Greek word · G4387

πρότερος

proteros

before

Earlier, former. With the neuter article, used as an adverb: 'formerly, previously, at first'.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

A. Compar., πρότερος, -α, -ον,

[in LXX for רִאשׁוֹן ,לִפָנִים, etc. ;]

before, of time, place, rank, etc.; in NT always of Time, before, former: Ephesians 4:22. Adverbially, πρότερον, before, aforetime, formerly: John 7:50, 2 Corinthians 1:15, Hebrews 4:6; opposite to ἔπειτα, Hebrews 7:27; τὸ π., John 6:62 9:8, Galatians 4:13, 1 Timothy 1:13; αἱ π. ἡμέραι, Hebrews 10:32; αἱ π. ἐπιθυμίαι, 1 Peter 1:14.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of John 6:62

Range of meaning

Earlier, former. With the neuter article, used as an adverb: 'formerly, previously, at first'.

Against the English

'Before' is accurate in every version. What English can blur is how much the short phrase claims. 'Where he was before' does not mean before he came to Capernaum. It means before he came down from heaven.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same adverbial use appears in John 7:50 (Nicodemus, 'who had come to him before') and 9:8 (those who 'had seen him before as a beggar'). The idea matches John 1:1–2, 8:58 ('before Abraham was, I am') and 17:5 ('the glory I had with you before the world existed').

Similar words

Where it appears

John · 3

  1. John 6:62 πρότερον; before?

    Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?

    Here: 'Where he was before' means before he came down. It quietly but clearly claims that he existed in heaven first. The crowd thought they knew his origins ('Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?', 6:42), and this contradicts them.

  2. John 7:50 πρότερον, former

    Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked,

  3. John 9:8 πρότερον before

    At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 1:15 πρότερον previously

    Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 4:13 πρότερον, first,

    You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 4:22 προτέραν former

    to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

    Here: 'Former' or 'previous'. It belongs to the letter's repeated contrast between 'once' and 'now' (2:1–3, 2:11–13): the conduct belongs to a time that is over for them.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.