Question 1

What does "Baptize" mean in the King James Bible?

Accepted Answer

In the KJV, "Baptize" means "religious water ceremony." The drowning. Baptizo was used for cloth submerged in dye (permanently changed by immersion) and for ships that sank (went under and didn't come back up the same). Paul made the connection explicit: 'buried with him by baptism into death.' Baptism was not getting wet but going under -- dying, being buried, and rising as someone new.

Question 2

Why did the word "Baptize" disappear from modern English?

Accepted Answer

Greek baptizo ('to plunge/immerse/submerge completely/drown') was ceremonial-ized from a violent death-and-resurrection symbol into a gentle religious rite. The KJV transliterated rather than translated the word, hiding its meaning. The word was at peak usage around 1611 and declined by still used but ceremonial-ized (~1800).

Question 3

What modern word replaced "Baptize"?

Accepted Answer

"Baptize" was replaced by: "sprinkle" (though this surface contact; baptizo meant to plunge completely under -- cloth dipped in dye, a ship sinking); "christen" (though this naming ceremony; baptism was a symbolic death by drowning and resurrection to new life); "initiation rite" (though this club membership; baptism was symbolic burial and resurrection -- death of the old self).

What Does “Baptize” Mean in the Bible?

What Was Lost