Ransom (3083)(lutron/lytron from luo = to loose) is a neuter noun which literally refers to the ransom price which is necessary to free a slave, loosing them from their bonds and setting them at liberty. It is the price paid for release of a slave from slavery, a prisoner from captivity (such as a prisoner of war) or forfeited piece of land or other possession. The suffix "-tron" highlights the instrument or means of the releasing, that is, the ransom or the actual payment itself. Remember that the basic idea of ransom is the payment which sets something or someone free from some kind of bondage, slavery, captivity, or obligation. In classic Greek lutron "always means a payment which releases a man from an obligation which otherwise he was bound to fulfill....In the contemporary Greek of the NT times lutron has two main uses. (a) It is regularly used of `the price which is paid to redeem something which is in pledge or in pawn' (b) It is regularly used of 'the purchase price paid or received for the liberation of a slave'. So a papyrus reads, 'I have given Helene her liberty and I have received (huper lutron autes) as the purchase price for her,' and then follows the actual sum of money received." (Barclay) In the NT lutron refers to the blood of Christ which paid the price to set the captives free into liberty, freeing them from slavery to the harsh master Sin (See Sin = Principle). This ransom-debt (price) was completely paid by Christ's substitutionary sacrifice at Calvary (Jn 19:30-note; See word study Tetelestai-Paid in Full). John MacArthur commenting on lutron in Mt 20:28 - The unbeliever is a slave to sin, the flesh, Satan, and death, and it was to redeem men from those slaveries that Jesus gave His life a ransom in exchange for sinners. “?There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,?” Paul explained to believers in Rome. “?For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh?” (?Rom. 8:1–3?). “?Having been freed from sin,?” the apostle had told them earlier, “?you became slaves of righteousness?” (?6:18?). Christ’s sacrifice bought us back from the slavery of sin....Jesus’ ransom was paid to God to satisfy His holy justice, and it was more than sufficient to cover the sins of everyone who has ever lived and ever will live. His death was sufficient for “?the whole world,?” says John (?1 John 2:2?)....Although His ransom is sufficient for every person, it is valid only for those who believe in Him. It is in that sense that His redemption is for many, rather than for all. The Lord was not teaching limited atonement, the idea that He died only for the sins of a select few. Paul makes it dear that Christ died for the whole world: “?The man Christ Jesus … gave Himself as a ransom for all?” (?1Ti 2:5-6?). (Matthew 16-23- The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) Background on redemption - One of the major themes describing our salvation in Christ is that of redemption. There are three different Greek verbs that denote the act of redemption. The first of these is exagorazo, which in classical Greek means "buy back," "buy from," "buy up," or "buy out of." It literally means to "buy out of the market." The second word, agorazo, is the basis of the first one, and its meaning is "to buy in the market." This word is especially common in deeds of sale, such as in the purchase of houses; however, its most noted use is to refer to the purchase of slaves. This use is cited by Deissmann in a will dated around 133 B.C. He expresses the opinion that Paul used the very formula found in these records in the New Testament. The third word is lutroo. This means "to redeem by paying a price." It is commonly used in connection with redeeming articles that had been pawned, such as a cloak (Moulton and Milligan). It is also used in pagan religion to express the idea "freeing a soul from death." A different, but related use is to pay someone's expenses. Lutroo is also used by both Demosthenes (19.170) and Josephus (Antiquities 14.371) to refer to the freeing of prisoners by the paying of a ransom. (Gerald Cowen, Salvation Word Studies) Ransom (Webster 1828) - 1. The money or price paid for the redemption of a prisoner or slave, or for goods captured by an enemy; that which procures the release of a prisoner or captive, or of captured property, and restores the one to liberty and the other to the original owner. By his captivity in Austria, and the heavy ransom he paid for his liberty, Richard was hindered from pursuing the conquest of Ireland. Davies. 2. Release from captivity, bondage or the possession of an enemy. They were unable to procure the ransom of the prisoners. 3. In law, a sum paid for the pardon of some; great offense and the discharge of the offender; or a fine paid in lieu of corporal punishment. Encyc. Blackstone. 4. In Scripture, the price paid for a forfeited life, or for delivery or release from capital punishment. Then he shall give for the ransom of his life, whatever is laid upon him. Ex. 21. 5. The price paid for procuring the pardon of sins and the redemption of the sinner from punishment. Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom. Job 33. The Son of man came—to give his life a ransom for many. Matt. 20. Mark 10. Easton's Dictionary - Ransom -The price or payment made for our redemption, as when it is said that the Son of man "gave his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28; Compare Acts 20:28; Romans 3:23,24; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; Galatians 3:13; 4:4,5 : Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; 1 Timothy 2:6; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18,19 . In all these passages the same idea is expressed). This word is derived from the Fr. rancon; Lat. redemptio. The debt is represented not as cancelled but as fully paid. The slave or captive is not liberated by a mere gratuitous favour, but a ransom price has been paid, in consideration of which he is set free. The original owner receives back his alienated and lost possession because he has bought it back "with a price." This price or ransom (Gr. lutron) is always said to be Christ, his blood, his death. He secures our redemption by the payment of a ransom Fausset's Bible Dictionary - Greek lutron, antilutron (1Ti 2:6). "A price paid for freeing a captive". Anti implies vicarious, equivalent substitution, "a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28; Eph 1:7; 1Pe 1:18-19 ). Man was the slave of Satan, sold under SIN. He was unable to ransom himself, because absolute obedience is due to God; therefore no act of ours can satisfy for the least offense. Leviticus 25:48 allowed one who had been sold into captivity (slavery, bondage) to be redeemed by one of his brethren (Ed: This was a foreshadowing of what our Greater Brother Christ would do for all who receive Him, to whom "He gave the right to become children of God." Jn 1:12, cp Ro 8:17). The Son of God therefore became man in order that as our elder brother He should redeem us (Heb 2:14-15 ). Barclay - In classical Greek the word lutron occurs mostly in the plural (lutra) and its basic meaning is `the price of release'. The title of the 24th book of the Iliad is Lutra Hektoros, `the ransoming of Hector', and it tells the story of the ransoming of the dead body of Hector, the Trojan champion, after it had been captured by the Greeks. So in classical Greek there are a whole series of phrases—labein lutra tinos, to receive a ransom for someone, lutra didonai tinos, to give a ransom for someone, aneu lutron aphienai, to let go without a ransom, and the phrase Kuper lutron describes a sum paid 'as a ransom'. Nearly always in classical Greek the word is quite literal; it. means the price paid to effect someone's deliverance. The late Greek lexicon Suidas defines lutron quite simply as misthos, which means `pay' or 'price', and goes on to amplify it by saying that it means 'Those things which are offered for freedom in order to ransom a man from barbarian slavery'. Very rarely in classical Greek it has a semi-metaphorical sense. Once it occurs in Aeschylus, the tragic poet, 'What lutron can there be for blood which has fallen upon the ground?' (Choephoroi 48). There it means, "What release can there be for the guilty from the wrath and the defilement which follow upon shed blood?" (ii) Now to any NT writer this word would have two backgrounds. It would have a background from OT thought and usage. In the Septuagint the word occurs about eighteen times. If a man was the owner of an ox which was known to be dangerous and the ox gored and killed someone, because it had not been properly confined, the man's own life was forfeit unless he paid a lutron, 'blood money', to ransom himself (Ex. 21.30). If a man deliberately murdered another there could be no lutron for him, he must be executed (Num. 35.31, 32). If an Israelite in his poverty sold himself to a wealthy sojourner a wealthier relative could buy him out, and the price was a lutron (51" class="scriptRef">Lev. 25.51). A jealous man set on vengeance will accept no lutron in place of revenge (Prov. 6.35). Lutron is the ransom of captives taken in war (Isa. 45.13). But in the OT the word has one specially interesting use. According to the Jewish law the first-born of man and every creature was sacred to God. Num. 3.13 traces this back to God's sparing of the first-born sons of the Jews on the night of the first Passover in Egypt. If all the first-born sons were dedicated to the special service of God it would disrupt life altogether and so there was a ceremony called 'The Redemption of the First-born', by which the parents could buy back their son by a payment of five shekels to the priests (Num. 18.16). Now that payment is regularly called a lutron (Num. 3.12, 46, 48, 49, 51; 18.15). It may be laid down, as a general rule, that in the Greek OT the word lutron never has anything other than a literal meaning. It always means a payment which releases a man from an obligation which otherwise he was bound to fulfill. In the OT the lutron may be paid by the man himself, or it may be paid by someone for him; but always it is a price and a payment which releases him from a debt and a liability which otherwise he would have been bound to satisfy. We now turn to the background which lutron had in Greek thought and practice. In the contemporary Greek of the NT times it has two main uses. (a) It is regularly used of `the price which is paid to redeem something which is in pledge or in pawn' (b) It is regularly used of 'the purchase price paid or received for the liberation of a slave'. So a papyrus reads, 'I have given Helene her liberty and I have received huper lutron autes, as the purchase price for her,' and then follows the actual sum of money received. Now here we have to take account of another Greek custom in NT times which gives to NT language one of its most vivid pictures. There are two other NT words that we must bring in here—agorazo or exagorazo, which means 'to buy', and time, which means 'price'. In 1Cor 6:19-20-note , Paul says, 'Know ye not...that ye are not your own? For ye are bought (agorazo) with a price (time)?' In 1Cor. 7.23 he writes, 'Ye are bought (agorazo) with a price (time); be not ye the servants of men?' In Gal. 3.13 he says that 'Christ has redeemed (exagorazo) us from the curse of the law'. in Gal. 4.4-5 he says that God sent his Son 'to redeem (exagorazo) them that were under the law'. In Gal. 5.1 he says, as it should be translated, 'For freedom (eleutheria) did Christ set us free.' And in Gal. 5.13 he says, 'Ye were called for freedom (eleutheria).' There are a great many Greek inscriptions which speak about a person being sold to a god, e.g., to Athene, to Asclepius, to Apollo. There was one special way in which a Greek slave could obtain his freedom. He could scrape and save, perhaps for years, such little sums as he was able to earn; and, as he saved the money, he deposited it little by little in the temple of some god. When he had laboriously amassed his complete purchase price, he took his master to the temple where the money was deposited. There the priest paid over to the master the purchase price of freedom, and the man who had been a slave became the property of the god and therefore 'free of all men'. There is an inscription on the wall of the temple of Apollo at Delphi like this : 'Apollo the Pythian, bought from Sosibus of Amphissa, for freedom (eleutheria) a female slave, whose name is Nicaea, with a price (time) of three minae of silver and a half-mina. Former seller according to the law : Eumnastus of Amphissa. The price (time) he hath received. The purchase, however, Nicaea has committed to Apollo, for freedom (eleutheria).' The purchase price was paid and Nicaea was the property of Apollo and free of all men. It is precisely this to which Paul indirectly refers when repeatedly he calls himself and others (doulos Christou), 'the slave of Christ'. He has been bought by Christ and has become His property. It is very significant how Paul uses the very phrase eleutheria, 'for freedom', which occurs again and again in these inscriptions. The purchase price is paid and the Christian belongs to Christ and is therefore free from all the powers which held him. (New Testament Words) Thayer on Lutron - the price for redeeming, ransom (paid for slaves, Lev. 19:20; for captives, Isa. 45:13; for the ransom of a life, Ex. 21:30; Nu 35:31f): to liberate many from the misery and penalty of their sins, Mt. 20:28; Mk 10:45. Vine on Lutron - "a means of loosing" (from luo, "to loose"), occurs frequently in the Septuagint (Lxx) (see uses below), where it is always used to signify "equivalence." Thus it is used of the "ransom" for a life, e.g., Exodus 21:30 , of the redemption price of a slave, e.g., Leviticus 19:20 , of land, Leviticus 25:24 , of the price of a captive, Isaiah 45:13 . In the NT it occurs in Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45 , where it is used of Christ's gift of Himself as "a ransom for many." Some interpreters have regarded the "ransom" price as being paid to Satan; others, to an impersonal power such as death, or evil, or "that ultimate necessity which has made the whole course of things what it has been." Such ideas are largely conjectural, the result of an attempt to press the details of certain Old Testament illustrations beyond the actual statements of New Testament doctrines. That Christ gave up His life in expiatory sacrifice under God's judgment upon sin and thus provided a "ransom" whereby those who receive Him on this ground obtain deliverance from the penalty due to sin, is what Scripture teaches. What the Lord states in the two passages mentioned involves this essential character of His death. In these passages the preposition is anti, which has a vicarious significance, indicating that the "ransom" holds good for those who, accepting it as such, no longer remain in death since Christ suffered death in their stead. The change of preposition in 1 Timothy 2:6 , where the word antilutron, a substitutionary "ransom," is used, is significant. There the preposition is huper, "on behalf of," and the statement is made that He "gave Himself a ransom for all," indicating that the "ransom" was provisionally universal, while being of a vicarious character. Thus the three passages consistently show that while the provision was universal, for Christ died for all men, yet it is actual for those only who accept God's conditions, and who are described in the Gospel statements as "the many." (Ed: See also Grudem's Systematic Theology- Chapter 27 - The Atonement ) The giving of His life was the giving of His entire person, and while His death under Divine judgment was alone expiatory, it cannot be dissociated from the character of His life which, being sinless, gave virtue to His death and was a testimony to the fact that His death must be of a vicarious nature. (Ransom - Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words) Albert Barnes (comment on Mt 20:28) - "The word ransom (lutron) means, literally, a price paid for the redemption of captives. In war, when prisoners are taken by an enemy, the money demanded for their release is called a ransom. That is, it is the means by which they are set at liberty. So anything that releases any one from a state of punishment, or suffering, or sin, is called a ransom. Men are by nature captives to sin. They are sold under it. They are under condemnation, Eph 2:3; Ro 3:9-20,231Jn 5:19. They are under a curse, Gal 3:10. They are in love with sin. They are under its withering dominion, and are exposed to death eternal, Ezek 18:4; Ps 9:17; Ps 11:6; 68:2; 139:19; Mt 25:46; Ro 2:6-9. They must have perished unless there had been some way by which they could be rescued. This was done by the death of Jesus; by giving his life a ransom. The meaning is, that he died in the place of sinners, and that God was willing to accept the pains of his death in the place of the eternal suffering of the redeemed. The reasons why such a ransom was necessary are, (1) that God had declared that the sinner should die--that is, that he would punish, or show his hatred to all sin. (2) That all men had sinned; and if justice was to take its regular course, all must perish. (3) That man could make no atonement for his own sins. All that he could do, were he holy would be only to do his duty, and would make no amends for the past. Repentance and future obedience would not blot away one sin. (4) No man was pure, and no angel could make atonement. God was pleased, therefore, to appoint his only-begotten Son to make such a ransom. See John 16:10; 1Jo 4:10; 1Pe 1:18,19; Re 13:8; John 1:29; Eph 5:2; Heb 7:27; Isa 53:1-12. This is commonly called the atonement. (Matthew 20 - Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible) Lutron - 2x in the NT Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for (anti) many." Comment: Anti gives the resultant meaning of “ransom for, instead of” which brings out the vicarious nature of Christ’s sacrifice most clearly: He came “to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). John MacArthur: The basic idea behind anti (for) is that of being set over against something else, and the word was often used to denote an exchange or substitution. In becoming a ransom for many, Jesus exchanged His life for the lives of the many who would believe in Him. It became His death for the deaths of those many, His undeserved punishment for the punishment they deserved. As Isaiah had predicted 700 years earlier, “?Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried;…He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed?” (?Isa. 53:4–5?). Christ, then, is the pattern for all to follow in being servant leaders. By giving His life He gained the eternal glory and esteem of God and men. That is the path to greatness. (Matthew 16-23- The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for (anti) many." Wuest - The word “for” is anti, the predominant meaning in the koine being “instead of.” It is the preposition of substitution. Our Lord paid the ransom money for slaves of sin who could not pay it themselves, namely, His own precious blood. The blood of Christ paid for the sins of the human slaves of sin in the sense that it satisfied the just demands of God’s holy law which decreed that “the wages of sin is death”; and outpoured blood means death. Lutron - 19x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - The Septuagint reads the singular “ransom” (lutron) only three times; in every other case it has the plural. Lutron is used for these Hebrew words - ga’al = Redeem (Lev 27:31). ge’ullah = Redemption (Lev 25:24,51f.). kopher = Ransom (Ex 21:30, Nu 35:31, Prov 13:8). mahîr = Price (Isa 45:13). padhâh = Qal: redeem (Nu 18:15); hophal: be redeemed (Lev 19:20). dhûyim = Ransom (Nu 3:51). pidhyon = Redemption (Ex 21:30). The redemption price might be an offering (Exodus 13:13-15; 34:20) or a sum of money (Exodus 30:13-16; Numbers 3:46-51; 18:15f.). In the Septuagint lutron often implies a sense of value. It may speak of a ransom for someone’s life (Exodus 21:30), the redemption price of a slave (Leviticus 19:20), the purchase price of a field (Leviticus 25:24), or the payment demanded for the release of prisoners of war (Isaiah 45:13). (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary) Exodus 21:30 "If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him. Exodus 30:12 "When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. Leviticus 19:20 'Now if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. Leviticus 25:24 'Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land. 26 'Or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption, 51 'If there are still many years, he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; 52 and if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption. Leviticus 27:31 'If, therefore, a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it. Numbers 3:12 "Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel (Lxx = they shall be their ransom). So the Levites shall be Mine. 46 "For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, 48 and give the money, the ransom of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons." 49 So Moses took the ransom money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites; 51 Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons, at the command of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Numbers 18:15 "Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. Numbers 35:31 'Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. 32 'You shall not take ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to live in the land before the death of the priest. Proverbs 6:35 He will not accept any ransom, Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts. Proverbs 13:8 The ransom of a man's life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke. Isaiah 45:13 "I have aroused him in righteousness And I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city and will let My exiles go free, Without any payment (Lxx = not for ransoms) or reward," says the LORD of hosts.