TR: râtsâh → eudokeō (Acceptance/Divine Pleasure)¶

The Chain¶

Hebrew OT              LXX (Greek OT)              Greek NT
──────────────        ──────────────────          ────────────
רָצָה (râtsâh)     →  εὐδοκέω (eudokeō)       →  εὐδοκέω (eudokeō)
H7521, 54v in OT      21x as translation           21v in NT
"be pleased with,      of râtsâh                   "be well pleased,
 accept"                PMI: 25.20                   think well of"

OT Usage (Hebrew)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H7521	רָצָה (râtsâh)	54v	be pleased with, accept, delight in
H7522	רָצוֹן (râtsôwn)	56v	favour, acceptance, delight, will (cognate noun)

Key OT passages: - Psalm 147:11 — "The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy" - Lev 1:4 — "it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him" - Isa 42:1 — "mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him"

H7521-ratsah.md | H7522-ratsown.md

LXX Bridge¶

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
râtsâh (H7521)	εὐδοκέω (G2106)	21x	25.20	Primary equivalent — divine pleasure
râtsâh (H7521)	προσδέχομαι (G4327)	12x	18.84	"Receive favourably" — sacrificial acceptance
râtsâh (H7521)	δέχομαι (G1209)	8x	13.53	"Receive, accept" — general acceptance
râtsâh (H7521)	δεκτός (G1184)	4x	9.35	"Acceptable" — adjectival form

Reverse: what Hebrew words feed into G2106 eudokeō?

Hebrew	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
רָצָה râtsâh (H7521)	21x	25.20	Dominant source — "be pleased with"
חָפֵץ châphêts (H2654)	5x	10.30	Secondary — "delight in, desire"
אָז ʼâz (H227)	3x	5.71	Incidental — temporal particle

Semantic continuity in translation: Strong continuity. Both the Hebrew râtsâh and the Greek eudokeō express evaluative pleasure — a subject finding something or someone worthy of approval. The LXX chose eudokeō specifically for the divine-pleasure sense of râtsâh (God being pleased with persons, offerings, or conduct), while using prosdechomai and dechomai for the more transactional "receive/accept" sense. This division means eudokeō entered the NT pre-loaded with specifically divine evaluative connotations.

NT Usage (Greek)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G2106	εὐδοκέω (eudokeō)	21v	be well pleased, think well of, take pleasure in
G2107	εὐδοκία (eudokia)	9v	good pleasure, good will, desire (cognate noun)

Key NT passages: - Matt 3:17 — "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" - Heb 10:6 — "In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure" - 1 Cor 10:5 — "with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness" - Col 1:19 — "it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell"

TODO(need G2106 study)

Direct OT→NT Quotations¶

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Word	Significance
Matt 12:18	Isa 42:1	râtsâh → eudokeō	"my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased" — the Servant passage applied to Jesus; LXX eudokeō renders Hebrew râtsâh
Heb 10:6, 8	Psalm 40:6 (LXX 39:7)	râtsâh → eudokeō	"thou hast had no pleasure" in burnt offerings — Hebrews uses the LXX eudokeō to argue sacrificial system was provisional
Heb 10:38	Hab 2:4	—	"my soul shall have no pleasure in him" — uses eudokeō for divine displeasure at apostasy

Continuity and Shifts¶

What stays the same across testaments: - The core sense of evaluative divine pleasure — God finding someone or something acceptable — carries intact from OT râtsâh through LXX eudokeō into the NT - The sacrificial context persists: OT "accepted for him to make atonement" → NT "in burnt offerings thou hast had no pleasure" (Heb 10:6) - The personal relational sense persists: OT "my soul delighteth" (Isa 42:1) → NT "in whom I am well pleased" (Matt 3:17)

What shifts: - The NT intensifies the christological application: the baptismal voice (Matt 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22, 2 Pet 1:17) concentrates divine eudokeō on a single person — the Son — whereas OT râtsâh is distributed across Israel, individuals, offerings, and land - The NT expands to human willing/choosing: Paul uses eudokeō for human decisions ("we were willing," 1 Thess 2:8; "it pleased them of Macedonia," Rom 15:26), a usage rare in the OT where râtsâh is overwhelmingly God-directed (37% YHWH collocation) - Hebrews deploys the negative form ("no pleasure in burnt offerings") to argue that the entire sacrificial system anticipated its own replacement — turning the OT Niphal "be accepted" on its head