Originally posted by Chemnitz:
BTW you still haven't proven conclusively that βαπτισω can only be translated as immersion and you never will because there is too much lexical evidence to cast doubt on your conclusion.
It really doesn't matter how much evidence I give you. A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. Much evidence has already been presented, but you have simply turned a blind eye to the fact that the primary meaning of baptidzo is immersion. You choose a secondary meaning, and somehow try to make this word mean sprinkle to fit into your theology. Very bad theology, very bad.
Baptize: from Strong's Concordance 907 baptizo bap-tid'-zo from a derivative of 911; to immerse, submerge; to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism:--Baptist, baptize, wash.
From Thayers, "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Joseph Henry Thayer, D.D., Fourth Edition, 1901 Baptidzo: I. 1. Properly to dip repeatedly, to immerge, submerge. 2. To cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water; in the mid. And the 1 aor. Pass. To wash one's self, bathe; 3. Metaphorically: to overwhelm.
II. In the N.T. it is used particularly of the rite of sacred ablution, first instituted by John the Baptist, afterwards by Christ's command received by Christians and adjusted to the contents and nature of their religion, viz. An immersion in water, performed as a sign of the removal of sin, and administered to those who impelled by a desire for salvation, sought admission to the benefits of the Messiah's kingdom. A. The word is used absolutely, to administer the rite of ablution, to baptize: Mk.1:4; Jn.1:25, etc.; with the cognate noun "to baptisma," Acts 19:4; "o baptidwn," substantively i.q. "o baptistays," Mk.6:14. Passive in a reflex sense, to allow one's self to be initiated by baptism, to receive baptism Lk.3:7,12. With the cognate noun "to baptisma" added, Lk.7:29, 1Aor. Mid. 1Cor.10:2 B. with prepositions; eis, to mark the element into which the immersion is made.
Baptisma: a word peculiar to N.T. and ecccl writ., immersion, submersion.
From G. Abbott-Smith, D.D. D.C.L., "A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament," Second Edition, 1923.
Baptidzo from bapto: to dip, immerse, sink.
1. Generally (in Polyb., iii, 72, of soldiers wading breast deep; in i, 51, of the sinking of ships); Metaph., to overwhelm; c. cogn. Acc., baptisma b., Mk.10:38,39; Lk.12:50.
2. To perform ablutions, wash oneself, bathe: Mk.7:4; aor. Pass. In same sense, Lk.11:38.
3. Of ablution, immersion, as a religious rite, to baptize; Mk.6:14,24; Jn.1:25,26,28, etc.
Green, Thomas Sheldon. "A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament" Zondervan, 1970
Baptidzo
1. To dip, immerse; to cleanse or purify by washing; to administer the rite of baptism, to baptize.
DHK