Beatitudes - WikiHQ

thumb|[[James Tissot, The Beatitudes Sermon, c. 1890, Brooklyn Museum]]

The Beatitudes () are eight or nine blessings recounted by Jesus in Matthew 5:3–10 within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings.

In the Latin Vulgate, each of these blessings begins with the word , which translates to (plural adjective). The corresponding word in the original Greek is (), with the same meaning. Thus "Blessed are the poor in spirit" appears in Latin as . The Latin noun was coined by Cicero to describe a state of blessedness and was later incorporated within the chapter headings written for Matthew 5 in various printed versions of the Vulgate. Subsequently, the word was anglicized to in the Great Bible of 1540, and has, over time, taken on a preferred spelling of beatitudes.

While some opinions can differ as to exactly how many distinct statements into which the Beatitudes should be divided (ranging from eight to ten), most scholars consider them to be only eight. These eight of Matthew follow a simple pattern: Jesus names a group of people normally thought to be unfortunate and pronounces them blessed.

Matthew 5:3–12

thumb|150px|Plaque of the Eight beatitudes, St. Cajetan Church, [[Lindavista, Mexico]]

right|thumb|150px|Text of the Beatitudes at Our Lady of Peace Shrine, along [[Interstate 80 in Wyoming|I-80 in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming (2016)]]

The nine Beatitudes in Matthew:

The ninth beatitude (Matthew 5:11–12) refers to the bearing of reviling and is addressed to the disciples. R.T. France considers verses 11 and 12 to be based on .

The Beatitudes unique to Matthew are the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart, and the peacemakers, while the other four have similar entries in Luke, but are followed almost immediately by "four woes". The term "poor in spirit" is unique to Matthew. While thematically similar, the introduction of the phrase "Poor in spirit" spiritualizes or ethicizes the poor in their predicament (in alignment with Isaiah 61), while the Lucan version focuses on their actual hardship, poverty, marginalization and rejection of the poor who will see eventual vindication.

Luke

thumbnail|The Eight Beatitudes. Folio from Walters manuscript W.171 (15th century)

The four Beatitudes in are set within the Sermon on the Plain.

("Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.") appears to parallel the text in Matthew 5:11–12.

The four woes that follow in Luke 6:24–26 A broadly similar reading had been offered earlier by Alfred Edersheim (1825–1889) in his Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Proponents of this interpretation argue that it also resolves longstanding difficulties with specific beatitudes, such as "poor in spirit."

The term the meek would be familiar in the Old Testament, e.g., as in . Although the Beatitude concerning the meek has been much praised even by some non-Christians such as Mahatma Gandhi, some view the admonition to meekness skeptically. Friedrich Nietzsche in On the Genealogy of Morals considered the verse to be embodying what he perceived as a slave morality.

In Christian teachings, the works of mercy (good acts that are considered meritorious) have resonated with the theme of the Beatitude for mercy. These teachings emphasize that these acts of mercy provide both temporal and spiritual benefits.

The phrase "poor in spirit" () in Matthew 5:3 has been subject to a variety of interpretations. A.W. Tozer describes poverty of spirit as "an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets." It is not a call to material poverty, but to an awareness of spiritual need—the idea being that when one recognizes how much one needs God, God will satisfy that need by giving himself. Conversely, those who do not believe they need God will not find him revealed to them.

William Burnet Wright, seeking to avoid a common misunderstanding of the meaning of poverty of spirit, distinguishes those who are "poor in spirit" from those he calls "poor spirited," who "consider crawling the Christian's proper gait."

In other religious texts

Also in the New Testament, the Epistle of James contains a verse which is worded in much the same way as the Beatitudes; and which shares themes particularly with Matthew 5:10,12:

In the Book of Mormon, a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, Jesus delivers a sermon to a group of people in the Americas shortly after His death and resurrection. This event, believed by adherents to be part of Christ's visit to the Americas around the year 34, is recorded in 3 Nephi 12, where Jesus teaches a version of the Beatitudes similar to that found in Matthew 5.

Though the teachings in 3 Nephi 12 closely mirror the Beatitudes in Matthew, the Book of Mormon version emphasizes the importance of baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost, which is seen as central to the blessings. Additionally, in 3 Nephi 12:48, Jesus invites the people to be perfect, "even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect," expanding the call to divine perfection to include Himself, thus highlighting His divinity in the post-resurrection context of the Americas.

The Baháʼí Lawḥ-i-Aqdas tablet concludes with 21 beatitudes, including this statement:

The Qur'an mirrors the Bible only in Q:21:105 which resembles referred to in ; but the Qur'an uses "righteous" rather than "meek". The Qur'an (e.g., "say the word of humility and enter the gate of paradise") and some Hadith (e.g., "My mercy exceeds my anger") contain some passages with somewhat similar tone, but distinct phraseology, from the Beatitudes.

Six "modern Beatitudes" were proposed by Pope Francis during his visit to Malmö, Sweden on All Saints Day 2016:

In popular culture

In 2014 the Irish composer Patrick Cassidy included the Beatitudes as part of the soundtrack for the movie Calvary.

Bibliography

Easwaran, Eknath. Original Goodness (on Beatitudes). Nilgiri Press, 1989. .
Kissinger, Warren S. The Sermon on the Mount: A History of Interpretation and Bibliography. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1975.
Kühl, Ingo Seligpreisungen der Bergpredigt – kolorierte Lithografien (Beatitudes of the Sermon of the Mount – coloured Lithographs), Berlin 1997.
Twomey, M.W. "The Beatitudes". A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. Jeffrey, David Lyle ed. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992.

Notes

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: The Eight Beatitudes (New Advent).
The Beatitudes Society