[B-Greek] The meaning of MAKARIOS

Gary & Lynn O'Neal goneal at intop.net
Tue Feb 14 16:11:46 EST 2006


Bryant

> Gary should look at how MAKARIOS is used in the LXX where it translate 
> ASHRE
>>ASHER, meaning "Blessed, Happy." In fact, it used 44 times in the OT,  26 
>>times
> in Psalms and God is never the subject of the "blessing," but man is. God 
> is
> used as the subject of EULOGEW + cognates.
>

My purpose was not to come up with a translation but to atempt to put the 
Greek phrase into a proposition form. To do this, implicit information is 
sometimes included. Though in the LXX God is not the subject of the 
'blessing', the blessing is often a result of what He has or will do which 
the context makes clear. For example, in Psalm 1, the person is blessed (or 
happy or fortunate) who doesn't walk with the unrighteous. The unrighteous 
are not blessed. The reason given in verse six is because the Lord knows 
their ways. So, while it doesn't say "God blesses those who..." it does 
imply that the blessing comes from him.

In Luke 6, these poor are blessed because the kingdom of God is theirs. The 
way in which they are blessed is by having some connection to the kingdom of 
God. I took this as something God has done. Surely it isn't some state or 
condition that they have as a result of a pronouncement by man.

> Therefore, to use Gary's retranslation of Luke 6:20, Proposition -" God 
> has
> blessed the poor,"  would be incorrect for MAKARIOS is referring to a
> state/condition pronounce by man upon another man, as reflected by its use 
> in
> the OT especially the Psalms, and is not a pronouncement from God.
>
> En Xristwi,
>
> Rev. Bryant J. Williams III
>

The other possibility, from the viewpoint of trying to put it into a 
proposition, is to leave it as a State proposition. In light of the 
following 'woes', that might be the best alternative.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Gary O'Neal 




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