TR: râtsôwn → δεκτός (Favour / Acceptability)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
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רָצוֹן (râtsôwn) → δεκτός (dektós) → δεκτός (dektós)
H7522, 56x in OT 23x as translation 5x in NT
"favour, delight, of râtsôwn "accepted, acceptable"
acceptable, will" PMI score: 26.39
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| H7522 | רָצוֹן (râtsôwn) | 56 | favour, delight, acceptance, (sovereign) will |
| H7521 | רָצָה (râtsâh) | 57 | to be pleased with, to accept, to be favourable |
Key OT passages: - Isa 49:8 — "In an acceptable time (râtsôwn) have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee" - Isa 61:2 — "To proclaim the acceptable year (râtsôwn) of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God" - Psalm 69:13 — "my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time (râtsôwn): O God, in the multitude of thy mercy"
See: H7522-ratsown.md
LXX Bridge¶
| Hebrew | Greek Translation | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| râtsôwn (H7522) | δεκτός (G1184) | 23x | Primary LXX equivalent — "accepted, acceptable, propitious" |
| râtsôwn (H7522) | εὐδοκία (G2107) | 7x | "good pleasure" — used esp. for God's inner delight |
| râtsôwn (H7522) | θέλημα (G2307) | 11x | "will" — used esp. in Daniel's sovereign-will contexts |
Reverse (what Hebrew words δεκτός translates):
| Hebrew | Strong's | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| râtsôwn | H7522 | 23x | Dominant source |
| zebach (sacrifice) | H2077 | 6x | Contextual — acceptable sacrifice |
| râtsâh (verb) | H7521 | 4x | Root verb of râtsôwn |
| tâmîym (blameless) | H8549 | 3x | Contextual — unblemished offering |
| tôwʻêbah (abomination) | H8441 | 3x | Antithetical context (LXX negated) |
Semantic shift: The Hebrew râtsôwn covers a wide range — from cultic acceptability to royal will to God's gracious favour. The LXX δεκτός captures the "accepted/acceptable" pole but shifts the emphasis toward a more formal legal/cultic sense of being approved. The εὐδοκία and θέλημα renderings capture the relational and volitional poles respectively.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1184 | δεκτός (dektós) | 5 | accepted, acceptable, propitious |
KJV translation of G1184: "accepted" (3x), "acceptable" (1x), "the acceptable" (1x)
Key NT passages: - Luke 4:19 — "To preach the acceptable (δεκτός) year of the Lord" [quoting Isa 61:2 LXX — direct OT→NT trace through this exact word] - Acts 10:35 — "in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted (δεκτός) with him" - 2 Cor 6:2 — "I have heard thee in a time accepted (δεκτός), and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time" [quoting Isa 49:8 LXX] - Phil 4:18 — "an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable (δεκτός), well-pleasing to God" [cultic echo of râtsôwn in Levitical offerings]
Note: G1184 is a minor NT word (5x) but theologically pivotal at Luke 4:19 where Jesus reads Isa 61:1-2 and declares "This day is this scripture fulfilled." The chain runs: râtsôwn (Isa 61:2) → LXX δεκτός → Jesus' proclamation.
Direct OT→NT Quotations¶
| NT Verse | Quotes OT | Shared Word | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luke 4:19 | Isa 61:2 | râtsôwn → δεκτός | "acceptable year of the Lord" — Jesus applies Isa 61 to his own ministry |
| 2 Cor 6:2 | Isa 49:8 | râtsôwn → δεκτός | Paul cites "acceptable time" as fulfilled now in the gospel age |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same across testaments: - The cultic idiom of an offering or action being "accepted/acceptable before God" persists from Leviticus through Phil 4:18 - The "acceptable time/year" idiom (עֵת רָצוֹן / καιρὸς δεκτός) is directly quoted in NT - The divine initiative: râtsôwn/δεκτός signals God's pleased acceptance, not earned merit
What shifts: - In the OT, râtsôwn spans cultic, wisdom, royal, and devotional domains; in the NT δεκτός is narrower — mainly the cultic/temporal senses survive in direct quotation - The "sovereign will" sense (Dan 11: "do according to his will") does not carry into NT via δεκτός — θέλημα (G2307) absorbs that semantic range in the NT - εὐδοκία (G2107) — the LXX's rendering for God's inner delight/pleasure (7x for râtsôwn) — becomes a major NT word (9x, notably Luke 2:14 "goodwill toward men"), making it the fuller heir to râtsôwn's relational-favour sense
Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, kjv.txt, search_strongs.py --lookup --lexicon Last updated: 2026-04-02