in the beginning vs in the first place

in the beginning and in the first place both are adverbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
in the beginning	No	No	No	Yes
in the first place	No	No	No	Yes

As adverbs, in the beginning and in the first place are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of in the beginning include earlier, originally, to begin with.

in the beginning (adverb)	in the first place (adverb)
with reference to the origin or beginning	of primary import
before now	before now