στοιχεῖον

στοιχεῖον, ου, τό (since Aristoph., X., Pla.; also BGU 959, 2) in our lit. only pl.

① basic components of someth., elements

ⓐ of substances underlying the natural world, the basic elements fr. which everything in the world is made and of which it is composed (Pla. et al.; PGM 4, 440; Wsd 7:17; 19:18; 4 Macc 12:13; Ath., R. 3 p. 51, 17), to disappear in the world conflagration at the end of time 2 Pt 3:10, 12 (Ath. 22, 3; lit. s.v. καυσόω). The four elements of the world (earth, air, fire, water) Hv 3, 13, 3 (cp. Diog. L. 7, 137 [Zeno the Stoic] ἔστι δὲ στοιχεῖον, ἐξ οὗ πρώτου γίνεται τὰ γινόμενα καὶ εἰς ὸ̔ ἔσχατον ἀναλύεται … τὸ πῦρ, τὸ ὕδωρ, ὁ ἀήρ, ἡ γῆ; Plut., Mor. 875c; Philo, Cher. 127 τὰ τέσσαρα στοιχεῖα; Jos., Ant. 3, 183.—JKroll, Die Lehren des Hermes Trismegistos 1914, 178ff; ESchweizer, JBL 107, ’88, 455–68). πῦρ … ὕδωρ … ἄλλο τι τῶν στοιχείων Dg 8:2; cp. 7:2 (s. b).

ⓑ of basic components of celestial constellations, heavenly bodies (Ar. 3, 2; Just., A II, 5, 2; Diog. L. 6. 102 τὰ δώδεκα στοιχεῖα of the signs of the zodiac; POsl 4, 18 δώδεκα στ. τοῦ οὐρανοῦ; Ps.-Callisth. 13, 1.—PGM 4, 1303 the ‘Bear’ is called a στοιχεῖον ἄφθαρτον.—Rtzst., Poim. 69ff, Herr der Grösse 13ff; Diels [s. below] 53f; JvanWageningen, Τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου: ThSt 35, 1917, 1–6; FColson, The Week 1926, 95ff) Dg 7:2.

ⓒ of things that constitute the foundation of learning, fundamental principles (X., Mem. 2, 1, 1; Isocr. 2, 16; Plut., Lib. Educ. 16, 2; Just., A I, 60, 11) or even letters of the alphabet, ABC’s (Pla. et al.) τὰ στ. τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ the very elements of the truths of God Hb 5:12. This mng. is also prob. for the passages in Gal (4:3, 9 NEB ‘elementary ideas belonging to this world’; cp. LBelleville, JSNT 26, ’86, 53–78) and Col; s. next.

② transcendent powers that are in control over events in this world, elements, elemental spirits. The mng. of στ. in τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου Gal 4:3; Col 2:8, 20 (for the expr. στοιχ. τ. κόσμου cp. SibOr 2, 206; 3, 80f; 8, 337) and τὰ ἀσθενῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα Gal 4:9 is much disputed. For a survey s. EBurton, ICC Gal 1921, 510–18. Some (e.g. Burton, Goodsp.) prefer to take it in sense 1c above, as referring to the elementary forms of religion, Jewish and polytheistic, which have been superseded by the new revelation in Christ (so also WKnox, St. Paul and the Church of the Gentiles ’39, 108f; RGrant, HTR 39, ’46, 71–3; ACramer, Stoicheia Tou Kosmou, ’61 [the unregenerate tendencies within humans]).—Others (e.g. WBauer, Mft., NRSV) hold that the ref. is to the elemental spirits which the syncretistic religious tendencies of later antiquity associated w. the physical elements (Herm. Wr. Κόρη κόσμου in Stob. I 409 W.=Sc. 486ff, esp. 486, 23; 25; 490, 14: the στοιχεῖα, fire, air, water, earth, complain to the deity who is over all; Orph. Hymn. 5, 4; 66, 4 Qu.; Ps.-Callisth. 1, 3 [s. below Pfister p. 416f]; Simplicius In Aristot. De Caelo 1, 3 p. 107, 15 Heiberg.—MDibelius, Geisterwelt 78ff; 228ff, Hdb. z. NT² exc. on Col 2:8; ELohmeyer, Col 1930, 4–8; 103–5; FPfister, Die στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου in den Briefen des Ap. Pls: Philol. 69, 1910, 411–27; GMacgregor: ACPurdy Festschr. ’60, 88–104); they were somet. worshiped as divinities (Vett. Val. 293, 27; Philo, Vita Cont. 3 τοὺς τὰ στοιχεῖα τιμῶντας, γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ. Cp. Diels [s. below] 45ff; Schweizer 1a above). It is not always easy to differentiate betw. this sense and that of 1b above, since heavenly bodies were also regarded as personal beings and given divine honors.—HDiels, Elementum 1899; ABonhöffer, Epiktet u. das NT 1911, 130ff; OLagercrantz, Elementum 1911 (p. 41 στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου=θεμέλια τοῦ κόσμου); BEaston, The Pauline Theol. and Hellenism: AJT 21, 1917, 358–82; KDieterich, Hellenist. Volksreligion u. byz.-neugriech. Volksglaube: Αγγελος I 1925, 2–23; on Gal 4 and Col 2, GKurze, D. στοιχεῖα τ. κόσμου: BZ 15, 1927, 335; WHatch, Τὰ στοιχεῖα in Paul and Bardaisân: JTS 28, 1927, 181f; JHuby, Στοιχεῖα dans Bardesane et dans St. Paul: Biblica 15, ’34, 365–68; on Gal 4:3, 9 and Col 2:8, 20, LScheu, Die ‘Weltelemente’ beim Ap. Pls: diss. Cath. Univ., Washington ’34; BReicke, JBL 70, ’51, 259–76 (Gal 4:1–11); WBrownlee, Messianic Motifs of Qumran and the NT, NTS 3, ’56/57, 195–210; MKiley, SBLSP 25, ’86, 236–45.—RAC IV 1073–1100; B. 1501. DELG s.v. στείχω. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.