Alpha and Omega

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For other uses, see Alpha and Omega (disambiguation).
The Greek letters alpha and omega

Alpha (Α or α) and omega (Ω or ω) are the first and last letters of the

omega
.

Origin

The first written record of the phrase "alpha and omega" is from some old manuscripts of the Christian New Testament.

The phrase "I am the Alpha and the Omega" (

Sinaitic, and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus. It is, therefore, omitted in some modern translations. Scholar Robert Young stated, with regard to "I am the Alpha and the Omega" in 1:11, the "oldest [manuscripts] omit" it.[3]

A similar reference is found in Isaiah 44,[4][5] where God is said to be the first and the last. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the phrase "I am" is used several times by Jesus, particularly in the Gospel of John.

Christianity

omega (Ω) are the first and last letters, respectively, of the classical (Ionic) Greek alphabet
. Thus, the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" is further clarified with the additional phrase, "the beginning and the end" in Revelation 21:6, 22:13. The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet were used because the book of Revelation is in the New Testament, which was originally written in Greek.

The phrase is interpreted by many Christians to mean that Jesus has existed for all eternity or that God is eternal. Many commentators and dictionaries ascribe the title "the alpha and the omega" to both God and to Christ.[6] Barnes' Notes on the New Testament (1974) claims: "It cannot be absolutely certain that the writer meant to refer to the Lord Jesus specifically here [...] There is no real incongruity in supposing, also, that the writer here meant to refer to God as such."[7] Most Christian denominations also teach that the title applies to God (Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit).

The letters Alpha and Omega, in juxtaposition, are often used as a Christian visual symbol (see examples). The symbols were used in

Eastern Orthodox Christian art. They are often shown to the left and right of Christ's head, sometimes within his halo, where they take the place of the Christogram
used in Orthodox art.

Judaism

In

Hebrew, the word emet (אמת, meaning 'truth'), is referred to as the "Seal of God."[8][9][10] [Cf. Isaiah 44:6][11] The word is composed of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet
.

Islam

The

names of God (Quran 57:3
).

APL programming language

Some dialects of the APL programming language support the direct function syntax where the left (optional) and right arguments are denoted by the letters alpha and omega. For example, the following function computes the sum of the left argument and twice the right argument:[citation needed] 

{⍺+2×⍵}

See also

Notes

  1. ^ At this time, the Greek name of the letter was still 'Ô' (Ὦ), which is found in the earliest Greek manuscripts; the later name "omega" (Ὦ μέγα) is found in many later Greek manuscripts.[2]

References

  1. ISBN 9781402770043
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-521-33367-2
    .
  3. ^ Young, Robert (1977). Young's Concise Commentary on the Holy Bible. p. 180.
  4. ^ Isaiah 44:6–8
  5. ^ Interlinear Greek English Septuagint Old Testament (LXX) (in Ancient Greek and English). p. 2432.
  6. ^ The New Bible Dictionary, edited by Alton Bryant; Bible Dictionary by Wm. Smith; and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
  7. ISBN 978-0825422003
  8. ^ "Yoma 69b:7-8". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  9. ^ "Shabbat 55a:12". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  10. ^ "Bereishit Rabbah 81:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  11. ^ "Isaiah 44:6". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2020-11-26.

External links

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