Matthew 5:8

Matthew 5:8
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Matthew 5:8 depicted in the window of a Trittenheim church
Book	Gospel of Matthew
Christian Bible part	New Testament

Matthew 5:8 is the eighth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It is the sixth verse of the Sermon on the Mount, and also sixth of what are known as the Beatitudes.

Content

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

Blessed are the pure in heart:

for they shall see God.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

The Novum Testamentum Graece text is:

μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ,

ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται.

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 5:8.

Analysis

This verse is generally believed to have been taken from

The form – "blessed" (Greek: makarios) + subject + "that" (hoti) + cause – can be found in Genesis 30:13 (also in Tobit 13:16), whereas the eschatological orientation is similar to Daniel 12:12 (also 1 Enoch 58:2–3).^[2] Other ancient literature can attest the grouping together of several beatitudes (cf. 4Q525 2; 2 Enoch 52:1–14) and the use of third person plural address (cf. Pss. Sol. 17:44; Tobit 13:14).^[2] The Greek word makarios cannot adequately be rendered as "blessed" nor "happy", as it is rather 'a term of congratulation and recommendation',^[3] that can also mean "satisfied" (as in Psalm 1:1).^[4]

The word purity is not believed to refer to one who was ritually cleansed, but rather to internal spiritual purity as noted by the "in heart" addition. At the time the heart was literally seen as the seat of emotion and the soul, though today the verse is read metaphorically. Davies and Allison read a pure heart as being one that is simple and undivided in allegiance.^[5]

Commentary from the Church Fathers

Ambrose: The merciful loses the benefit of his mercy, unless he shows it from a pure heart; for if he seeks to have whereof to boast, he loses the fruit of his deeds; the next that follows therefore is, Blessed are the pure in heart.^[6]

Glossa Ordinaria: Purity of heart comes properly in the sixth place, because on the sixth day man was created in the image of God, which image was shrouded by sin, but is formed anew in pure hearts by grace. It follows rightly the before-mentioned graces, because if they be not there, a clean heart is not created in a man.^[6]

Jerome: The pure is known by purity of heart, for the temple of God cannot be impure.^[6]

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He who in thought and deed fulfils all righteousness, sees God in his heart, for righteousness is an image of God, for God is righteousness. So far as any one has rescued himself from evil, and works things that are good, so far does he see God, either hardly, or fully, or sometimes, or always, according to the capabilities of human nature. But in that world to come the pure in heart shall see God face to face, not in a glass, and in enigma as here.^[6]

Glossa Ordinaria: The reward of these is greater than the reward of the first; being not merely to dine in the King's court, but further to see His face.^[6]

See also

• Isaiah 61
• Psalm 24

References

Sources

• Allison, Dale C. Jr. (2007). "57. Matthew". In
  ISBN 978-0199277186
  . Retrieved February 6, 2019.
• ISBN 9780195288810
  .
• ISBN 9780851106489
  .