DATIVE SPIRIT
MATTHEW Ch. 5 Verse 3
μακαριοι
οἱ πτωχοι τῷ πνευματι
Blessed (are) the
poor in spirit for theirs is the realm of the heavens
The parallel section in
Luke 6. 20 – 23 omits pneumati
Now πνευματι
is dative rather than genitive. Why?
Greek
can use dative without a preposition.
This
could be a dative of place, cause, means, or respect.
Matthew
stresses poverty of spirit but the other kind of poverty is meant as
well.
As
a matter of style the use of the dative also contrasts with the
genitive forms in the secondary subordinate clause.
Was
Jesus bilingual in Greek? Could the minor differences between verses
from Gospel to Gospel reflect jesus speaking first in Greek or
Aramaic depending on his audience and then repeating himself in the
other language?
However
the primary message is the important one.
BLESSED
ARE THE POOR
and
it is a lovely example of the dative form too!
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