Remission of Sins

What does "remission of sins" mean?  Remission is not a word that we use in ordinary conversation— except, perhaps, in describing a cancer that is "in remission."  The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines remission as follows:

1. Forgiveness or pardon of sin or other offence; deliverence from guilt or punishment.
2. a) (obsolete) Release from a debt or payment; b) Release from captivity, liberation, respite.
3. The action of giving up or reducing a debt, tax, or punishment, etc.
4. a) A reduction in force or intensity; b) (Medical) A lessening in the degree or intensity of an illness; the temporary disappearance of symptoms.
5. (obsolete) Relaxation; a lessening of tension; a slacking of energy or application.
6. The action of sending back a person or thing; a remittal.

Before going further, I would like to suggest that the "obsolete" definition (2b – highlighted) is the most Biblical one when it comes to understanding the New Testament uses of this word.  The word remission is used 10 times in the King James Version; 9 of the uses translate the Greek word aphesis (αφεσις – G859).  Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines aphesis as follows:

1. release, as from bondage, imprisonment, etc.
2. forgiveness, pardon, of sins (properly, the letting them go, as if they had not been committed), remission of their penalty.

Notice that the primary definition is release rather than forgiveness.  Most recent translations, however, have chosen to go with forgiveness when translating aphesis when used together with sins (hamartia – αμαρτια – G266).

Following are the New Testament texts (KJV) where aphesis (remission) is used in the Greek.   When reading them, try substituting release in place of remission or forgiveness to see if it makes sense.

Zenas the Torah Expert

At the end of the Letter to Titus, Paul makes a brief request that gives us a little insight into religious culture of Paul and the early Christian community.

Titus 3:13

• KJV – Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.  
• NKJV – Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. 
• NASB – Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them.
• ISV – Do all you can to send Zenas the expert in the law and Apollos on their way, and see that they have everything they need.
• Bible in Basic English – Send Zenas, the man of law, and Apollos on their journey with all care, so that they may be in need of nothing.
• Complete Jewish Bible –  Do your best to help Zenas the Torah expert and Apollos with their arrangements for travelling, so that they will lack nothing. 
• Wycliffe – Bisili byfor sende Zenam, a wise man of lawe, and Apollo, that no thing faile to hem. 
• Greek – Ζηναν τον νομικον και Απολλω σπουδαιως προπεμψον ινα μηδεν αυτοις λειπη.  
• Greek transliteration – Zenan ton nomikon kai Apollō spoudaios propempson ina meden autois leipe.
• Modern Hebrew – ... ‏זינס המלמד בתורה ... (Zinos hamlumad batorah)
• Etheridge translation of the Peshitta – But concerning Zina the sophra, and Apolo, be careful to provide them well, that nothing may be wanting to them. 
• Murdock translation of the Peshitta – As for Zenas the scribe, and Apollos, endeavor to help them well on their way, that they may want nothing.

The Greek word nomikos (νομικος – G3544), translated as lawyer in most English bibles, is defined in Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament as "in the N.T. an interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic law."  Using this definition, we could translate Titus 3:13 as "Send Zenas the interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic law..." 


The texts that follow can give us some additional insight into the meaning of the word nomikos.

• Matt 22:35 NET – And one of them, an expert in religious law (νομικος – nomikos), asked him a question to test him: 
• Luke 7:30 NET – However, the Pharisees and the experts in religious law (νομικοι – nomikoi) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
• Luke 10:25 NET – Now an expert in religious law (νομικος – nomikos) stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
• Luke 11:45 NET – One of the experts in religious law (νομικων – nomikon) answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too.” 
• Luke 11:46 NET – But Jesus replied, “Woe to you experts in religious law (νομικοις – nomikois) as well! You load people down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens with even one of your fingers! 
• Luke 11:52 NET – Woe to you experts in religious law (νομικοις – nomikois)! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.” 
• Luke 14:3 NET – So Jesus asked the experts in religious law (νομικους – nomikous) and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 

We can see from these examples that "Zenas the Torah expert" and "Zenas the interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic law" are good interpretations of the text.

The Aramaic Peshitta "zina den sapra" (זנא דין ספרא) used in this text is "zina hasofer" (זנא הסופר) in the Hebrew translation of the Peshitta.  The Aramaic is translated as "Zenas the scribe" in the Murdock translation.  The Aramaic sapra (ספרא) is used in the Psalm 45:1 Targum to translate the Hebrew sofer (סופר), the word translated into English as scribe in the following texts.

• Psalm 45:1 ESV – To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song. My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king;
  my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe (‏סופר מהיר – sofer mahir).
• Ezra 7:6 NKJV – this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe (‏ספר – sofer) in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
  Ezra 7:11 NKJV – This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe (‏הספר – hasofer), expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel:

The Aramaic sapra is also used in the Peshitta in the following verses.

• Matt 8:19 NKJV – Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 
• Matt 13:52 NKJV – Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
• Mark 12:32 NKJV – So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 
• Luke 10:25 NKJV – And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

In Titus 3:13 we read that Zenas is traveling with Apollos, a man "mighty in the Scriptures."

• Acts 18:24 NKJV – Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.
• 1 Cor 1:12 NKJV – Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”
• 1 Cor 3:6 NKJV – I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
• 1 Cor 16:12 NKJV – Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.

We can see from these texts that Apollos was an important teacher in promoting the Gospel.  Paul seems to value him highly and he was obviously held in high regard by the believers.  When Acts 18:24 says Apollos was "mighty in the Scriptures" it means he was an expert in the Old Testament— the Law of Moses (Torah) and the Prophets and Writings— as the New Testament canon was not yet established.

Given this background information, we can paraphrase Titus 3:13 this way:

Send Zenas the interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic law and Apollos (the expert in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and Writings) on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. 

What does this tell us about Paul's theology?  Did he value the Law of Moses— the Torah— and Prophets and Writings?  Yes— that would be consistent with the teachings of Jesus.

• Luke 24:27 NKJV – And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He [Jesus] expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 
• Luke 24:44 NKJV – Then He [Jesus] said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 

The Hebraic New Testament (Part 8)

This post is the eighth in the series of studies on the Hebraic New Testamant.

Eusebius of Caesarea, "The Father of Church History," made several references in his Church History to Apostolic writings in the Hebrew language. 

I am using Paul Maier's translation, Eusebius: The Church History, for the following quotes.  The references preceding the quotes are book.section.

3.24 – Matthew at first preached to the Hebrews, and when he planned to go to others also, he wrote his Gospel in his own native language for those he was leaving, his writings filling the gap left by his departure.

3.38 – For Paul had written to the Hebrews in their native language, and some say that the evangelist Luke, others that this same Clement translated the writing.

3.39 – Such is Papias's reference to Mark.  Of Matthew he had this to say: Matthew compiled the sayings [logia of Christ] in the Hebrew language, and each interpreted them as best he could.

4.22 – Hegesippus also describes the sects that once existed among the Jews....  He wrote much else, some of which I have already quoted, and cites the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Syriac Gospel, and especially works of Hebrew language and oral tradition, showing that he was a Hebrew convert.

5.8 – Matthew composed a written Gospel for the Hebrews in their own language.

5.10 – Bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached to them and had left them Matthew's account in Hebrew letters, which was preserved until that time.

6.14 – The epistle to the Hebrews he attributes to Paul but says that it was written in Hebrew for Hebrews and then carefully translated by Luke for the Greeks.

6.25 – I learned by tradition that the four Gospels alone are unquestionable in the church of God.  First to be written was by Matthew, who was once a tax collector but later an apostle of Jesus Christ, who published it in Hebrew for Jewish believers.

These quotes don't provide the context— in most of them Eusebius is quoting other sources.  As I have described in earlier posts in this series, there is plenty of internal evidence within the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke,  and Acts and Revelation for a Hebrew original, or at least a writer who was more comfortable with Hebrew idioms.  The references above from Eusebius are independent external evidences for Hebrew writings that are the original sources for some of the books of the New Testament.

Wikipedia has an article on the Gospel of the Hebrews.

(My wife and I are currently in the middle of packing and moving.  I will probably not be writing many posts for a while.)