Sermon on Mount, Beatitudes, sky and ground, personal and social fulfillment
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
Fortunate the peacemakers because they themselves will be called sons of a Divine.
Peace comes from action, and the strength for action from God.
In Jesus's era, peacemakers were not pacifists but neither were they simply warriors. Plutarch said that young men wanted war and contests because they had no power or respect and wished to win them. Mature, established people were the peacemakers. They were people of power, people of influence who could enforce the peace, that is, make the peace, maintain order. In English, we would say "peacekeepers" rather than "peacemakers." So there is a bit of a play on words here: the powerful adults of human society are being called children of a divinity.
However, the phrase translated as "the children of God" has a couple pf odd features. First, there is no "the" before "children." Definite articles can be assumed before plural verbs in English translation because plural definite articles are more common in English than Greek. Still, Jesus says "sons" with the article about seventy percent of the time, which is to say, habitually. This indicates that he might mean something different when he doesn't. Interestingly, one of the other times that he doesn't use the article is in Matthew 5:45 when he says "sons of the Father." However, Jesus also doesn't use an article before the word for "God." This is very rare, since the article separates the Jewish one God from the Roman/Greek/Persian gods. The lack of an article seems to indicate that he means the term generally as "a divine" rather than "the Divine." See this article of how Jesus uses the word for "God."
There are a number of patterns in the Beatitudes, which are discussed in this article on the Beatitudes.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blessed" means "blessed" primarily in the sense of "lucky" or "fortunate" without a sense of a "blessing."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "they" here is repetitive, like "they themselves."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blessed" means "blessed" primarily in the sense of "lucky" or "fortunate" without a sense of a "blessing."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "they" here is repetitive, like "they themselves."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "God" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blesses" means "blessed" primarily in the sense of "lucky" or "fortunate" without a sense of a "blessing."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "blesses" is not an active verb but an adjective.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "who" doesn't exist in the source.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "for" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "peace" is part of a noun, not a part of a clause.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "they" here is repetitive, like "they themselves."
Blessed -- (CW) The word "blessed" in Greek is an adjective from a root word meaning "happy" or "fortunate." In Jesus's era, all luck was attributed to divine favor but this is not otherwise a religious word. It has no relationship to the Greek verb "bless" or the noun "blessings."
are -- There is no verb "are" in the Greek source. It is implied by the equating of "workman" with "worthy" both in the Greek form of subjects.
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.
peacemakers: -- The Greek term translated as "peacemaker" is the adjective form of the verb that means "makes peace." "Peace" is the Greek term that means harmony between individuals and nations" and the general idea of safety, security, and prosperity. It is the opposite of the state of war. In Hebrew, the word for peace was used in salutations and as an inquiry as to one's health.
for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because", or "since."
they -- (CW) The "they" is the pronoun used explicitly as the subject of the final phrase. This is unnecessary in Greek because the subject is also a part of the verb ending. Jesus only uses the pronoun when he wants to emphasize i t as we would say "they themselves".
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
called -- The Greek term translated as "called" is the source of our word "to call." It means "to call be name" or "to summon by name." We saw a different form of this word in the beatitude on mourning (Matthew 5:4 ), which used it in the sense of summoning. However, this verb is really at the end of the sentence, not in the middle. It is in the future tense.
the -- There is no Greek article "the" here in the source, but the noun is plural and in English an article is used before plural nouns in phrases like this.
children -- The word translated as "children" is literally "sons." Here, however, this idea of being called a son or child is both an insult and praise. It is an insult because mature men of power are being called children. However, in being called children of God, they are being praised. As we know, Christ referred to himself as the "son of God." Here he connects that idea to those who make peace. Of course, Christ himself was a producer of peace in the sense of brings people freedom from the fear of death. However, worldly peacemakers create people of a different sort. Christ says this explicitly in John 14:27: "...my peace I give to you: not as the world gives."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
God. -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." However, here it appears without an article before it. It is usually introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods. Here, without the article, it seems to refer more to the idea of "divine."
Blessed -- (CW) The word "blessed" in Greek is an adjective from a root word meaning "happy" or "fortunate." In Jesus's era, all luck was attributed to divine favor but this is not otherwise a religious word. It has no relationship to the Greek verb "bless" or the noun "blessings."
are -- There is no verb "are" in the Greek source. It is implied by the equating of "workman" with "worthy" both in the Greek form of subjects.
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.
peacemakers: -- The Greek term translated as "peacemaker" is the adjective form of the verb that means "makes peace." "Peace" is the Greek term that means harmony between individuals and nations" and the general idea of safety, security, and prosperity. It is the opposite of the state of war. In Hebrew, the word for peace was used in salutations and as an inquiry as to one's health.
for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because", or "since."
they -- (CW) The "they" is the pronoun used explicitly as the subject of the final phrase. This is unnecessary in Greek because the subject is also a part of the verb ending. Jesus only uses the pronoun when he wants to emphasize i t as we would say "they themselves".
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
called -- The Greek term translated as "called" is the source of our word "to call." It means "to call be name" or "to summon by name." We saw a different form of this word in the beatitude on mourning (Matthew 5:4 ), which used it in the sense of summoning. However, this verb is really at the end of the sentence, not in the middle. It is in the future tense.
the -- There is no Greek article "the" here in the source, but the noun is plural and in English an article is used before plural nouns in phrases like this.
children ==The word translated as "children" is literally "sons." Here, however, this idea of being called a son or child is both an insult and praise. It is an insult because mature men of power are being called children. However, in being called children of God, they are being praised. As we know, Christ referred to himself as the "son of God." Here he connects that idea to those who make peace. Of course, Christ himself was a producer of peace in the sense of brings people freedom from the fear of death. However, worldly peacemakers create people of a different sort. Christ says this explicitly in John 14:27: "...my peace I give to you: not as the world gives."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
God. -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." However, here it appears without an article before it. It is usually introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods. Here, without the article, it seems to refer more to the idea of "divine."
God -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "God" in the Greek source.
blesses -- (CW, WF) The word "blesses" in Greek is an adjective from a root word meaning "happy" or "fortunate." In Jesus's era, all luck was attributed to divine favor but this is not otherwise a religious word. It has no relationship to the Greek verb "bless" or the noun "blessings." This word is not a verb.
those -- The word translated as "those who" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.
who -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "who work for" in the Greek source.
work -- The Greek word translated as "work" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "performing" as service. It describes a productive action.
for -- (IW) This word is added because the following noun was changed into a intransitive verb and a noun.
peace: -- (WF) The Greek term translated as "peace " is the noun form of the verb that means "makes peace." "Peace" is the Greek term that means harmony between individuals and nations" and the general idea of safety, security, and prosperity. It is the opposite of the state of war. In Hebrew, the word for peace was used in salutations and as an inquiry as to one's health.
for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because", or "since."
they -- (CW) The "they" is the pronoun used explicitly as the subject of the final phrase. This is unnecessary in Greek because the subject is also a part of the verb ending. Jesus only uses the pronoun when he wants to emphasize i t as we would say "they themselves".
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
called -- The Greek term translated as "called" is the source of our word "to call." It means "to call be name" or "to summon by name." We saw a different form of this word in the beatitude on mourning (Matthew 5:4 ), which used it in the sense of summoning. However, this verb is really at the end of the sentence, not in the middle. It is in the future tense.
the -- There is no Greek article "the" here in the source, but the noun is plural and in English an article is used before plural nouns in phrases like this.
children ==The word translated as "children" is literally "sons." Here, however, this idea of being called a son or child is both an insult and praise. It is an insult because mature men of power are being called children. However, in being called children of God, they are being praised. As we know, Christ referred to himself as the "son of God." Here he connects that idea to those who make peace. Of course, Christ himself was a producer of peace in the sense of brings people freedom from the fear of death. However, worldly peacemakers create people of a different sort. Christ says this explicitly in John 14:27: "...my peace I give to you: not as the world gives."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
God. -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." However, here it appears without an article before it. It is usually introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods. Here, without the article, it seems to refer more to the idea of "divine."
μακάριοι (adj pl masc nom) "Blessed" is from makarios which means "blessed", "prosperous", "happy", "fortunate," and "blissful."
οἱ (article pl masc nom) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones." -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.
εἰρηνοποιοί, (noun pl masc nom) "Peacemaker" is from eirenopoios, which means literally, "one who produces peace" or "one who makes peaceful." The first part of the word comes from eirene, a noun which means both the "freedom from fear" and "a treaty of peace between countries". The last part of the word is the verb, poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready," and "to do."
ὅτι (adv) "For" is from hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that", "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what", "because", "since," and "wherefore."
[αὐτοὶ] (adj pl masc nom) "They" is from autos (autos), which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."
υἱοὶ (noun pl masc nom) "The children" is from huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child."
θεοῦ (noun sg masc gen) "Of God" is from theos, which means "God," "divine," and "Deity."
κληθήσονται. (3rd pl fut ind pass) "Shall be called" is from kaleo, which means "call", "summon", "invite", "invoke", "call by name," and "demand."
The mature men of worldly power are the called "children" in divine terms. This is both criticism and praise because they are children of the divine.
As these men confronted the troublemakers near them, the heckling died instantly.
“Fortunate!” the Teacher announced cheerfully into the renewed silence. “These peacemakers!”
We laughed at the repeated theme as the men took their seats again on the hillside.
“Fortunate we are on your side,” Boaz suggested as he sat.
The Master laughed and gestured toward Boaz, “Because they themselves? Sons of divinity!” he explained grandly.
This praise was said in such an exaggerated way that big Boaz looked embarrassed. Though the guard was embarrassed, the Master’s words affected Boaz in a way that explains what happened later in our story.
“So your realm of the skies is for the powerful?” one of the disgruntled Militants called out.
“They will be called,” the Teacher answered cheerfully, pointing a finger upward.
“This realm of the skies!” we responded happily, especially the men in the audience who had stood.