baptisma
Definition
Baptisma (Greek: βάπτισμα) is the Greek noun derived from baptizo, expressing the act or state of “baptizing.” The Dutch Statenvertaling renders it as “doop” (baptism) or “wasschen” (washing). As with the related verb baptizo, the translation conceals a theological assumption: the noun leaves open whether it refers to a water ritual or a spiritual transformation process. The New Testament uses baptisma for both John’s water baptism (Matt. 21:25) and the spiritual identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:4).
Usage in the Corpus
Cees Noordzij
Noordzij points out that the Statenvertaling translators rendered baptisma as “baptism,” encoding their Calvinist ecclesiological practice into the translation. This choice was not a neutral translation decision but a hermeneutical presupposition:
The Dutch Statenvertaling translators rendered baptizo as “dopen” (immerse) and baptisma as “doop” or “wasschen,” choosing terminology that supported their Calvinist practices.
For Noordzij, baptisma in its deepest meaning expresses the transformative process: the state of “having been baptized” as a condition of being acted upon and changed by God’s power. The form (water or Spirit) is subordinate to the substance (actual transformation). [Noordzij, What Is Baptism?, b10]
Background
Baptisma appears in the New Testament approximately 20 times. In Greek literature it is a nomen actionis from baptizo. The Latin translation (baptisma) retained the Greek word untranslated, reinforcing the fixation on ritual in the Western tradition.