Afresh

AFRESH a-fresh':

Only in Hebrews 6:6, "seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh," where it stands for the prefix of the Greek anastaurountas. It has been disputed whether in this word ana has the reiterative force ("again," "anew"). In classical Greek anastauroo has always the simple sense of "to crucify," (ie. "to rinse up on a cross," ana being merely "up"). So some would render it here (eg. Cremer, Lexicon of New Testament Greek). Against this it is argued

(1) that the classical writers had no occasion for the idea of crucifying anew (compare Winer, De verb. Comp., etc., Pt III, 9, Leipzig, 1843);

(2) that in many compounds ana signifies both "up" and "again," as in anablepo, which means "to recover sight" as well as "to look up";

(3) that the rendering "crucify afresh" suits the context;

(4) that the Greek expositors (eg. Chrysostom) take it so without questioning. (So also Bleek, Lunemann, Alford, Westcott; compare the Vulgate's rursum crucifigentes.)

D. Miall Edwards

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Bibliography Information

Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'AFRESH'".  "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia".  1915.