Lexical Summary
arrabón: Pledge, Guarantee, Deposit
Original Word: ἀρραβών
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: arrabón
Pronunciation: ar-hrab-OWN
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-hrab-ohn')
KJV: earnest
NASB: pledge, given as a pledge
Word Origin: [of Hebrew origin (H6162 (עֲרָבוֹן - pledge))]
1. a pledge, i.e. part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
earnest.
Of Hebrew origin (arabown); a pledge, i.e. Part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest -- earnest.
see HEBREW arabown
HELPS Word-studies
728 arrhabṓn – properly, an installment; a deposit ("down-payment") which guarantees the balance (the full purchase-price).
728 /arrhabṓn ("down-payment pledge") is the regular term in NT times for "earnest-money," i.e. advance-payment that guarantees the rest will be given. 728 (arrhabṓn) then represents full security backed by the purchaser who supplies sufficient proof they will fulfill the entire pledge (promise).
[728 (arrhabṓn) is common in the papyri for "down payment/earnest money" and hence frequent in business documents and agreements.]
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originof Hebrew origin
erabonDefinitionan earnest (a part payment in advance for security)
NASB Translationgiven as a pledge (1), pledge (2).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 728: ἀραβών [ἀραβών Tdf., see ἀρραβών.]
STRONGS NT 728: ἀρραβώνἀρραβών (Tdf. ἀραβών: 2 Corinthians 1:22 (to Lachmann);
Topical Lexicon
Word Background and Cultural Setting The term ἀρραβών originated in the business world of the eastern Mediterranean. It described a first installment that both initiated a transaction and guaranteed its completion. Because it was part of the whole payment, it functioned as a tangible promise that the remainder would certainly follow. In later Jewish and Greco-Roman practice the word also colored engagement customs: a groom’s gift to his bride signified that the wedding—and full covenantal union—was forthcoming.
Old Testament Roots
The Greek word reflects the Hebrew עֵרָבוֹן (ʿērāḇōn), found in passages such as Genesis 38:17–20, where Judah gives Tamar a personal item as “a pledge” of the agreed payment. This background confirms that an ἀρραβών is never a mere symbol; it is legally binding and carries the force of future fulfillment. The Septuagint maintains the same nuance, laying a conceptual bridge to New Testament usage.
New Testament Usage
1. 2 Corinthians 1:22 – God “put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.”
2. 2 Corinthians 5:5 – The Spirit is “a pledge of what is to come.”
3. Ephesians 1:14 – The Spirit “is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.”
In each occurrence the ἀρραβών is not something believers give to God but something God gives to believers—the Holy Spirit Himself.
The Holy Spirit as the Pledge
By identifying the Spirit as ἀρραβών, Paul teaches that the indwelling Spirit is both (a) the first portion of the believer’s eternal inheritance and (b) God’s binding guarantee that the full inheritance will be delivered. The Spirit’s present ministries—illumination, sanctification, empowerment—are therefore foretastes of the coming glory (Romans 8:23). Just as a down payment is of the same currency as the final sum, the gift of the Spirit is of the same divine life that will fill the new creation.
Assurance of Salvation
Because the ἀρραβών is irrevocable, believers may rest in the certainty that God will complete what He has begun (Philippians 1:6). Assurance is grounded not in human resolve but in God’s own self-commitment. The Spirit’s internal witness (Romans 8:16) functions as the experiential side of this pledge; His fruit in a believer’s life is evidence that the transaction is authentic and ongoing.
Eschatological Horizon
The term stretches the believer’s vision toward the “redemption of the body” and the consummation of all things. Until that day, the Spirit mediates the age to come within the present age. The contrast between the already-received pledge and the not-yet-received fullness guards against both triumphalism and despair: triumphalism is checked by the recognition that the payment is partial; despair is banished by the certainty that the balance is guaranteed.
Pastoral and Ministry Applications
• Preaching and teaching should highlight the Spirit’s role as divine guarantee, grounding calls to holiness in the security of God’s promise.
• Counseling can appeal to the pledge to assure struggling believers that their present trials cannot nullify God’s future for them.
• Worship may celebrate the Spirit’s presence as both gift and guarantee, fostering hope-infused praise.
• Evangelism presents the gospel not merely as forgiveness but as adoption sealed by the Spirit, offering hearers a share in God’s pledged inheritance.
Implications for Covenant Theology
The bridal overtones of ἀρραβών enrich the New Testament portrait of Christ and the Church. The Spirit’s presence during the “betrothal” period anticipates the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7–9), assuring the Church that her Bridegroom will return to consummate the union.
Summary
Strong’s Greek 728, ἀρραβών, encapsulates God’s unwavering commitment to complete the salvation He has begun. The Spirit as down payment secures the believer’s future, energizes present obedience, and anchors the Church’s hope until faith becomes sight.
Forms and Transliterations
αρραβων αρραβών ἀρραβὼν αρραβωνα αρραβώνα αρραβώνά ἀρραβῶνα arrabon arrabōn arrabṑn arrabona arrabôna arrabōna arrabō̂na
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