What Do You Need?

Give us this day ^[a]our daily bread.  Matthew 6:11 NASB

Daily bread – What does Yeshua imply in this difficult expression?  Oh, wait.  Did you think this verse was “difficult”?  Probably not.  It’s been an accepted part of the Lord’s Prayer for so long that we don’t even recognize that scholars have puzzled over this particular Greek word for centuries.  That’s why there’s a footnote in the NASB reading “bread for tomorrow.”  The term, epioúsios, is found only in the two versions of the Lord’s Prayer (Mattew and Luke).  What it actually means is hard to say.

The Linguistic Derivation. One possible derivation is from epiénai, which would give such senses as “regular,” “daily,” “appropriate.” Another is from hē epióusa (hēméra), which yields “for the next day,” or “for the day already dawning.” Derivations from epí and eínai are possible according to the Koine but cause confusion of sense. The suggestion that epí tḗn ousían forms the basis, so that the meaning is “for vital sustenance,” is not linguistically feasible. epí tḗn oúson (hēméran), “for the present day,” makes good sense, but hē oúsa has never been found without hēméra.   The idea that epioúsios is formed in contrast to perioúsios and means “not exceeding our need” has little probability.^[1]  (see the reference below for a full explanation of the problem)

But if we put the translation issues aside, we can draw some conclusions:

1. The prayer for bread is made to God only here in the Gospels.
2. It is restricted to religious and holy language
3. The word order stresses the primacy of the word “bread” – Luther translated  this as “Our bread, our daily bread, give us today”
4. The Hebrew mentality emphasizes the assumption that all of life’s basic needs are gifts from God (Job 1:21)
5. We are commanded to share this provision with the hungry (Is. 58:7 and Ps. 146:6-7)
6. The pious Jew understood the necessity of God’s provision in relation to sin (Prov. 30:8)
7. The uniqueness of the expression is seen by the fact that “bread” is never used with a possessive pronoun anywhere else in the NT and very rarely in the Tanakh.

Remember that Yeshua wasn’t speaking Greek.  He spoke Hebrew.  In that case, the word would be leḥem which means any food whatsoever. So the phrase means “have a meal.”  It addresses the basic need not to be hungry.

Yeshua allows prayer to meet our physical needs—at God’s hand—in order that we may see the corresponding representation in our spiritual needs—those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Just as God fulfills the physical, so He fulfills the spiritual, in this case through His chosen agent who said (also in Hebrew), “I am the bread of life.”

Finally, this is the only time in the Bible where the petition for daily sustenance is limited to “today.”  What does this imply?  That the petition points to the true reality of life: we never know if we will have tomorrow here.

So, we learn:

1. God is the sole and ultimate provider
2. We are absolutely dependent on Him
3. We have the daily opportunity to come to Him for our needs
4. We are to embrace the attitude of distribution modeled on God’s behavior
5. We are not here to accumulate, nor does accumulation provide any protection
6. The prayer itself best represents a life of one whose mental attitude understands the essential poverty of earthly existence.

What, then, can we say about the Greek epioúsios?  We know how unusual this word is, but we might find something useful in two Hebrew verses: Deuteronomy 8:10 and Psalm 107:9.

First, look at Deuteronomy 8:10.  What is the implied duty?  Then read Psalm 107:9.  Who is responsible and able?

Now examine Matthew 25:34 ff.  We are obligated to follow this pattern.

Finally, consider the implications in 1 Peter.  The day will come when hunger will no longer oppress this world.  Doesn’t this prayer in Matthew anticipate a redeemed future?  But today something else prevails, as we learn in Mark 10:45.

What do we learn:

1. DUTY – feed the hungry
2. ATTITUDE – God provides and I am thankful
3. RESULT – I am invited to participate in His banquet
4. IMPACT – my rights derived from natural life are swept away

Conclusion:

What does this tell us about “bread”?  It’s “holy.”

What does “bread” point to?  A day without hunger.

What imagery is involved?  Meals with God and His community.

Topical Index: epioúsios, daily, bread, Matthew 6:11

^[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (pp. 243–244). W.B. Eerdmans.