Status: Working notes Faith & Logic Published August 28, 2026 Updated September 22, 2026
Transgression is the step over a line you already knew was there. Not a miss in the dark. A known command, then a foot on the other side.
Hebrew names that weight pesha (pesha) — פֶּשַׁע — revolt, a break of covenant. Greek often answers with parabasis (parabasis) — παράβασις — a going-beside, a stepping-over. First hearers heard a fence and a crossing. They did not hear a personality quiz.
The three words on this site stay distinct. Sin can name a miss. Iniquity is the warp underneath. Transgression is the line. They sit together in Israel’s Scriptures. Paul does not invent a fourth disease. He names the gift for the same wound.
What it is not: a technicality you can lawyer away. A small word for other people’s crimes. If the command was known, the crossing is the point.
The gift is still a gift. A line crossed is why a hearer turns.
See also: Sin. Iniquity. Repent.