Comparing Modern English, Greek and Hebrew Concepts of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a central tenant of the Christian Faith. Jesus’ primary mission was to reconcile humanity to God by procuring forgiveness for our sins by dying on the cross in our place taking out just punishment on himself. But what does it mean to have our sins “forgiven”?
The understanding of “forgiveness” varies significantly from culture to culture and even person to person. Let’s compare the Hebrew, Greek and our modern “English” ideas about forgiveness so we can discover and better appreciate what Jesus said and meant by forgiveness.
Webster’ definition of forgive: 1: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : PARDON // forgive one’s enemies; 2 a: to give up resentment of or claim to requital (see REQUITAL sense 1) for // forgive an insult; b: to grant relief from payment of // forgive a debt
While the dictionary definition of forgiveness conforms to my general broad understanding of the way we use the word “forgive”, our modern English definition leaves a lot of grey areas. If a friend borrows my car and wrecks it, can I “forgive” them, meaning I harbor no resentment, but still insist they pay for the car? To not feel resentment, to not desire requital, and to not require payment are three separate things. If I only do one, have I “forgiven” them? Do I need to do all three to “forgive”, essentially a complete release from obligation on the offender’s part?
There are also some theological questions that arise:
- Is forgiveness “good”? Doesn’t justice require requital: “an eye for an eye”? I would think that repayment of my debts is good. If I borrow money, shouldn’t I pay it back?
- What if an offender doesn’t deserve forgiveness? Should the Devil be forgiven for rebelling against God and tormenting the human race? Am I evil for wanting to be forgiven for my wrongs and yet wanting Satan to burn for his crimes?
- What if an offender doesn’t desire forgiveness? Can you forgive an unrepentant person?
- If a victim can never forget what was done to them, does that mean they can never forgive?
I found the following description very helpful in better expressing our modern English concept of forgiveness: “Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness. Just as important as defining what forgiveness is, though, is understanding what forgiveness is not. Experts who study or teach forgiveness make clear that when you forgive, you do not gloss over or deny the seriousness of an offense against you. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offenses. Though forgiveness can help repair a damaged relationship, it doesn’t obligate you to reconcile with the person who harmed you, or release them from legal accountability. Instead, forgiveness brings the forgiver peace of mind and frees him or her from corrosive anger. While there is some debate over whether true forgiveness requires positive feelings toward the offender, experts agree that it at least involves letting go of deeply held negative feelings. In that way, it empowers you to recognize the pain you suffered without letting that pain define you, enabling you to heal and move on with your life.”[1]
So the psychologists at U.C. Berkeley define forgiveness relative to the intellectual and emotional well being of the victim. Essentially if the victim can think about the offense and not see a black cloud over the offender, then they have “forgiven” them. As you can see from the paragraph above, our “modern” definition of forgiveness does not obligate you to release the offender from legal accountability. According to our cultural understanding, I can still condemn you to prison for the offenses you did against me, even if I “forgive” you for them. As we shall discover, our modern concept of forgiveness is at odds with the true Biblical meaning of forgiveness.
The New Testament is written in Koine Greek. In Luke chapter 5 the Greek word used for forgiveness is ἀφέντες (af-en-tes), which simply means to leave something behind. Earlier in the same chapter Peter and the other fisherman left their nets and boats to follow Jesus:
Luke 5:11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left (ἀφέντες) everything and followed him.
This same word is used to describe a fever leaving Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt 8:15), of a husband leaving his wife in divorce (1 Corinthians 7:11-13), and of unbelieving people being “left behind” when Jesus sends his angels to “rapture” his church by taking them directly to heaven to be with Him forever (Matt 24:40-41).
Jesus uses this word repeatedly in Luke chapter 5 to describe his authority to forgive sins:
Luke 5:17-26 “One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven (ἀφέωνταί).”
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive (ἀφεῖναι) sins but God alone?”
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven (Ἀφέωνταί),’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive (ἀφιέναι) sins.”
So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
The Greek understanding of “forgiveness of sins” is simply to leave your sins behind. You are no longer burdened to carry them with you. The Greek definition of forgiveness is more tactile and less conceptual than our nuanced English understanding. It is not about how you feel, but whether you carry them with you. When you forgive another person you unburden them. If you die without forgiveness you “die in your sins” with grave consequences:
John 8:24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
1 Corinthians 15:17-18 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep [died] in Christ are lost.”
The Hebrew understanding of forgiveness is slightly different than the Greek one. There are two words translated forgive in Hebrew:
נֹשֵׂ֥א (noseh) means to lift or carry a burden, it is sometimes translated forgive
סְלַֽח (selach) means to pardon and forgive, but it is used exclusively of God’s divine forgiveness
Here is a famous Old Testament example where both words are used. Moses is pleading for God to be merciful to the rebellious people of Israel:
Numbers 14:17-20 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving (נֹשֵׂ֥א) sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ In accordance with your great love, forgive (סְלַֽח) the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned (נָשָׂ֙אתָה֙) them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
The Lord replied, “I have forgiven (סָלַ֖חְתִּי) them, as you asked.”
As you can see in this passage these two words are used almost interchangeably, the only distinction is that סְלַֽח (selach) is used exclusively of God’s divine forgiveness. In the law of God probably the best picture of the Hebrew concept of forgiveness is given in Leviticus 16 describing the scapegoat, the עֲזָאזֵל (eh-tza-tzel). This Hebrew word literally means the “goat of departing”. In Leviticus 16:21 the high priest once a year would lay his hands upon the goat and pray confessing all of the sins of the people of God, “putting these sins upon the goat’s head” who would bear (נָשָׂא) them off into the wilderness. To the Hebrew forgiveness is not simply “leaving” behind sin, but rather bearing it away. When you “forgive” someone you are offering to carry away their sin so they no longer have to bear it themselves.
Jesus was a Jewish man, and spoke in Aramaic (a dialect of Hebrew), not Greek. I believe the text of Luke 5 shows that Jesus’s concept of forgiveness came fundamentally from a Hebrew perspective. Jesus wanted the Jews to understand that he has authority to take and carry away our sins. To prove his authority to bear away the sins of man, Jesus told a crippled man to stand and walk, and take and bear away his mat:
Luke 5:24-26a Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
The man was healed, stood and carried his mat away, to the amazement of all. Notice that Jesus does not tell the paralyzed man to “leave behind” his mat, an illustration of the Greek idea of forgiveness, but rather “to pick it up and bear it away” an illustration of the Hebrew idea of forgiveness.
Neither of these concepts match our English concept of lifting the emotion and intellectual burden of the victim while maintaining the right to still hold legal accountability. Jesus, acting as our Savior on the cross, bears all our sins taking them upon himself. Our legal accountability, the death penalty and just punishment in hell for those sins, is removed.
Our punishment was paid in full by Jesus. We are forgiven.
But there is a responsibility that comes with that gift. The Father requires that we extend forgiveness to others:
Matt 6:14-15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
When we forgive others we are offering to carry away their sins against us so they do not have to carry them anymore. When I say I forgive you for a sin against me, I am declaring that you never have to think about it again. Yes, you wronged me, but I choose to relieve you of the burden of carrying that weight. I may have felt hurt, pain, righteous indignation, suffering, loss and anger over it. But I have let go of my need for justice. In fact, thanks to Jesus I do not need to carry that burden either. What I do is I take all of that pain to Jesus for healing and he bears it for me. Because he has forgiven me, I can forgive you. In fact I must.
Jesus is both our savior and the righteous judge of all humanity. I know that if you ask Him in faith he will forgive your sins. But if you do not let him save you, then he will justly condemn you.
My guess is that Jesus used the word סְלַֽח (selach) when he declared that he had authority to forgive sins on earth. Why do I think this? Because this Hebrew word is exclusively used of God’s forgiveness in the Bible (47 times). Look at the response of the Pharisees:
Luke 5:21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Just as only I can forgive offenses against me, only God can forgive offenses against him. The Pharisees rightly understood that Jesus was claiming divine authority. The healed paralytic gave evidence. Jesus’ words gave evidence, and yet the Pharisees rejected him. Don’t make the same mistake. Our death penalty was paid by Jesus and through faith in his death and resurrection our sins are forgiven by Him. God made a way for us to be forgiven, where there was no way.
[1] https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/forgiveness/definition
Atheist to Elder 