Greek word · G859

ἄφεσις

aphesis

forgiveness

Release, letting go, discharge. It is used for freeing captives, cancelling a debt, waiving a penalty or obligation, and so for pardoning wrongs.

Appears 17 times in 16 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἄφεσις, -εως, ἡ

(ἀφίημι), [in LXX for יוֹבֵל, דְּרוֹר, etc. (see Deiss., BS, 98 ff.; MM, see word) ;]

1. dismissal, release: Luke 4:18.

2. Metaphorical, of sins (never in LXX), pardon, remission of penalty: ἁμαρτιῶν, Matthew 26:28, Mark 1:4, Luke 1:77 3:3 24:47, Acts 2:38 5:31 10:43 13:38 26:18, Colossians 1:14; παραπτωμάτων, Ephesians 1:7; absol., Mark 3:29, Hebrews 9:22 10:18 (cf. DB, ii, 56; DCG, i, 437, ii, 605; Cremer, 297 f.).†

SYN.: πάρεσις, which see (and cf. Tr., § xxxiii) (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Acts 2:38

Range of meaning

Release, letting go, discharge. It is used for freeing captives, cancelling a debt, waiving a penalty or obligation, and so for pardoning wrongs.

Against the English

BSB, NIV and ESV have “forgiveness”; KJV and YLT have “remission.” “Remission” keeps the legal and financial picture of a debt cancelled. “Forgiveness” is accurate but in modern English leans toward the emotional, a person letting go of a grudge. Aphesis is mainly an objective release: the debt is gone.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the LXX it is the word for the Jubilee and sabbatical “release” of land, slaves and debts (Lev 25:10–13; Deut 15:1–9). Isaiah 61:1 proclaims “release to the captives,” and Jesus reads that passage in Luke 4:18, where aphesis appears twice. In papyri it is used for remission of taxes and discharge from obligations. Luke uses “release of sins” often (Luke 1:77; 3:3; 24:47; Acts 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18). Luke 24:47 is the closest parallel: “repentance for (eis) release of sins will be proclaimed upon his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

From the study of 1 Enoch 12:5

Range of meaning

Release, letting go. It was used for freeing captives, cancelling debts (the Jubilee and sabbatical-year "release," LXX Lev 25; Deut 15), and remitting a penalty. From there it came to mean forgiveness of sins, understood as cancelling what is owed or lifting a sentence.

Against the English

Charles's "forgiveness of sin" follows the Ethiopic, which adds "of sin." The Greek has only "release." Its picture is a court that will not cancel the sentence, not mainly a heart that will not soften.

How it drifted

Modern ears often hear "forgiveness" as an inner, emotional letting-go, or as the Christian offer of personal salvation. Here the word is legal: a ruling about punishment.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint it is used for the Jubilee "release" (Lev 25:10) and the year of release (Deut 15:1–3). In the New Testament it appears in the phrase "forgiveness [release] of sins" (Mark 1:4; Luke 24:47) and for release to captives (Luke 4:18). In 1 Enoch the Watchers go on to ask Enoch to write "a memorial of petition" asking for forgiveness and length of days (13:4–6). The answer in 14:4–7 and 16:4 is that their petition will not be granted.

From the study of Ephesians 1:7

Range of meaning

A letting go, release, or dismissal: freeing a prisoner, discharging a debt, exempting from an obligation, cancelling a charge. From aphiēmi, "to send away, let go."

Against the English

Modern "forgiveness" is mostly about inner feeling: no longer resenting someone. Aphesis works more like a legal or financial term, the debt written off and the prisoner released. KJV elsewhere and YLT here use "remission," which keeps the sense of a cancelled debt but has become rare in English (and is now heard mainly in medicine).

How it drifted

From the 19th and 20th centuries on, English "forgiveness" became more and more psychological. Readers easily miss that the Greek is a release word, the same word used for freeing slaves and cancelling debts.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament aphesis is the key word of the year of release and the Jubilee: Leviticus 25:10 "proclaim release (aphesis) through the land"; Deuteronomy 15:1–2, the cancelling of debts every seventh year. Isaiah 61:1 has "release to captives," which Jesus reads in Luke 4:18 together with Isaiah 58:6 "to send the oppressed away in release." In the papyri the word appears for releases from tax or obligation.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 26:28 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

    Here: "Release": the cancelling of a debt, setting a prisoner free, letting go. Applied to sins, it means God lets them go and no longer holds them against people.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 1:4 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

  2. Mark 3:29 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.”

    Here: Release or discharge, as when a debt is cancelled or a prisoner set free. It picks up the verb 'will be forgiven/released' (ἀφεθήσεται) in v. 28.

Luke · 5

  1. Luke 1:77 ἀφέσει forgiveness

    to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,

    Here: 'Release.' The basic idea is letting go: freeing a captive, cancelling a debt, dropping a charge. Here sins are the thing let go, like a debt written off.

  2. Luke 3:3 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

    Here: A letting-go: debts cancelled, captives freed, wrongs no longer held against someone. In the Greek Old Testament it is the word for the Jubilee and sabbatical-year 'release'.

  3. Luke 4:18 ἄφεσιν ἀφέσει, deliverance, deliverance,

    “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

    Here: Release. It is the Greek Bible's word for the Jubilee and Sabbath-year release of slaves and cancellation of debts (Lev 25; Deut 15), and also Luke's usual word for 'forgiveness' of sins (1:77; 3:3; 24:47).

  4. Luke 24:47 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

    Here: Release or cancellation, like a debt written off or a prisoner set free. Applied to sins, it means they are let go and no longer held against the person.

Acts · 5

  1. Acts 2:38 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

    Here: Release, the way a debt is cancelled or a captive set free. In the Greek Old Testament it is the word for the Jubilee and sabbatical-year “release.”

  2. Acts 5:31 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

    Here: Release, as in cancelling a debt or freeing a captive. Sins are pictured as a debt or bond that is cancelled.

  3. Acts 10:43 ἄφεσιν [that] forgiveness

    All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”

    Here: A letting go: release from something that binds, cancellation of a debt. It is the word the Greek Old Testament uses for the Jubilee "release" (the year when debts were cancelled and land returned). Here it means sins are let go and their claim is cancelled.

  4. Acts 13:38 ἄφεσις forgiveness

    Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

    Here: Literally a 'sending away' or 'letting go': release from a debt, obligation or captivity. With 'of sins' it means cancelling the offences so that they are no longer held against a person.

  5. Acts 26:18 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

    Here: Release, cancellation, letting go. In the Greek Old Testament it is the word for debt-release and the Jubilee freeing of slaves. Coming right after "Satan's authority," it carries the sense of captives being set free as well as debts being cancelled.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 1:7 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

    Here: A letting go, a discharge, the word used for cancelling debts and freeing slaves in the Greek Old Testament's year of release and Jubilee. Here it says what the redemption consists of: the trespasses are dismissed.

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 1:14 ἄφεσιν forgiveness

    in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

    Here: Literally a sending-away or letting-go. It was the ordinary word for cancelling a debt, dropping a charge, or freeing a slave or prisoner. Here it says what the release of verse 14a consists of: the sins are cancelled.

Hebrews · 2

  1. Hebrews 9:22 ἄφεσις.¶ forgiveness.

    According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

    Here: Used here on its own, without "of sins". It is the word for letting go, cancelling a debt, the Jubilee release. Here it covers both forgiveness of sins and removal of what defiles. It looks ahead to 10:18: "where there is aphesis of these, there is no longer any offering for sin."

  2. Hebrews 10:18 ἄφεσις forgiveness

    And where these have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer needed.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.