[B-Greek] LOUW, NIPTW, BAPTIZW
Mike Dewus
dewus at bluemarble.net
Sat Nov 8 14:24:13 EST 2003
my two-cents,
Following is an excerpt that discusses one of the words under study here...
The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the
Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe
for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says
that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped'
(bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar
solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But
the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable,
produces a permanent change.
When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and
identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. Mark 16:16. 'He
that believes and is baptised shall be saved'. Christ is saying that mere
intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real
change, like the vegetable to the pickle! Bible Study Magazine, James
Montgomery Boice, May 1989.
kind regards, Mike Dewus
dewus at bluemarble.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Iver Larsen" <iver_larsen at sil.org>
To: "Ben and Jo Crick" <ben.crick at argonet.co.uk>;
<b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 1:27 PM
Subject: RE: [B-Greek] LOUW, NIPTW, BAPTIZW
> > On Tue 4 Nov 2003 (09:05:35 +0300), iver_larsen at sil.org wrote:
> > > Whereas BAPTIZW/BAPTW was occasionally, but rarely, used in classical
> > > Greek, the word is only used in a ritual, ecclesiastical sense in the
> > > NT. It is therefore a technical term that refers to religiously
> > > significant cleansing (Jewish or Christian). It never refers to
> > > ordinary washing.
> >
> >[Ben:] In Mark 7:3-4 hOI GAR FARISAIOI KAI PANTES hOI IOUDAIOI EAN MH
> PUGMHi
> > *VIYWNTAI* TAS CEIRAS OUK ESQIOUSIN, KRATOUNTES THN PARADOSIN
> > TWN PRESBUTERWN,
> > KAI AP' AGORAS EAN MH *BAPTISWNTAI* OUK ESQIOUSIN, KAI ALLA
> > POLLA ESTIN hA
> > PARELABON KRATEIN, *BAPTISMOUS* POTHRIWN KAI XESTWN KAI CALKIWN KAI
> > KLINWN...
> >
> > So the Parisees and all the Jews wash NIPTW their hands before eating.
> > But then they BAPTIZW their hands, and BAPTIZW all their utensils,
> crockery,
> > pots, pans and dishes before using them.
> >
> > Do we take it then that all these food-related items are already quite
> > clean, but need a *ritual lustration* before eating with or from them?
> >
> > Maybe the distinction between NIPTW and BAPTIZW is not so tight here.
> >
> I have been out of town for a few days, so please excuse the late
response.
> It seems to me that the distinction is quite clear and consistent in the
> Greek text. NIPTW (which also occurs in v. 2) simply means washing with
> water. The context may narrow the sense to ceremonial washing as do the
> words KOINAIS CERSIN in v. 2 and KRATOUNTES THN PARADOSIN TWN PRESBUTERWN
in
> v. 3. The following two BAPT- words refer to such ceremonial cleansing,
but
> still water is used in some way, and indeed in a very particular way
> according to religious tradition.
> To maintain that distinction in English, I would therefore use "wash" for
> NIPTW and "cleanse" for BAPTIZW. The religiously pious who return from the
> market place in a potentially contaminated state need to cleanse
themselves
> (probably in a mikvah). Utensils which in some way have become unclean,
need
> to be cleansed. How dirty they appear to be is irrelevant, as long as they
> are religiously contaminated. Maybe these utensils or the couch were just
> bought at the market place and might have been touched by Gentile hands?
Or
> they may have become unclean in another way. In any case, it is implied by
> BAPTIZW that they are unclean and need to be cleansed. The text is not
> talking about ordinary dish washing - or couch washing, if KLINWN was
> originally in the text.
>
> Iver Larsen
>
> ---
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