G3929 — πάρεσις (paresis)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3929
Original: πάρεσις
Transliteration: páresis
Pronunciation: par'-es-is
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From G3935 παρίημι (pariēmi, "to let pass by, relax, let go") — itself from παρά (para, "beside, past") + ἵημι (hiēmi, "to send"). The -σις (-sis) suffix forms an action noun: "the act of letting pass."
Occurrences: 1 token in 1 unique NT verse
Books: 1 (Romans)
First Occurrence: Rom 3:25 — "Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;"
Hapax Legomenon: YES — this word appears only once in the entire NT (and nowhere in the LXX)

Lexicon Definition¶

From G3935 παρίημι (pariēmi); praetermission, i.e. toleration — remission. Literally "a passing by" or "a letting go past." The word denotes a temporary overlooking or passing over of something, not its permanent removal or cancellation. The KJV translation "remission" is potentially misleading, as it conflates paresis with the distinct word ἄφεσις (aphesis, G859), which denotes full release and permanent forgiveness.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 030 — Think
Subdomain: 030.002 — To Think About, with the Implied Purpose of Responding Appropriately
Other words in subdomain: ἀμελέω (G272, "neglect"), ἀπαρνέομαι (G533, "deny"), ἐπιμελέομαι (G1959, "take care of"), ἐπισκοπέω (G1983, "look diligently"), κατανοέω (G2657, "consider"), καταλείπω (G2641, "leave")

The Louw-Nida classification places paresis in the cognitive/deliberative domain rather than the forgiveness domain (040), reflecting its sense as a deliberate divine decision to pass over rather than an act of pardon.

Domain Neighbors (030.002 — To Think About, with the Implied Purpose of Responding Appropriately)¶

Word	Strong's	Verses	Primary KJV Translation
ἀμελέω (ameleō)	G272	3	neglect
ἀπαρνέομαι (aparneomai)	G533	11	deny
ἀργός (argos)	G692	6	idle, barren
ἀρνέομαι (arneomai)	G720	16	deny
ἐπεῖδον (epeidon)	G1896	2	behold, look on
ἐπιβλέπω (epiblepō)	G1914	3	regard, look
ἐπιλαμβάνομαι (epilambanomai)	G1949	9	take hold of
ἐπιμελέομαι (epimeleomai)	G1959	3	take care of
ἐπισκοπέω (episkopeō)	G1983	2	look diligently
καταλείπω (kataleipō)	G2641	13	leave
κατανοέω (katanoeō)	G2657	4	consider

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
remission	1	100%

Note: The KJV rendering "remission" is identical to one of the primary translations of G859 ἄφεσις (aphesis), which is translated "remission" 9 times. This has historically obscured the distinction between the two words. Many modern translations and commentators prefer "passing over" or "overlooking" for paresis to preserve the semantic contrast Paul draws in Rom 3:25–26.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Romans	1	0.2

As a hapax legomenon, paresis is confined entirely to Paul's argument in Romans 3:25. Its absence from every other NT book, the LXX, and the broader Greek literary corpus of the period makes it a rare and precise theological term.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Forbearance Toward Past Sins¶

The sole occurrence places paresis within an argument about God's justice. The "passing over" (paresis) of formerly committed sins (ἁμαρτημάτων προγεγονότων, hamartēmatōn progegonotōn) was a temporary divine response during the period of God's forbearance (ἀνοχή, anochē), prior to the definitive act of atonement in Christ: - Rom 3:25 — "to declare his righteousness for the remission [paresis] of sins that are past, through the forbearance [anochē] of God"

The logical structure of Paul's argument (Rom 3:25–26) depends on the distinction between paresis (temporary passing over) and permanent resolution: God passed over sins in the past era, and now demonstrates his righteousness through the hilastērion (propitiation) of Christ's blood.

Common Collocations¶

As a hapax legomenon, paresis has no co-occurrence data from which to derive collocations. Within its single verse, the key contextual words are:

Word	Strong's	Relationship	Notes
ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion)	G2435	same verse	The propitiation — the means by which God addresses the sins he previously passed over
δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē)	G1343	same verse	God's righteousness — what the passing over and subsequent atonement together "declare"
ἀνοχή (anochē)	G463	same verse	Forbearance — the temporal frame within which paresis operated
αἷμα (haima)	G129	same verse	Blood — the instrument through which paresis gives way to definitive atonement
προγίνομαι (proginomai)	G4266	same verse	"previously committed" — specifies the sins are past, not ongoing

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3935 παρίημι (pariēmi) — root verb: "to let pass by, relax, let go." Appears once in the NT (Heb 12:12, "the hands which hang down" — lit. "the relaxed hands"). Also used in LXX (Jer 4:31, Zep 3:16, Luke 11:42 variant).

Synonyms¶

G859 ἄφεσις (aphesis) — "release, forgiveness, remission" (17 occurrences). The word Paul could have used but did not. Aphesis denotes complete release and permanent cancellation of sins; paresis denotes temporary overlooking. The search_relationships.py output confirms aphesis as the primary synonym.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἄφεσις (aphesis)	G859	"remission"	aphesis = permanent release/cancellation of sins (from ἀπό + ἵημι "send away from"); paresis = temporary passing over/overlooking (from παρά + ἵημι "send past/beside"). The KJV translates both as "remission," obscuring a deliberate Pauline distinction.

Morphological Contrast: paresis vs. aphesis¶

Both words end in -εσις (-esis), the action-noun suffix, and derive from compounds of ἵημι (hiēmi, "to send"). The distinction lies in the prefix: - ἀπό (apo, "away from") + ἵημι → ἄφεσις: a sending away — complete removal - παρά (para, "beside, past") + ἵημι → πάρεσις: a sending past — letting something go by without dealing with it

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

No Hebrew sources found. Paresis does not appear in the LXX, confirming it as a distinctively Pauline coinage or at minimum a term drawn from non-biblical Greek usage for this specific theological argument.

Morphological Notes¶

From the Greek parser output (1 token):

Case	Count	Context
Accusative singular (πάρεσιν)	1	Object of preposition — "for the paresis of sins"

The accusative case with εἰς (eis) or equivalent expresses purpose: the propitiation was set forth for the purpose of the passing over of sins.