P. Ivan Hrůša, O.Carm.
In the article on the prefigurations of baptism in the Old Testament1, the New Testament pericope 1 Cor 10:1–6 was mentioned, noting that: “Paul speaks of a prefiguration in the sense of admonition, but in verses 1–2 and 4 he connects the passage through the Red Sea and baptism in Moses with Christ.” In a footnote, it was promised that we would return to the unusual phrase “baptism in Moses” in a separate article. In the original Greek text of the New Testament, we often encounter the phrase baptizó eis meaning "to baptize, to immerse into (someone, something)."
Let us state all occurrences of this phrase in the New Testament precisely:
| Mt 28:19 | ... baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. | |
| Acts 19:3 | He said, “Into what were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” | |
| Acts 19:5 | When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. | |
| Rom 6:3 | Do you not know that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? | |
| 1 Cor 1:13 | Were you baptized in the name of Paul? | |
| 1 Cor 1:15 | ... so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. | |
| 1 Cor 10:2 | ... and all were baptized into Moses. | |
| 1 Cor 12:13 | ... for we were all baptized into one body. | |
| Gal 3:27 | For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. |
As evident from the cited quotes, the term baptizó, translated as "to baptize," retains its original meaning of "to immerse" in connection with baptism. In both Czech and Greek, this verb is associated with the preposition "into" (in Greek eis); thus, to immerse into something/someone.
A somewhat peculiar formulation is presented in Acts 19:3: “to be baptized in baptism,” “to be immersed in immersion.” In this case, the preposition eis rather conveys the meaning of the Czech genitive: “to be baptized by baptism,” “to be immersed by immersion.” The entire expression reflects a Semitic way of expression that favors linking a noun and a verb derived from the same root or with related meanings: immerse immersion, go path.
Regarding the rite of baptism, “immersion” encompasses a dual level, physical and metaphorical: immersion in water is simultaneously immersion into (the name of) a person. The baptismal immersion “into the name of N.” could perhaps be paraphrased as: “I immerse you (into the water) with reference to the name of N. (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Christ, Paul, Moses).” The effect of such immersion is affiliation to the entity being “immersed” into: to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit, to Jesus, to Paul.
It is quite illustrative to see the individual's affiliation with that into which they were immersed when Paul employs the verb baptizó in a purely metaphorical sense: immersion into death, into one body signifies affiliation with death, with one body.
In 1 Cor 10:2, Paul speaks of baptism in Moses in the same way as he speaks elsewhere about baptism in Christ, and almost incidentally places the figure of Moses in the Old Testament alongside the figure of Jesus in the New Testament. Therefore, immersion “in Moses” signifies for Paul an affiliation with Moses as the mediator between the Israelites and their God, and through Moses, affiliation with the Lord.
