Blessed ( μακάριοι); Vulgate, beati; hence "Beatitudes." The word describes "the poor in spirit," etc., not as recipients of blessing ( εὐλογημένοι) from God, or even from men, but as possessors of "happiness" (cf.
the Authorized Version of John 13:17, and frequently). It describes them in reference to their inherent state, not to the gifts or the rewards that they receive. It thus answers in thought to the common ירשׁ) of the Old Testament; e.
g. 1 Kings 10:8; Psalms 1:1; Psalms 32:1; Psalms 84:5. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs, is the kingdom of heaven. The first Beatitude is the sum and substance of the whole sermon. Poverty of spirit stands in contrast to self sufficiency (Revelation 3:17) and as such is perhaps the quality which is most of all opposed to the Jewish temper in all ages (cf.
Romans 2:17-20). For in this, as in much else, the Jewish nation is the type of the human race since the Fall. Observe that Psalms 84:3, Psalms 84:4 ( οἱπτωχοί οἱπενθοῦντες, possibly also Psalms 84:5, vide infra) recall Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah 61:2.
As recently in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:18, Luke 4:19), so also here, he bases the explanation of his work on the prophecy of that work in the Book of Isaiah. The poor ( οἱπτωχοί). πτωχός, in classical and philosophical usage, implies a lower degree of poverty than πένης (2 Corinthians 9:9 and LXX.
). "The πένης may be so poor that he earns his bread by daily labour; but the πτωχός is so poor that he only obtains his living by begging The τένης has nothing superfluous, the πτωχός nothing at all" (Trench, 'Syn.
,' § 36.). Hence Tertullian purposely altered Beati pauperes of the Old Latin to Beati mendici, and elsewhere ('De Idol.,' 12) rendered it by egeni. But in Hellenistic Greek, so far as the usage of the LXX.
and the Hexapla goes, the distinction seems hardly to hold good. Hatch even infers—on, we think, very insufficient premisses—that these two words, with τακεινός and πραύς (but vide infra), designate the poor of an oppressed country, i.
e. the peasantry, the fellahin of Palestine as a class, and he considers it probable that this special meaning underlies the use of the words in these verses. Whether this be the case or not, the addition of τῷ πνεύματι completely excludes the supposition that our Lord meant to refer to any merely external circumstances.
In spirit; Matthew only ( τῷ πνεύματι). Dative of sphere (cf. Matthew 11:29; 1 Corinthians 7:34; 1 Corinthians 14:20; Romans 12:11). James 2:5 ( τοὺς πτωχοὺς τῷ κόσμω) forms an apparent rather than a real contrast; for the dative there marks, not the sphere in which, but the object with reference to which, the poverty is felt ("the poor as to the world," Revised Version; Wiesinger in Huther), or possibly the object which is the standard of comparison, i.
e. in the judgment of the world (Winer, § 31.4, a). Christ here affirms the blessedness of those who are in their spirit absolutely devoid of wealth. It cannot mean that they are this in God's opinion, for in God's opinion all are so.
It means, therefore, that they are this in their own opinion. While many feel in themselves a wealth of soul-satisfaction, these do not, but realize their insufficiency. Christ says that they realize this "in (their) spirit;" for the spirit is that part of us which specially craves for satisfaction, and which is the means by which we lay hold of true satisfaction.
The actual craving for spiritual wealth is not mentioned in this verse. It is implied, but direct mention of it comes partly in James 2:4, and especially in James 2:6. For theirs. Emphatic, as in all the Beatitudes ( αὐτῶν αὐτοί,).
Is. Not hereafter (Meyer), but even already. The kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit already belong to and have a share in that realm of God which now is realized chiefly in relation to our spirit, but ultimately will be realized in relation to every element of our nature, and to all other persons, and to every part, animate and inanimate, of the whole world.