Sense: to reconsider (repent)
v. — to have a change of self (heart and mind) that abandons former dispositions and results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions.
Repent (μετανοέω) therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out …
Acts 3:19 (NRSV)
In today’s example, we can see how translations may obscure metaphors related to matters such as repentance. As suggested above, the most common Greek concept for repentance is related to the metaphor of “reconsidering.” But, if we click on “to repent ⇔ return” in the relationships column, we find that this is the most common Hebrew metaphor related to repentance:
In the example verse above, the Greek μετανοέω is simply rendered as “repent,” whereas in places like 1 Kings 8:47 the Hebrew שׁוב is rendered as “repent” in many translation also: “… yet if they come to their senses in the land to which they have been taken captive, and repent, and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned, and have done wrong; we have acted wickedly’ …” (NRSV). What do you believe is gained by the uniformity in translations? What do you believe is lost?
What is the Bible Sense Lexicon?
Sense of the Day is based on content from Logos’ Bible Sense Lexicon, which organizes biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words by meaning based on a variety of semantic relationships. Sense of the Day provides examples of senses in context, along with insight into their application for theology and interpretation.
The Bible Sense Lexicon is a Logos dataset available in Logos 5 Gold and higher base packages. If you’re enrolled in the Logos Academic Discount Program, you can also find the Bible Sense Lexicon in the Biblical Languages base package. Take your studies even further by exploring semantic domains, engaging the biblical text like never before.
Learn more about the Bible Sense Lexicon.