Some Notes on Early Christian Baptism

Abstract

ONE OF THE PHENOMENA which arouse considerable interest from the standpoint of Christian archeology, and present problems of some difficulty from the standpoint of Christian doctrine, is concerned with the nomenclature employed in relation to Christian Baptism. In Hebrew the verb for baptism is tabal, in Syriac 'amad, and in Greek baptizein. The question of the change from the Hebrew root tabal to an entirely different one in the cognate Syriac language is a matter of great interest. With a terminology for baptism probably already in existence, and usages ready to hand, why did not Syriac utilize the current Hebrew idiom? A brief resume of the state of the question may not be beside the point. James Murdock in an article called The Syriac Word for Baptism in Bibliotheca Sacra, 7 (1850), pp. 733-743, interpreted the Syriac 'amad, meaning the reception of baptism, as coming to a stand or taking a public and decisive stand on the side of Christianity (p. 740). In the same publication, of the next year (8, pp. 554-563) Davies in his article An Investigation in Syriac Philology presented a number of different opinions as to the meaning of the word. There is, first of all, that advanced by Murdock (noted above), which was first proposed by Michaelis and approved by Gesenius: to take a decisive stand. A second view, proposed by Henderson and Schindler in the Lexicon Pentaglotton, interpreted 'amad: to stand at or in water in order to be sprinkled or poured upon. Stabant enim, qui baptizabantur. In other words, 'amad meant to stand in the act of being baptized. Davies' criticism of this is pertinent: (a) Christians certainly stood up for other acts than baptism, and (b) what possible reference could this derivation bear in relation to the baptism of infants? (Cf. op. cit., p. 555.) A third possibility was advanced by Dr. Augusti, Dr. Lee of Cambridge, and Moses Stewart. According to this, the root meaning of baptism came from the Sacrament of Confirmation; so to stand-to establish to con-