Greek word · G708

Ἀρίσταρχος

aristarchos

Aristarchus

A personal name built from aristos ('best') and archō ('rule'), so 'best ruler'. It was a common Greek name, carried for example by the famous Alexandrian scholar Aristarchus of Samothrace.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Ἀρίσταρχος, -ου, ὁ

(ἄριστος, ἀρχός; i.e. best-ruling)

Aristarchus: Acts 19:29 20:4 27:2, Colossians 4:10, Phm 24

(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 Philemon 1:24

Range of meaning

A personal name built from aristos ('best') and archō ('rule'), so 'best ruler'. It was a common Greek name, carried for example by the famous Alexandrian scholar Aristarchus of Samothrace.

Against the English

All versions simply transliterate it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 19:29 (seized during the riot at Ephesus), 20:4 (a Thessalonian travelling with the collection), 27:2 (sailing with Paul toward Rome); Col 4:10 ('my fellow prisoner'). Col 4:10–11 groups him with Mark and Jesus Justus as the only co-workers who were 'of the circumcision', meaning Jewish. Despite his fully Greek name, then, he was very likely Jewish.

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 19:29 Ἀρίσταρχον Aristarchus

    Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

    Here: A Greek name meaning 'best ruler'. He came from Thessalonica in Macedonia (Acts 20:4; 27:2). He later appears as Paul's 'fellow prisoner' (Col 4:10; Philem 24).

  2. Acts 20:4 Ἀρίσταρχος Aristarchus

    Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

    Here: The name means 'best ruler'. The crowd seized him in the Ephesus riot (19:29). He later sails with Paul to Rome (27:2), and Paul calls him a 'fellow prisoner' (Col 4:10; Philem 24).

  3. Acts 27:2 Ἀριστάρχου Aristarchus

    We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 4:10 Ἀρίσταρχος Aristarchus

    My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas. You have already received instructions about him: If he comes to you, welcome him.

    Here: A Greek name meaning roughly "best ruler." He is the Macedonian from Thessalonica who was dragged into the riot at Ephesus and later sailed with Paul toward Rome (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2).

Philemon · 1

  1. Philemon 1:24 Ἀρίσταρχος, Aristarchus,

    as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

    Here: A Greek name meaning roughly 'best ruler'. He was a Macedonian from Thessalonica who had been with Paul in the Ephesus riot, on the collection journey and on the voyage to Rome (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2). Colossians 4:10 calls him Paul's 'fellow prisoner'.

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