Eckhard Schnabel, «The Meaning of Baptizein in Greek, Jewish, and Patristic Literature.» filologia-neotestamentaria, Vol. 24 (2011) 3-40 page 8

Vol 24 (2011)

Eckhard Schnabel, «The Meaning of Baptizein in Greek, Jewish, and Patristic Literature.», Vol. 24 (2011) 3-40

The treatment of the Greek term Baptizein in the standard English lexicons is unsystematic. The use of the English term ‘to baptize’ for the Greek term Baptizein in English versions of the New Testament is predicated on the assumption that the Greek verb has a technical meaning which warrants the use of a transliteration. Since the first fact is deplorable and the second fact is unsatisfactory, an investigation into the meaning of the Greek term in Greek, Jewish, and patristic literary and documentary texts is called for in order to define the meaning of the term in classical and Hellenistic Greek with more precision than usually encountered in New Testament research, with a view to construct a more helpful lexicon entry for Baptizein.

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8 Eckhard J. Schnabel 3. dip (a vessel in order to draw water); 4. baptize; II. (the ship) dipped, sank These two entries are representative for LSJ’s reliance on glosses and the absence of definitions, and for the somewhat unsystematic organiza- tion of the various senses of the terms.14 The transliteration ‘baptize’ is given as third meaning of βαπτίζω and as fourth meaning of βάπτω. The organization of the entry for βαπτίζω in the most recent Greek dictionary, the Diccionario Griego-Español edited by Francisco R. Adra- dos and published since 1980, is as follows:15 A.I (transitive, act.) 1. sumergir, hundir en el agua, empapar 2. fig. anegar, abrumar A.II (intransitive, med.) 1. ahogarse 2. estar empapado 3. fig. estar sumido en, estar apurado B en sentido ritual B.I (intransitive) 1. lavarse 2. bañarse como purificación B.II (transitive) 1. bautizar (act.) gener. del bautismo administrado por S. Juan, por los discipulos de Cristo, (pass.) ser bautizado por el rito cristiano 2. fig. bautizados The entry for βάπτω organizes the information as follows: I (transitive) 1. sumergir, hundir en un liquido 2. colorear, teñir 3. coger agua hundiendo un objeto en ella 4. en sentido ritual bautizar, ser bautizado 14 Cf. John A. L. Lee, ″The Present State of Lexicography of Ancient Greek⁇, in Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography (Essays in Honor of Frederick W. Danker; ed. B. A. Taylor, et al.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), p. 68, for the problems of LSJ. 15 Francisco R. Adrados, Diccionario Griego-Español [DGE] (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1980–), 3.679 (vol. 3 was published in 1991).