The preposition pro ('before') governs the genitive case and expresses three related notions across its 47 New Testament occurrences: temporal priority ('before something happens'), spatial anteriority ('in front of'), and metaphorical precedence or preference ('above, in behalf of'). Its temporal sense predominates in the New Testament: 'before the foundation of the world' (John 17:24; Eph 1:4; 1 Pet 1:20) expresses God's eternal purpose, 'before all things' (Col 1:17) declares Christ's pre-existence, and practical references locate events 'before the feast' (John 13:1) or 'before the winter' (2 Tim 4:21). The spatial sense appears in Acts 5:23 ('guards standing before the doors') and Acts 12:6 ('sentries before the door'), while James 5:12 uses it with the force 'above all.' The word also forms the first element of many compound verbs (proago, prolego, prographo). Spanish antes, French avant, and German vor render it with remarkable consistency.