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ἀπολύτρωσις

apolýtrōsis

G629 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Release upon payment of a ransom; the act of freeing or liberating someone upon receipt of a price. In various contexts, especially legal, commercial, or social, denotes the act of obtaining freedom for a person held in bondage or under obligation by paying a required sum. In Hellenistic-Jewish and early Christian writings, can refer metaphorically to deliverance from trouble, bondage, or adversity; also, the liberation from sin, death, or other forms of constraint.

Semantic Range

release upon payment, liberation, ransoming (of slaves or captives, legal), metaphorical deliverance from distress, sin, adversity, eschatological deliverance

Root / Etymology

Formed from ἀπό (from, away) and λύτρωσις (ransom, release), itself from λύτρον (ransom, price for release); thus, denotes an act or process of redeeming or releasing. No evidence for non-Greek sources influencing the formation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term ἀπολύτρωσις appears in classical Greek primarily in legal and commercial contexts for the act of redeeming or freeing slaves, captives, or debtors by payment. In the Septuagint, it is used for release from captivity or distress, often translating Hebrew technical vocabulary referring to legal redemption (such as גְּאֻלָּה‎, ge'ullah). In Second Temple, Hellenistic-Jewish, and New Testament texts, the term broadens to metaphorically signify deliverance—most often used for release from spiritual or moral predicament. In Pauline writings (e.g., Romans 3:24; 8:23; Ephesians 1:7), used of liberation from sin, law, or death, underscoring a transfer from one state to another by means of an (implied) ransom. Traditional English translations as 'redemption' or 'deliverance' capture parts of the meaning but sometimes obscure the term's original connection to the concrete notion of ransoming or the legal process of release. The theological concept of 'redemption' as salvation derives from these metaphoric uses, but ἀπολύτρωσις itself originally refers to an act of release or payment for freedom. The verb λυτρόομαι and related nouns share this semantic field but can differ in nuance (e.g., λύτρον as the ransom price; λύτρωσις as the action or process).

Translation Consistency

primary "ransom" 2 occurrences

Apolýtrōsis primarily denotes liberation obtained by payment; "ransom" most naturally and directly conveys that sense in ordinary English while also covering the theological/metaphorical sense of deliverance or redemption. It matches the dominant usage and is idiomatic as both noun and verb, so it will produce consistent, natural renderings across forms.

Alternatives (8 occurrences):
"ransom-release" (8x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a compound of ἀπό and λύτρον; (the act) ransom in full, i.e. (figuratively) riddance, or (specially) Christian salvation:--deliverance, redemption.

Root Family

ἀπολύτρωσις (apolýtrōsis) — ransom, release by payment, liberation

Root λύτρ- to ransom, to release, to free by payment

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G629-02 ἀπολύτρωσιν apolutrosin N ACC F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release 6
G629-03 ἀπολύτρωσις apolutrosis N NOM F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release 2
G629-01 ἀπολυτρώσεως apolutroseos N GEN F SG of redemption of release by ransom of ransom 2

Occurrences in Scripture

10 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G629-03 Luke 21:28 ἀπολύτρωσις apolutrosis N NOM F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release
G629-01 Romans 3:24 ἀπολυτρώσεως apolutroseos N GEN F SG redemption of release by ransom of ransom
G629-02 Romans 8:23 ἀπολύτρωσιν apolutrosin N ACC F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release
G629-03 1 Corinthians 1:30 ἀπολύτρωσις apolutrosis N NOM F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release
G629-02 Ephesians 1:7 ἀπολύτρωσιν apolutrosin N ACC F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release
G629-02 Ephesians 1:14 ἀπολύτρωσιν apolutrosin N ACC F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release
G629-01 Ephesians 4:30 ἀπολυτρώσεως apolutroseos N GEN F SG of redemption of release by ransom of ransom
G629-02 Colossians 1:14 ἀπολύτρωσιν apolutrosin N ACC F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release
G629-02 Hebrews 9:15 ἀπολύτρωσιν apolutrosin N ACC F SG redemption ransom-release ransom-release
G629-02 Hebrews 11:35 ἀπολύτρωσιν apolutrosin N ACC F SG release ransom-release ransom-release
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