G859 — ἄφεσις (aphesis)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G859
Original: ἄφεσις
Transliteration: áphesis
Pronunciation: af'-es-is
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From G863 ἀφίημι (aphiēmi, "to send away, release, forgive") — the nominal form of the verb
Occurrences: 17 tokens across 16 unique NT verses
Books: 7 (Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Ephesians, Colossians, Hebrews)
First Occurrence: Mat 26:28 — "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G863 ἀφίημι (aphiēmi); freedom; (figuratively) pardon — deliverance, forgiveness, remission. Literally "a sending away" or "release." The noun captures the completed act or state that the verb ἀφίημι performs: the release itself.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

Domain	Label	Sense
040.002	Reconciliation, Forgiveness — Forgiveness	To pardon, to forgive, forgiveness
037.010	Control, Rule — Release, Set Free	Release, liberty, deliverance

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[040] Reconciliation, Forgiveness — the remission/pardon cluster that dominates aphesis in NT usage.
[037] Control, Rule — the release/liberty field reflected most clearly in Luke 4:18.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
forgiveness	5	31.2%
the remission	5	31.2%
remission	4	25.0%
deliverance	1	6.2%
liberty	1	6.2%
the forgiveness	1	6.2%

Note: "remission" and "forgiveness" account for 93.8% of uses. The two outliers ("deliverance" and "liberty") both come from Luke 4:18, where aphesis appears twice in its release/freedom sense rather than its sin-forgiveness sense.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Colossians	1	1.1
Hebrews	2	0.7
Ephesians	1	0.6
Acts	5	0.5
Mark	2	0.3
Luke	4	0.3
Matthew	1	0.1

Concentrated in Luke-Acts (9 of 17 tokens = 53%), consistent with Luke's emphasis on salvation as release. Absent from John, Paul's major epistles (Romans, Corinthians, Galatians), and Revelation. Paul prefers δικαιόω (dikaioō) and χαρίζομαι (charizomai) for forgiveness concepts.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Forgiveness/Remission of Sins (Proclamation Formula)¶

The dominant use — aphesis paired with ἁμαρτιῶν (hamartiōn, "of sins") in kerygmatic declarations: - Mat 26:28 — "my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" - Mar 1:4 — "preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" - Luk 24:47 — "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations" - Act 2:38 — "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" - Act 10:43 — "through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins"

2. Forgiveness Through Redemption (Blood/Ransom Motif)¶

Aphesis linked explicitly to Christ's blood or redemptive work: - Eph 1:7 — "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" - Col 1:14 — "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" - Heb 9:22 — "almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission"

3. Forgiveness as Divine Gift/Grant¶

Aphesis presented as something God gives or withholds: - Luk 1:77 — "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins" - Act 5:31 — "Him hath God exalted... for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" - Mar 3:29 — "he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness" (the sole negative — aphesis withheld)

4. Release/Liberty (Non-Sin Sense)¶

The physical-release meaning, appearing only in Luke 4:18 (quoting Isa 61:1): - Luk 4:18 — "to preach deliverance to the captives... to set at liberty them that are bruised"

5. Cessation of Offering (Cultic Finality)¶

Aphesis as the condition that terminates sacrifice: - Heb 10:18 — "Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
αἷμα (haima)	G129	4× (25%)	"through his blood... forgiveness" — blood as the basis for aphesis
κηρύσσω (kēryssō)	G2784	4× (25%)	"preach... remission of sins" — aphesis as gospel content
μετάνοια (metanoia)	G3341	4× (25%)	"repentance and remission of sins" — paired as twin gospel imperatives
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	4× (25%)	"every one," "all nations," "all the prophets" — universality of aphesis
λαμβάνω (lambanō)	G2983	3× (19%)	"receive remission" — aphesis as something received
ὄνομα (onoma)	G3686	3× (19%)	"in his name" — aphesis granted through Christ's name/authority
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	3× (19%)	Holy Spirit context — Spirit linked to proclamation of aphesis
ἀπολύτρωσις (apolytrōsis)	G629	2× (12%)	"redemption... forgiveness" — aphesis as explanatory appositive to redemption
βαπτίζω (baptizō)	G907	2× (12%)	"baptism of repentance for the remission of sins"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G863 ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) — root verb: "to send away, release, leave, forgive" (133 unique verses). Aphesis is the abstract noun derived from this verb.

Synonyms¶

G3929 πάρεσις (paresis) — "passing over" / forbearance; neighboring remission vocabulary surfaced by search_relationships.py.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G859.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
πάρεσις (paresis)	G3929	"remission" (Rom 3:25)	paresis = passing over / tolerating sins (temporary forbearance); aphesis = full release/cancellation of sins (permanent forgiveness)
סְלִיחָה (çᵉlîychâh)	H5547	"forgiveness" (Neh 9:17, Ps 130:4, Dan 9:9)	OT Hebrew noun for pardon; aphesis is the NT Greek equivalent but derived from a "release" metaphor rather than a "pardon" metaphor

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 040.002 — Forgiveness)¶

Word	Strong's	Verses	Key Difference
ἀφίημι (aphiēmi)	G863	133	The verb form — the act of forgiving; aphesis is the noun — the state/fact of forgiveness
χαρίζομαι (charizomai)	G5483	19	Grace-rooted forgiving — "to grant freely as a favor"; emphasizes the giver's generosity
ἐπικαλύπτω (epikalyptō)	G1943	1	"to cover over" (Rom 4:7 quoting Ps 32:1) — forgiveness as covering, not release
ἱλάσκομαι (hilaskomai)	G2433	2	Propitiation/mercy — Godward satisfaction; aphesis is the manward result (release)
ἱλασμός (hilasmos)	G2434	2	The means/instrument of propitiation (1 Jn 2:2, 4:10); aphesis is the outcome
ἀπολύω (apolyō)	G630	66	Physical release/dismissal; overlaps with aphesis only in the "set free" sense

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
יוֹבֵל (yôwbêl)	H3104	18	8.77	Jubilee — year of release; aphesis as the LXX term for the Jubilee institution
דְּרוֹר (dᵉrôwr)	H1865	6	8.96	Liberty, freedom — proclaimed at Jubilee (Lev 25:10, Isa 61:1)
שְׁמִטָּה (shᵉmiṭṭâh)	H8059	4	9.18	Remission of debt — sabbatical-year release (Deut 15:1-3)

The LXX data reveals that aphesis is fundamentally a Jubilee/release word in the OT. It translates the institutional vocabulary of economic and social liberation (debt remission, slave release, land reversion). The NT theological application — forgiveness of sins — builds on this Jubilee theology: sin is a debt to be released, and Christ proclaims the ultimate Jubilee (cf. Luke 4:18–19 quoting Isa 61:1–2).

Morphological Notes¶

From the Greek parser output (17 tokens):

Case	Count	Typical Context
Accusative singular (ἄφεσιν)	13	Object of prepositions εἰς/πρός — "for/toward remission"
Nominative singular (ἄφεσις)	3	Subject — "forgiveness is preached" (Acts 13:38), "there is no remission" (Heb 9:22, 10:18)
Dative singular (ἀφέσει)	2	Instrumental/locative — "by the remission" (Luk 1:77), "at liberty" (Luk 4:18)

The strong accusative bias (76%) reflects that aphesis is overwhelmingly the purpose or goal of proclamation — "preach/baptize for remission."