ἄλφα G0001
Alpha; the first letter of the Greek alphabet, used as a divine title meaning 'the First' or 'the Beginning'
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, deployed in Revelation as a majestic self-designation of God and the risen Christ. In the phrase 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' it declares absolute primacy—the one who stands at the origin of all things. All four occurrences appear in Revelation (1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13), always paired with Omega to form a merism encompassing all of reality from first to last. Every major translation simply transliterates: Alpha across English, Spanish, French, and German.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Alpha as a christological and theological title—the first letter of the Greek alphabet functioning as a divine self-designation meaning 'the First' or 'the Beginning.' Paired with Omega in all four Revelation passages (1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13), it forms an A-to-Z merism claiming sovereignty over all existence. The universal transliteration across languages (English 'Alpha,' Spanish 'Alfa,' French 'Alpha,' German 'Alpha') reflects its status as an irreducible symbolic name rather than a translatable concept. 4×
AR["أَلِفُ", "الأَلِفُ"]·ben["আলফা"]·DE["Alpha"]·EN["Alpha"]·FR["Alpha"]·heb["אָלֶף", "הָ-אָלֶף"]·HI["अल्फ़ा", "अल्फा", "और"]·ID["A", "Alfa"]·IT["a", "alpha"]·jav["Alfa"]·KO["알파", "알파와"]·PT["Alfa"]·RU["А", "Альфа"]·ES["Alfa", "Álpha"]·SW["Alfa"]·TR["-e", "Alfa"]·urd["الف", "الفا"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄλφα, τό, indeclinable (plural τὰ ἄ.Refs 4th c.BC+, see A a [near the start];Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 T-square, Refs __3 Phoenician for βοὸς κεφαλή, Refs 5th c.AD+ __4 metaphorically, τὸ ἄλφα καὶ τὸ ὦ the first and last, NT