Beginning (בּרֵאשַׁית, "in the beginning," liter. ally at the head, Ge 1:1; Sept. and New Test. ἐν ἀρχῇ), besides its ordinary import, was with the He. brews an idiomatic form of expression for eternity, q. d. originally. In this sense it is employed alike by Moses and (in its Greek form) by the evangelist John (Joh 1:1). SEE CREATION.
Our Lord is also emphatically styled the Beginning (Α᾿ρχή) both by Paul and John (Col 1:18; Re 1:8; Re 3:14), and it is worthy of remark that the Greek philosophers expressed the First Cause of all things by the same word. SEE LOGOS.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More