(1) The beatitudes reflect selected aspects of Psalm 37, and other portions of the Sermon on the Mount share imagery with the same psalm. Read and compare the Sermon on the Mount and Psalm 37, and look over the comparative chart below. What are some of the themes and ideas that the Sermon on the Mount shares with Psalm 37? In what ways are these shared elements developed and expanded in Jesus’ sermon?
A
Comparison of the Sermon on the Mount and Psalm 37
|
|
Psalm 37
|
Matthew 5-7 |
|
Blesses those that
seek him |
37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the
desires of your heart.
|
6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well ... 7:7 Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you.
|
|
Humble/ righteous
inherit the land[1] |
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace
(37:11).[2]
|
5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land |
|
The Lord knows the
needs of the righteous[3] |
37:18 | 6:8 |
|
Flowers as temporary |
37:20 (“glory”)
|
6:29-30 (“glory”)
|
|
The wicked as a tree
that is judged[4] |
37:35-36
|
7:19
|
[1]
Compare Ps 37:37 with Matt 5: 9.
[2]
Betz states, “The formulation of the beatitude’s second line is obviously an
adaptation of Ps 36:11 (LXX) [37:11 Heb. ,
Eng.
[3]
See Peter C. Cragie, Psalms 1-50,
Word Biblical Commentary, ed. David A. Hubbard et al. (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1983), 299-300
[4]
See Wis 4:4; cf. Matt 7:27. Also
compare Sir.1:13 = Ps 37:37; Sir 1:22 =
Matt 5:22 ; Sir 1:23 = Ps 37:7-9; Sir
1:27 = Matt 5:5; Sir 2:7 = 37:7-9; Sir 2:10 =
37:25; Sir 3:31 = Matt 5:7.
(2) In the late spring of 2000, I was invited to present a paper at a conference near Toronto explaining some of the oral aspects of selected New Testament texts. My work included using some experimental translation techniques to show some of these textual elements designed for the ear—assonance, alliteration, rhyming, and so on.[1] Of the several passages I used to illustrate the oral phenomena, the most striking is the beatitudes of the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The beatitudes display many things in the Greek for the ears of the hearers.
Read the translation below, along with the notes, and consider the significance of these oral elements. How does the audible artistry relate to and strengthen the beatitudes? What are some of the implications of hearing the beatitudes according to their oral aspect?
Matthew 5
And seeing the crowds he went up into a mountain,
and sitting his followers came to him;[2]
and opening his mouth he taught them,
saying,
Graced––the stricken in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.[3]
Graced––the sorrowing,
for they will be consoled.[4]
Graced––the subdued,
for they will inherit the earth.[5]
Graced––the ones who starve and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Graced––the merciful,
for on them will mercy be bestowed.[6]
Graced––the ones with whole hearts,
for God they will behold.[7]
Graced––the peace-makers,
for sons of God they will be called.[8]
Graced––the ones who are ravaged because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.[9]
Graced are you
when they revile you
and ravage you
and speak all evil against you
because of me.[10]
Be joyful and celebrate,
for your wages are great in the heavens,
for they ravaged the prophets who were before you.
And seeing the crowds he went up into a mountain,
and sitting his followers came to him;[2]
and opening his mouth he taught them,
saying,
Graced––the stricken in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.[3]
Graced––the sorrowing,
for they will be consoled.[4]
Graced––the subdued,
for they will inherit the earth.[5]
Graced––the ones who starve and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Graced––the merciful,
for on them will mercy be bestowed.[6]
Graced––the ones with whole hearts,
for God they will behold.[7]
Graced––the peace-makers,
for sons of God they will be called.[8]
Graced––the ones who are ravaged because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.[9]
Graced are you
when they revile you
and ravage you
and speak all evil against you
because of me.[10]
Be joyful and celebrate,
for your wages are great in the heavens,
for they ravaged the prophets who were before you.
[1]
The starting point for my approach was experimenting with some of the things
Everett Fox has done in his translation of the Five Books of Moses.
[2] Matt 5:1 he went up into a mountain: Perhaps echoing the language of Exod
24:12 LXX “come-up to me into the mountain.” The setting for the Sermon on the
Mount as well as its content––e.g., “you have heard it said (by Moses) . . .
but I say to you”––employs Sinai imagery.
[3] 3 Graced: Trad. “Blessed” in the sense
of privileged benefactor of divine favor. stricken
in spirit: The translation reflects the alliteration in the Gr., ptôchoi tô pneumati. This signals
alliteration as one of the significant oral features of the beatitudes. The
first four beatitudes are alliterated by p-
(see vv. 3-6). Also, the first and eighth beatitudes are parallel (inclusio) by the alliteration of the
first line of both––i.e., ptôchoi tô
pneumati (v. 3) and dediôgmenoi
heneken dikaiosunęs (v. 10)––and the identical repetition of the second
line in both.
[4] 4 sorrowing . . . consoled: The
alliteration and assonance in the last words of the two lines (penthountes and paraklęthęsontai) could only be reflected in part in the
translation because of other simultaneous oral effects of these words in this
context. consoled: The final word of
the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh beatitudes (vv. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9)
rhymes in Gr. (-sontai). This feature
could only be partially emulated in the translation.
[5] 5 inherit the earth: Apparently based
on “the meek shall inherit the land” (Ps 37:11a NRSV; cf. 37:3, 22, 29, 34).
[6] 7 will be bestowed, etc.: Note that the
second lines of the fifth through the eighth beatitudes reflect in reverse
order the verb tenses of the first four beatitudes, namely, present active vv.
3, 10; future passive vv. 4, 9; future active vv. 5, 8; and future passive vv.
6, 7.
[7] 8 whole hearts: Text mimics
alliteration in Gr. (katharoi tę kardia).
[8] 9 called: Translation of the last word
in the second and seventh beatitudes (vv. 4, 9) only partially reflects the
assonance of the Gr. (paraklęthęsontai
and klęthęsontai).
[9] 10 ravaged because of righteousness: Text
mirrors alliteration in Gr. (dediôgmenoi
. . . dikaiosunęs). Also, see note on
v. 3 above.
[10] 11 you: This final beatitude shifts in
format and from third to second person, thus signaling its climactic verbal
force. revile . . . ravage: Translation
reflects assonance in Gr. (oneidisôsin
. . . diôxôsin). Also, note threefold
repetition of “ravage” in vv. 10-12 which connects graced followers and the
prophets of old. evil against you
because of me: It is unclear from the manuscript evidence whether it should
read as above or “. . . evil against you (and) misrepresent (you) because of
me” (see Metzger, Textual Commentary,
10-11).
(3) The first eight beatitudes of Matthew 5:1-12
seem to be in pairs the first and
eight, second and seventh, third and sixth, fourth and fifth (see note 6 above). (a) Compare the
pairs. Besides the overall symmetry, how do these pairs impact interpretation
of the individual beatitudes? (b) The beatitudes and woes of Luke 6:20-26 also are paired. What is the pattern of the pairs? How does the pairing of blessings and woes affect the interpretation of this passage?
(c) Compare Matthew 5:1-12 and Luke 6:20-26. Which beatitudes are similar? What are the differences of these similar beatitudes? How would you characterize the overall significance of the beatitudes in Matthew versus those in Luke?
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