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| == Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament <ref name="term_55174" /> ==
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| <p> This word occurs three times in the Authorized Version( Romans 4:8-9, Galatians 4:15), but rightly disappears in the Revised Version,*[Note: In the two passages in Rom. the [[Rv]] substitutes ‘blessing,’ in Gal. ‘gratulation.’]for the Gr. word μακαρισμός means not blessedness itself, but a pronouncement that some one is blessed. ‘Blessedness’ is simply a convenient generalization, expressing the meaning which [[Nt]] writers convey by the adjectives translated ‘blessed’ or ‘happy’ (μακάριος, εὐλογητός) and the participle εὐλογημένος, ‘blessed’ (practically an adjective); cf. the verb ἐνευλογέομαι ( Acts 3:25, Galatians 3:8) and μακαρίζω ( Luke 1:48, James 5:11). The various forms of εὐλογέομαι refer, literally, to being ‘well spoken of,’ and apparently always contain at least the latent thought of praise being conferred or happiness ascribed; μακάριος, however, expresses simply the possession of a quality, and for the ascription of this by others the verb μακαρίζω is needed. </p> <p> [[Blessedness]] being a personal possession, any kind of action or utterance by others is of secondary importance in regard to it. Hence the crucial word is μακάριος, not εὐλογέομαι, etc. The Revised Versionhas in John 13:17, 1 Peter 3:14; 1 Peter 4:14 altered the Authorized Versiontranslationof μακάριος from ‘happy’ to ‘blessed’; it might well have made the same alteration in Romans 14:22, 1 Corinthians 7:40. Massie would banish ‘happy’ from the [[Nt]] except in Acts 26:2 ( <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> , article‘Happiness’). In the [[Ot]] אַשְׁרֵי, [[‘O]] the happiness (or blessedness) of,’ has been even more frequently translated ‘happy’ when it might have been rendered ‘blessed’ (cf. Psalms 89:15 with Psalms 144:15, where the [[Hebrew]] is אַשְׁרֵי in both cases). Still, ‘happy’ is more suitable in the [[Ot]] than in the [[Nt,]] for the rewards promised to the [[Ot]] saints are of a far more material and temporal order (see Psalms 1:3-6; the epilogue even of Job 42:10-17; and <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> , article‘Blessedness’). For the [[Nt]] it is significant not only that μακάριος, which occurs very frequently, represented to the [[Greeks]] the higher and even the [[Divine]] bliss, but also that the lower and more ordinary word εὐδαίμων, with its suggestion of good luck, is entirely absent. For the use of μακάριος in the Gospels, see article‘Beatitude’ in <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> and in <i> Dict. of Christ and the [[Gospels]] </i> . This was the regular term in [[Nt]] times for ‘departed’ (to the world of blessedness); cf. Germ. <i> selig </i> , and see Deissmann, <i> Light from the [[Ancient]] East </i> 2, 1911, p. 166. On the whole, it bears an exceedingly lofty meaning, though it is less spiritual in Luke than in Matthew, In Matthew 24:47 Matthew need not be understood as offering a coarsely material ‘blessedness’; the servant is advanced in the <i> confidence </i> of his master. There is no need to question the inwardness of any blessedness offered elsewhere in Matthew. In Luke 12:37; Luke 12:33 the spread table, and the flattering attentions received thereat, are somewhat prominent; but Jesus is speaking metaphorically, and elsewhere literal, materialistic views are rebuked ( Luke 11:27-28 and perhaps Luke 14:15 ff.). Too much stress must not therefore he laid on Luke 6:20-21, although there the blessedness of being ‘filled’ seems to refer to food rather than, as in Matthew, to righteousness. </p> <p> In the rest of the [[Nt]] μακάριος is less used than in the Gospels. St. Paul has it twice only ( Romans 4:7-8), and then in an [[Ot]] quotation. In 1 Timothy 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:15 (never in the Gospels) it is applied to God, but in this sense εὐλογητός is usual. In regard to men, it is applied to those who give ( Acts 20:35), who are forgiven ( Romans 4:7-8), who endure temptation ( James 1:12), who act according to the perfect law of liberty ( James 1:25), who die in the Lord ( Revelation 14:13; see also Revelation 1:3; Revelation 16:15; Revelation 19:9; Revelation 20:6; Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:14). It stands for a good which is above happiness, and dwells not least with those who are counted worthy to sacrifice happiness for conscience’ sake. It is based, partly, on a character which is its own ‘better and abiding possession’ ( Hebrews 10:34 m). While it remains itself, it is above all adequate earthly reward and beyond all earthly overthrow. Above all, it is based in the spiritual world; to the ‘pure in heart’ the highest blessedness is to ‘see God’ ( Matthew 5:8; cf. 1 John 3:2-3). </p> <p> For various aspects of the idea of blessedness, as expressed in the [[Nt]] by quite other words, see article‘Blessedness’ in <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> . </p> <p> Literature.-Article‘Blessedness’ in <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> , <i> Hastings’ Single-vol. Dictionary of the Bible </i> , and <i> Dict. of Christ and the Gospels </i> ; also [[F.]] [[C.]] Kempson, <i> The Future Life </i> , 1907, p. 308; [[J.]] [[M.]] Hodgson, <i> Religion-The [[Quest]] of the ideal </i> , 1911, p. 106; [[T.]] [[G.]] Selby, <i> The Imperfect Angel </i> , 1888, p. 25; [[T.]] Binney, <i> King’s Weigh-house [[Chapel]] Sermons </i> , 1869, p. 71; [[J.]] [[B.]] Lightfoot, <i> Sermons in St. Paul’s [[Cathedral]] </i> , 1891, p. 178. </p> <p> [[C.]] [[H.]] Watkins. </p> | | Blessedness <ref name="term_55173" /> |
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| | <p> <b> [[Blessedness.]] </b> —Though the word ‘blessedness’ itself is never found in the recorded utterances of our Lord nor in the pages of the Gospels, the idea conveyed by it is very frequent. The adjective ‘blessed’ occurs in many contexts, and may, indeed, be termed a characteristic epithet on Christ’s lips. The thought expressed by it was inherited, like so many others, from the Old Testament. It is one of the dominant notes of the [[Psalter]] (Heb. אַשְׁרֵי [[‘O]] the happiness of’), and constitutes one of the clearest and most common terms whereby to denote the ideal of Israel’s highest hopes. It was natural, therefore, that Jesus should take the word to set forth the great spiritual realities of His kingdom. It is in this sense that it meets us on the earliest pages of St. Matthew’s Gospel. The famous form of the sayings there collected (see art. Beatitudes) is one of the best-known sections of the narrative. So throughout the pages of the [[Gospels]] and elsewhere in the [[Nt]] we find sayings cast in the same mould. All of them are expressive of the spiritual graces to be looked for in disciples of the kingdom (.g. Matthew 11:6, Luke 7:23, Matthew 24:46, Acts 20:35), or are indicative of high privileges open to believers in its message (.g. Matthew 13:16, Luke 11:28, John 20:29). [[Spiritual]] gladness is not only a note of service in the kingdom, but is to accompany all its true and inalienable rewards. </p> <p> When we set ourselves to discover the significance of these sayings we are struck (1) by their <i> spiritual character </i> . Twice ( Luke 11:27; Luke 14:15) beatitudes of a material character are uttered by our Lord’s hearers, and He at once rebukes them, and shows the necessity of fixing the desires of the heart on the inward and unseen. The main qualities designated and praised are meekness, purity, tenderness of heart, peaceableness, faith, patience, contrition, qualities which have no sooner been named than we are reminded of such lists of the fruits of the Spirit as we find in Galatians 5:22-23 or Ephesians 4:30-32. Blessedness, as Christ presented it, was therefore a condition of the mind and heart that expressed an attitude of faith and love towards God and men, and obtained the reward with certainty even if the sowing were ‘in tears’ and the ‘interest far off.’ </p> <p> (2) Several of these sayings are marked by the sense of the <i> futurity of their fulfilment </i> . It is noteworthy that in the list of [[Beatitudes]] in Matthew 5, while the majority speak of futurity, ‘shall be comforted,’ ‘shall inherit,’ etc., one or two are written in the present tense, <i> e.g. </i> ‘theirs <i> is </i> the kingdom of heaven.’ In Matthew 5:10 we have the unique form of expression, ‘have been persecuted … theirs is.’ In St. Luke also we find the same commingling of present and future. This reflects a state of opinion that prevails throughout the Gospels, and gives rise to some of the greatest problems of interpretation, viz. in what sense the kingdom of God is to be understood—as a present or as a future condition. The Beatitudes are not only closely related to this question—they constitute a special aspect of it. As Titius puts it, ‘Over every saying of Jesus may be written the inscription, “Concerning the kingdom of God” ’ These sayings, then, reveal the nature of the kingdom in its twofold aspect as an inward, spiritual, present reality which exists, progresses, suffers, is in perpetual conflict; and, as a great future fulfilment, when conflict shall turn to peace, failure to victory, suffering to reward, and the inward desire and the outward attainment be one in the presence of perfected power. </p> <p> [[Blessedness]] may therefore be regarded as one of the forms under which our Lord presented the character of His kingdom, and so it becomes an illuminative idea whereby to read the whole [[Gospel]] narratives. They all illustrate it. They all serve to make up its content. The word and thought derived from the Old [[Testament]] receive richer significance, and may be taken as equivalent to those other great terms, such as ‘eternal life’ and ‘the kingdom of heaven,’ under which, in the pages of St. John and St. Matthew, the great purposes of God in Christ are set forth. </p> <p> Literature.—The articles ‘Blessedness’ and, in particular, ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible; the articles in this Dictionary on Beatitudes, [[Kingdom]] of God, [[Eternal]] Life, Parables, etc.; the [[Commentaries]] on Matthew 5 and Luke 6, and on the other verses quoted, especially, for practical purposes, Morison, [[Bruce]] [in <i> Expos. Gr. Test </i> .]; Trench, <i> The [[Sermon]] on the Mount </i> . The most recent full commentary on Matthew is that of [[Zahn]] (in German). Books on the Kingdom of God should also be consulted, and, in particular, [[A.]] Titius, <i> Die [[Nt]] Lehre von der Seligkeit </i> , etc., erster Teil, 1895; and Bousset, <i> [[Jesu]] Predigt in ihrem Gegensatz zum Judentum </i> . See also [[N.]] Smyth, <i> [[Christian]] Ethics </i> , 118ff.; [[J.]] [[B.]] Lightfoot, <i> Sermons in St. Paul’s </i> , 178; [[T.]] [[G.]] Selby, <i> The Imperfect Angel </i> , 25. </p> <p> [[G.]] [[Currie]] Martin. </p> |
| == Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology <ref name="term_17679" /> ==
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| <p> [[Condition]] or state of being in God's grace or favor. The Bible contains the words "bless, " "blessing, " and "blessed, " but not the noun "blessedness, " although the idea of a spiritual state of beatitude in which believers enjoy God's fellowship permeates the Bible. [[Bless]] translates the Hebrew <i> asre </i> [כַּאֲשֶׁר בַּאֲשֶׁר אֲשֶׁרמֵאֲשֶׁר] and <i> baruk </i> [בָּרַךְ בָּרַךְ] and the Greek <i> eulogetos </i> [Εὐλογητός] and <i> makarios </i> [Μακάριος]. All are used of believers, but only <i> baruk </i> and <i> eulogetos </i> [Εὐλογητός] of God. These words suggest divine protection, evoking believers' trust in their benefactor. They know God as the origin of every good thing in both this life and the next. The English word "blessedness" is derived from the root word for "blood" and suggests something set aside through sacrifice and in the Bible through Christ's sacrificial death for sins. Every aspect of the [[Christian]] life is embraced by blessedness with no credit assumed by the person experiencing it. It is purely God's grace. </p> <p> In the Old [[Testament]] this blessedness may involve material things, but forgiveness is foremost ( Psalm 32:1 ). All [[Christians]] are blessed simply by believing in Christ and hearing and keeping his word ( Luke 11:28 ) and their perseverance in the face of trial ( Matthew 11:6 ). Blessedness can apply to special endowments. [[Abraham]] ( Genesis 12:1-3 ) and Peter ( Matthew 16:17 ) are blessed because they stand at the head of God's people in each Testament and are channels of God's blessedness to others. Elizabeth, as following generations, recognizes Mary's blessedness as the Lord's mother ( Luke 1:42,48 ). [[Perfected]] blessedness belongs to the dead in Christ ( Revelation 14:13 ). [[Whereas]] holiness refers to God's unapproachability and moral demands, blessedness focuses on what God does for the believer. From eternity he is blessed ( <i> eulogetos </i> [ Ephesians 1:3-4 ). Blessedness means God's bringing his promises to David to fulfillment in raising up Jesus as the Christ ( Luke 1:68-70 ). The original experience of Adam and [[Eve]] in Eden is a blessedness derived from a creation in which God provides for their spiritual well-being with his companionship and their physical needs with the garden's trees ( Genesis 2 ). The lost blessedness is replaced by cursed ground ( Genesis 3:17 ). No longer does man know God as benefactor, but rather malefactor, responsible for every evil experienced ( Genesis 3:12-13 ). While some like Abel, Seth, Noah, and the patriarchs regain blessedness, others like [[Cain]] ( Genesis 4:11 ) and [[Canaan]] ( Genesis 9:25 ) fall under God's disfavor. The lost blessedness of the original paradise is fully restored by the cross and is now associated with the redemption ( Luke 23:43 ). On that account Jesus is called blessed ( Matthew 23:39; Luke 1:42; 19:38 ). </p> <p> The patriarchs live in a state of unperfected blessedness with their weaknesses removed at death ( Hebrews 11:13 ). Blessedness for [[Israel]] was dependent on their keeping the covenant by which God established them as his people. It required their worship of him as the only God. [[Idolatry]] deprived them of their blessedness. Blessedness in the Old Testament at times assures certain material blessings ( Genesis 39:5 ). Canaan is given as a land of inheritance to Israel and military conquest and physical prosperity follow ( 1 Kings 4:20 ). The psalms focus on the individual, often with physical prosperity given to God's enemies. Blessedness entails the believer's continual occupation with God's word, the avoidance of the wicked, and perseverance and final flourishing ( Psalm 1 ). This psalm's first words, "blessed" ( <i> asre </i> [ Psalm 22 ), material deprivation, and seeing the wicked flourish, but are finally victorious ( Psalm 2 ). Israel's persecuted prophets lived in the same unresolved dilemma, one now promised Christians ( Matthew 5:12 ). Blessedness is seen not in how God materially rewarded the prophets, but in their perseverance ( James 5:11 ). The occasional Old Testament association of blessedness with material advantages is reversed in the New Testament and is linked with financial destitution. The poor ( Luke 6:20 ) and the poor in spirit ( Matthew 5:3 ) have already gotten their blessedness in attaining the kingdom of God. Jesus is despised by others ( Isaiah 53:3 ) and the poorest of men and still in him blessedness comes to its highest expression ( 2 Corinthians 8:9 ). The blessedness of the righteous is seen in their persecution by God's enemies ( Matthew 5:11-12 ). The apostles are blessed in seeing what prophets could only long for ( Matthew 13:16 ) and rejoice because they are allowed to suffer for Christ ( Acts 5:41 ). [[Suffering]] brings martyrs into a state of blessedness ( Revelation 14:13 ). The martyrs have attained blessedness and are called "saints, " not because of their moral perfection, but because their deaths identify them with Christ. </p> <p> David [[P.]] Scaer </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . [[C.]] [[W.]] Mitchell <i> , The Meaning of b r k </i> "to bless" <i> in the Old Testament </i> ; [[C.]] Westermann, <i> Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church </i> . </p>
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| == Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible <ref name="term_49879" /> ==
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| <p> <strong> [[Blessedness]] </strong> . The substantive does not occur either in [[Av]] [Note: Authorized Version.] or [[Rv]] [Note: Revised Version.] of the [[Ot,]] and has rightly been expunged from the [[Rv]] [Note: Revised Version.] of Romans 4:6; Romans 4:9 , Galatians 4:15 , where alone it had place in the [[Av]] [Note: Authorized Version.] of the [[Nt.]] ‘Blessed’ and ‘happy’ are found in both Testaments as a varying translation of the same Heb. or Gr. word; ‘blessed’ greatly pre-ponderating. The Biblical blessedness represents a conception of happiness in which the religious relation is taken into account, with its emotions and its issues. In the [[Ot]] these issues sometimes lie rather in material prosperity life, long life, wealth, children, outward peace but it is recognized that the <em> conditions </em> of these are spiritual ( Psalms 1:1-6 ), and in not a few instances the inward and spiritual is itself represented as the <em> content </em> of true happiness ( <em> e.g </em> . Psalms 32:1-11 [but see Psalms 32:10 ], Proverbs 4:7 [but see Proverbs 3:2; Proverbs 3:10 ]). </p> <p> In the [[Nt]] the stress is decisively shifted to the spiritual <em> content </em> of blessedness, which may consist with the most adverse earthly conditions ( Matthew 5:10-11 , Luke 6:22 , James 1:12 ). The thought of compensation in future reward is not absent, even from the ‘Beatitudes’ (esp. in their Lukan form, Luke 6:20-26 ); but the reward is clearly only the consummation of a blessedness already attained by the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, etc. In the teaching of Jesus the <em> summum bonum </em> appears now as place in the [[Kingdom]] of God, now as eternal life ( <em> e.g. </em> Matthew 25:34 , Mark 10:17; Mark 10:23 , John 3:3-5; John 4:14 ), and both are described as a present possession ( Luke 17:20-21 , John 3:36 ). </p> <p> Finally, in the Johannine writings the religious relation, already in the [[Ot]] an essential condition of blessedness ( <em> e.g. </em> Psalms 2:12; Psalms 33:12 ), is made supreme and in itself all-sufficing. [[Eternal]] life <em> is </em> personal union with Christ, revealer of the Father, by trust and fellowship ( <em> e.g. </em> John 5:24; John 6:54; John 17:3 , 1 John 5:11-20 ). For so man becomes partaker of the life of Him who is Himself the ‘blessed God’ ( 1 Timothy 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:15 ). </p> <p> [[S.]] [[W.]] Green. </p>
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| == King James Dictionary <ref name="term_58313" /> ==
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| <p> [[Bless'Edness,]] n. [[Happiness]] felicity heavenly joys the favor of God. </p> 1. Sanctity.
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| == Webster's Dictionary <ref name="term_93764" /> ==
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| <p> (n.) The state of being blessed; happiness; felicity; bliss; heavenly joys; the favor of God. </p>
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| == Holman Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_39071" /> ==
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| [[Blessing And Cursing]]
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| == International Standard Bible Encyclopedia <ref name="term_2091" /> ==
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| <p> '''''bles´ed''''' -'''''nes''''' : This translation of μακαρισμός , <i> '''''makarismós''''' </i> (a word signifying "beatification" or "the ascription of blessing"), is used but three times, in Romans 4:6 , Romans 4:9 , and Galatians 4:15 , in the King James Version only. In the first two instances it refers to the happy state or condition of a man to whom Christ's righteousness is imputed by faith, and in the last to a man's experience of that condition. See [[Happiness]] . </p>
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| ==References == | |
| <references> | | <references> |
| | | <ref name="term_55173"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-new-testament/blessedness+(2) Blessedness from Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament]</ref> |
| <ref name="term_55174"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-new-testament/blessedness Blessedness from Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament]</ref> | |
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| <ref name="term_17679"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/baker-s-evangelical-dictionary-of-biblical-theology/blessedness Blessedness from Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_49879"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-bible/blessedness Blessedness from Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_58313"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/king-james-dictionary/blessedness Blessedness from King James Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_93764"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/webster-s-dictionary/blessedness Blessedness from Webster's Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_39071"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/holman-bible-dictionary/blessedness Blessedness from Holman Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_2091"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/international-standard-bible-encyclopedia/blessedness Blessedness from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia]</ref>
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| </references> | | </references> |
Blessedness [1]
Blessedness. —Though the word ‘blessedness’ itself is never found in the recorded utterances of our Lord nor in the pages of the Gospels, the idea conveyed by it is very frequent. The adjective ‘blessed’ occurs in many contexts, and may, indeed, be termed a characteristic epithet on Christ’s lips. The thought expressed by it was inherited, like so many others, from the Old Testament. It is one of the dominant notes of the Psalter (Heb. אַשְׁרֵי ‘O the happiness of’), and constitutes one of the clearest and most common terms whereby to denote the ideal of Israel’s highest hopes. It was natural, therefore, that Jesus should take the word to set forth the great spiritual realities of His kingdom. It is in this sense that it meets us on the earliest pages of St. Matthew’s Gospel. The famous form of the sayings there collected (see art. Beatitudes) is one of the best-known sections of the narrative. So throughout the pages of the Gospels and elsewhere in the Nt we find sayings cast in the same mould. All of them are expressive of the spiritual graces to be looked for in disciples of the kingdom (.g. Matthew 11:6, Luke 7:23, Matthew 24:46, Acts 20:35), or are indicative of high privileges open to believers in its message (.g. Matthew 13:16, Luke 11:28, John 20:29). Spiritual gladness is not only a note of service in the kingdom, but is to accompany all its true and inalienable rewards.
When we set ourselves to discover the significance of these sayings we are struck (1) by their spiritual character . Twice ( Luke 11:27; Luke 14:15) beatitudes of a material character are uttered by our Lord’s hearers, and He at once rebukes them, and shows the necessity of fixing the desires of the heart on the inward and unseen. The main qualities designated and praised are meekness, purity, tenderness of heart, peaceableness, faith, patience, contrition, qualities which have no sooner been named than we are reminded of such lists of the fruits of the Spirit as we find in Galatians 5:22-23 or Ephesians 4:30-32. Blessedness, as Christ presented it, was therefore a condition of the mind and heart that expressed an attitude of faith and love towards God and men, and obtained the reward with certainty even if the sowing were ‘in tears’ and the ‘interest far off.’
(2) Several of these sayings are marked by the sense of the futurity of their fulfilment . It is noteworthy that in the list of Beatitudes in Matthew 5, while the majority speak of futurity, ‘shall be comforted,’ ‘shall inherit,’ etc., one or two are written in the present tense, e.g. ‘theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ In Matthew 5:10 we have the unique form of expression, ‘have been persecuted … theirs is.’ In St. Luke also we find the same commingling of present and future. This reflects a state of opinion that prevails throughout the Gospels, and gives rise to some of the greatest problems of interpretation, viz. in what sense the kingdom of God is to be understood—as a present or as a future condition. The Beatitudes are not only closely related to this question—they constitute a special aspect of it. As Titius puts it, ‘Over every saying of Jesus may be written the inscription, “Concerning the kingdom of God” ’ These sayings, then, reveal the nature of the kingdom in its twofold aspect as an inward, spiritual, present reality which exists, progresses, suffers, is in perpetual conflict; and, as a great future fulfilment, when conflict shall turn to peace, failure to victory, suffering to reward, and the inward desire and the outward attainment be one in the presence of perfected power.
Blessedness may therefore be regarded as one of the forms under which our Lord presented the character of His kingdom, and so it becomes an illuminative idea whereby to read the whole Gospel narratives. They all illustrate it. They all serve to make up its content. The word and thought derived from the Old Testament receive richer significance, and may be taken as equivalent to those other great terms, such as ‘eternal life’ and ‘the kingdom of heaven,’ under which, in the pages of St. John and St. Matthew, the great purposes of God in Christ are set forth.
Literature.—The articles ‘Blessedness’ and, in particular, ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible; the articles in this Dictionary on Beatitudes, Kingdom of God, Eternal Life, Parables, etc.; the Commentaries on Matthew 5 and Luke 6, and on the other verses quoted, especially, for practical purposes, Morison, Bruce [in Expos. Gr. Test .]; Trench, The Sermon on the Mount . The most recent full commentary on Matthew is that of Zahn (in German). Books on the Kingdom of God should also be consulted, and, in particular, A. Titius, Die Nt Lehre von der Seligkeit , etc., erster Teil, 1895; and Bousset, Jesu Predigt in ihrem Gegensatz zum Judentum . See also N. Smyth, Christian Ethics , 118ff.; J. B. Lightfoot, Sermons in St. Paul’s , 178; T. G. Selby, The Imperfect Angel , 25.
G. Currie Martin.
References
