Forgiveness, a look at the Greek

Below is an answer to a question I posed on the 100 Hour Board years ago, about meanings of the words translated as "forgive" in three passages in the New Testament.  Since the Board is ending soon, I have cut and pasted it below for future reference. 

The author and person for whom I am indebted for this information was a person whose used the pen name "St. Jerome"

For the benefit of our readers I have reproduced the verse in question.

Matthew 6:12 and 14: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:"

The words in Matthew 6 (apheys, apheykamen, and aphete) all derive from the same root word, aphieymi, which is a combination of the preposition apo- meaning "away," and hiemi meaning "to go." The whole word, aphieymi, therefore means "to send away or discharge." In this sense, it has the meaning of "let go" or "set free." However, it also has a legal sense of "to release from a debt or an obligation." In this passage, as with many of the passages in the New Testament, older legal terminology has been co-opted into a newer religious terminology. So, when we ask the Lord to "forgive our debts," we are using legal terminology.  

Ephesians 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God 

for Christ́’s sake hath forgiven you."

The words in Ephesians both come from chariskomai, which is a middle form of the word charis. This

 is one of those great and important words. It forms the root for our own English words charity and charisma.  Charis is translated in other places in the New Testament as "grace." It also has the sense of "to give a favor or grant a boon." The word in Ephesians are in the middle voice, something which English doesn't really have. Essentially, the middle voice are words that carry a reciprocal meaning or "for oneself." Not in a selfish sense, but in a linguistic sense. So, chariskomaimeans something to the effect "to show favor, for oneself." Perhaps to retain the sense of charis we could translate the 

passage in Ephesians as "be gracious one to another."

Luke 6:37 "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"

The words in Luke are various forms of apoluo which means "to let loose, or free from apo- "away" again and luo "to release." This is again a legal term. It can in certain cases have the meaning of "acquit" or "to absolve of charges." It can also mean "to ransom or redeem." Once again here we 

have a legal usage, which the Christian authors used in a religious sense.