Accept
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words [1]
râtsâh ( רָצָה , Strong'S #7521), “to be pleased, be pleased with, accept favorably, satisfy.” This is a common term in both biblical and modern Hebrew. Found approximately 60 times in the text of the Old Testament, one of its first appearances is in Gen. 33:10: “Thou wast pleased with me.” In the RSV rendering of this verse, “favor” appears twice, the first time being a translation of chen .
When râtsâh expresses God’s being pleased with someone, the English versions often translate it as “be delighted,” which seems to reflect a sense of greater pleasure: “… mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth” (Isa. 42:1); “… thou hadst a favor unto them” (Ps. 44:3). This nuance is reflected also in Prov. 3:12, where râtsâh is paralleled with ‛ahab —“to love”: “… for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
On the other hand, when one must meet a certain requirement to merit— râtsâh it seems more logical to translate it with “to please” or “to accept.” For example: “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams …?” (Mic. 6:7); “… burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them …” (Amos 5:22).
râtsâh can be used in the sense of “to pay for” or “to satisfy a debt,” especially as it relates to land lying fallow in the sabbath years: “Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, … even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths” (Lev. 26:34). Here the Rsv, Nasb and NEB also translate râtsâh as “enjoy.” However, the context seems to require something like “the land shall repay (satisfy) its sabbaths.” Similarly, the phrase, “… her iniquity is pardoned” (Isa. 40:2), must mean “her iniquity is paid for” or “her punishment is accepted as satisfactory.”
King James Dictionary [2]
Accept', L accepto, from accipio, ad and capio, to take.
1. To take or receive what is offered, with a consenting mind to receive with approbation or favor.
Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands. Deuteronomy 33 .
He made an offer which was accepted.
Observe the difference between receive and accept.
He received an appointment or the offer of a commission, but he did not accept it.
2. To regard with partiality to value or esteem.
It is not good to accept the person of the wicked. Proverbs 28 . 2 Corinthians 8 .
In theology, acceptance with God implies forgiveness of sins and reception into his favor.
3. To consent or agree to to receive as terms of a contract as, to accept a treaty often followed by of.
Accept of the terms.
4. To understand to have a particular idea of to receive in a particular sense.
How is this phrase to be accepted?
5. In commerce, to agree or promise to pay, as a bill of exchange. See Acceptance.
Webster's Dictionary [3]
(1): (v. t.) To receive with favor; to approve.
(2): (v. t.) To receive with a consenting mind (something offered); as, to accept a gift; - often followed by of.
(3): (v. t.) To receive or admit and agree to; to assent to; as, I accept your proposal, amendment, or excuse.
(4): (v. t.) To receive as obligatory and promise to pay; as, to accept a bill of exchange.
(5): (v. t.) In a deliberate body, to receive in acquittance of a duty imposed; as, to accept the report of a committee. [This makes it the property of the body, and the question is then on its adoption.]
(6): (a.) Accepted.
(7): (v. t.) To take by the mind; to understand; as, How are these words to be accepted?
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary [4]
See Acceptation
