Word Study on the Sermon on the Mount: The Meek of Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

The Lord uses much of His seminal sermon to remind us of key elements of scripture that may have passed from the consciousness of this world throughout the ages of God’s people. Today this kind of wisdom sits well-framed on someone’s foyer wall, but tell that to a guzzler of Muscle Milk at the gym and you’re likely to elicit a snort.

This verse, like so many others that Christ uttered over the course of his ministry, alludes to the Psalms.

But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in an abundance of peace. (Psalm 36, LXX)

This was the language that his audience was familiar with; but he used it to take them into unfamiliar terrain. Or perhaps, our God-Man wanted to revisit what He felt was most important in the body of their verses. After all, meekness as a concept popped up many times throughout the Old Testament but one could hardly convict the Jewish people of that time of extolling meekness.

Meek — back in OT days, was Hebrew ענו (anav — afflicted, lowly: one who would rather bear injuries than return them), and in the days of the Greek NT, the word transliterated as “meek” was similar: πραΰς (pronounced, interestingly: “prays”: gentle, mild meek).

So here is a word that sounds like “praise” or “prays” and means gentle or mild, but connotes a characteristic of a person who knows, humbly enough, that even the most evil actions that befell him on earth were permitted by God. Meekness, then is a strong devotion to God, knowing that the wisdom thereof and submission thereto will empower him on this earth much more strongly over the long term than aggression and pride would.

But it is not just for future blessings only in a spiritual sense. The meek, saith the Lord, shall inherit ( from Greek κληρονομέω, to receive by lot) the earth. That means, that the Lord, by His own wisdom, has predestined those who are meek, by virtue of their meekness, to receive by lot (or by apportioning) the earth.

And which earth? Does it not seem that the un-meek have inherited quite a bit of the planet by now? Could the Lord be simply speaking of a metaphorical earth? No, the Lord means this very earth, writes St. John Chrysostom: “Tell me, what kind of earth? Some say a figurative earth, but it is not this, for nowhere in Scripture do we find any mention of an earth that is merely figurative.”

Chrysostom follows with this concept: Meekness is a prescription for safety and makes good sense. The same Bible tells us to honor our parents “for so shalt live long upon the earth.” There are intensely practical reasons for honoring our parents. (#1: We’ll likely live longer!) He also reminds us that Jesus later in this sermon urged his followers to agree with their adversaries quickly or face steep consequences.

In other words, people who are less contentious, less aggressive, usually do not suffer the consequences of those who are. Someone who lets an aggressive driver cut him off on the highway instead of angrily gesturing at him is likely to reach their destination unharmed. Arguing and name-calling and pushing and shoving might be the ways of the world, but they are also a swift path to destruction.

Of course, there are many exceptions where the meek are persecuted severely, but our faith teaches us that the Lord has rewards for them as well.