Bible Lexicons

In Egypt ἄφεσις τοῦ ὕδατος was apparently a technical expression for the ";release"; of the water from the sluices or canals for the purpose of irrigation, e.g. P Petr II.13(2).12 ff. (B.C. 258–3) ἵνα ἐπισκευασθῶσι πρὸ τῆς τ ́οῦ ὕδατος ἀφέσεως , ";in order that they (sc. bridges) may be finished before the letting loose of the water"; (Ed.), ib. III. 39.12, and 44 verso ii. 19 f. τ [ῶν κατ ]ὰ Πτολεμαίδα ἀ [φ ]έσεων ἠνώιξαμεν β ̄ θῦ [ρας ]. In this sense the noun may be concrete, meaning apparently a ";channel"; or ";sluice"; : P Oxy VI. 918v. 20 (ii/A.D.) ἀπηλ (ιώτου ) ὁδὸ (ς ) δημοσί (α ) ἐν η ἄφεσις λιθίνη . Hence, as Deissmann has shown (BS p. 98 ff.), the increased vividness for the Egyptians of the pictures in Joel 1:20, Lamentations 3:47 through the use of ἀφέσεις by the LXX translators. The word is similarly employed to denote the official ";release"; of the harvest after the taxes had been paid, in order that the cultivators might then use it for their own purposes, as P Petr II. 2(1).9 f. (B.C. 260–59) τῆς μ ]ισθώσεως διαγορευούσης κομίσασθαι [αὐτὸ ]ν τ [ὰ ] ἐκφόρια ὅταν ἡ ἄφεσις δοθῇ , P Amh II. 43.9 (B.C. 173) ὅταν ἡ ἄφεσις τῶν πυρίνων καρπῶν γένηται , ";whenever the release of the wheat crops takes place"; (Edd. : see their note ad l. and cf. Archiv iv. p. 60). The editors regard it as very doubtful whether the difficult phrase γῆ ἐν ἀφέσει , P Tebt I. 5.37 al (B.C. 118), is to be explained in the same way, and in their note on P Tebt II. 325.5 they suggest ";in reduction,"; or ";on reduced terms"; as a possible rendering. Mahaffy (P Petr III. p. 35) translates the same phrase in P Par 63.177 (B.C. 165) by ";privileged land."; A nearer approach to the Pauline use for ";forgiveness"; is afforded by the occurrence of the word in inscriptions for remission from debt or punishment, e.g. Michel 1340b. .7 (Cnidus, ii/B.C.) τᾶς τε ἀφέσιος τοῦ ταλάντου ὅ φαν [τι ] ἀφεῖσθαι Καλύμνιοι ὑπὸ Παυσιμάχου , Syll 226.166 (Olbia on the Euxine, ii/i/B.C.) τοῖς μὲν ἀφέσεις ἐποιήσατο τῶν χρημάτων (and exacted no interest from other debtors), Magn 93(c).14 ff. τὰ γὰρ ὀφειλόμ [ενα κατὰ τ ]ὴν καταδίκην τῆς καθηκούσης τετευχέναι ἐξαγωγῆς ἤτοι εἰσ [πραχθείσης τ ]ῆς καταδίκης ἤ ἀφέσεως γενομένης : see also CIG 2058b. .70 (Olbia, ii/i B.C.), 2335.6 (Delos, time of Pompey) (Nägeli, p. 56). With a gen. pers. it denotes the ";release"; of prisoners or captives, as Luke 4:18, Syll 197.21 (B.C. 284–3) ὅσοι δ ]ὲ αἰχμάλωτοι ἐγένοντο , ἐμφανίσας τῷ βα [σιλεῖ καὶ ] λαβὼν αὐτοῖς ἄφε [σ ]ιν κτλ ., or ";release"; from some public duty, as P Oxy VII. 1020.6 (A.D. 198–201) ο ̣̔ ἡγούμ [ενος ] τοῦ ἔθνους τὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς ἀφέσε ̣ως ἐκδικ [ήσει . In P Tebt II. 404.1 (late iii/A.D.) what seems to be the heading of a set of accounts runs Λόγο [ς ] ἀφέσε ̣ως στατήρων ρ ̣̄λ ̣̄ : the editors render ";expenditure (?)."; It should also be noted that the word was a term. techn. in astrology : see index to Vettius, p. 377. Thus p. 225.16 χρὴ ταῖς λοιπαῖς τῶν ἀστέρων ἀφέσεσι καὶ μαρτυρίαις καὶ ἀκτινοβολίαις προσέχειν . See also Abbott Joh. Voc. p. 178 f., with a correction in Fourfold Gospel, p. 59.

[Supplemental from 1930 edition]

Add P Strass I. 55, introd.