The word tetelestai was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full. The Greek-English lexicon by Moulton and Milligan says this: “Receipts are often introduced by the phrase [sic] tetelestai, usually written in an abbreviated manner...” (p. 630).
I have been researching for a long time John 19:30, more specifically the word Tetelestai (τετελεσται) in the Greek. But recently came across the topic of the Hebrew Gospels (possible late translat...
greek - Tetelestai - What did Jesus really say in John 19:30 assuming ...
I see the word tetelestai here but can you explain briefly why concordances all say that "teleo" is the Greek word in the original? When I preach on this I feel awkward saying the word in John 19:30 is "tetelestai" when all the sources I mentioned in the original question say that "teleo" is the word used.
Was "Τετέλεσται" stamped across documents? Maybe. But I wouldn't think about translating this as "Paid in Full". Support for this phrase I have yet to find any true support for this phrase being used on tax documents. The closes I could come was from The Greek-English lexicon by Moulton and Milligan, which says: “Receipts are often introduced by the phrase [sic] tetelestai, usually ...
Tetelestai CANNOT mean "it is finished" in the context as it is commonly perceived. Although there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING we can do to add to the finished Salvific works of Jesus Christ, John 19:30 needs to be understood in its proper context.
The phrase actually translates one word in Greek, tetelestai, from the root teleō, which means "to finish, fulfill." Significantly, this specific form of the verb, tetelestai, is only found twice in the entire New Testament, both times in John 19. In fact, the two occurrences of tetelestai are found within three verses of each other: "After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished ...