Subject: Rhantizo vs. Baptizo- Synonyms? |
Bible Note: Dear Bobby :: I know neither biblical Hebrew nor Greek, but I do know a little about English, Latin, German and French; and in those four languages the meaning of a word or phrase is determined by the way it's used in a passage, i.e., by the context. Good translators the world round, no matter what language they are working with, seem to agree that context is of paramount importance in translating from one tongue to another. Evidently the Greek words you call into question had various shades of meaning to the ancient Greeks, depending on how they were used and the meaning the context gave them, just as words do today in modern languages. When John the Baptizer led his followers INTO the Jordan river to be baptized, and when both Philip and the Ethopian went down INTO the water. as recorded in Acts 8:38, the clear context leads one to conclude that immersion in water was the thing that occurred, not the sprinkling or pouring on of a small amount of water. There is a ton of commentary extant on this topic, but I believe the careful reader, who is willing to leave his pre-suppositions behind, will have no problem in understanding, even in translation, what the term baptize means. ..... If you're still curious, why not do as CDBJ suggests and ask Lockman. --Hank |