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Encyclopedia entry

Alpha

(A), the first letter of the Greek alphabet. With Omega, the last letter, it is used in the Old Testament and in the New to express the eternity of God, as including both the beginning and the end. (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13; Isaiah 41:4; 44:6) hence these letters became a favorite symbol of the eternal divinity of our Lord, and were used for this purpose in connection with the cross, or the monogram of Christ (i.e. the first two letters, ch and r, of Christ’s name in Greek). Both Greeks and Hebrews employed the letters of the alphabet as numerals.

In the Bible

4

Verses where Alpha is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).

  • Revelation 1:8

    “I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.

  • Revelation 1:11

    saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

  • Revelation 21:6

    And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

  • Revelation 22:13

    I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Entries that reference Alpha

1

Sources · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)

Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.