“repent”

Two languages, two starting points

The biblical concept rendered “repent” in English starts from different places in its two original languages:

Greek metanoeō — change of mind

Metanoeō (μετανοέω) is built from meta (after, change of) + noeō (to perceive, think, understand). The basic sense is cognitive: think differently afterward, change one’s mind. BDAG documents an extended sense in NT and early Christian usage that adds a fuller moral turning, but the cognitive root is what the word foregrounds.

The verb is in the present tense in Mark 1:15 — metanoeite — which in Greek imperative aspect indicates ongoing or durative action: keep changing your mind, be reorienting. Not a single tearful crisis but a continuing reorientation.

Hebrew shuv — turning back

Shuv (שׁוּב) is one of the most common verbs in the Hebrew Bible — over 1,050 occurrences. HALOT s.v. shuv glosses it primarily as “to turn, to return.” When the prophets call Israel to shuv, the image is directional: turn back, return to the LORD, change direction.

“Return [shuv] to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. (Malachi 3:7, BSB)

The action is concrete and physical — turning, returning — not interior or emotional in the first place.

What the English imports

The English “repent” comes through Latin re-paenitere (Old French repentir) and carries the affective load of paenitere — to feel sorry, to regret. In medieval Catholic usage paenitentiam agite (“do penance”) added the active sacramental component. By the time the English verb reaches modern usage, “repent” carries:

• Sorrow, contrition, regret
• Tears, an emotional crisis
• A specific punctiliar conversion event in some traditions
• A turning away from sin

These are present in the biblical concept somewhere — but they are not all in metanoeō or shuv in their primary lexical range. They have accumulated around the English word.

What gets lost

When “repent” is read with the modern English emotional charge, two things can happen:

• Sermons frame repentance as an emotional experience — tears, brokenness, contrition. This is sometimes present in biblical narratives (David’s psalms of repentance) but is not the primary content of metanoeō.
• Repentance gets located in a single moment — a particular conversion event. The Greek present-tense imperatives suggest ongoing reorientation, not single events.

The biblical concept is broader than either reading alone. Metanoeō and shuv together describe a sustained reorientation of mind and direction — emotional, cognitive, and behavioural elements all permitted but not all required at every moment.

For the etymology in detail, see our word entry on repent. For the specific Mark 1:15 translation question, see our translation entry.