Dimensions of Baptism Biblical and Theological Studies

106 Dimensions in Baptism

If paiTTioai were a direct middle, the idea would be 'baptize yourself—a

thoroughly unbiblical concept. If aTroAouoai were an indirect middle, the

idea would be 'wash away your sins by yourself—also thoroughly unbib-

lical. This particular verb occurs as a causative or permissive middle in

1 Cor 6.11..., its only other New Testament occurrence. The force of the

voices here seems to be causative or permissive direct middle for (3cxTrnaai

and permissive indirect middle for aTroAouoai.^72

There are a number of apparent problems with this analysis. One is the

relation between a causative or permissive middle and a direct or indirect

middle. On the one hand Wallace questions whether (3aTrnacxi is a direct

middle, finding the sense unacceptable (see further below), but then on the

other hand he ends up classifying it as a causative or permissive direct

middle. The direct middle for him is what most know as the reflexive

middle, in which 'the subject acts on himself or herself.^73 It is difficult to

know how he can both reject classification of this example as an instance

of direct middle, and then conclude that it is an example of a type of direct

middle. I can find no reference in his discussion of causative or permissive

middle where he says that these are sub-categories of the direct middle. A

clue to his classification may come from the statement that the direct

middle interpretation in this instance would be 'thoroughly unbiblical'. It

appears that what he sees as an unacceptable theology is what has prompted

his looking elsewhere for an explanation of the use of the middle form

here. It is interesting to note that not all in the history of the Church have

found self-administered baptism unacceptable, including one of the

founders of the Baptists. The argument runs the risk of being viciously

circular, since establishing the sense of this passage is what is at stake.

More to the point, however, is that a good number of other grammarians

(including at least one Baptist, Robertson!) have not found the classifi-

cation of this use as a direct middle a difficulty. Robertson places Acts

22.16 in both the causative and direct middle categories, but explicitly

states that he sees the former as a sub-category of the latter, but without

overly pressing the reflexive sense (he still renders it as 'get yourself bap-

tized').^74 For Wallace, it appears that the looming specter of the reflexive

72. Wallace, Greek Grammar, p. 426.


73. Wallace, Greek Grammar, p. 416.


74. Robertson, Grammar, p. 808. See also Zerwick, Biblical Greek, p. 75, who
    places Acts 22.16 under the category of direct middle but still renders it 'have thyself
    baptized and cleansed'.