I Say To You Today

What did Jesus mean when he said to the thief on the cross, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."  Did he mean that the thief would be in Paradise later that day?  Or is it possible that Jesus meant something else?  Here is the text in context.

Luke 23:39 ESV - One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." 42 And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

What does Luke 23:43 look like in Greek?

• Greek (Nestle-Aland) - και ειπεν αυτω· αμην σοι λεγω, σημερον μετ εμου εση εν τω παραδεισω. 
• Transliterated Greek (Nestle-Aland) - kai eipen auto; amen soi lego, semeron met emou ese en to paradeiso.  
  
• Greek (Textus Receptus) - και ειπεν αυτω ο Ιησους, Αμην λεγω σοι, σημερον μετ εμου εση εν τω παραδεισω.
• Transliterated Greek (Textus Receptus) - kai eipen auto o Iesous, Amen lego soi, semeron met emou ese en to paradeiso.
  

The word translated into English as today is semeron in Greek.  Is this word simply a statement about time, or was it ever used with a different intent?  How did Jesus use this word and how was it used in the Old Testament Septuagint?

Luke 19:8-10 NKJV - Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

The same Greek word semeron is used in this text.  Although it is certainly a reasonable interpretation to understand today in Luke 19:9 to be a statement about time,  I would like to suggest that today can also be used emphatically rather than temporally.  Understood this way, the words could be paraphrased as "I assure you, salvation has come to this house..."  Let's look at the Old Testament to see if we can find any examples where today is used emphatically.

Gen 31:48 ESV - Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today (Sept: σημερον / semeron;  Heb: ‏  /  היוםhayom)..."

Deu 4:26 ESV - "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom), that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed.

Deu 8:19 ESV - "And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom) that you shall surely perish.

Deu 9:3 ESV - "Know therefore today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom) that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

Deu 11:26-28 ESV - "See, I am setting before you today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom) a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom), 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom), to go after other gods that you have not known.

Deu 26:3 ESV - "And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'I declare today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom) to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.'

Deu 30:18 ESV - "I declare to you today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom), that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom), that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,...

Josh 5:9 ESV - And the Lord said to Joshua, "Today (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom) I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

1 Sam 12:5 ESV - And he said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom), that you have not found anything in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."

1 Sam 15:27 ESV - As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day (Sept: semeron; Heb: hayom) and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

Did Saul lose his kingdom that very day?  Or, was Samuel using today emphatically.

There are many more examples.  The word today frequently seems to be used emphatically; often it is used in this way when the speaker is testifying as a witness.  Here is an example of this usage in the New Testament.

Act 20:26 ESV - "Therefore I testify to you this day (Greek: σημερον / semeron) that I am innocent of the blood of all of you,...

Given this cultural context, can we reasonably interpret Jesus' words as an emphatic assurance?  Drawing from some of the Old Testament language that uses the word today emphatically, can we paraphrase Jesus' words this way?

Truly, I call heaven and earth to witness and I testify to you this day that you will be with me in Paradise.