The Meaning of βαπτίζειν in Greek, Jewish, and Patristic Literature 23 ἐκαθαρίσθη (“And Elisaie sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Going, wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh shall return to you, and you shall be cleansed ... And Naiman went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of Elisaie, and his flesh returned like the flesh of a small child, and he was cleansed”; P. D. McLean) (III/II).58 Septuagint, Ps 68:22-23 [Hebr. Ps 67:23-24]: εἶπεν κύριος Ἐκ Βασαν ἐπιστρέψω, ἐπιστρέψω ἐν βυθοῖς θαλάσσης, ὅπως ἂν βαφῇ ὁ πούς σου ἐν αἵματι, ἡ γλῶσσα τῶν κυνῶν σου ἐξ ἐχθρῶν παῤ αὐτοῦ (“The Lord said, ‘From Basan I will turn round; I will turn round by depths of sea so that your foot may be dipped in blood, the tongue of your dogs, from enemies, by him”; A. Pietersma) (II). Moschus, Epigrammata 9.440.28-29 ἢν δὲ λέγῃ Λάβε ταῦτα, χαρίζομαι ὅσσα μοι ὅπλα, μὴ τὺ θίγῃς πλάνα δῶρα: τὰ γὰρ πυρὶ πάντα βέβαπται (“and if he say, “Here, take these things, you are welcome to all my armour”, then let him not touch those mischievous gifts, for they are all dipped in fire”; J. M. Edmonds) (II). Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 2.52.4: διὸ καὶ τοὺς ὀνομαζομένους ψευδοχρύσους κατασκευάζεσθαι διὰ τοῦ θνητοῦ καὶ ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπων γεγονότος πυρὸς βαπτομένων τῶν κρυστάλλων. τὰς δὲ τῶν ἀνθράκων φύσεις φωτὸς δύναμιν ἐμπιληθεῖσαν τῇ πήξει φασὶν ἀποτελεῖν τῷ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον τὰς ἐν αὐτοῖς διαφοράς (“For this reason what is called “false gold”, we are told, is fabricated by mortal fire, made by man, by dipping the rock crystals into it. And as for the natural qualities of the dark-red stones, it is the influence of the light, as it is compressed to a greater or less degree in them when they are hardening, which, they say, accounts for their differences”; C. H. Oldfather) (I). Strabo, Geographica 1.2.16: κἂν ἐκπέσῃ δὲ εἰς τὴν θάλατταν τὸ δόρυ, οὐκ ἀπόλωλεν: ἔστι γὰρ πηκτὸν ἔκ τε δρυὸς καὶ ἐλάτης, ὥστε βαπτιζομένου τοῦ δρυί*νου βάρει μετέωρον εἶναι τὸ λοιπὸν καὶ εὐανάληπτον (“If the spear-shaft fall into the water, it is not lost; for it is made of both oak and pine wood, so that although the oaken end sinks because of its weight, the rest stays afloat and is easily recovered”; H. L. Jones) (I) (cf. sense 1d). 58 Note Ferguson, Baptism, p. 57, who points out that the Greek translator uses λούω (‘wash’) for the command of Elisha who promises that Naaman would be ‘purified’ (καθαρίζω), and βαπτίζω for Naaman’s compliance with the command, which he did by immersing himself in the river. In v. 14 βαπτίζω translates lbf. Ysebaert, Greek Baptismal Terminology, pp. 27-28, suggests that the use of βαπτίζω in 2 Kgs 5 was decisive for the later use of the verb to signify taking a ritual bath for cleansing; cf. G. R. Beasley-Murray, NIDNTT 1.144.