To deliver a person into the hands of an enemy through deception, breaking covenant trust. The supreme biblical instance is Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14–16) — the price of a slave (Exodus 21:32). Judas's betrayal was foreseen in Scripture (Psalm 41:9; Zechariah 11:12–13) and set in motion by Satan (John 13:27), yet Judas bore full moral responsibility. The Greek paradidōmi is used 119 times in the New Testament and carries the weight of both human treachery and divine sovereignty: the same word applied to Judas is used of the Father "delivering up" his own Son for us (Romans 8:32). Betrayal exposes the depth of human sin; the cross transforms even the worst betrayal into redemption.
BETRAY, v.t. 1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; as, an officer betrayed the city. 2. To violate by fraud or unfaithfulness; as, to betray a trust. 3. To disclose perfidiously; to reveal in breach of confidence; as, to betray the secrets of a friend. 4. To show or discover, as things meant to be concealed. 5. To mislead or expose to inconvenience not expected.
Modern culture trivializes betrayal as conflict, misunderstanding, or "not feeling safe." Therapeutic framing turns betrayers into victims of their own trauma, dissolving the category of moral guilt. But Scripture has no category for innocent betrayal — it is a covenant act with covenantal consequences. On the other end, the culture romanticizes whistleblowing and leaking as courageous betrayal of corrupt institutions — conflating unfaithfulness with justice. The Christian must hold both edges: betrayal of sacred trust is among the gravest sins (Christ named it woe — "Woe to that man," Matthew 26:24), and yet no betrayer is beyond God's reach. Even Peter, who denied Christ three times, was restored and commissioned. Judas's tragedy was not his betrayal but his refusal to return to Jesus for forgiveness.
Matthew 26:24 — "The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!"
Psalm 41:9 — "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me."
John 13:27 — "Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, 'What you are going to do, do quickly.'"
Romans 8:32 — "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"
G3860 — παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi): "to hand over, deliver up, betray" — used of Judas, of God delivering Christ, and of Christ being handed to death