Eckhard Schnabel, «The Meaning of Baptizein in Greek, Jewish, and Patristic Literature.» filologia-neotestamentaria, Vol. 24 (2011) 3-40 page 32

Vol 24 (2011)

Eckhard Schnabel, «The Meaning of Baptizein in Greek, Jewish, and Patristic Literature.», Vol. 24 (2011) 3-40

The treatment of the Greek term Baptizein in the standard English lexicons is unsystematic. The use of the English term ‘to baptize’ for the Greek term Baptizein in English versions of the New Testament is predicated on the assumption that the Greek verb has a technical meaning which warrants the use of a transliteration. Since the first fact is deplorable and the second fact is unsatisfactory, an investigation into the meaning of the Greek term in Greek, Jewish, and patristic literary and documentary texts is called for in order to define the meaning of the term in classical and Hellenistic Greek with more precision than usually encountered in New Testament research, with a view to construct a more helpful lexicon entry for Baptizein.

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32 Eckhard J. Schnabel Aristophanes, Plutus 530: ἱματίων βαπτῶν δαπάναις κοσμῆσαι ποικιλομόρφων (“rich embroidered cloaks dyed with dazzling colors”; E. O’Neill) (V). Plato, Respublica 429D-E: Οὐκοῦν οἶσθα, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ὅτι οἱ βαφῆς, ἐπειδὰν βουληθῶσι βάψαι ἔρια ὥστ’ εἶναι ἁλουργά, πρῶτον μὲν ἐκλέγονται ἐκ τοσούτων χρωμάτων μίαν φύσιν τὴν τῶν λευκῶν, ἔπειτα προπαρασκευάζουσιν, οὐκ ὀλίγῃ παρασκευῇ θεραπεύσαντες ὅπως δέξεται ὅτι μάλιστα τὸ ἄνθος, καὶ οὕτω δὴ βάπτουσι. καὶ ὃ μὲν ἂν τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ βαφῇ, δευσοποιὸν γίγνεται τὸ βαφέν, καὶ ἡ πλύσις οὔτ’ ἄνευ ῥυμμάτων οὔτε μετὰ ῥυμμάτων δύναται αὐτῶν τὸ ἄνθος ἀφαιρεῖσθαι: ἃ δ’ ἂν μή, οἶσθα οἷα δὴ γίγνεται, ἐάντέ τις ἄλλα χρώματα βάπτῃ ἐάντε καὶ ταῦτα μὴ προθεραπεύσας (“You are aware that dyers when they wish to dye wool so as to hold the purple hue begin by selecting from the many colors there be the one nature of the white and then give it a careful preparatory treatment so that it will take the hue in the best way, and after the treatment, then and then only, dip it in the dye. And things that are dyed by this process become fast-colored and washing either with or without lyes cannot take away the sheen of their hues. But otherwise you know what happens to them, whether anyone dips other colors or even these without the preparatory treatment”; P. Shorey) (V/IV) (sense 1f, cf. sense 1). Aristoteles, De coloribus 794a.16-19: Τὰ δὲ βαπτόμενα πάντα τὰς χρόας ἀπὸ τῶν βαπτόντων λαμβάνει. πολλὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἄνθεσι βάπτεται τοῖς φυομένοις, πολλὰ δὲ ῥίζαις, πολλὰ δὲ φλοιοῖς ἢ ξύλοις ἢ φύλλοις ἢ καρποῖς (“All dyed things take their color from what dyes them. For many are coloured by the flowers of plants, many by the roots, many again by bark or wood or leaves or fruit”; W. S. Hett) (IV). Inscription, I. Milet III 1357: ἱμάτια πορφυρᾶ βαπτὰ ἁρχεῖα κατακεκομμένα τρία (“three old useless tattered purple-dyed himatia’72 (II). Strabo, Geographica 15.1.30: βάπτεσθαί τε πολλοῖς εὐανθεστάτοις χρώμασι τοὺς πώγωνας αὐτοῦ τούτου χάριν καλλωπιζομένους: τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἄλλους ποιεῖν ἐπιμελῶς συχνοὺς τῶν Ἰνδῶν (καὶ γὰρ δὴ φέρειν τὴν χώραν χρόας θαυμαστάς) καὶ θριξὶ καὶ ἐσθῆσι (“the men dye their beards with many most florid colours for the sole reason that they wish to beautify themselves; and that this practice is carefully (‘dye red’), κογχίζω (‘dye purple’), κοκκονόω (‘dye scarlet’), λακκόω (‘dye with lac’), μηλόω (‘dye’ wool), μιαίνω (‘stain, dye’), ξανθόω (‘dye yellow’), πορφύρω (‘dye red’), πυρρόω (‘dye red’), ῥέζω (‘dye’). 72 I. Milet III 1357 is a treasure catalogue which lists (at least after line 5) old objects, mostly garments, which had become useless and which were probably removed from a sanctuary (perhaps from the temple of Artemis Kithone which was transferred from Kala- baktepe to Miletus). Cf. Peter Herrmann, et al., Milet. Band 6, iii, Inschriften von Milet III: Inschriften n. 1020–1580 (Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen seit dem Jahr 1899; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2006), pp. 213-15.