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Bible Dictionaries
Redeem
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Verbs.
Gâ'al (גָּאַל, Strong's #1350), “to redeem, deliver, avenge, act as a kinsman.” This word group is used 90 times, chiefly in the Pentateuch, Psalms, Isaiah, and Ruth. The root appears to be almost exclusively Hebrew, the only cognate being an Amorite proper name.
The first occurrence of gâ'al is in Gen. 48:16: “The angel which redeemed me [Jacob] from all evil …” (KJV), means as in the NIV, “delivered me from all harm.” Its basic use had to do with the deliverance of persons or property that had been sold for debt, as in Lev. 25:25: “If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.” If he prospers, the man himself may “redeem” it (Lev. 25:26). A poor man may sell himself to a fellow Israelite (Lev. 25:39) or to an alien living in Israel (Lev. 25:47). The responsibility “to redeem” belonged to the nearest relative—brother, uncle, uncle’s son, or a blood relative from his family (Lev. 25:25, 48-49). The person (kinsman) who “redeemed” the one in financial difficulties was known as a kinsman-redeemer, as the NIV translates the word in Ruth 2:20. In Deut. 19:6 the redeemer is called the “avenger of blood” whose duty it was to execute the murderer of his relative. The verb occurs in this sense 12 times and is translated “revenger” in KJV (Num. 35:19, 21, 24, 27) or “avenger” (Num. 35:12; always so in NASB and NIV).
The Book of Ruth is a beautiful account of the kinsman-redeemer. His responsibility is summed up in Ruth 4:5: “What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.” Thus the kinsman-redeemer was responsible for preserving the integrity, life, property, and family name of his close relative or for executing justice upon his murderer.
The greater usage of this word group is of God who promised: “… I am the Lord … I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments” (Exod. 6:6; cf. Ps. 77:15). Israel confessed: “Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed …” (Exod. 15:13). “And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer” (Ps. 78:35).
The Book of Isaiah evidences the word “Redeemer” used of God 13 times, all in chapters 41-63, and gâ'al is used 9 times of God, first in 43:1: “Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” Gâ'al is used of deliverance from Egypt (51:10; 63:9) and from captivity in Babylon (48:20; 52:3, 9; 62:12). Israel’s “Redeemer” is “the Holy One of Israel” (41:14), “the creator of Israel, your King” (43:14-15), “the Lord of hosts” (44:6), and “the mighty One of Jacob” (49:26). Those who share His salvation are “the redeemed” (35:9).
The Book of Psalms often places spiritual redemption in parallel with physical redemption. For example: “Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: // deliver me because of mine enemies” (Ps. 69:18). “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: … who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies” (Ps. 103:2, 4).
Pâdâh (פָּדָה, Strong's #6299), “to redeem, ransom.” Originally, the usage of this word overlapped with that of pâdâh; both meant “to ransom.” In theological usage, however, each root tended to develop in different directions, so that they can often be considered synonymous only in a very broad sense. Pâdâh indicates that some intervening or substitutionary action effects a release from an undesirable condition. In more secular contexts, it implies a payment of some sort. But 1 Sam. 14:45 indicates that money is not intrinsic in the word; Saul is determined to execute Jonathan for his involuntary transgression, but “… the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.” Slavery appears as a condition from which one may be “ransomed” (Exod. 21:8; Lev. 19:20).
The word is connected with the laws of the firstborn. As a reminder of slaying all the Egyptian firstborn but sparing the Israelites, God retained an eternal claim on the life of all Israelite firstborn males, both of men and of cattle. The latter were often sacrificed, “but all the firstborn of my children I redeem” (Exod. 13:15). God accepted the separation of the tribe of Levi for liturgical service in lieu of all Israelite firstborn (Num. 3:40ff.). However, the Israelite males still had to be “redeemed” (pâdâh) from this service by payment of specified “redemption money” (Num. 3:44-51).
When God is the subject of pâdâh, the word emphasizes His complete, sovereign freedom to liberate human beings. Sometimes God is said to “redeem” individuals (Abraham, Isa. 29:22; David, 1 Kings 1:29; and when in the Psalter, e.g., 26:11; 21:5; 71:23); but usually Israel, the elect people, is the beneficiary. Sometimes the redemption or deliverance is proclaimed absolutely (2 Sam. 7:23; Ps. 44:26; Hos. 7:13); but the subject is said to be “ransomed” from a specific oppression. At other times, the reference is less explicit—e.g., from “troubles” (Ps. 25:22) and from “wicked” men (Jer. 15:21). Only once is pâdâh used to describe liberation from sin or iniquity: “And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquity” (Ps. 130:8).
Kâphar (כָּפַר, Strong's #3722), “to ransom, atone, expiate, propitiate.” Kâphar has an initial secular and non-theological range quite parallel to padah In addition, however, kâphar became a technical term in Israel’s sacrificial rituals. On its most basic level of meaning, kâphar denotes a material transaction or “ransom.”
Sometimes man is the subject of kâphar. In 2 Sam. 21:3, David asks the Gibeonites, “… And wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?” He receives in answer the advice to hang seven of Saul’s sons in compensation. In Exod. 32:30, Moses ascends the mountain yet a third time in an effort to “make an atonement” for the people’s sin (apparently merely by intercession, although this is not explicitly stated). Isa. 27:9 speaks of “purging” Israel’s guilt by banishing idolatrous objects. In Num. 25:13, Phinehas is said to have “made an atonement for the children of Israel” by spearing a couple during orgiastic worship of Baal.
God is often the subject of kâphar in this general sense, too. In 2 Chron. 30:18, Hezekiah prays for God to “pardon” those who were not ritually prepared for the Passover. At the conclusion of the Song of Moses, Yahweh is praised because He “will atone for His land and His people” (Deut. 32:43, NASB). Similar general uses of the word appear in Ps. 65:3; 78:38; and Dan. 9:24. Jeremiah once uses kâphar to pray bitterly that Yahweh not “forgive” the iniquity of those plotting to slay him (Jer. 18:23), and in Ps. 79:9 the word means “to purge” sin.
Most often kâphar is used in connection with specific rites, and the immediate subject is a priest. All types of ritual sacrifice are explained in terms of kâphar. We find the priests’ smearing of blood on the altar during the “sin offering” (chatta’t) described as “atonement” (Exod. 29: 36-37; Lev. 4:20, 31; 10:17; Num. 28:22; 29:5; Neh. 10:33). The use of blood is not quite so prominent in sacrifices, but the relation to “atonement” still holds. It is clearly true of the “guilt offering” (Lev. 5:16, 18; 6:7; 7:7; 14:21; 19:22; Num. 5:8). The principle holds even when the poor cannot afford an animal or birds, and they sacrifice only a little flour—i.e., where obviously no blood is involved (Lev. 5:11-13). Making “atonement” (kâphar) is also part of the purpose of the “burnt offering” (Lev. 1:4; Num. 15:25). The only major type of sacrifice not classified an “atonement” in Leviticus is the “cereal offering” (minchah) of chapter 2; but Ezek. 45:15, 17 does include it under that heading. First Chron. 6:49 applies the concept to the priestly ministry in general. The connection of all of the rituals with kâphar peaks in the complex ceremony of the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), as described in detail in Lev. 16.
Most English versions prefer to render kâphar with the more neutral term “atone” or even “ransom.” But various translations often have “expiate” or “propitiate” as well. The terms are partly synonymous. In any sacrifice, the action is directed both toward God (propitiation) and toward the offense (expiation). “Expiate,” “atone,” and even “forgive” (if related to sacrifice) all have God as their primary subject, while “propitiation” addresses God as object.
All the sacrifices in the world would not satisfy God’s righteousness (e.g., Mic. 6:7; Ps. 50:7-15). Hence God alone can provide an atonement or expiation for sin, by which His wrath is assuaged. The righteous God is neither implacable nor capricious, but provides Himself the “ransom” or substitute sacrifice that would satisfy Him. The priest at the altar represents God Himself, bringing the requisite offering before God; sacrifice is not essentially man’s action, but God’s own act of pardoning mercy.
B. Noun.
Ge'ûllâh (גְּאֻלָּה, Strong's #1353), "(right of) redemption.” This word is used in regard to deliverance of persons or property that had been sold for debt. The law required that the “right of redemption” of land and of persons be protected (Lev. 25:24, 48). The redemption price was determined by the number of years remaining until the release of debts in the year of jubilee (Lev. 25:27-28). The word ge'ûllâh also occurs in Jer. 32:7: “Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.”
The noun related to padah is pedut. It occurs about 5 times and means “ransom or redemption”: “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever …” (Ps. 111:9).
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Redeem'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/r/redeem.html. 1940.
