Technically it's all a non-discussion as the Greek then and now has the same verb with the same meaning: to immerseLeucius Charinus wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 3:08 am The term "baptism" or "baptise" occurs 19 times in the text Zostrianos, yet we have since understood that the Coptic word should be translated as "immersed" and the Coptic term for "baptism" / "baptise" does not appear in the text. It appears to have been used in order to reinforce a Christian confirmation bias.
Leucius Charinus wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 6:01 pm Did the Graeco-Roman world have any ritual akin to baptism and/or immersion in water? I'd be inclined to suggest they certainly did.
Chrism at WIKI does not mention anything other than the Christian ritual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChrismBaptism: A Pre-Christian History
... the act of baptism itself has a history beyond the Scriptures.
The Greek World
"The Greek word "baptizo" as used in Mark 1:4 ( "And so John came, baptizing in the desert region . . ." ) was very common among Greek-speaking people; it is used in every period of Greek literature and was applied to a great variety of matters, including the most familiar acts of everyday life. Greek speakers and hearers understood the word at the time John was preaching; it had no doubtful meaning. It meant what we express by the Latin word 'immerse' and kindred terms; no one could then have thought of attributing to it a different meaning, such as 'sprinkle' or 'pour.'" (Boles, H. Leo Commentary on Matthew. Gospel Advocate Pub. Pg 74).
The Encyclopedia of Religion (McMillan. 1987. Pg. 59) continues by pointing out that the word baptism means to plunge, to immerse, or to wash; it also signifies, from the Homeric period onward, any rite of immersion in water. The baptismal rite is similar to many other ablution (the washing of one's body or part of it as a religious rite) rituals found in a number of religions..."
Pre-Christian Religions
The practice of baptism in pagan religions seems to have been based on a belief in the purifying properties of water. In ancient Babylon, according to the Tablets of Maklu, water was important as a spiritual cleansing agent in the cult of Enke, lord of Eridu. In Egypt, the Book of Going Forth by Day contains a treatise on the baptism of newborn children, which is performed to purify them of blemishes acquired in the womb. Water, especially the Nile's cold water, which was believed to have regenerative powers, is used to baptize the dead in a ritual based on the Osiris myth. Egyptian cults also developed the idea of regeneration through water. The bath preceding initiation into the cult of Isis seems to have been more than a simple ritual purification; it was probably intended to represent symbolically the initiate's death to the life of this world by recalling Osiris' drowning in the Nile.
In the cult of Cybele, a baptism of blood was practiced in the rite of the Taurobolium: where one was covered with the blood of a bull. At first this rite seems to have been to provide the initiate with greater physical vitality, but later it acquired more of a spiritual importance. A well-known inscription attests that he who has received baptism of blood has received a new birth in eternity. However, the fact that this baptism was repeated periodically shows that the idea of complete spiritual regeneration was not associated with it.
The property of immortality was also associated with baptism in the ancient Greek world. A bath in the sanctuary of Trophonion procured for the initiate a blessed immortality even while in this world. The mystery religions of that period often included ablution rites of either immersion or a washing of the body for the purposes of purification or initiation. Other concepts said to have been associated with these forms of cultic baptisms included the transformation of one's life, the removal of sins, symbolic representation, the attainment of greater physical vitality, a new beginning, spiritual regeneration. It is believed that all ancient religions recognized some form of spiritual cleansing, renewal or initiation that was accomplished through a washing or immersion in water.
https://www.bible.ca/ef/topical-baptism ... istory.htm
It's only in all other languages that a new word has been introduced, which is a literal copy of the Greek - which meant immerse then and still does now
In Coptic we think we can see traces because Coptic includes the Greek loanword, but Coptic overflows with Greek loanwords by default.
If anything, baptism points to Coptic as a source for its practice - why else was the word copied as a loanword into other languages?
Not even the stauros is imported into other languages as a loanword - so why was baptism?
Because Thomas introduced the character ⲓ̈ⲱϩⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ ⲡ ⲃⲁⲡⲧⲓⲥⲧⲏⲥ.
Among others