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Bible Dictionaries
Conversion
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or CONVERSION . The noun occurs only in Acts 15:3 ( epistrophç ), but in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘convert’ is found several times both in OT (Heb. shûbh ) and NT (Gr. epistrephô, strephô ) to denote a spiritual turning, RV [Note: Revised Version.] in most cases substituting ‘ turn .’ ‘Turn’ is to he preferred because (1) in the Eng. of AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘convert’ meant no more than ‘turn’; (2) ‘conversion’ has come to be employed in a sense that often goes beyond the meaning of the originals. RV [Note: Revised Version.] has further corrected AV [Note: Authorized Version.] by giving act. ‘turn’ for pass. ‘be converted’ in Matthew 13:15; Matthew 18:3 , Mark 4:12 , Luke 22:32 , John 12:40 , Acts 3:19; Acts 28:27 , where the Gr. vbs. are reflexive in meaning. In OT shûbh is used to denote a turning, whether of the nation ( Deuteronomy 30:10 , 2 Kings 17:13 etc.) or of the individual ( Psalms 51:13 , Isaiah 55:7 etc.). In NT epistrephô, strephô are used esp. of individuals, but sometimes in a sense that falls short of ‘conversion’ as the conscious change implied in becoming a Christian. Matthew 18:3 was spoken to true disciples, and the ‘conversion’ demanded of them was a renunciation of their foolish ambitions (cf. v. 1). Luke 22:32 was addressed to the leader of the Apostles, and his ‘conversion’ was his return to his Master’s service after his fall. In Acts and Epp., however, ‘convert’ or ‘turn’ is employed to denote conversion in the full Christian sense ( Acts 3:19; Acts 9:35; Acts 11:21; Acts 14:15 [cf. Acts 15:3 ‘conversion’], 2 Corinthians 3:16 , 1 Thessalonians 1:9 ). Conversion as a spiritual fact comes before us repeatedly in the Gospels ( Luke 7:47 ff; Luke 15:17 ff; Luke 19:8 ff; Luke 23:42-43 ) and in the history of the Apostolic Church ( Acts 2:41; Acts 2:47; Acts 8:5-6; Acts 8:12; Acts 9:3 ff; Acts 16:30 ff.etc.). RV [Note: Revised Version.] brings out the fact that in the NT conversion (as distinguished from regeneration [wh. see]) is an activity of the soul itself, and not an experience imposed from above. This view of its nature is confirmed when we find repentance ( Acts 3:19; Acts 26:20; cf. Ezekiel 14:6; Ezekiel 18:30 ) and faith ( Acts 11:21; cf. Acts 20:21 ) associated with it as the elements that make up the moral act of turning from sin and self to God in Christ.
J. C. Lambert.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Conversion'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/c/conversion.html. 1909.
