ἄφεσις G0859
Release or letting go; in the NT chiefly the forgiveness or remission of sins, and occasionally liberation from captivity.
Rooted in the verb aphiemi ('to let go, send away'), this noun carries a rich legal and cultic background: discharge from debt, exemption from service, quittance from guilt. In the New Testament it narrows dramatically to the forgiveness of sins — the divine act of releasing a person from the debt of transgression (Matt 26:28; Mark 1:4). Luke preserves the older, broader sense when Jesus reads Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue and proclaims 'release to the captives' (Luke 4:18), where Spanish renders liberacion and libertad rather than the usual perdon. That single passage keeps alive the word's ancient overtone of emancipation alongside its dominant theological meaning of pardon.
1. forgiveness — The remission or pardoning of sins — by far the dominant NT usage (15 of 17 occurrences). Every major language renders it with a forgiveness term: English 'forgiveness,' Spanish perdon, French pardon, German Vergebung. It appears in the baptismal formula of Mark 1:4 and Luke 3:3, in Jesus' words over the cup at the Last Supper (Matt 26:28), and in the apostolic preaching of Acts. The underlying image is the cancellation of a debt or the release from a binding obligation. 15×
AR["غُفرانُ", "غُفْرانٌ", "غُفْرانِ", "غُفْرَانَ", "غُفْرَانِ", "مَغْفِرَة", "مَغْفِرَةٌ", "مَغْفِرَةِ"]·ben["ক্ষমা", "ক্ষমায়", "ক্ষমার"]·DE["Vergebung"]·EN["forgiveness"]·FR["pardon", "rémission"]·heb["סְלִיחַת", "סְלִיחָה"]·HI["कशम", "के-लिये", "क्षमा", "क्षमा।", "युग"]·ID["pengampunan"]·IT["aphesin", "aphesis", "perdono", "remissione"]·jav["pangapunten", "pangapuntening", "pangapuran", "pangapuraning"]·KO["사람들-이여", "사함이", "용서", "용서-", "용서-를", "용서-를-위한", "용서-에서", "용서가", "용서가-있으면", "용서를", "용서에"]·PT["perdão", "remissão"]·RU["оставление", "прощение", "прощении", "прощения"]·ES["perdón"]·SW["msamaha", "unaotokea"]·TR["affini", "bagislamasini", "bağışlanma", "bağışlanması", "bağışlanmasına", "bağışlanmasında"]·urd["معافی"]
Matt 26:28, Mark 1:4, Mark 3:29, Luke 1:77, Luke 3:3, Luke 24:47, Acts 2:38, Acts 5:31, Acts 10:43, Acts 13:38, Acts 26:18, Eph 1:7 (+3 more)
▼ 1 more sense(s) below
Senses
2. release — Physical or social release — liberation from captivity or oppression. Both occurrences come from Luke 4:18, where Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1 in the Nazareth synagogue. Spanish splits into liberacion and libertad, revealing the concrete, bodily dimension: this is not metaphorical pardon but actual setting-free. The classical meaning of the word (dismissal, discharge, exemption) surfaces here and anchors the proclamation in tangible deliverance. 2×
AR["بِإطلاقٍ", "حُرِّيَّةٍ"]·ben["মুক্তি", "মুক্তিতে"]·DE["Vergebung"]·EN["release"]·FR["rémission"]·heb["חָפְשִׁי", "שִׁחְרוּר"]·HI["छुटकारा", "स्वतंत्रता"]·ID["kebebasan", "pembebasan"]·IT["perdono"]·jav["kamardikan,"]·KO["자유-를", "자유-에서"]·RU["освобождение,", "освобождении,"]·ES["liberación", "libertad"]·SW["huru", "uhuru"]·TR["salıverilme", "özgürlük"]·urd["آزادی-", "رہائی-"]
Related Senses
G2962 1. Lord (divine title) (661×)H0136 1. Lord (divine title) (440×)H0113 1. lord, human superior (249×)G1849 1. authority, power (91×)H6485a 2. Qal: punish, bring judgment (63×)H8198 1. maidservant, female slave (63×)G2962 2. master, lord (human authority) (61×)H0034 1. needy, poor, destitute (61×)H0519 1. female servant, maidservant (56×)H6041 1. poor, needy person (55×)H0113 2. master, owner of servants (49×)H4910 1. Qal: to have dominion, exercise power over (44×)H1800 1. poor, needy (socioeconomic) (38×)H3515 1. heavy, severe, grievous (36×)G4434 1. (34×)G5092 1. honor, esteem, respect (33×)G0630 1. release, set free (32×)H6485a 4. Qal: visit, attend to, care for (32×)H3513 1. honor / show respect (Piel) (30×)H4910 2. Qal: to rule, govern (administrative authority) (27×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄφεσις, εως, ἡ, (ἀφίημι) letting go, release, περὶ τῆς τῶν πλοίων ἀφέσεως Philipp. cited in Refs 5th c.BC+; γῆ ἐν ἀφέσει land in private hands, opposed to βασιλική, Refs 2nd c.BC+ __b of persons, dismissal: in ritual, λαοῖς ἄ.Refs 4th c.AD+; release, NT+2nd c.BC+ __2 with genitive, ἀ. φόνου quittance from murder, Refs 5th c.BC+; discharge from a bond, Refs 4th c.BC+; opposed to ἀπόδοσις χρημάτων,…