 3:26; 2 Pt 1:20; 3:3. Of the Macedonian Christians ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν they gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and (then) to us 2 Cor 8:5. παρακαλῶ πρῶτον πάντων first of all I urge 1 Ti 2:1.—B. 939. DELG. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.

ἀνάστασις, εως, ἡ (s. ἀνίστημι; Aeschyl., Hdt.+ in var. mngs.).

① a change for the better in status, rising up, rise (La 3:63; Zech 3:8; Jos., Ant. 17, 212; 18, 301 [here of the ‘erection’ of a statue]) κεῖται εἰς πτῶσιν καὶ ἀ. πολλῶν he is destined for the fall and rise of many of Jesus Lk 2:34, i.e. because of him many will fall and others will rise, viz. in relation to God (for contrast w. πτῶσις cp. Evagrius Pont., Sent. 5, 19 p. 327 Frankenberg: ἡ μικρὰ τ. σώματος ἀνάστασίς ἐστιν ἡ μετάθεσις αὐτοῦ ἐκ πτώσεως τ. ἀσελγείας εἰς τὴν τ. ἁγιασμοῦ ἀνάστασιν).—Esp.

② resurrection from the dead, resurrection (Aeschyl., Eum. 648 ἅπαξ θανόντος οὔτις ἐστʼ ἀ. [cp. Job 7:9f; 16:22]; Ps.-Lucian, De Salt. 45; Ael. Aristid. 32, 25 K.=12 p. 142 D.; 46 p. 300 D.; IGR IV 743, 25 [ο]ἱ δὴ δ[είλ]αιοι πάντ[ες] εἰς ἀ[νά]στασιν|[----][the stone breaks off after ἀ. and some think that βλέποντες or the like is to be supplied]; 2 Macc 7:14; 12:43), and so

ⓐ in the past: of Jesus’ res. (Orig., C. Cels. 5, 57, 25) Ac 1:22; 2:31; 4:33; Ro 6:5; Phil 3:10 (JFitzmyer, BRigaux Festschr., ’70, 411–25); 1 Pt 3:21; 1 Cl 42:3; ISm 3:1, 3; in more detail ἀ. ἐκ νεκρῶν 1 Pt 1:3; ἀ. νεκρῶν res. from the dead Ro 1:4; w. the passion of Jesus IEph 20:1; Mg 11; Tr ins; Phld ins; 8:2; 9:2; Sm 7:2; 12:2; cp. 1:2. τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀ. εὐαγγελίζεσθαι proclaim Jesus and the res. i.e. his res., and in consequence, the possibility of a general res. Ac 17:18 (but s. 3 below. τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν could also mean ‘the res. of Jesus’, as perh. Nicol Dam.: 90 Fgm. 130, 18 p. 400, 17 Jac. μνήμη τἀνδρὸς καὶ φιλοστοργίας=‘… the love of the man’); cp. vs. 32 and 4:2. Of the raisings from the dead by Elijah and Elisha ἔλαβον γυναῖκες ἐξ ἀ. τοὺς νεκροὺς αὐτῶν women (i.e. the widow of Zarephath and the Shunammite woman 3 Km 17:23; 4 Km 4:36) received their dead by res. Hb 11:35.

ⓑ of the future res. (Theoph. Ant. 1, 13 [p. 86, 25]), linked with Judgment Day: described as ἀ. νεκρῶν (Did., Gen. 96, 13) Mt 22:31; Ac 23:6; 24:15, 21; 26:23; 1 Cor 15:12f; 21; 42; Hb 6:2; D 16:6; or ἀ. ἐκ νεκρῶν Lk 20:35; B 5:6; AcPlCor 2:35 (cp. Ar. 15, 3; Just., D. 45, 2); cp. IPol 7:1; Pol 7:1; MPol 14:2. ἀ. σαρκός (not found in the NT) AcPlCor 1:12; 2:24 (Just., D. 80, 5; σωμάτων Tat. 6, 1; Ath., R. 11 p. 59, 14). Of Jesus: τὴν ἀ. ποιεῖν bring about the res. (of the dead) B 5:7. Jesus’ Passion as our res. ISm 5:3. ἀθάνατος τῆς ἀ. καρπός 2 Cl 19:3. Described as ἀ. κρείττων Hb 11:35 in contrast w. the res. of the past, because the latter was, after all, followed by death. ἡ μέλλουσα ἀ. (Theoph. Ant. 2, 15 [p. 138, 17]) the future res. 1 Cl 24:1. ἡ κατὰ καιρὸν γινομένη ἀ. the res. that comes at regular intervals (i.e. seasons, day and night), as a type of the future res. 24:2.—More details in J, who mentions an ἀ. ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ on the Last Day J 11:24 and differentiates betw. the ἀ. κρίσεως res. for judgment for the wicked and the ἀ. ζωῆς res. to life for those who do good 5:29. Christ calls himself ἡ ἀ. and ἡ ζωή 11:25, since he mediates both to humans.—Paul seeks to demonstrate the validity of belief in Jesus’ res. in terms of the res. of the dead in general 1 Cor 15:12ff (s. MDahl, The Res. of the Body. A Study of 1 Cor 15, ’62 and s. τάγμα 1b). γνῶναι … τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀ. αὐτου Phil 3:10.—Lk 14:14 mentions only a res. of the just, as in some intertestamental belief; likew. B 21:1. Hebraistically υἱοὶ τῆς ἀ. (w. υἱοὶ θεοῦ) children of the res.=sharers in the resurrection Lk 20:36. A second res. is presupposed by the ἀ. ἡ πρώτη of Rv 20:5f. Denial of res. by the Sadducees Mt 22:23, 28, 30f; Mk 12:18, 23; Lk 20:27, 33, 35f (on this see Schürer II 391; 411); by the Epicureans Ac 17:18 (ERohde, Psyche³ 1903 II 331–35; cp. the ins 2 above, beg.); and by Christians 1 Cor 15:12 (prob. in the sense of Just., D. 80, 4 λέγουσι μὴ εἶναι νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν, ἀλλʼ ἅμα τῷ ἀποθνῄσκειν τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἀναλαμβάνεσθαι εἰς τ. οὐρανόν ‘they say there is no resurrection of the dead, but that at the time of death their souls are taken up into heaven’; s. JWilson, ZNW 59, ’68, 90–107); 2 Ti 2:18 (cp. Menander in Iren. 1, 23, 5 [Harv. I 195] resurrectionem enim per id quod est in eum baptisma, accipere eius discipulos, et ultra non posse mori, sed perseverare non senescentes et immortales [Menander teaches that] ‘his followers receive resurrection by being baptized into him, and that they face death no more, but live on without growing old, exempt from death’; cp. Just., A I, 26, 4; Valentinus in Clem. of Alex., Str. 4, 13, 91; Tertull., Carn. Resurr. 25 agnitio sacramenti [=ἡ τοῦ μυστηρίου γνῶσις] resurrectio).—FNötscher, Altoriental. u. atl. Auferstehungsglaube 1926; JLeipoldt, Sterbende u. auferstehende Götter 1923; Cumont³ ’31; ANikolainen, D. Auferstehungsglauben in d. Bibel u. in ihrer Umwelt. I Relgesch. Teil ’44. II NT ’46.—WBousset, Rel.³, 1926, 269–74 al.; Billerb. IV 1928, 1166–98.—AMeyer, D. Auferstehung Christi 1905; KLake, The Historical Evidence of Res. of Jesus Christ 1907; LBrun, D. Auferst. Christi in d. urchr. Überl. 1925; PGardner-Smith, The Narratives of the Resurrection 1926; SMcCasland, The Res. of Jesus ’32; MGoguel, La foi à la résurr. de Jésus dans le Christianisme primitif ’33; EFascher, ZNW 26, 1927, 1–26; EFuchs, ZKG 51, ’32, 1–20; AThomson, Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? ’40; EHirsch, D. Auferstehungsgeschichten u. d. chr. Glaube ’40; PAlthaus, D. Wahrheit des kirchl. Osterglaubens² ’41; WMichaelis, D. Erscheinungen des Auferstandenen ’44; ARamsey, The Res. of Christ ’45; JLeipoldt, Zu den Auferstehungsgeschichten: TLZ 73, ’48, 737–42 (rel.-Hist.); KRengstorf, Die Auferstehung Jesu² ’54; GKoch, Die Auferstehung J. Christi ’59; HGrass, Ostergeschehen u. Osterberichte ’56; ELohse, Die Auferstehung J. Chr. im Zeugnis des Lk ’61; HvCampenhausen, Tradition and Life in the Early Church, ’68, 42–89; WCraig, Assessing the NT Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus ’89; GLüdemann, Die Auferstehung Jesu ’94. S. also τάφος 1.—KDeissner, Auferstehungshoffnung u. Pneumagedanke b. Pls 1912; GVos, The Pauline Doctrine of the Res.: PTR 27, 1929, 1–35; 193–226; FGuntermann, D. Eschatologie d. hl. Pls ’32; HMolitor, Die Auferstehung d. Christen und Nichtchristen nach d. Ap. Pls ’33; LSimeone, Resurrectionis iustorum doctr. in Ep. S. Pauli ’38; DStanley, Christ’s Resurrection in Pauline Soteriology ’61; CMoule, NTS 12, ’65/66, 106–23; MdeBoer, The Defeat of Death ’88; JHolleman, A Traditio-Historical Study of Paul’s Eschatology in 1 Cor 15 (NovT Suppl. 84), ’96.—RGrant, Miracle and Nat. Law ’52, 221–63. JBuitkamp, Auferstehungsglaube in den Qumrantexten, diss. Groningen ’64; GWild, Auferstehungsglaube des späten Israel, diss. Bonn. ’67; W. Pannenberg, Grundzüge der Christologie⁶ ’82, 74ff.

③ a deity within a polytheistic system, Resurrection Ac 17:18. This interpr., first set forth by Chrysostom (Hom. in Act. 38, 1), has found modern supporters (s. Haenchen ad loc.). The semantic issue arises from the fact that the narrative presents the auditors as theologically ignorant. Their assumption is that Paul seemed to be a proclaimer of ‘new divinities’ (vs. 18a). From their perspective the term ἀ. suggests a divinity named Resurrection (abstractions identified as divinities were not uncommon in the Gr-Rom. world, s. EA 19 ’92, 71–73). But the omniscient author informs the reader that bodily resurrection (as in 2 above) is meant.—DELG s.v. ἵστημι. M-M. TW. Sv.