[B-Greek] Forgive - AFIHMI and CARIZOMAI
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Fri Jan 14 08:11:18 EST 2011
On Jan 14, 2011, at 7:42 AM, bgreek at global4.freeserve.co.uk wrote:
> I have noticed that AFIHMI is used predominantly in the Gospels and Acts for forgive/forgave, but Paul exclusively uses CARIZOMAI (except where he quotes the LXX in Ro4:7).
>
> The spheres of meaning given in BDAG are:
> AFIHMI - dismiss/release someone or something from a place, release from legal or moral obligations or consequence, move away/separate etc
> CARIZOMAI - give freely as a favor, give graciously, cancel a sum of money that is owed, to show oneself gracious by forgiving wrongdoing etc
>
> Obviously the words carry a slightly different sense of meaning even when being used in the context 'to forgive' - but I don't understand why Paul would so consistently use CARIZOMAI in favour of AFIHMI, while the Gospel writers . In 1Jn there is the occasional use of AFIHMI so not all epistle writers preferred CARIZOMAI. In the Gospels CARIZOMAI is only used in Lk7 and then is carrying the meaning of cancelling of a finacial debt rather than forgiveness of sins.
>
> All I could conclude perhaps one of the following:
> 1) Paul simply had a preference for the word CARIZOMAI
> 2) As Pauls letters were written some time before the Gospels and 1Jn, perhaps CARIZOMAI was being 'replaced' by AFIHMI as the most common word for forgive (seems unlikely as they are only a few decades apart)
> 3) There is something specific about the meaning of CARIZOMAI which Paul felt more adequately expressed how God has forgiven us and and we should forgive one another
>
> I would appreciate any insights anyone has into this
I hesitate to claim any insights here, but I have some thoughts, for what they're worth:
(1) There's no consensus on this, and it's not even open to discussion in this forum, but some scholars hold that all of Paul's letters were composed before any of the gospels was written. That's probably not so important a factor here, but it's something one might be aware of.
(2) More to the point is that the terminology of sin and forgiveness is largely metaphorical and the metaphors employed tend to be rooted in the vocabulary of debt and property transactions (Nietzsche's "Genealogy of Morals" is worth scanning, at least). Think of the English terms "debt," "transgression," "trespass," "remit," "redeem," and the like.
(3) Different people are wont to use different terms for some of these items: in reciting the LP, some prefer "debts," while others prefer "trespasses." Some prefer "pardon" while others prefer "forgive."
(4) It may be that Paul preferred words suggestive of unmerited kindness -- χάρις (CARIS), while others, particularly in the Synoptic gospel tradition, preferred the notion of ἄφεσις (AFESIS) "letting go," "remitting."
Food for thought, not answers to your question.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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