LEANNA MAE .ORG
  • Home
  • About Leanna
  • My Christian Faith
    • My faith journey
    • Written by an Apostolic Pentecostal woman
    • bible study from The Subject of Salvation
    • Bible reading schedules
  • My books
    • where to purchase
    • Happily Frugal
    • The Subject of Salvation
    • Lessons on the Author Life
    • press kit
  • My blogs
    • topical blog directory
    • timeline blog directory
    • the scroll
  • Maternal Infant Wellness Education
  • Classes I teach
  • Birth & Breastfeeding Support
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • Contact
 

How to baptize a pickle in ancient Greek

8/10/2022

2 Comments

 
Picture

There is a very old recipe on how to make pickles. If you’re familiar with canning, you know that pickles are cucumbers put into a solution (recipe) that turns them into pickles. What does that have to do with baptism?
 
In my book, The Subject of Salvation, I share the neat language lesson that the words baptize and baptism are actually transliterations. They are Greek words that have been transliterated into English.
 
Baptize is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo which means to immerse. The root word is bapto which means to dip. The ‘o’ was changed to an ‘e’ to give us our verb baptize; a verb is an action word. The noun form is the Greek word baptisma which is where we get our word baptism. 
 
In modern times, there is some controversy over whether baptism requires full immersion or whether sprinkling/pouring on water is acceptable. In the early church, they fully immersed someone in baptism. That is why we Apostolic Pentecostals still baptize by immersion. We practice what the early church did.
 
The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek-speaking people understood the instruction to be baptized is an instruction to be immersed and go fully under in the water.
 
But did you know the word baptize used to be used in other contexts?
 
Around 200B.C. there was a Greek poet and physician, Nicander of Colophon (modern day Turkey), who had a recipe for making pickles. In this recipe, the instruction was to bapto (dip) the cucumber in boiling water and then baptize (immerse) it in a vinegar solution. The dip in boiling water would cleanse the outside. Immersing it in vinegar is what transforms it to a pickle.
 
Once these cucumbers were baptized in the solution, they became pickles. They were transformed. Their nature was changed. They could never go back to the way they were before.
 
Acts 2:38 (KJV)
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
 
When I learned about this recipe, my thought was “Be immersed in the name of Jesus”. How powerful is that perspective? Be immersed. Be immersed in the name of the Lord. Be changed. It changes our nature when we immerse ourselves in following Jesus. Be changed. Become a new creature. Go down in the water in the name of Jesus and come up cleansed. Be transformed. Then I thought about the verses referencing the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Wow. That’s fire. What happens if a person immerses themselves in the Holy Spirit? The point of this blog is to address the controversy over whether baptism requires immersion, but I wanted to share those powerful thoughts about immersing ourselves in the name of Jesus and the Holy Ghost.
 
We are buried with Christ and raised with Christ when we get baptized in his name (Romans 6:3-8). We are a new creation when we are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can never go back to our former ignorance. We are changed. We are transformed. Our nature is different. After baptism, let’s live in a way that we are immersed in the name of Jesus.
 
 
If you’d like to learn more about baptism, there is a bible study on my website here and blogs on baptism as well as other faith-related topics on my page Written by an Apostolic Pentecostal Woman.

Picture
2 Comments
Brother Larry
10/5/2024 01:18:11

Hi !
This is not exactly a commentary I wish to write, but a question.
I found many web sites that return this explanation about baptizo, but no one gives the original greek text, so one can verify it.
Is there a way to do this, please ?
God bless you.
Br. Larry (Benedictin monk)

Reply
Leanna Mae link
13/5/2024 21:23:06

Hi, Brother Larry. The Strong's concordance reference is #907. The Greek word baptizo means to submerge or dip under. The word it's derived from, bapto, is Strong's concordance #911. That means to dip or cover wholly with a fluid. I'll link to the interlinear bible here with direct links to each word's page.

Strong's #907 - https://biblehub.com/greek/907.htm

Strong's #911 - https://biblehub.com/greek/911.htm

And here is a sample verse in the interlinear - https://biblehub.com/interlinear/acts/2-38.htm

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Thank you for visiting!
    ​Have you
    read my
    beautiful books yet?
    Picture
    Read
    Picture
    Read
    Picture
    Read

Leanna Mae is a small-town Ohio girl who loves to write. She’s the author of several nonfiction paperback books: Happily Frugal, The Subject of Salvation, and Lessons on the Author Life. She has also written many blogs, and focuses on sharing her faith through blogging. Her heart's desire is to reach the world with the message of her faith through her website. Leanna is a devout Christian, Apostolic Pentecostal. Her degree is in health sciences. Leanna Mae is an author, women's health educator, and birth doula. She’s passionate about Jesus, her faith, writing, and teaching. She is also passionate about patient rights, healthcare ethics, and women’s health. You can learn more about Leanna Mae, her books, blogs, and services by exploring www.LeannaMae.org


Leanna Mae

Apostolic Pentecostal Christian

international author

maternal-infant wellness educator

birth doula

breastfeeding specialist

Copyright © 2013-2025       Leanna Mae       All rights reserved
If this website has been a helpful resource to you, consider donating any dollar amount here.
Donations allow more time to write blogs and build this resource that is freely available to all.

  • Home
  • About Leanna
  • My Christian Faith
    • My faith journey
    • Written by an Apostolic Pentecostal woman
    • bible study from The Subject of Salvation
    • Bible reading schedules
  • My books
    • where to purchase
    • Happily Frugal
    • The Subject of Salvation
    • Lessons on the Author Life
    • press kit
  • My blogs
    • topical blog directory
    • timeline blog directory
    • the scroll
  • Maternal Infant Wellness Education
  • Classes I teach
  • Birth & Breastfeeding Support
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • Contact