In Ephesians 4:32, is χαρίζομαι really about forgiveness, per se, or is it about “showering with generosity” (“prodigali
Posted: February 2nd, 2020, 8:33 am
[Eph 4:32 NLT] (32) Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
[Eph 4:32 MGNT] (32) γίνεσθε δὲ εἰς ἀλλήλους χρηστοί εὔσπλαγχνοι χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς καθὼς καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν
χαρίζομαι (χάρις; Hom.+) mid. dep.: fut. χαρίσομαι Ro 8:32 (also Lucian, Dial. Mort. 9, 1; Jos., Ant. 2, 28; for Att. χαριοῦμαι); 1 aor. ἐχαρισάμην; pf. κεχάρισμαι. Pass., w. pass. sense: 1 fut. χαρισθήσομαι Phlm 22; 1 aor. ἐχαρίσθην Ac 3:14; 1 Cor 2:12; Phil 1:29.
① to give freely as a favor, give graciously (a common term in honorific documents lauding officials and civic-minded pers. for their beneficence, s. SIG index and indexes of other inscriptional corpora) of God (so Ael. Aristid. 39, 3 K.=18 p. 409 D.; Herm. Wr. 12, 12; 16, 5 and p. 462, 30; 490, 9; 35; 492, 11 Sc.; 3 Macc 5:11; EpArist 196; TestSim 4:6; Jos., Ant. 3, 87; 4, 317) θεὸν … τὰ ἐκεῖ θαυμάσια χαριζόμενον God, who graciously bestows wonderful things from the world beyond (as opposed to the finery of this world, which in contrast is ‘shit’; s. δεινός and σκύβαλον) AcPl Ha 2, 23f. τινί τι someth. to someone (Appian, Bell. Civ. 1, 79 §360 χαρίζεσθαί τινι τὴν σωτηρίαν; Paus. 6, 18, 4 χαρίσασθαί μοι τήνδε ὦ βασιλεῦ τὴν χάριν; TestAbr A 3 p. 79, 30 [Stone p. 6] τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν) Ro 8:32; Phil 2:9; 2 Cl 1:4; Hs 9, 28, 6; D 10:3. This is also the place for Gal 3:18 if τὴν κληρονομίαν is to be supplied fr. the context (but s. end of this sec.). τυφλοῖς ἐχαρίσατο βλέπειν to the blind he granted the power of sight Lk 7:21 (v.l. τὸ βλέπειν; cp. Plut., Mor. 609a; 2 Macc 3:31, 33). ὁ χαρισάμενος ὑμῖν τοιοῦτον ἐπίσκοπον κεκτῆσθαι the one who (by his favor) granted you to obtain such a bishop IEph 1:3. Pass. 1 Cor 2:12. ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ πάσχειν you have (graciously) been granted the privilege of suffering for Christ Phil 1:29.—χ. τινά τινι give or grant someone to someone (Semonides 7, 93f D.3: Zeus χαρίζεταί τινά τινι=Z. grants one [i.e., a good wife] to someone) κεχάρισταί σοι ὁ θεὸς πάντας τοὺς πλέοντας μετά σου God has given you all those who are sailing with you, i.e. at your request God has granted them safety fr. deadly danger Ac 27:24. The one who is ‘given’ escapes death or further imprisonment by being handed over to those who wish him freed ᾐτήσασθε ἄνδρα φονέα χαρισθῆναι ὑμῖν Ac 3:14. Cp. Phlm 22 (Diod S 13, 59, 3 ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ τοὺς συγγενεῖσ=he granted him his [captured] relatives [and set them free]; Plut., C. Gracch. 836 [4, 3] χ. τὸν Ὀκτάβιον τῇ μητρί; PFlor 61, 61 [I A.D.] cited s.v. ὄχλος 1a, end; Jos., Vi. 355.—On the ‘giving’ of Barabbas s. JMerkel, Die Begnadigung am Passahfeste: ZNW 6, 1905, 293–316). On the other hand, the giving of a man to those who wish him ill results in harm to him (cp. Jos., Vi. 53) οὐδείς με δύναται αὐτοῖς χαρίσασθαι Ac 25:11; cp. vs. 16 (without dat., which is easily supplied; the v.l. adds εἰς ἀπώλειαν to it). Ign. rejects every attempt of others to save his life, because he wishes to leave the world and be with God, and martyrdom opens the way for this: τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντα εἶναι κόσμῳ μὴ χαρίσησθε do not give to the world the one who wishes to belong to God IRo 6:2.—W. only the dat. χ. τινι show oneself to be gracious to someone (Diod S 14, 11, 1; Appian, Bell. Civ. 2, 112 §467; SIG 354, 4f βουλόμενος χαρίζεσθαι τῷ δήμῳ; ApcEsdr 25:7 τοὺς δικαίους τί χαρίζεις; Jos., Ant. 17, 222; Eunap. p. 77 Boiss.) Gal 3:18 (s. above; also Betz, Gal. ad loc.).
② to cancel a sum of money that is owed, cancel (Ps.-Aeschin., Ep. 12, 14; Philo, Spec. Leg. 2, 39 τὰ δάνεια) Lk 7:42f. This forms a transition to
③ to show oneself gracious by forgiving wrongdoing, forgive, pardon (Dionys. Hal. 5, 4, 3; Jos., Ant. 6, 144 ἁμαρτήματα χαρίζεσθαι) w. dat. of pers. and acc. of thing (TestJob 43:1 αὐτοῖς … τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν) χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν πάντα τὰ παραπτώματα Col 2:13; cp. 2 Cor 2:10a; 12:13. W. dat. of pers. alone Eph 4:32ab; Col 3:13ab (Plut., Mor. 488a χαίρειν τῷ χαρίζεσθαι μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς ἢ τῷ νικᾶν=to delight in doing them favors rather than getting the better of them). W. acc. of thing alone 2 Cor 2:10bc. Abs. (cp. EpArist 215) rather forgive 2 Cor 2:7.—B. 1174. DELG s.v. χάρις. M-M. EDNT. TW.
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 1078). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[Eph 4:32 MGNT] (32) γίνεσθε δὲ εἰς ἀλλήλους χρηστοί εὔσπλαγχνοι χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς καθὼς καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν
χαρίζομαι (χάρις; Hom.+) mid. dep.: fut. χαρίσομαι Ro 8:32 (also Lucian, Dial. Mort. 9, 1; Jos., Ant. 2, 28; for Att. χαριοῦμαι); 1 aor. ἐχαρισάμην; pf. κεχάρισμαι. Pass., w. pass. sense: 1 fut. χαρισθήσομαι Phlm 22; 1 aor. ἐχαρίσθην Ac 3:14; 1 Cor 2:12; Phil 1:29.
① to give freely as a favor, give graciously (a common term in honorific documents lauding officials and civic-minded pers. for their beneficence, s. SIG index and indexes of other inscriptional corpora) of God (so Ael. Aristid. 39, 3 K.=18 p. 409 D.; Herm. Wr. 12, 12; 16, 5 and p. 462, 30; 490, 9; 35; 492, 11 Sc.; 3 Macc 5:11; EpArist 196; TestSim 4:6; Jos., Ant. 3, 87; 4, 317) θεὸν … τὰ ἐκεῖ θαυμάσια χαριζόμενον God, who graciously bestows wonderful things from the world beyond (as opposed to the finery of this world, which in contrast is ‘shit’; s. δεινός and σκύβαλον) AcPl Ha 2, 23f. τινί τι someth. to someone (Appian, Bell. Civ. 1, 79 §360 χαρίζεσθαί τινι τὴν σωτηρίαν; Paus. 6, 18, 4 χαρίσασθαί μοι τήνδε ὦ βασιλεῦ τὴν χάριν; TestAbr A 3 p. 79, 30 [Stone p. 6] τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν) Ro 8:32; Phil 2:9; 2 Cl 1:4; Hs 9, 28, 6; D 10:3. This is also the place for Gal 3:18 if τὴν κληρονομίαν is to be supplied fr. the context (but s. end of this sec.). τυφλοῖς ἐχαρίσατο βλέπειν to the blind he granted the power of sight Lk 7:21 (v.l. τὸ βλέπειν; cp. Plut., Mor. 609a; 2 Macc 3:31, 33). ὁ χαρισάμενος ὑμῖν τοιοῦτον ἐπίσκοπον κεκτῆσθαι the one who (by his favor) granted you to obtain such a bishop IEph 1:3. Pass. 1 Cor 2:12. ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ πάσχειν you have (graciously) been granted the privilege of suffering for Christ Phil 1:29.—χ. τινά τινι give or grant someone to someone (Semonides 7, 93f D.3: Zeus χαρίζεταί τινά τινι=Z. grants one [i.e., a good wife] to someone) κεχάρισταί σοι ὁ θεὸς πάντας τοὺς πλέοντας μετά σου God has given you all those who are sailing with you, i.e. at your request God has granted them safety fr. deadly danger Ac 27:24. The one who is ‘given’ escapes death or further imprisonment by being handed over to those who wish him freed ᾐτήσασθε ἄνδρα φονέα χαρισθῆναι ὑμῖν Ac 3:14. Cp. Phlm 22 (Diod S 13, 59, 3 ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ τοὺς συγγενεῖσ=he granted him his [captured] relatives [and set them free]; Plut., C. Gracch. 836 [4, 3] χ. τὸν Ὀκτάβιον τῇ μητρί; PFlor 61, 61 [I A.D.] cited s.v. ὄχλος 1a, end; Jos., Vi. 355.—On the ‘giving’ of Barabbas s. JMerkel, Die Begnadigung am Passahfeste: ZNW 6, 1905, 293–316). On the other hand, the giving of a man to those who wish him ill results in harm to him (cp. Jos., Vi. 53) οὐδείς με δύναται αὐτοῖς χαρίσασθαι Ac 25:11; cp. vs. 16 (without dat., which is easily supplied; the v.l. adds εἰς ἀπώλειαν to it). Ign. rejects every attempt of others to save his life, because he wishes to leave the world and be with God, and martyrdom opens the way for this: τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντα εἶναι κόσμῳ μὴ χαρίσησθε do not give to the world the one who wishes to belong to God IRo 6:2.—W. only the dat. χ. τινι show oneself to be gracious to someone (Diod S 14, 11, 1; Appian, Bell. Civ. 2, 112 §467; SIG 354, 4f βουλόμενος χαρίζεσθαι τῷ δήμῳ; ApcEsdr 25:7 τοὺς δικαίους τί χαρίζεις; Jos., Ant. 17, 222; Eunap. p. 77 Boiss.) Gal 3:18 (s. above; also Betz, Gal. ad loc.).
② to cancel a sum of money that is owed, cancel (Ps.-Aeschin., Ep. 12, 14; Philo, Spec. Leg. 2, 39 τὰ δάνεια) Lk 7:42f. This forms a transition to
③ to show oneself gracious by forgiving wrongdoing, forgive, pardon (Dionys. Hal. 5, 4, 3; Jos., Ant. 6, 144 ἁμαρτήματα χαρίζεσθαι) w. dat. of pers. and acc. of thing (TestJob 43:1 αὐτοῖς … τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν) χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν πάντα τὰ παραπτώματα Col 2:13; cp. 2 Cor 2:10a; 12:13. W. dat. of pers. alone Eph 4:32ab; Col 3:13ab (Plut., Mor. 488a χαίρειν τῷ χαρίζεσθαι μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς ἢ τῷ νικᾶν=to delight in doing them favors rather than getting the better of them). W. acc. of thing alone 2 Cor 2:10bc. Abs. (cp. EpArist 215) rather forgive 2 Cor 2:7.—B. 1174. DELG s.v. χάρις. M-M. EDNT. TW.
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 1078). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.