Uppercase Alpha and Omega in Times New Roman

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

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as wel ...

, and a title of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

in the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

Chi Rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi (letter), chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek (Romanization of ...

or other Christian symbols.

Origin

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

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

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

Koiné Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-regional form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic ...

: ), is an appellation of Jesus and of the Father in the

(verses 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13). The first part of this phrase ("I am the Alpha and the Omega") is first found in chapter 1 verse 8, and is found in every

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

of Revelation that has 1:8. Several later manuscripts repeat "I am the Alpha and the Omega" in 1:11 as well, but do not receive support here from most of the oldest manuscripts, including the Alexandrine, Sinaitic, and

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

. 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 anuscriptsomit" it. A similar reference is found in

Isaiah 44 Isaiah 44 is the forty-fourth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is a part of the Books of the Prophets. Text ...

, 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 The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

Christianity

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

(Α) and

omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

(Ω) are the first and last letters, respectively, of the classical (Ionic)

. 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, spoken by Jesus Christ to John the Divine. 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 Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

has existed for all totality and

eternity Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...

or that God is eternal. Many commentators and dictionaries ascribe the title "the alpha and the omega" to both God and to

. ''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." Most Christian denominations also teach that the title applies to God (Jesus Christ, 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

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

and appear in the Roman

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

. The letters were shown hanging from the arms of the cross in

Early Christian art Early Christian art and architecture (or Paleochristian art) is the art produced by Christians, or under Christian patronage, from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, ide ...

, and some cruces gemmatae, jeweled crosses in precious metal, have formed letters hanging in this way, called

pendilia Pendilia (singular pendilium; from Latin ''pendulus'', hanging) or pendoulia (the Greek equivalent), are pendants or dangling ornaments hanging from a piece of metalwork such as a crown, votive crown, crux gemmata, or kamelaukion, and are a fea ...

; for example, in the Asturian coat of arms, which is based upon the Asturian Victory Cross. In fact, despite always being in Greek, the letters became more common in Western than

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Christian art. They are often shown to the left and right of Christ's head, sometimes within his

halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

, where they take the place of the

Christogram A Christogram () is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the C ...

used in Orthodox art. File:Rom, Domitilla-Katakomben, Steintafel mit Inschrift, Alpha und Omega und Christussymbol Chi Rho.jpg, The

Chi-rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi (letter), chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek (Romanization of ...

symbol with Alpha and Omega,

Catacombs of Domitilla The Catacombs of Domitilla are an underground Christian cemetery named after the Domitilla family that had initially ordered them to be dug. Located in Rome, Italy, are the human-made subterranean passageways used for cemeteries and religious prac ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

File:Christ with beard.jpg, The Greek letters ''alpha'' and ''omega'' surround the

of Jesus in the catacombs of Rome from the 4th century. File:ΑΩwindow.jpg, "ΑΩ" in stained glass File:DE-ST 15-0-86-140 Friedensau COA.svg, Arms with Alpha and Omega File:Flag of Asturias.svg,

Flag of Asturias The flag of Asturias is a blue field with a yellow ''Cruz de la Victoria'' (English: Victory Cross) shifted towards the hoist. It has served as one of the symbols of Asturias since the late 18th century. Design According to the tradition, the V ...

Judaism

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, the word (, meaning 'truth'), is referred to as the "

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

of God." f. Isaiah 44:6ref> The word is composed of the first, middle, and last letters of the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...

Islam

The

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

gives (), meaning 'The First' and (), meaning 'The Last', as two of the

names A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

().

APL programming language

Some dialects of the

APL programming language APL (named after the book ''A Programming Language'') is a programming language developed in the 1960s by Kenneth E. Iverson. Its central datatype is the multidimensional array. It uses a large range of special graphic symbols to represent m ...

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:

Notes

References

External links

*
"Alpha and Omega (in Scripture)"
in the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' at New Advent
"Alpha and Omega"
at the ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Alpha And Omega Biblical phrases Book of Revelation Christian symbols Christian terminology Greek words and phrases Greek letters Language and mysticism Heraldic charges Names of God in Christianity New Testament words and phrases Superlatives in religion