G5483 — χαρίζομαι (charizomai)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5483
Original: χαρίζομαι
Transliteration: charizomai
Pronunciation: khar-id'-zom-ahee
Part of Speech: Verb (middle voice from G5485 charis)
Root: χάρις (charis, G5485) — grace, favor, gratitude
Occurrences: 23 tokens in 19 unique verses across 10 books
First Occurrence: Luke 7:21 — "unto many [that were] blind he gave (charizomai) sight"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Middle voice from G5485 (charis); to grant as a favor, i.e. gratuitously, in kindness, pardon or rescue. To do something pleasant or agreeable (to one), to do a favor to, gratify; to show one's self gracious, kind, benevolent; to grant forgiveness, to pardon; to give graciously, give freely, bestow.

Voice and Tense Distribution¶

Form	Count	Examples
Aorist Middle Indicative 3S	7	Luke 7:21,42,43; Eph 4:32; Phil 2:9; Col 3:13
Aorist Middle Infinitive	2	Acts 25:11; 2 Cor 2:7
Perfect M/P Indicative 3S	2	Acts 27:24; Gal 3:18
Perfect M/P Indicative 1S	2	2 Cor 2:10 (×2)
Present M/P Participle NPM	2	Eph 4:32; Col 3:13
Aorist Passive Infinitive	1	Acts 3:14
Aorist Passive Indicative 3S	1	Phil 1:29
Aorist Passive Participle APN	1	1 Cor 2:12
Aorist Middle Participle NSM	1	Col 2:13
Aorist Middle Imperative 2P	1	2 Cor 12:13
Present M/P Indicative 2P	1	2 Cor 2:10
Present M/P Infinitive	1	Acts 25:16
Future Middle Indicative 3S	1	Rom 8:32
Future Passive Indicative 1S	1	Phm 1:22

Note: Predominantly middle voice (17/23 tokens), emphasizing the subject's active involvement in the giving. The passive forms (4 tokens) cast the recipient's perspective — something "graciously granted" to them. The perfect tense in Gal 3:18 and Acts 27:24 emphasizes the completed and enduring nature of what God has given.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

Domain 57.018: Owe, Debt, Cancel — to release from obligation, cancel a debt
Domain 57.008: Give — to give, bestow freely
Domain 40.002: Forgiveness — to forgive, pardon
Domain 37.001: Control, Restrain — to hand over, deliver up (judicial sense)

The word spans both giving and forgiving domains, reflecting the dual semantic range: gracious bestowal and gracious pardon.

Domain Neighbors (57.018 — Owe, Debt, Cancel)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G863	ἀφίημι (aphiemi)	36	left, forgive
G3784	ὀφείλω (opheilo)	15	ought, he ought
G3781	ὀφειλέτης (opheiletes)	5	debtors
G3782	ὀφειλή (opheile)	2	debt, dues
G3783	ὀφείλημα (opheilema)	2	debt, debts
G4359	προσοφείλω (prosopheilo)	2	besides, thou owest
G5533	χρεοφειλέτης (chreopheiletes)	2	debtors

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
forgave / forgive / forgiving / forgiven	10	53%
gave / given / freely give / freely given	7	37%
deliver	2	10%

Grouped totals — the forgiveness sense slightly dominates the giving sense in KJV rendering, but both are well attested.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Philemon	1	4.0
Colossians	2	2.1
2 Corinthians	3	1.2
Galatians	1	0.7
Ephesians	1	0.6
Acts	4	0.4
Luke	3	0.3
Philippians	2	0.2
Romans	1	0.2
1 Corinthians	1	0.2

Concentrated in the Pauline epistles (12 of 19 unique verses). Luke-Acts accounts for another 7. The word is entirely absent from the Johannine writings, Hebrews, James, Peter, and Jude — though the forgiveness concept appears in those books through other vocabulary (especially aphiemi, G863).

Semantic Categories¶

1. God's Gracious Giving / Bestowal¶

Rom 8:32 — "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give (charizomai) us all things?"
1 Cor 2:12 — "that we might know the things that are freely given (charizomai) to us of God"
Gal 3:18 — "God gave (charizomai) it to Abraham by promise"
Phil 1:29 — "unto you it is given (charizomai) in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer"
Phil 2:9 — "God also hath highly exalted him, and given (charizomai) him a name which is above every name"

The emphasis in each case is that the gift is unearned and unmerited — granted as an act of favor, not as payment or obligation.

2. Divine Forgiveness of Sins / Trespasses¶

Col 2:13 — "hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven (charizomai) you all trespasses"
Eph 4:32 — "forgiving (charizomai) one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven (charizomai) you"
Col 3:13 — "forgiving (charizomai) one another... even as Christ forgave (charizomai) you, so also do ye"

In these passages forgiveness is presented as a gift — God "graces away" the debt of sin. The parallel in Eph 4:32 and Col 3:13 makes divine forgiveness the model for human forgiveness.

3. Interpersonal Forgiveness¶

2 Cor 2:7 — "ye ought rather to forgive (charizomai) him, and comfort him"
2 Cor 2:10 — "To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ"
2 Cor 12:13 — "forgive me this wrong" (ironic use)

Paul models interpersonal forgiveness on the pattern of Christ's forgiveness (2 Cor 2:10, "in the person of Christ"), connecting the human act of pardoning back to the divine act.

4. Debt Cancellation (Parable)¶

Luke 7:42 — "when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave (charizomai) them both"
Luke 7:43 — "he, to whom he forgave (charizomai) most"

The parable of the two debtors uses charizomai for outright cancellation of a monetary debt, making explicit the economic metaphor underlying the forgiveness sense.

5. Granting / Delivering (Judicial-Administrative)¶

Acts 3:14 — "desired a murderer to be granted (charizomai) unto you"
Acts 25:11 — "no man may deliver (charizomai) me unto them"
Acts 25:16 — "not the manner of the Romans to deliver (charizomai) any man to die"
Acts 27:24 — "God hath given (charizomai) thee all them that sail with thee"

In Acts the word carries a judicial sense: granting custody of a prisoner or granting a person's life as a favor. Even here the core idea is a gratuitous bestowal — giving what is not owed.

6. Healing as Gracious Gift¶

Luke 7:21 — "unto many that were blind he gave (charizomai) sight"

Healing is presented not as earned but as graciously bestowed — consistent with the word's root in charis (grace).

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	5x (26%)	God as the subject who graciously gives or forgives
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	4x (21%)	"all things" / "all trespasses" — totality of the gift
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	4x (21%)	"in Christ" / "for Christ's sake" — mediatorial basis
ἀλλήλων (allelon)	G240	2x (11%)	"forgiving one another" — reciprocal human forgiveness
καθώς (kathos)	G2531	2x (11%)	"even as" — divine forgiveness as pattern for human
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	2x (11%)	The Spirit's role in revealing what is freely given

Word Family / Cognates¶

G5485 χάρις (charis) — grace, favor, kindness (156 occurrences). The parent noun from which charizomai is derived.
G5486 χάρισμα (charisma) — a free gift, gracious endowment (17 occurrences). The result or product of charizomai.
G5463 χαίρω (chairo) — to rejoice, be glad (74 occurrences). The primary verb behind the entire word family; connects grace to joy.
G5479 χαρά (chara) — joy, gladness (51 occurrences). The experiential outcome of grace.
G2168 εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteo) — to give thanks (39 occurrences). Compound of eu + charizomai root; grateful response to grace.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἀφίημι (aphiemi)	G863	"forgave," "forgive"	aphiemi = release, let go, send away (sin removed); charizomai = cancel as a favor (debt graced away)
כָּפַר (kaphar)	H3722	"forgave" (OT)	kaphar = cover, make atonement (ritual focus); charizomai = gracious bestowal (relational focus)
נָשָׂא (nasa)	H5375	"forgiving"	nasa = lift, carry, bear away (sin borne); charizomai = grant pardon as a gift

Semantic Domain¶

Reconciliation and Forgiveness (Louw-Nida 40): - ἀφίημι (G863) — release, forgive, let go - ἄφεσις (G859) — forgiveness, release - ἱλάσκομαι (G2433) — propitiate, make atonement - ἱλασμός (G2434) — propitiation, atoning sacrifice - ἱλαστήριος (G2435) — mercy seat, place of propitiation - ἐπικαλύπτω (G1943) — cover over (sins)

Hebrew Source¶

No direct Hebrew source found via LXX alignment. Charizomai is a distinctly Greek NT word formed from the charis root. The concept of gracious giving/forgiving exists in Hebrew vocabulary through chen (H2580, favor) and its cognates, but no single Hebrew verb maps directly to charizomai through the LXX.