Meaning
(1) In 2Pe 3:10, the constituent parts of the physical universe ("elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat," the American Revised Version, margin "the heavenly bodies").
(2) In Gal 4:3, Gal 4:1, the Revised Version (British and American) has "rudiments," as in the King James Version margin, and in Col 2:8, Col 2:20, where the reference is to imperfect Jewish ordinances.
See RUDIMENTS.