beatitude
American Heritage Dictionary:
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be·at·i·tude
(bē-ăt'ĭ-tūd', -tyūd') 
n.
n.
- Supreme blessedness or happiness.
- Beatitude Any of the declarations of blessedness made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
- Beatitude Used as a title and form of address for a patriarch in the Armenian Church or a metropolitan in the Russian Orthodox Church: Your Beatitude.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin beātitūdō, from beātus, happy. See beatific.]
Roget's Thesaurus:
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beatitude
noun
- A condition of supreme well-being and good spirits: blessedness, bliss, cheer, cheerfulness, felicity, gladness, happiness, joy, joyfulness. See happy/unhappy.
Bible Dictionary and Concordance:
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Beatitudes
A beatitude is a literary form common in both the OT and NT which consists of a short cry of joy like "You happy man!" which can be expanded to include a reason for the person's good fortune. The word beatitude comes from the Latin beatus meaning happy or blissful, an adjective representing the Hebrew ashre and the Greek makarios. These terms are to be distinguished from the passive participle blessed, often used in older English translations for the just mentioned set of terms as well as for Latin benedictus, Hebrew baruch, Greek eulogetos, thus leading to some confusion of blessing and beatitude. Properly the participle form is used only of God and is an invocation or wish. The adjective is used only of men and recognizes an existing state of happiness, represents an approving proclamation of fact, and contains an evaluative judgment. It is a proclamation of happiness, not merely a promise (though in the beatitudes of Jesus a promise is joined to it). It is a formula of congratulation or felicitation.
The preaching of Jesus begins as a cry of joy, as good news (Matt 5:3-11; Luke 6:20-22). This joy is based on the nearness of the Kingdom of God. The famous series of beatitudes at the beginning of Jesus' great discourse just referred to has, according to scholars, a complex evolution. Luke gives four of them, and the first three of these are short and based on Isaiah 61:1-4. These probably go back to Jesus himself and represent a kind of messianic manifesto of God's care for the poor, the hungry and those who weep (probably three adjectives for the same group of people). The fourth of Luke's list probably comes from the early Christian community and represents their first experiences of persecution. Matthew's much longer list of eight, nine or ten (scholars count them variously) adds some desirable qualities, justice, being pure of heart, merciful and peacemakers. He thereby makes the list into a program of Christian life, a series of virtues.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Beatitudes
Beatitudes (bē-ăt'ĭtūdz') [Lat.,=blessing], in the Gospel of St. Matthew, eight blessings uttered by Jesus at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount. Some, counting verses differently, say there are nine. In a parallel passage in the Gospel of St. Luke, only four of the blessings appear, with four corresponding woes.
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Bible:
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Beatitudes
(bee-at-uh-toohdz, bee-at-uh-tyoohdz) Eight sayings of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The word is from the Latin beatus, meaning “blessed,” and each of the Beatitudes begins with the word blessed. They include “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth” and “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'beatitude'
- Religious States and Experiences - beatitude: blessedness, bliss
- Mystical States and Experiences - beatitude: consummate bliss, transcendent happiness; state of being blessed
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Beatitudes
For other uses, see Beatitudes (disambiguation).
In Christianity, the Beatitudes (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: Beatitudines) are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful.[1][2][3]
The teachings are expressed as eight blessings in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Four similar blessings appear in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke and are followed by four woes that mirror the blessings.[4]
Each Beatitude consists of two phrases: the condition and the result. In almost all cases the phrases used are familiar from an Old Testament context, but in the sermon Jesus elevates them to new teachings.[5]
Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of Christian ideals that focus on love and humility rather than force and exaction. They echo the highest ideals of the teachings of Jesus on mercy; spirituality and compassion.[4][5]
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Biblical basis
While opinions may vary as to exactly how many distinct statements the Beatitudes should be divided into (ranging from eight to ten), most scholars consider them to be only eight.[2][3] These eight of Matthew follow a simple pattern: Jesus names a group of people normally thought to be unfortunate and pronounces them blessed.[4]
Matthew
The eight beatitudes in Matthew 5:3–12 during the Sermon on the Mount are stated as Blessed are:[2][3]
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- the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:3)
- they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (5:4)
- the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (5:5)
- they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (5:6)
- the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (5:7)
- the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (5:8)
- the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (5:9)
- they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10)
In Matthew, these are followed by what is often viewed as a commentary ("when men shall revile you"), which R. T. France considers based on Isaiah 51:7.[6]
The beatitudes present only in Matthew are the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart, and the peacemakers.[5] The other four have similar entries in Luke, but are followed almost immediately by "four woes".
Luke
The four beatitudes in Luke 6:20–22 during the Sermon on the Plain are stated as Blessed are you:[2][3]
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- the poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
- that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.
- that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
- when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
The four woes that follow these in Luke 6:24–26 are as stated as Woe unto you:[2]
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- that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
- that are full now! for ye shall hunger.
- that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
- when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.
These woes are distinct from the Seven Woes of the Pharisees that appear later in Luke 11:37–54.
Analysis and interpretation
Each Beatitude consists of two phrases: the condition and the result. In almost all cases the phrases used are familiar from an Old Testament context, but in the sermon Jesus elevates them to new teachings.[5]
Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of ideals that focus on love and humility rather than force and exaction; they echo the highest ideals of his teachings on spirituality and compassion.[5]
The term the meek would be familiar in the Old Testament, e.g. as in in Psalms 37:11.[7] Although the beatitude concerning the meek has been much praised even by some non-Christians such as Mahatma Gandhi, some view the admonition to meekness skeptically, e.g. Friedrich Nietzsche saw the verse as embodying what he perceived as a slave morality.[8]
In Christian teachings, the Works of Mercy, which have corporal and spiritual components, have resonated with the theme of the Beatitude for mercy.[9] These teachings emphasize that these acts of mercy provide both temporal and spiritual benefits.[3][4] The theme of mercy has continued in devotions such as the Divine Mercy in the 20th century.[10]
The peacemakers have been traditionally interpreted, not only live in peace with others but do their best to promote friendship among mankind and between God and man. St. Gregory of Nyssa interpreted it as "Godly work", which was an imitation of God's love of man.[3][9]
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon includes somewhat similar statements to Matthew 6, about teachings to the people of Nephi:[11][12]
See also
- Community of the Beatitudes
- Divine Mercy
- Mercy
- Mount of Beatitudes
- Sermon on the Mount
- Sermon on the Plain
Notes
- ^ The ladder of the Beatitudes by James H. Forest 1999 ISBN 978-1-57075-245-2 page 17
- ^ a b c d e The Westminster dictionary of New Testament and early Christian literature by David Edward Aune, 2003 ISBN 978-0-664-21917-8 pages 75-78
- ^ a b c d e f Catholic encyclopedia: Beatitudes
- ^ a b c d The Synoptics: Matthew, Mark, Luke by Ján Majerník, Joseph Ponessa, Laurie Watson Manhardt, 2005, ISBN 1-931018-31-6, pages 63–68.
- ^ a b c d e A Dictionary Of The Bible by James Hastings, 2004, ISBN 1-4102-1730-2, page 15–19.
- ^ France, R.T. (October 1987). The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary (1 ed.). Leicester: Send the Light. ISBN 0-8028-0063-7.
- ^ Hill, David (June 1981). New Century Bible Commentary: Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-1886-2.
- ^ Nietzsche, Friedrich (1887). On the Genealogy of Morals. ISBN 978-0-679-72462-9; ISBN 0-679-72462-1.. http://books.google.com/books?id=OwGPCsLiBlwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Nietzsche+Friedrich+On+the+Genealogy+of+Morals+ISBN#v=onepage&q=Nietzsche%20Friedrich%20On%20the%20Genealogy%20of%20Morals%20ISBN&f=false.
- ^ a b Jesus the Peacemaker by Carol Frances Jegen 1986 ISBN 0-934134-36-7 pages 68-71
- ^ A Divine Mercy Resource by Richard Torretto 2010 ISBN 1-4502-3236-1 pages 53 and 126
- ^ The Book of Mormon Made Easier, Part III by David Ridges 2007 ISBN 1-55517-787-5 pages 148-149
- ^ Mormon.org
- ^ a b Lds.org
References
- Kissinger, Warren S. The Sermon on the Mount: A History of Interpretation and Bibliography. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1975.
- Twomey, M.W. "The Beatitudes". A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. David Lyle Jeffrey, general editor. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992.
- Easwaran Eknath. Original Goodness (on Beatitudes). Nilgiri Press, 1989. ISBN 0-915132-91-5.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beatitudes |
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Beatitudes
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| Preceded by First disciples of Jesus |
Gospel harmony Events |
Succeeded by The Antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Beatitude
Nederlands (Dutch)
gelukzaligheid
Français (French)
n. - béatitude
Deutsch (German)
n. - Glückseligkeit
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μακαριότητα, ευδαιμονία, μακαρισμός
Italiano (Italian)
beatitudine
Português (Portuguese)
n. - beatitude (f), benção (f)
Русский (Russian)
состояние полного блаженства
Español (Spanish)
n. - beatitud, bienaventuranza
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - salighet, sällhet
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
至福, 祝福
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 至福, 祝福
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 다시 없는 행복, 대주교의 칭호
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) غبطه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - אושר רב, ברכה
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bible Dictionary and Concordance
Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible. Copyright © 1986 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Bible
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more
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