Unsettled Settlement
The obsession of Western spirituality with forgiveness—therapeutic forgiveness—is an obsession with the self. With control. With the usurpation of God’s throne by human power. It domesticates God, it drags wisdom into abstraction, it ties it down, it entangles it in comfort for the self, and multiplies suffering for others.
But Scripture cuts the knot. Forgiveness from the cross is not therapy. It is release. Its root, ἀφίημι (aphiemi), to let go, to remit, to release, shatters settlement. It refuses possession. It suspends judgment.
To release guilt through forgiveness. Nūḥ (نُوح) preaches divine مغفرة (maghfira), a release, a remission, the undoing of claim. The Gospels speak the same: ἀφίημι (aphiemi). And on the cross, Jesus says: “Father, ἄφες (aphes) them” (Luke 23:34). Not to soothe himself. Not to achieve “closure.” But to relinquish claim and leave unsettled judgment in God’s self-sufficient hand.
Forgiveness here is no possession. It is gentle rain: falling, renewing, moving on. It cannot be held by the hand of man. It cannot be domesticated. It unsettles the settlement itself. It leaves all things provisionally in the hand of God.
“Who is a God like you, who pardons wrongdoing and passes over a rebellious act of the remnant of his possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in mercy.” (Micah 7:18)
This week, I discuss Luke 8:51.
“When he came to the house, he did not allow [οὐκ εἴασεν, ouk eiasen] anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother.” (8:51)
ἀφίημι (aphiemi) / נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) / ن-و-ح (nūn-wāw-ḥāʾ)
The root נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) in Hebrew, ἀφίημι (aphiemi) in Greek, and ن-و-ح (nūn-wāw-ḥāʾ) in Arabic share a core function: to rest, to let be, to release. But in the Bible and Qurʾan, this rest is always provisional: never possession, never settlement.
Settle, Remain
“The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave [נוּחוּ (nuḥu)] one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go.’” (Genesis 42:33)
To settle or remain as a pledge. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) functions as “leave behind.” One brother must stay behind while the others travel. The act of settling is temporary, an enforced pause, not ownership.
“So the Lord allowed those nations to remain [וַיַּנַּח (wayyannaḥ)], not driving them out quickly; and he did not hand them over to Joshua.” (Judges 2:23)
To let stay means to permit settlement. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) signifies God’s intentional suspension of conquest. The nations remain unsettled alongside Israel in the land. It is a pause in divine judgment that disallows human presumption.
Transient Rest, Repose
“Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, ‘Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests [הַנִּיחֵנִי (hanniḥeni)], so that I may lean against them.’” (Judges 16:26)
To rest or relax physically. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) signifies bodily relief. Samson leans for support. Rest is not a possession but a temporary dependence.
“From men with your hand, Lord, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill their belly with your treasure; they are satisfied with children, and leave [הִנִּיחוּ (hinniḥu)] their abundance to their infants.” (Psalm 17:14; 16:14 LXX)
To rest in satisfaction and to leave behind. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) functions as the fullness of life’s portion as rest represented in inheritance. Yet, this rest is transient: what remains passes to children, never held permanently.
Leave Behind, Let Go, Abandon
“So I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave [אַנִּיחֶנּוּ (ʾanniḥennu)] it to the man who will come after me.” (Ecclesiastes 2:18)
To leave or give up as an inheritance for someone else. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) indicates relinquishment. What one works for cannot be held permanently but must be released.
“In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand rest [תַּנַּח (tannaḥ)]; for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.” (Ecclesiastes 11:6)
To wait, but not passively. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) acts under pressure: not to stop but to stay active in anticipation without assurance or any sense of control over the outcome. Rest here is paused in darkness, waiting without certainty.
Abandon / Let Be
“And he said, ‘Let him alone [הַנִּיחוּ (hanniḥu)]; let no one disturb his bones.’ So they left his bones undisturbed, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.” (2 Kings 23:18)
To abandon in peace, to let be. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) functions as non-interference. Even in death, the prophet’s word is beyond the king’s aegis. Death, rest, etc., indicate non-possession. The bones are not to be moved or claimed. Be warned, Josiah, God Almighty has spoken the truth. Do not disturb what God has already settled.
“So I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave [וַהֲנִיחוּךְ (wahaniḥuk)] you naked and bare.” (Ezekiel 16:39)
To abandon violently. Here, נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) does not function peacefully but instead signifies forsaking, leaving someone vulnerable. Rest in this context indicates exposure, the lack of protection.
Discipleship as Non-Settlement
“And Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’” (Luke 9:58)
To deny even the minimal rest that other earth mammals are granted. Here, Jesus embodies נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) denied: no pause, no place of repose, only constant motion. Discipleship is a nomadic way of life without settled ground.
“But He said to him, ‘Allow [Ἄφες (aphes)] the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:60)
To release family obligations, ἀφίημι (aphiemi) signifying “let go” is reflected in the command: let the dead bury their dead; you must be on the move. The function is about detachment: not settling in family, friends, tribe, nation, institution, or inheritance.
“Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.” (Luke 10:4)
To release possession and ties. Here, discipleship repeats the law of Sabbath rest: travel light, claim nothing, do not bind yourself. Forgiveness as release becomes life as release. Forgiveness is not psychological or therapeutic, let alone internal or spiritual. It is pragmatic. Yalla. There is work to do. Settle it quickly, but do not settle. Move on.
“And forgive [ἄφες (aphes)] us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” (Luke 11:4)
To release debts, whether economic obligations during the sabbatical year (cf. Nehemiah 10:31: “we will forgo [ἀφήσομεν] debts”) or sins as unpaid accounts, ἀφίημι moves from the sphere of finance into the realm of morality. Its core function is consistent: to let go of claims. Discipleship, therefore, entails refusing to settle accounts, even under the guise of justice. Modern therapeutic or spiritualized hearings of forgiveness, however, strip ἀφίημι of its practical edge, internalizing it into a private sentiment. In doing so, they domesticate and neutralize its force, turning release into a mechanism of distraction and immobilization rather than a radical act of non-settlement.
Instead of relinquishing the claim, as commanded in 1 Corinthians, people puff themselves up and usurp God’s role with the words, “I forgive you.” But no one asked for your forgiveness. Luke 11:4 is not about you extending pardon: it pertains to him, and you are not him.
“And he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, leave [ἄφες (aphes)] it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer.’” (Luke 13:8)
To suspend judgment, to delay final settlement. Here, ἄφες (aphes, from ἀφίημι aphiemi) functions as a request for non-interference and provisional release. The fig tree, though barren, is not uprooted; its fate is deferred until the Day of the Lord. This corresponds to the use of נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet) in the LXX, where God “let the nations remain” (Judges 2:23: καὶ ἀφῆκεν Κύριος, kai apheken kyrios).
“So in the present case I say to you, stay away [ἀπόστητε (apostete)] from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown.” (Acts 5:38)
Gamaliel’s reasoning is pragmatic: if the movement is human, it will collapse; if it is from God, no human can stop it. This is non-settlement elevated to strategy: do not disturb what God may be doing. It reflects the same mechanism at work in 2 Kings 23:18, “ἀφετε αυτον” (aphete auton, let him be), Josiah’s command not to disturb the prophet’s bones. In both cases, aphiemi functions as restraint: release control, refuse interference, acknowledge that what God has settled lies beyond human hands. The result is that witness is preserved and God’s work continues: the prophet’s bones remain as testimony to the word fulfilled, and the apostles, released rather than destroyed, become living testimony as the gospel spreads unchecked. Yet this restraint cuts both ways. Again, the double-edged sword of Damocles: God’s word is fixed, settled once for all, while the disciples who bear it must remain perpetually unsettled, always in motion under its pressure, never laying their heads down to rest.
نُوح (Nūḥ) Noah in the Qurʾan
“And it was said, ‘O earth, swallow your water, and O sky, withhold [your rain].’ And the water subsided, and the matter was accomplished, and the ship came to rest [وَاسْتَوَتْ (wastawat)] upon al-Judiyy, and it was said, ‘Away with the wrongdoing people!’” (Qurʾan, Surat Hūd سورة هود “Hud” 11:44)
To rest without settlement. The ark “rests” [وَاسْتَوَتْ (wastawat), from a different root, yet echoing the Hebrew נ־ו־ח (nun-waw-ḥet)], but this “rest” is provisional: not the founding of a city, not the permanence of possession, but simple survival upon the mountain. Noah’s deliverance is shadowed by loss. His son was left behind to perish (Qurʾan, Surat Hūd 11:42-43). Thus, the ark’s rest is not triumph but unsettled nomadic living: a continuation with a pause granted by God, not an end secured by human striving.
“[Noah said], ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send rain from the sky upon you in continuing showers.’” (Qurʾan, Surat Nūḥ سورة نوح “Noah” 71:10–11)
To release guilt through forgiveness. Nūḥ (نُوح) preaches divine مغفرة (maghfira), which functions like ἀφίημι (aphiemi) in the Gospels: release, remission, non-settlement of sin. On the cross, Jesus says, “Father, ἄφες (aphes) them” (Luke 23:34): not to soothe Himself, not to achieve closure, but to suspend judgment and relinquish claim. This is forgiveness as anti-therapeutic release: destabilizing rather than consoling, refusing to domesticate the offense, leaving it provisionally in God’s hands. Forgiveness, like rain, renews without permanent possession. It falls, restores, and moves on, unsettling the settlement itself.