Lately I’ve been reading the Bible with a Greek Interlinear. (That’s the wonder of the internet. You have easy access to so many study aids.) And I was reading the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. There were several that struck me reading it as a word for word translation. The first was “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.”

The wonder of using BibleHub.com is that you can hyperlink to a lexicon to help understand the Greek words. In this case the original Greek word translated “meek” is praus (transliteration from the Latin alphabet) which is pronounce “prah-ooce.” One of the notes said it is the concept of strength under reserve control.

It made me realize that this isn’t humility as we normally think of it. It’s not the lack of ability or just letting someone run over you because you have no choice or stomach for a fight. No, it’s the ability, and even the right, to physically destroy and utterly obliterate by deed, or crush a spirit by word or insult, but choosing not to do so.

It is the concept of the warrior keeping his sword sheathed. Or as Jesus explained to Peter, if he wanted, he could’ve call twelve legions of angels to come to his aid, but he didn’t.

#Beatitudes, #Meekness