beatitudes

beatitudes
There are numerous instances of the beatitude form in the OT, as in the psalms (1; 32; 119), but the word is particularly applied to part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) following his forty days' temptation in the wilderness. It opens with a series of beatitudes (blessings), which are essentially eschatological [[➝ eschatology]]; that is, they are related to the arrival in Jesus of the kingdom of God. Disciples [[➝ disciples]] are blessed when they recognize this intervention of God: they may be living in this world, but under the pressure of the Kingdom, they reject the usual values of this world. Thus, ‘the poor in spirit’ are blessed—those who are unattracted to, indifferent to, money and possessions are blessed. Behind Matthew's narrative is the recollection of Moses receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. But it is placed firmly in a context of grace, not threats (Heb. 12:20–1).
The beatitudes take a different form in Luke 6:20–6, and the explicit mention that Jesus stood ‘on a level place’ (6:17) seems to be making a deliberate contrast with Matt. 5:1, since to be on level ground would not normally call for special notice. Luke loves to mention Jesus' compassion for the literally poor, the disadvantaged, the despised, and second-class citizens: so in Luke the first beatitude is ‘Blessed are you who are poor’, followed in 6:24 by ‘But woe to you who are rich’.
There are also isolated beatitudes scattered through the gospels, and one is also quoted at Acts 20:35.

Dictionary of the Bible.

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  • Beatitudes — Béatitudes Les Béatitudes (du latin beatitudo, le bonheur) sont le nom donné à une partie du Sermon sur la Montagne, rapporté dans les Évangiles de Matthieu et de Luc. Jésus décrit les vertus des citoyens du Royaume des Cieux, et montre comment… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • béatitudes — ● béatitudes nom féminin pluriel Groupe de sentences de Jésus commençant par le mot « bienheureux » dans l Évangile de Matthieu (V, 3 12) et celui de Luc (VI, 20 26). [Elles ouvrent le Sermon sur la montagne.] …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Beatitudes — The Beatitudes (from Latin beatus , meaning blessed or happy [cite web url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=beatitude title = beatitude last = Harper first = Douglas date = work = [http://www.etymonline.com/ Online Etymology Dictionary] …   Wikipedia

  • Béatitudes — Les Béatitudes (du latin beatitudo, le bonheur) sont le nom donné à une partie du Sermon sur la Montagne, rapporté dans les Évangiles de Matthieu (5, 3 12) et de Luc (6, 20 23). Jésus décrit les vertus des habitants du Royaume des Cieux, et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Beatitudes —    (Scripture)    The Beatitudes are the blessings enunciated by Jesus as part of the Sermon on the Mount (see Mt 5:3 12) and the sermon on the plain (see Lk 6:20 26). The Beatitudes are often considered to represent the heart of thepreaching of… …   Glossary of theological terms

  • Beatitudes, Mount of — • Name given to the place where the Sermon on the Mount , was delivered Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Beatitudes, The Eight — • The solemn blessings which mark the opening of the Sermon on the Mount Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Beatitudes — Be|at|i|tudes, the n [plural] in the Bible, a set of eight statements made by Jesus which list the types of people who are blessed (=especially loved by God) . Each statement starts with the words Blessed are... , for example Blessed are the poor …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • beatitudes — be·at·i·tude || biː ætɪtjuːd n. blessing; bliss, absolute happiness …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Les huit béatitudes — Béatitudes Les Béatitudes (du latin beatitudo, le bonheur) sont le nom donné à une partie du Sermon sur la Montagne, rapporté dans les Évangiles de Matthieu et de Luc. Jésus décrit les vertus des citoyens du Royaume des Cieux, et montre comment… …   Wikipédia en Français

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