Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Matthew: Chapter 5].
poor," but he means the same by it as this form in Matthew, "the
pious in Israel, for the most part poor, whom the worldly rich
despised and persecuted" (McNeile). The word used here
(\pt•choi\) is applied to the beggar Lazarus in Lu 16:20,22 and
suggests spiritual destitution (from \pt•ss•\ to crouch, to
cower). The other word \pen•s\ is from \penomai\, to work for
one's daily bread and so means one who works for his living. The
word \pt•chos\ is more frequent in the New Testament and implies
deeper poverty than \pen•s\. "The kingdom of heaven" here means
the reign of God in the heart and life. This is the _summum
bonum_ and is what matters most.
5:4 {They that mourn} (\hoi penthountes\). This is another
paradox. This verb "is most frequent in the LXX for mourning for
the dead, and for the sorrows and sins of others" (McNeile).
"There can be no comfort where there is no grief" (Bruce). Sorrow
should make us look for the heart and hand of God and so find the
comfort latent in the grief.
5:5 {The meek} (\hoi praeis\). Wycliff has it "Blessed be mild
men." The ancients used the word for outward conduct and towards
men. They did not rank it as a virtue anyhow. It was a mild
equanimity that was sometimes negative and sometimes positively
kind. But Jesus lifted the word to a nobility never attained
before. In fact, the Beatitudes assume a new heart, for the
natural man does not find in happiness the qualities mentioned
here by Christ. The English word "meek" has largely lost the fine
blend of spiritual poise and strength meant by the Master. He
calls himself "meek and lowly in heart" (Mt 11:29) and Moses is
also called meek. It is the gentleness of strength, not mere
effeminacy. By "the earth" (\t•n g•n\) Jesus seems to mean the
Land of Promise (Ps 37:11) though Bruce thinks that it is the
whole earth. Can it be the solid earth as opposed to the sea or
the air?
5:6 {They that hunger and thirst after righteousness} (\hoi
pein•ntes kai dips•ntes t•n dikaiosun•n\). Here Jesus turns one
of the elemental human instincts to spiritual use. There is in
all men hunger for food, for love, for God. It is passionate
hunger and thirst for goodness, for holiness. The word for
"filled" (\chortasth•sontai\) means to feed or to fatten cattle
from the word for fodder or grass like Mr 6:39 "green grass"
(\chortos chl•ros\).
http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson_at/wordpictures/htm/MT5.RWP.html (3 of 10) [28/08/2004 09:02:59 a.m.]