ἐγκαινίζω

From the study of Hebrews 10:20

Range of meaning

Built on kainos ("new"): to make new, renew; mostly to inaugurate or dedicate something, putting a building, altar, covenant or institution into use for the first time with a formal, usually sacrificial, ceremony.

Against the English

KJV "consecrated", WEB "dedicated", YLT "initiate", NASB "inaugurated", BSB/ESV/NIV "opened". "Opened" is clear but loses the ceremony: the way was not simply unlocked, it was formally inaugurated by a sacrifice.

How it drifted

In modern English "consecrated" usually means "made holy" or "blessed". The Greek word is about inauguration, the first ceremonial opening of something new.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament: a man who has built a house and "not dedicated it" (Deut 20:5); Solomon and Israel "dedicated the house" of the LORD with huge sacrifices (1 Kgs 8:63); Samuel's call to "renew the kingship" (1 Sam 11:14); and the rededication of the defiled altar under Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc 4:36, 54), which is the origin of Hanukkah, called ta enkainia, "the Dedication", in John 10:22. Its only other New Testament use is Heb 9:18: "not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood."

From the study of 1 Maccabees 4:54

Range of meaning

Built from en + kainos ('new'). It means to make new, renew, put into use for the first time, inaugurate. It was used for opening a house, a city wall, an altar or a temple with a ceremony. The related noun ta enkainia means 'the dedication (festival)'.

Against the English

'Dedicated' (KJV, Brenton, WEB, NRSV) is fair. But a modern reader tends to hear 'devoted to a cause' or a one-off ribbon-cutting. That loses the sense of newness. This is a new altar (v. 47) built to replace the defiled one and taking up again a worship that had been cut off. The Latin tradition's renovatum est, 'it was renewed', keeps that side of the word.

How it drifted

The English word 'dedicate' moved toward 'commit oneself to' in ordinary use, so the idea of 'inaugurating something new' fades.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX) the verb translates Hebrew ḥanak, 'to inaugurate' a house (Deut 20:5) or Solomon's temple (1 Kgs 8:63; 2 Chr 7:5). It also translates ḥiddesh, 'to renew': the kingdom in 1 Sam 11:14 and 'renew a right spirit' in Ps 51:10 (LXX 50:12). The noun enkainia is used for the altar in Num 7:10–11 and for the rebuilt wall in Neh 12:27 (LXX 2 Esd 22:27). In 1 Macc 4:56, 59 the festival is the enkainismos of the altar, and in John 10:22 the feast is ta enkainia. In the New Testament, Heb 9:18 and 10:20 use the verb for inaugurating a covenant and a 'new and living way'.