O the blessedness of the meek! For they will inherit the earth.

~Matthew 5:5 CJB

 

Studying about the blessedness of the meek showed me some interesting meanings of a few Hebrew words.

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I bought a book called Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible by Jeff A. Benner (Yes, I am a total geek). It doesn’t only explain the Hebrew of the Bible but also shows how the early Hebrew looked when it was like hieroglyphics.

Strong’s Concordance describes meek as “the idea of looking down or browbeating; to depress literally or figuratively . . . chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self)” (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H6031&t=KJV).

The Eye

The Hebrew word for meek/humble is anah, and we write it like below. Remember in Hebrew that we read right to left.

ענה

Ayin (ע) is the first letter in the word anah, but in the early Hebrew language, it looked like an eye.

So, the word anah relates to our eyes and careful watching. In this case, it relates to both. We place our eyes on God, not ourselves, and on what we watch. And we should watch our heart. 

 

Numbers 12:3 uses anah to describe Moses.

Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.

Numbers 12:3 ESV

What made Moses so meek? Jennifer Ross explains on The Torah Class website:

G-d requires cleanliness . . . thus Moses strove to remain clean.  In his heart, he knew that he must be clean in order to approach or to be approached by G-d. Simply put, Moses didn’t want to be called by G-d and be found in an unclean state and therefore unable to answer the call.  Imagine that for a moment.

https://www.torahclass.com/archived-articles/429-anav-by-jennifer-ross

Moses kept guard over his heart and thoughts and obeyed the Torah or Law to prevent uncleanness from coming between him and the Father.

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among you, from your fellow Israelites.

Deut. 18:5

According to John 5:46, Jesus told the people accusing Him that Moses wrote about Him. He was and is the Prophet like Moses. He came in humility (https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Humility-Of-Christ). Therefore, Jesus is our example of humility.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Phil. 2:8

 

Hebrew4Christians.com is another great website for information on the Hebrew language. In their explanation of this Beatitude, it says,

This word [meek] does not suggest weakness, but rather one’s recognition of one’s proper place in the universe before God. It is not self-effacing, but reality-focused. The meek inherit the earth because they are grounded in the truth of reality.

_{https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Brit_Chadashah/Beatitudes/beatitudes.html}

And what is that reality? That answer is in my earlier post titled, The Poor in Spirit, based on the first Beatitude in Matthew 5:3.

O the blessedness of the poor in spirit! For theirs is the Kingdom of God.

                  ~Matthew 5:3 ESV

The poor in spirit recognize their position as beggars who depend on the Father. We need humility to look at our hearts, compare them to a holy and perfect God, and see we are no more than beggars in need of a compassionate God to care for us. The meek will inherit the earth. 

 

In the Midrash, one rabbi said,

For it is said: Now the man Moses was very meek (Num. 12:3). Scripture states that whoever is meek ends by having the Shekhinah dwell with him (the man) on earth.

Midrash Mekhilta

The Hebrew word for inherit is yaresh, and it means, to occupy by driving out previous tenants and possessing in their place; by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also, to expel.  (http://classic.net.bible.org/strong.php?id=03423).

God gives the meek power in the spiritual realm to drive out and possess the things Satan has stolen. This world is under Satan’s control. Revelation tells of the war between Jesus and Satan while God sorts all things out.

 

God desires us to be humble. Many verses speak about humility and what the Lord thinks about those who are proud and those who are humble. Many verses also include what the humble receive from God.

 

A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

Proverbs 29:23

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Humility-And-Pride

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

James 4:10

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Humility-And-Pride

Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:4

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Humility-And-Pride

 

When we know we are nothing more than beggars who depend on our Lord (Matt. 5:3), we will mourn over our sin (Matt. 5:4) and keep our hearts clean so nothing can come between us and God (Matt. 5:5). Then the Kingdom of Heaven is in us, the Lord will comfort us, and we will inherit the earth. And God will call us blessed, happy, and glad.

 

Genre: Bible Study

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