TR: basar → euangelizo (Bear Tidings / Evangelize)¶

The Chain¶

Hebrew OT              LXX (Greek OT)              Greek NT
───────────            ───────────────              ────────
בָּשַׂר (basar)     →  εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizo)  →  εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizo)
H1319, 21x in OT       LXX co-occ: 18x              52x in NT
"bear good tidings"     PMI score: 29.44              "preach the gospel"

OT Usage (Hebrew)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H1319	בָּשַׂר (basar)	21 vv	bear tidings, preach good news, publish
H1309	בְּשׂוֹרָה (besorah)	6 vv	glad tidings, reward for good news (cognate noun)

Key OT passages: - Isa 52:7 — "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (mevasser), that publisheth peace... that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" - Isa 61:1 — "The LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings (levassar) unto the meek" - Nah 1:15 — "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (mevasser), that publisheth peace!"

Library entry: H1319-basar.md

LXX Bridge¶

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Count	Notes
basar (H1319)	εὐαγγελίζω (G2097)	18x	Dominant equivalent — used across all prophetic passages
basar (H1319)	ἀλλόφυλος (G246)	4x	"Philistine" context, not a semantic translation

Reverse: what Hebrew words map to G2097 in the LXX?

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Notes
בָּשַׂר (basar)	H1319	18x	Dominant — virtually exclusive source
אָמַר ('amar)	H559	10x	General "say" — co-occurrence, not a translation

The bridge is nearly exclusive in both directions: basar maps to euangelizo, and euangelizo maps back almost entirely to basar. This is one of the tightest Hebrew-Greek semantic equivalences in the LXX for a theologically significant term.

Semantic shift in translation: Minimal shift. Both the Hebrew basar and the Greek euangelizo carry the core sense of "announce good news." The Greek word is more etymologically transparent (eu- "good" + angelizo "announce"), making the positive valence explicit, whereas the Hebrew can occasionally describe neutral or even unwelcome news (Jer 20:15). In the prophetic passages that define the theological usage (Isa 40:9; 52:7; 61:1), the Hebrew already carries the positive "good tidings" sense that euangelizo formalizes.

NT Usage (Greek)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G2097	εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizo)	52 vv	announce good news, preach the gospel
G2098	εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion)	74 vv	the gospel, good news (cognate noun)
G2099	εὐαγγελιστής (euangelistes)	3 vv	evangelist, preacher of good news (agent noun)

Key NT passages: - Luke 4:18 — "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel (euangelisasthai) to the poor" — direct quotation of Isa 61:1 - Rom 10:15 — "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel (euangelizomenon) of peace" — quoting Isa 52:7 - Acts 10:36 — "preaching peace (euangelizomenos eirenen) by Jesus Christ" — echoing Isa 52:7

Library entries: G2098-euangelion.md | G2097-euangelizo.md

Direct OT→NT Quotations¶

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Word	Significance
Luke 4:18	Isa 61:1	basar → euangelizo	Jesus' programmatic declaration — applies the mevasser role to himself
Rom 10:15	Isa 52:7	basar → euangelizo	Paul applies the mevasser image to apostolic preaching
Matt 11:5	Isa 61:1 (allusion)	basar → euangelizo	"the poor have the gospel preached to them" — Jesus' reply to John the Baptist
Eph 2:17	Isa 52:7 (allusion)	basar → euangelizo	"came and preached peace to you which were afar off"

Continuity and Shifts¶

What stays the same across testaments: - The herald announces God's saving action — both OT mevasser and NT euangelizomenos carry news of divine deliverance - The content includes "peace" (shalom / eirene) — Isa 52:7 "publisheth peace" → Eph 2:17 "preached peace" - The good news is directed to the afflicted/humble — Isa 61:1 "meek" → Luke 4:18 "poor" - The proclamation has a messenger who is sent — the herald model persists from battlefield runner to apostle

What shifts: - From event-report to person-centered message: OT basar announces what God has done (reign, salvation, peace); NT euangelizo announces who Jesus is - From prophetic anticipation to historical fulfillment: Isaiah's mevasser awaits a future herald; Luke 4:18-21 declares "This day is this scripture fulfilled" - From occasional to programmatic: basar appears 21x in the entire OT; euangelizo appears 52x in the NT, and the noun euangelion 74x — the concept explodes in scope - From Israel-centered to universal: OT basar brings news to Zion; NT euangelizo extends "to every creature" (Mark 16:15), "to every nation" (Rev 14:6)