The PuritanBoard - View Single Post - The meaning of the words baptism according to Non-Baptist Scholars.

Mayflower · #4 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 05:18 PM

The meaning of the words baptizo and baptisma according to lexicons.

1. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: "To dip repeatedly, to immerge, submerge...to cleanse by dipping or submerging.

2. Liddell and Scott Abridged Greek lexicon: "To dip repeatedly, dip under...II. To baptize. Hence Baptisma...that which is dipped." (This is the standard work on classical Greek).

3. Harper’s Analytical Greek Lexicon: "To dip, immerse. Baptisma—immersion; baptism, ordinance of baptism.

4. Sophocles’ Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods (Covering the period from B. C. 146 to A. D. 1000): "To dip, to immerse, to sink...There is no evidence that Luke and Paul and the other writers of the New Testament put upon this verb meanings not recognized by the Greeks."

5. T. S. Green’s Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament: "To dip, immerse; to cleanse or purify by washing; to administer the rite of baptism."

6. Trommius’ Concordantiae Graecae: "To baptize; to immerse, to dip."

7. Stephanus, Thesaur. Graec. Ling. (Ed. Of 1572): "To plunge, or immerse. To plunge; that is, to plunge under, or overwhelm in water."

8. Cremer, Lexicon of New Testament Greek: "Immersion or submersion for a religious purpose."

9. Shoettgenius’ Lex. In Nov. Test. (Ed. Of 1765): "Baptizo, from Bapto: properly, to plunge, to immerse."

10. Robinson’s Greek Lexicon of the New Testament: "To immerse, to sink."

11. Schleusner’s Lexicon (Ed. Of 1808): "Those who were to be baptized were anciently immersed." "To immerse and dip in, to immerse into water."

12. Bretschneider’s New Testament Lexicon: (Ed. Of 1829): "In the New Testament, used only for a sacred submersion."

13. Buttman’s Greek Grammar, p. 88 (Ed. Of 1829): "To immerse."

14. Parkhurst’s Lexicon: "to dip, immerse, or plunge in water. To baptize, to immerse in or wash with water. Figuratively, to be baptized, immersed, or plunged in a flood, or sea, as it were, of grievous afflictions and sufferings."

15. Conversation’s Lexicon, Art. Taufe: "In the age of the apostles baptism was very simple. They and their successors dipped their candidates into a river or tank filled with water."

16. Pape’s Greek-German Dictionary (Ed. Of 1880): "To dip in, dip under."

17. Alstedius’ Theological Lexicon, cap. 12, p. 221: "Baptizein, to baptize, signifies only to immerse; not to wash, except by consequence."

18. Leigh’s Critia Sacra. On Baptismos (1646): "Signifies immersion in water; from the very etymology, it would appear what had been originally the custom of administering baptism."

19. Hoffman’s Universal Lexicon (1898): "The Jews, apostles, and primitive churches used immersion."

20: A. Symson’s Lexicon of the New Testament (1658): "To dip or plunge into water."

21. P. Minert’s Lexicon of the New Testament (1728): "Baptisma, properly and from its origin, denotes, a washing which is performed by immersion."

22. Donnegan’s Greek Lexicon: "To immerse, to submerge:"

23. Heideggerus, Corpus Theolog. Christ., loc. 25, para. 21: "The words Baptisma and Baptismos, baptism (from Baptein, to plunge, to immerse), properly signify immersion."

24. Hedericus’ Lexicon (1778): "To plunge, to immerse, to overwhelm in water; to wash away, to wash."

25. Scapula (1652): "To dip, or immerse; as we immerse anything for the purpose of dyeing, or cleansing in water. Also to dip, to plunge, to overwhelm in water."

26. Suicerus, Thesaurus Eccles: "Wood and clothes are said to be Baptesthai, baptized, when they are dipped; because they are quite immersed in the dyeing fat [vat], that they may imbibe the color. Baptizo, to baptize, hath properly the same signification."

27. B. Faber, Thesau. Erudit. Scholast. (1717): Baptism, is immersion.

28. Stockius (1735): "Generally, and in virtue of its etymology, it signifies immersion, or dipping into. Particularly and properly, it denotes the immersion or dipping of a thing into water, that it may be cleansed or washed."

29. Schrevelius (1685): "To baptize, to plunge, to wash."

30. Schwarzius, Comment. Crit. Et Philog. Ling. Grace: "To plunge, to overwhelm, to dip into. To wash, by plunging." "Sometimes to sprinkle, to besprinkle, to pour upon." This is the only lexicographer that this writer has ever found who gave sprinkle or pour as the occasional meaning of this word, and the authorities which he cites are not to the point, but rather prove the reverse. Like him, many want modern usage to shape the ancient meaning. See Abraham Booth, Pedobaptism Examined, Vol. I, p. 58, for the full quotation of the authorities cited.

31. Constantinus, (1592): "The act of dyeing, that is, of plunging."

32. Pasor, (1735): "To baptize; immerse, to wash."

33. Prof. Rost, German-Greek Lexicon (1829): "The primary signification of baptiso is plunge, submerge or immerse."

34. Larcher-Hedrich, Greek Lexicon (1816): "To immerse."

35. J. Alberti, Glossarium Graecum (1735): "Baptize, immerse."

36. Kaltschundt’s Lexicon (1839): "To dip, immerse."

37. William Veitch, On Greek Verbs (1848): Baptizo. To dip."

38. Stocku Calvis (1725): "Baptisma originally designated immersion in water to make clean."

39. Greenfield: "To immerse, immerge, submerge, sink."

40. Wright: "To dip, immerse, plunge, baptize, overwhelm."

41. Suidas’ Lexicon (circa 10th Century): "To immerse, to immerge, to dip, to dip in."

42. DeStourdza (A native Greek, who should know the meaning of a Greek word if anyone does): "Baptizo signifies literally and always ‘to plunge.’ Baptism and immersion are therefore identical, and to say ‘baptism by aspersion’ is as if one should say ‘immersion by aspersion,’ or any other absurdity of the same nature." (Quoted in A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology, p. 937).

43. Dunbar, Greek-English Lexicon (1840): "To dip, immerse, submerge, plunge, sink."

44. Morel: "To immerse, to immerge, to overwhelm in water."

45. Robertson, Thesaurus Grace: "To baptize, to immerse, to wash."

46. The same testimony is borne by the lexicons of Grove, Bass, Ewing, Lainy, Jones, and more recently by Arndt and Gingrich, George R. Berry, W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, and others, for all scholarship worthy of the name is fully agreed in this meaning. Dr. George Campbell, Presbyterian, declared:

I have heard a disputant, in defiance of etymology and use, maintain that the word rendered in the New Testament, baptize, means more properly to sprinkle than to plunge, and in defiance of all antiquity that the former was the earliest, and for many centuries the most general practice of baptizing. One who argues in this manner never fails, with person of knowledge, to betray the cause he would defend.—Lectures on Systematic Theology, p. 480, Quoted by W. B. Boggs, The Baptists, p. 78 (Emphasis mine—DWH).

A few years ago, John T. Christian wrote the leading Greek scholars of England and America and asked them if there was an authoritative Greek-English lexicon which gave as the meaning of baptizo the words sprinkle or pour. The following are some of the answers he received (These are quoted in W. M. Nevins’ Alien Baptism and the Baptists, pp. 17 et equ.):

47. Prof. H. W. Humphreys, Vanderbilt Univ. "There is no standard Greek-English lexicon that gives sprinkle, or pour as one of the meanings of the Greek word baptizo."

48. Prof. W. S. Tyler, Amherst College: "I do not know of any good lexicon which gives sprinkling as a rendering of baptizo."

49. Prov. Dodge, University of Michigan: "There is no standard Greek-English lexicon that gives either sprinkle or pour as one of the meanings of the Greek word baptizo."

50. Prof. Flagg, Cotnell University: "I know no lexicon which gives the meaning you speak of for baptizo."

51. Prof. H. Kynaston, University of Durham, England: "The word baptizo means to dip, or sink into water, not sprinkle. I know of no lexicon which gives sprinkle for baptize."

52. Prof. G. C. Warr, King’s College, England: "Certainly the classical meaning of baptizo is to dip, not sprinkle or pour."

53. Prof. John Stracham, Owens College, England: "I never, to my knowledge, met with the word in the literal sense of sprinkle, and I doubt if it has any such meaning."

54. Prof. G. E. Mamdin, University of London, England: "I do not know of any Greek-English lexicon which gives the meaning to sprinkle, or pour. If any should do so, I should say it makes a mistake."

55. Prof. R. C. Jebb, University Cambridge, England: "I do not know whether there is any authoritative Greek-English lexicon which makes the word mean sprinkle or pour. I can only say that such a meaning never belongs to the word in classical Greek."

56. Prof. Goodwin of Harvard University also adds the weight of his testimony when he says:

The classical meaning of baptizo, which seldom occurs, and of the more common bapto, is dip (literally or metaphorically), and I never heard of its having any other meaning anywhere. Certainly I never saw a lexicon which gives either sprinkle or pour, as meaning of either. I must be allowed to ask why I am so often asked this question, which seems to me to have but one perfectly plain answer.—Quoted in A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology, p: 933.