The term “Beatitudes” came into English from the French and has its roots in the Latin beatus, which means “blessed.” Though the word is not itself in Scripture, we commonly use it to identify that part of Matthew 5 in which Jesus Christ describes nine spiritual conditions that should characterize Christians’ lives. When we read these Beatitudes, we typically focus on the personal states that are outlined and on the rewards that are offered. But let us consider the word “blessed,” used nine times at the start of the Sermon on the Mount. What does the Bible mean in speaking of us as being blessed?
We can gain understanding of this term by seeing how it is used elsewhere in Scripture. The book of Psalms starts with these words: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1–2).
Hebrew writers often used “triads”—groups of three phrases or concepts—to emphasize the totality of a subject. For instance, “the stranger and the fatherless and the widow” (Deuteronomy 14:29) was a way to describe all the marginalized in society, not just people in those three categories. The command “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly” (Micah 6:8) was a call to develop every aspect of God’s holy and righteous character, not just those three qualities.
Similarly, the man described in Psalm 1:1 has totally rejected an evil way of life and has chosen instead the path outlined in verse 2. In that regard, King Solomon explained that “happy is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18). The words translated as “blessed” and “happy” in these two verses are derived from the Hebrew word esher.
In order to understand the meaning and intent of Matthew’s use of “blessed,” we should also examine another Hebrew word—barak—that is more frequently translated into English as “blessed.” Barak is first used when our Creator, having formed human beings, provides them with a blessing (barak) and gives them a charge (Genesis 1:26–28).
We also find this term in the blessing to Abram—four times in two verses, explaining that his seed would be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:2–3). When the firstborn received the birthright blessing from his father, the term used for that blessing was barak (Genesis 27:4–29). With barak, the focus of the blessing is on what the giver does for the recipient.
Similarly, we find barak in the final words the Eternal spoke through Moses to the children of Israel: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing [barak] and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Esher, the type of blessing referenced in Psalm 1:1 and in the Beatitudes, is clearly different from barak. Esher describes an appropriate response to an initial blessing bestowed by God.
Terms of Blessedness
When we come to the New Testament, we find that different Greek words are used to translate the Hebrew terms barak and esher. The Hebrew barak compares to the Greek eulogeo or eulogia, from which we derive our ideas of a eulogy—speaking well of, praising, or blessing an individual. Luke, recounting the end of Jesus’ time with the disciples, describes that “He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed [eulogeo] them” (Luke 24:50–51).
Eulogeo is also used when Gabriel comes to advise Mary of her place in the Father’s plan for His Son to become flesh (Luke 1:28). It is the type of blessing we are to give those who mistreat us (Matthew 5:44)—and, above all, the blessing we receive when we inherit the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34).
But eulogeo is not the term used in the Sermon on the Mount. There, it is not a blessing given by God or a superior. Makarios, the word translated as “blessed” in the Beatitudes, is the Greek equivalent of esher, and the two words convey the same idea: the result of ordering our lives according to the revealed will of God.
Esher describes a blessing that requires something of us. The Psalmist gives us an insight when he states, “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [esher] are all those who put their trust in Him” (Psalm 2:12).
Here, the concept of blessing involves some action on our part. This form of blessing comes from putting trust in God. This same concept is reinforced in the book of Proverbs: “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy [esher] is he” (Proverbs 16:20).
This blessing associated with esher requires us to trust in God. To receive it, we must place ourselves under the authority of God’s word. It involves the creation of a relationship with God that is pleasing to our Father. This concept is repeated frequently throughout the Psalms (See Psalm 34:8; 84:5, 12). Notice also how the greatest exposition of God’s law begins: “Blessed [esher] are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed [esher] are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:1–2).
Placing ourselves under the authority of God’s word means living in accord with God’s way. The Psalmist wrote, “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (Psalm 37:31). Likewise, Solomon recorded a small vignette of a life lived God’s way: “He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy [esher] is he” (Proverbs 14:21). So, blessing (esher) requires a dedication to the ways of the Eternal.
In Greek and Hebrew
This is brought out in the statements of Jesus Christ, where “blessed” is the English translation of makarios. We read that “He said, ‘More than that, blessed [makarios] are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (Luke 11:28).
Similarly, speaking to the disciples as they were gathered around the table for that last Passover and having just washed their feet in an act of great humility, Jesus stated, “If you know these things, blessed [makarios] are you if you do them” (John 13:17).
John was also inspired to use this term at the very end of the book of Revelation. Having described the New Jerusalem, with its river and its trees of life, he was inspired to record this charge for us: “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed [makarios] is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7).
Makarios, like esher, is the result of dedicating our lives to living in accord with God’s way of life, which in turn comes from having a yielded relationship with God. That action on our part is central to this term. It relates to the covenant that our Father invited us to enter into with Him—a supreme blessing (eulogia) from Him.
The Passover relationship also involves such blessing in our lives. The Apostle Paul, writing to brethren in Rome, quotes King David from Psalm 32:1–2 in describing the effects of the Passover, the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Romans 4:7–8).
Why is makarios used in this section of Scripture to describe the type of blessing involved? Because, when we take the Passover properly, we show that we have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as atonement for our sins. As a result of that acceptance, we are prepared to live a life that reflects an obedient relationship with the Father and Jesus Christ. The result is that we have confidence that God will do according to His word. This is a blessing that comes from giving ourselves to God’s way of life.
The Blessed Outcome of Living God’s Way
The outcome of this relationship—the blessed effect of living the way so beautifully expressed in Psalm 1:1–2—is revealed in the Beatitudes as being poor in spirit, meek, and hungering for righteousness. This is so different from the normal attitude of those who have a relationship with someone influential, famous, or in high authority. Such situations are often flaunted, but our relationship with our Heavenly Father and His Son produces humility within us, allowing us to serve others as Jesus Christ has served us. It is the way of give as opposed to the way of get.
Our Father seeks to bless us by making us part of His Family. That was God’s initial intent in creating human beings, and it is why they were blessed as recorded in Genesis 1:28. Both Psalm 1:1–2 and Matthew 5:1–9 set out the proper response for each of us to that invitation to the ultimate blessing.
Most people seek blessings so they can be enriched or bettered. The blessings discussed here, however, come from a relationship based on our commitment to live a way of life—a way that benefits others rather than self. It is this form of blessing that the Father desires all to have.
The term “blessed” in the Beatitudes speaks to the yielded attitude through which we can display the character described in those verses. We cannot ever be that type of person without being totally submitted and committed to the way of life of our Father and His Son. Without that form of blessing, we cannot accomplish our Father’s goal for us.