Part 2 · Deep dive
Salvation in the original languages
Rescue, wholeness, ransom and redemption: the vocabulary of being saved.
Scripture uses a cluster of words for salvation, each drawn from a different part of life: the battlefield, the hospital, the slave market and the family.
Yashaʿ: victory and deliverance
יָשַׁע yashaʿ — to save, deliver, give victory; literally to make wide or spacious
Being saved is being brought out of a tight place into open ground (Psalm 18:19).
From this root comes yeshuʿah (salvation), Joshua, Isaiah ('the LORD is salvation') and Jesus, Yeshua. The angel told Joseph: 'you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.'
Sōzō and sōtēria: rescue and wholeness
σῴζω sōzō — to save, rescue, heal, keep safe
Jesus tells the healed woman, 'your faith has made you well' (sōzō). The same word describes eternal salvation.
This shows that salvation concerns the whole person, body and soul. Healings were signs of the full restoration that comes at the resurrection.
Redemption and ransom
גָּאַל gaʾal — to redeem as a kinsman
A relative bought back family land or freed a relative from slavery, as Boaz did for Ruth. God calls Himself Israel's Redeemer.
ἀπολύτρωσις apolytrōsis — release by payment of a ransom
Christ redeemed us 'not with silver or gold… but with the precious blood of Christ' (1 Peter 1:18–19).
Justify, reconcile, adopt
δικαιόω dikaioō — to justify, declare or make righteous
A courtroom word: the guilty acquitted. Traditions debate whether it is only declared or also made.
καταλλάσσω katallassō — to reconcile
Enemies made friends. God is the one who reconciles us to Himself.
υἱοθεσία huiothesia — adoption as sons and daughters
In Roman law, an adopted heir received a new name and full inheritance.
Why so many words?
Because sin damaged us in many ways, salvation repairs us in many ways: the guilty are justified, the enslaved redeemed, the enemies reconciled, the orphans adopted, the sick made whole, the dead raised.
Key takeaways
- Jesus' very name means 'the LORD saves'.
- Salvation means rescue, wholeness, ransom and restored relationship.
- Each word answers a different wound sin caused.