For the LORD listens to the needy, and His captives He has not despised. Psalm 69:34 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Captives – Paul often introduces himself as doúlos christóu which is typically translated “bond-servant.” But that’s not what it really means. A doúlos is a slave—compulsory, bound service. In the Greek world, this designation was…
Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Luke 6:20 NIV Poor – Don’t read it in Matthew—yet. Matthew doesn’t report Yeshua’s statement quite the same way, and for good reason, as we will see. No, read it in Luke. It’s much more comforting. …
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 NASB Blessed are – Perhaps you’ve read my book, The Lucky Life. If you haven’t, I forgive you. But you should. Because you will discover that Yeshua didn’t teach these lessons in Greek. Yes, of course, they have been transmitted to us in Greek, but…
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 Theirs – Yesterday we discovered that Hebrew has no direct equivalent for our Greek-based idea of possession. In Hebrew thinking, we are tenants in the house the Lord built. We are stewards, servants and caretakers. Never owners. If this is…
