Exploring the Meaning of Arrhen in Greek

ἄρρην, ἄρσην refers to what is male, and in Scripture it appears in contexts ranging from creation language about “male and female” to legal language about “every male who opens the womb,” and to apocalyptic narration of a “male child.” The word’s uses in these passages consistently mark sex in a way that shapes arguments, classifications, and storyline identification.

Occurrences

Matthew 19:4: “He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,”

Here the word functions as one half of a paired expression, “male and female,” anchored “from the beginning.” In this argument, the male designation is not an isolated description but part of a two-term framing that presents sex-differentiation as belonging to the created order. The adjective helps articulate a category that is contrasted and completed by “female,” so that the pairing itself carries the force of the citation.

Mark 10:6: “But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.”

This occurrence parallels the previous one but places the phrase inside a compressed statement: “from the beginning of the creation.” The male term again appears as a coordinate with “female,” and the pairing is presented as something God “made.” In this scene the word contributes to an appeal that grounds the discussion in the way humans were made, making “male” a creational descriptor rather than an incidental label.

Luke 2:23: “(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),”

In Luke, the term occurs inside a quotation introduced as written “in the law of the Lord.” The male designation is tied to a specific condition—“who opens the womb”—and that condition leads to a stated status: “shall be called holy to the Lord.” Here “male” does classificatory work in a legal-cultic register: it identifies which newborns fall under the cited statement, and it does so with precise boundary language (“every … who…”).

Romans 1:27: “Likewise also the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men doing what is inappropriate with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.”

In this verse the male term appears in a setting focused on sexual behavior: “the men… burned in their lust toward one another.” The repeated reference to “men… with men” foregrounds male-with-male action in contrast to “the woman.” The word’s contribution is to keep the description explicitly within male categories as the verse narrates desire, action, and consequence (“receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error”).

Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Here “male” is again paired with “female,” but the rhetorical effect differs: the verse denies that such paired distinctions define standing within the stated unity (“for you are all one in Christ Jesus”). The male term contributes one element of a triad of contrasts (“Jew nor Greek… slave nor free man… male nor female”). In this sentence it is not used to classify people for a law or to narrate conduct, but to name a recognized distinction that is relativized in light of the unity claimed.

Revelation 12:5: “She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God, and to his throne.”

In Revelation the term appears as part of an appositional phrase: “a son, a male child.” The second expression reinforces the first and tightens identification of the newborn as male. The narrative immediately assigns this child a destiny (“who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron”) and reports a dramatic reversal (“was caught up to God, and to his throne”). The word thus participates in identifying the child within the vision’s cast and in stabilizing the reference as the action moves quickly from birth to exaltation.

Revelation 12:13: “When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.”

This later reference uses the term anaphorically: “the male child” points back to the birth scene already narrated. The adjective helps maintain continuity in the storyline, clarifying which child is in view as the focus shifts to conflict (“the dragon… persecuted the woman”). In this clause, “male” is not presented as a biological observation for its own sake, but as part of the identifying title by which the vision recalls the earlier birth and links it to the persecution that follows.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, the word consistently marks maleness as a stable, recognized classification, but the texts deploy that classification for different rhetorical ends.

In the creation-framed sayings (Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6), “male” functions as one pole of a foundational pair. The effect of the pairing is heightened by the temporal language (“from the beginning”), which casts “male and female” as a basic description of how humanity is made. The adjective here works less as an individual descriptor and more as a component in a twofold schema that the argument treats as given and authoritative.

In Luke 2:23, the word belongs to formal, rule-like phrasing: “Every male who opens the womb…” This is a different sort of discourse than the creation appeal. It is selective rather than comprehensive: not all persons are described as male or female here; rather, a specific subset (“every male” meeting the stated condition) is singled out for a specific designation (“shall be called holy to the Lord”). The adjective therefore acts as a gatekeeping criterion within a stated norm.

Romans 1:27 uses male language in a tightly woven description of sexual desire and conduct. The verse repeatedly names “men” and contrasts them with “the woman,” so that maleness remains in the foreground as the subject of the actions (“leaving… burned… doing… receiving”). The word’s role is not merely to identify participants but to shape the verse’s portrayal by keeping the conduct explicitly within the male category.

Galatians 3:28 places “male” in a list of distinctions that are explicitly negated as defining barriers: “There is neither… there is neither… there is neither…” The male term is still a real-world category, but the sentence’s logic does not use it to prescribe a rule (as in Luke) or to ground an appeal to origins (as in Matthew/Mark). Instead, the category is invoked precisely so it can be set within a larger claim of shared unity (“you are all one in Christ Jesus”).

Revelation 12:5 and 12:13 show a narrative-identifier use. “A son, a male child” combines a familial label (“son”) with a sexed label (“male child”), and the later mention (“the male child”) functions like a tag that threads the scenes together. Within the vision, the adjective supports recognition and continuity: the same male child who is born is the one whose birth triggers subsequent persecution of the mother.

Imagery

The word’s imagery depends on the scene. In the sayings about beginnings, “male” appears in a stark, balanced pairing with “female,” evoking an ordered description of humanity. In Luke it sits inside a compact legal quotation in which “every male” is tied to holiness-language. In Revelation it becomes part of the vivid storyline of birth, rule, and conflict: “a male child” is born, destined to rule, and then becomes the focal point that links the woman’s childbirth to the dragon’s hostility.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).