A transaction involving the release of an item (or person) in exchange for some type of payment. In the OT, three different Hebrew roots are used to express the idea of redemption. The first is a technical legal term and is applied to the redemption of inheritance, of family members from servitude or difficulties, of tithes, or of various objects and property (Lev 25:25; Lev 25:47-49; Lev 27:15-20; Ruth 4:1-6; Ps 72:4; Ps 72:14; Jer 32:1-15). A second root is used of the redemption of the firstborn among male children (or even of animals) by means of some payment or offering (Num 3:45-51; Num 18:15-16). A third root is frequently used in instances where God’s relationship to people is reestablished or restored after acts of rebellion, disobedience, or infidelity. This third root is sometimes translated as “ransom” (Ps 49:7-8; Exod 21:30) or “redeem” (Ps 130:8) and carries the sense of “atonement.” This theological sense of redemption is reflected in Christian traditions and appropriated by NT writers. The redemption is represented as having been accomplished in the sacrificial death of Jesus of Nazareth (Rom 3:23-25).
