Criswell Theological Review 6.1 (1992) 57-72.
Copyright © 1992 by The
THE LORD'S PRAYER: MATT 6:9-13-
A THEMATIC AND SEMANTIC-
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
DAVID E. LANIER
Southeastern
Baptist Theological Seminary
I. Introduction
The
Lord's prayer, sometimes called "the model
prayer," occurs at
the heart of Jesus' most extensive preserved
teaching, the Sermon on
the Mount.1 What one finds here is no
less than the greatest Teacher's
greatest sermon on his favorite topic: the
1 Cf. Arthur Wellesley,
Duke of Wellington, on this point: "The Lord's Prayer con-
tains the sum total of
religion and morals." Quoted in F. S. Mead, ed, Twelve Thousand
Religious Quotations (Grand Rapids: Baker,
1989) 274.
Tertullian referred to it as brevia-
rium totius evangelii, De Orat.1., quoted in A
Plummer, An Exegetical Commentary on
the Gospel According to St. Matthew (n.p.:
Scott, 1915; repr.
n.
2. This study will begin with the presupposition that the Sermon on the Mount
con-
stitutes a semantic and
structural unit. Although many serious scholars look for redac-
tional layers and
source-critical units (see, for example, Plummer 93), the sermon was not
read in such fashion throughout the history of the
church, including the early church. For
a good survey on source-critical presuppositions
see W. D. Davies and D. C. Allison, Jr.,
A Critical and
Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew (ICC;
3
vols.;
the Lord's Prayer involves an Aramaic original and
a haunting similarity with at least
two other well-known Jewish prayers of the first
century. ..[the Aramaic kaddish, spo-
ken at the conclusion of the synagogue service, and
the Eighteen Benedictions). Though
both Matthew and Luke reflect this Aramaic
background, the agreement by both on the
rare and much debated Greek term e]piou<sion (6:11, par. Luke 11:3)
modifying bread indi-
cates a rather firm Greek
tradition as well." R A Guelich, The Sermon on the Mount: A
Foundation for
Understanding
(Waco, TX: Word, 1982) 285. Strecker sees the
briefer Lu-
ischer Kommentar (Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,
1984) 111.
58
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
this, but the prayer itself occupies a quite
prominent place within the
body of the sermon. Direct quotations within larger
discourses are
marked prominent. In addition, a cluster of imperative
verbs occurring
in the prayer itself is a sure sign of prominence.
And finally, the prayer
is addressed to one whom the speaker holds in
special reverence: the
heavenly Father himself. If prayer is important,
then we should hear
the greatest word on the subject, out of .the
greatest sermon on the
greatest topic, spoken by the greatest Teacher
who ever lived.
The Lord's prayer
occurs in the body of the Sermon on the
Mount,
within the larger context of the behavior commanded of citi-
zens in the
order to be seen by men for earthly reward. In other
words, they are
not to be as the hypocrites. But they are to do all
these things in se-
cret, in order that the
heavenly Father, who sees in secret, might re-
ward them openly. Matt 6:7-15 constitutes a
paragraph within the
second command: "When you pray, do not repeat the
same words over
and over, but pray in the following manner."
Jesus then proceeds to
give an illustration of what he means, itself an
extremely prominent
feature of the discourse.
II. A Thematic Analysis of the Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:9-13)
A.
Introduction and Negative Example (vv
7-8)
When we pray, Jesus explains, we are
not to be like the unbeliev-
ers, who stammer or babble,
battaloge<w.2 They think
that God will
hear them because of their rapid-fire, staccato
speaking, containing
many words and repetitive phrases. One has only to
think of the
2 See R H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and
Theological Art
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1982) 100-4.
"The verb may denote meaningless or repetitive
speech, as in the extensive listing of divine names by
pagans. They hoped that at least
one of the names might prove effective for an
answer." Ibid. Cf. 1 Kgs 18:36-37. Plummer,
93.
On the other hand, Gundry notes that the meaning might connote only wordiness
leading to ineffectual prayer, as the Aramaic
root lFeBa attested by the Dead
Sea Scrolls
suggests (DJD 2.135). Ibid.,
104. See also R C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mat-
thew's Gospel (Columbus, OH: Wartburg, 1943) 262, and H. A. W. Meyer, Critical and Ex-
egetical Handbook to the Gospel of Matthew (
Delling bases the word on battari<zw
(= "stammer," "stutter") plus logei?n. Davies and Al-
lison 588. W. Hendriksen, Exposition
of the Gospel According to Matthew (New Testa-
ment Commentary;
Sermon on the Mount: An
Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5-7 (
1978) 59. Tasker holds
that "it would seem probable that it is meaningless rather than re-
petitive speech that is
primarily indicated by the word." Tyndale
translated the word
"babble overmuch," a translation Tasker
feels is as good as any. R V. G. Tasker, The Gos-
pel According to St Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1961) 74.
David E. Lanier: THE LORD'S
PRAYER 59
Hindu
prayer wheels, sending one prayer upwards with each revolu-
tion, or the massive,
repetitious prayers of many of the modern world
religions to get his point. Do not pray like that,
Jesus tells us, because
our heavenly Father knows what we need before we
even ask him; he
is not hard of hearing, What follows is notable
for its economy of
phrase and lack of repetition.
B.
The Lord's Prayer: Positive Example and
Comment (vv 9-13)
Jesus then illustrates by giving his
hearers a positive example of
what he means by prayer, an exemplar. He begins with
an orienter in
v 9a, building upon the teaching which has gone
before: “You, there-
fore, pray in the following manner.”3
1. Three petitions concerning the glory of God (9b-10). Notice
our Lord's priority: his first concern is for the
reputation of God the
Father,
for his kingdom to be established, and for his will to be ac-
complished upon the earth exactly
as it is now in heaven. He begins,
“Our
Father in heaven, may your name be venerated
[hallowed, es-
teemed, revered as holy].” The
it implies a king, of course, but also a people,
and the establishment of
the king's right to reign over them, Here, in the
very heart of the Ser-
mon on the Mount, the King
is himself declaring what he expects of
those who inherit and inhabit his kingdom, the
standards by which
his subjects are expected to live.4 How
often do modern Christians be-
gin their prayers with a petition for the Father's
reputation upon this
earth? How many have ever prayed for such a thing?
Jesus placed this
request first. Secondly, Jesus is also praying
for God's kingdom to be
visibly realized upon the earth. Finally, he
asks that the Father's will
would be done on earth as it is in heaven. What a
world this would be
if for only one day the Father's perfect will
could be realized for each
individual to the same degree that it is currently
being realized for
3 A parallel is found in
Luke 11:2-4 (see also Mark 11:25-26). Basically Luke omits
"our," "who are in heaven," and one of the six
petitions, having only five in all. The third
petition, "thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven," is missing as is the restatement
of the sixth petition, "but deliver us from
the evil one," which Gundry takes as a seventh
petition. Gundry 105.
Luke's form can be accounted for 1) as a shorter redaction of the
prayer recorded in Matthew 6, 2) as a similar teaching
of Jesus delivered on another oc-
casion. Tasker 72, or 3) as the original
form of the teaching, later expanded by Matthew.
D.
Hill, The Gospel of Matthew (London/Grand Rapids:
Marshall, Morgan & Scott/Eerd-
mans, 1972) 134-35, and Strecker
111-12. The first alternative is preferred by those who
equate the "Sermon on the Mount" and the
"Sermon on the Plain" with the same his-
torical event.
4 Here at the feet of
Jesus, in repentance and total dependence upon the will of
God, is the place where the Law of Moses had been
designed to bring
19-20.
60
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
his heavenly attendants! What would become of our
crime statistics?
What
would happen in our families, what confession, what repen-
tance, what reconciliation!
Notice the elegant sense of priority: Jesus
places the reputation of the Father, the
of God first in priority before any mention of
himself or physical
needs. And even when he does pray for himself, he
prays corpo-
rately.5 He is living selflessly
for the glory of the Father just as he will
die selflessly for all mankind. The selfishness
which inundates the
present age finds no place in Jesus' prayer.
2. Three petitions concerning the needs of his followers and him-
self, and a clarification (vv 11-13) a. Their provision (11), "Give us
today the food necessary for existence." Two
observations need to be
made at this point. First, this is the first time
Jesus has prayed for
himself--this far into the prayer! Second, note
that Jesus prays only
for necessity, not for abundance. Seen as a prayer
for literal bread to
meet the physical need for survival, he prays only
for what is neces-
sary, But elsewhere in the
Gospels he would say that "My food is to
do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His
work" (John 4:34b
NKJV). Jesus knew that "man shall not live by
bread alone, but by ev-
ery word of God" (Deut
8:3; Luke 4:4b NKJV). While it would not do to
stretch the point dogmatically, it seems
unlikely for Jesus to pray for
physical sustenance alone in an immediate context
of 1) God's king-
dom and glory, 2) the bread
necessary for survival, 3) forgiveness, and
4)
deliverance. Jesus knew that people needed more than
physical
provision in order to have life, and to have it
more abundantly. There-
fore, while this context does not rule out his
praying for the literal
bread necessary for survival, it would include that
only within the
larger, more spiritual requirements for sustenance.6
He also does not
treat God as a junior executive: "I want
this." He petitions corporately
and sensitively. b. Their need (12), Jesus' insight into human need is
staggering. We have a primal, basic need for total
forgiveness, and we
need to forgive others just as desperately. Jesus
intercedes that the Fa-
ther would forgive us our
debts (note here his identification with us in
need of forgiveness, anticipating his bearing upon
himself the sin of
all mankind at the cross, as did his baptism at the
beginning of his
public ministry). Here he adds a qualification and a
reminder, "as we
forgive those who trespass against us," We
also need to forgive those
who have done us wrong. In this Jesus was more than
willing to set
the example. Later, Jesus will prominently lift
this admonition out for
5 Cf. Plummer, 100-101.”'Give
us,' once realized, is a safeguard
against self-seeking.”
Ibid., 101.
6 Davies and Allison,
1.609-10.
David E. Lanier: THE LORD'S
PRAYER 61
clarification; Matthew uses it to
round out the paragraph after Jesus
has finished the prayer. c. Their protection (13). God does not tempt us
(as does Satan, that we might fall into sin), but he does
allow us (as he
did Job) to be tested in order to be found genuine.
This allowed test-
ing refines us, makes us
more Christlike, and glorifies his name. When
Jesus
prays, "Do not deliver us into temptation," he prays that we will
not be tempted (peira<zw)
unto failure (cf. Luke 22:32), but instead will
be rescued, delivered, from the clutches of the
Evil One.7 Jesus him-
self would become the answer for his prayer at this
point. d. The
benediction (13b). This sentence
brings closure to the prayer as a
whole in humble recognition of the Father's 1) right
to establish the
kingdom, 2) power to bring the petition to pass,
and 3) eternal glory.
Not
only does this final observation bring the prayer full circle to wor-
shipful acknowledgement of the
Father's glory, it echoes David's
prayer in 1 Chr 29:11-13 of
total dependence on the will of the Father,
that all resources are his and should be used for
his glory.8 d. A com-
ment on v 12, lifted out for clarification (14-15). These verses, promi-
nently singled out after the
conclusion of the prayer, restress the
hearers' need for true, total forgiveness.
Whether they actually re-
ceive that forgiveness will
depend upon their willingness to forgive:
this is a key principle of the kingdom (cf. Matt
5:17-20; 7:12).
In conclusion, the Lord's prayer presents not only a model
prayer, but a summary of Jesus' priorities embodied in
a pattern for
all true prayer.9 God's glory must come
first, then his kingdom, then
his will upon the earth. Jesus does not pray
negatively, beginning
7 o[ ponhro<j is viewed substantively
here. Meyer, 150. Guelich, 297. In favor of
this
reading stand Tertullian,
Origen, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Erasmus, Beza, and
others.
In
favor of a neuter reading connoting evil in general stand Augustine, Luther, Ewald,
Lange, and others. Meyer, 150.
Cf. Mark Twain's twisting of this verse in the
conclusion
of his short story, "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg." The revised town motto, after
a charlatan exposed the town's leaders to be
money-loving hypocrites, was "Lead us into
temptation." Twain's idea seemed to be that
genuine Christians should relish the chance
to have their genuine faith tested in order to
glorify God. In other words, "Give us the
chance to prove ourselves." Such sentiments are
commendable, but the Greek for that is
dokima<zw, not peira<zw.
8 Of course the modern
editions of the Bible follow Hort and Westcott in
omitting
the line as being absent from the "oldest and
best" MSS (i.e., Sinaiticus and Vaticanus),
but the Majority Text includes it, along with the
closing word, Amen. The critical reading
is shorter and harder (it strikes the present
writer as puzzling that an orthodox Jew
would conclude a prayer to his God with a reference
to "the Evil One" or evil), but this
could be due to other factors besides reflecting the
original reading.
9
"The Lord's Prayer is the prayer above all prayers. It is a prayer
which the most
high Master taught us, wherein are comprehended all
spiritual and temporal blessings,
and the strongest comforts in all trials,
temptations and troubles, even in the hour of
death." Martin Luther,
quoted in Mead, 273-74.
62
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
with the problems and vicissitudes of life, but
positively, in total com-
mitment to his Father's will
and what that might mean (it means
for necessity rather than for abundance. He notes
that our need for
protection from Satan and for forgiving and for
being forgiven are as
important as the bread that keeps us alive. This
elegance in priority is
easily lost. Finally, the
and again he returns to it in parable and teaching.
Jesus is not merely
practicing at prayer. Let us never forget that it
is here in the Lord's
prayer that he first petitions the Father, "Thy
kingdom come."
III. A Semantic-Structural Analysis of Matt 6:7-15
A.
Introduction
The following provisional semantic
structure analysis for Matt
6:7-15
is based upon the linguistic theories proposed by J. Beekman,
J.
Callow, and M. Kopesec10 This approach,
properly applied, can as-
sist the Bible student in
discovering the meaning communicated by
the original writer to his audience. But this
approach also attempts to
formulate a consistent theory of the structure of
meaning which is op-
erative both at the largest and
smallest levels of discourse structure.
B.
The Communication Situation
According to the theory proposed by Beekman, Callow, and Kope-
sec, a written document will reflect the general
historical situation as
well as the particular communication situation which
gave rise to it.
Therefore,
some background information is helpful in ascertaining
the overall purpose of the document. This will aid
the translator or
Bible student in making more accurate judgments
in exegesis.
C.
The Situational Framework
The author of the Gospel of Matthew
has been traditionally
thought to be Matthew, Levi ben
Alphaeus, a disciple of Jesus Christ.
He
does not identify himself by name within the Gospel itself. The
social status of the author seems to be that of
eyewitness to fellow
Israelites, or apostle to fellow believers. The
Gospel of Matthew
has been said to be somewhat deprecating to the tax
collector Mat-
thew whereas none of the
other Gospels are; this may be a mild refer-
ence to a humble Matthew as
author much as the eyewitness "whom
10 The Semantic Structure of Written Communication, 5th rev. (
David E. Lanier: THE LORD'S
PRAYER 63
Jesus
loved" has been associated with John. But this must remain
speculative.
The time of writing has been
variously set at A.D. 90-95 to
A.D.
110;11 A.D. 40-45 to A.D. 50;12
or the late 50s to early 60s A.D.13 The
location of writing seems to be northern
Antioch14
The presuppositions of the author seem to include the
fact
that his audience will either be Christians or at
least interested in the
Christian message. He also expects a basic
familiarity with Jewish
feasts and customs.
The addressees constituted the early
church, composed of both
Jews and Gentiles. These are the often
persecuted believers in Christ
located throughout the Mediterranean basin
co-extensive with the
spread of the gospel. Their status is that of
believers or seekers need-
ing information about Jesus
for salvation or edification in the faith.
The larger context from which the
passage under consideration
is drawn, Matt 6:1-34, is a hortatory passage
taken from the Sermon
on the Mount. The time of presentation was
approximately A.D. 27-29,
during the Galilean ministry of Jesus Christ. The
location was some-
where in
dience consisted of both Jews
and Gentiles, both disciples of Christ
and inquirers. In his exhortation, Jesus is
presenting a contrast be-
tween currently held
religious beliefs concerning the law of Moses
and his own teaching, intended to fulfill, deepen,
and restore the law
to its original function (summarized in Matt 5:17-20).
Jesus contrasts
the teachings of the Pharisees and their religious
observances to the
true intent of the law, along with the observances
and motives God
required all along. He also contrasts the false
teachings of the Phari-
sees with his own and reveals true authority. The
genre is hortatory,
and the medium is oral discourse. The referential
content of Matt 6:1-
34
gives information in the form of basis-APPEAL contrasting the
false motives and observances of the hypocrites with
the true motives
and observances required by God of kingdom
citizens. Proper atti-
tudes must underlie proper
observances. These, in turn, must lead to
the proper ordering of priorities which will
glorify God, not self, and
lead ultimately to lasting heavenly rewards instead
of ephemeral,
earthly ones.
11 IDB, 3.312.
12 Unger's Bible Dictionary, 3d ed., s.v. “Matthew, Gospel of” by Merrill F. Unger.
13 R H. Gundry, A Survey of the New Testament, rev. ed. (
1981) 83, 364.
14 IDB, 3.312.
64
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
C.
The Context of Matt 6:7-15: The
Constituent Organization of Matt
6.1-34
DC6:1-18
SECTION
SC 6:1 SC
6:2-4 SC 6:5-15 SC 6:16-18
PCC
6:5-6 PCC 6:7-15
DC
6:19-34
SECTION
SC
6:19-21 SC 6:22-24 SC 6:25-32 SC 6:33-34
PCC PCC PCC PCC PCC PCC PCC
6:22-23 6:24 6:25 6:26 6:27 6:28-30 6:31-32
D.
The Context of Matt 6:7-15: Thematic
Outline of Matt 6:1-34
DIVISION
CONSTITUENT 6:1-18 (Section) (Role: Specific of Sermon
on the Mount principle stated 5:17-20) Be careful
that you do not do
your righteous works before men in order that you
might be seen by
them. Specifically, when you do good works, pray,
and fast, you should
not do your works like the hypocrites, but do your
works in secret
since God, who sees in secret, will reward you.
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:1 (Paragraph)
(Role: HEAD of 6:1-
18) Be careful that you do not do
your righteous works before
men in
order that you might be seen by them.
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:2-4
(Paragraph) (Role: Specificl of
6:1-18) (Specifically,) when you
give alms do not announce it like
someone
blowing a trumpet, but do not even tell your closest
friends
since God, who sees in secret, will reward you.
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:5-15
(Paragraph Cluster) (Role:
Specific2 of 6:1-18) (Specifically,)
when you pray, do not be like
the
hypocrites, but enter into your room and shut the door since
God, who sees in secret, will reward
you. When you pray, do not
repeat the
same words over and over like the people who do not
know God,
but pray as Jesus prayed.
David E. Lanier: THE LORD'S
PRAYER 65
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:5-6
(Paragraph)
(Role: HEADl
of 6:5-15) (Specifically,) when you pray, do not
be like the
hypocrites, but enter into your room and shut the
door since
God, who sees in secret, will reward you.
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:7-15
(Paragraph)
(Role: HEAD2 of 6:5-15)
When you pray, do not repeat the
same words
over and over like the people who do not know
God, but pray as Jesus prayed.
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:16-18 (Paragraph)
(Role: Specific3
of 6:1-18)
(Specifically,) when you fast, do not act like the hypo-
crites, but anoint your head and wash your face since
God, who
sees in
secret, will reward you.
DIVISION
CONSTITUENT 6:19-34 (Section) (Role: Specific of Ser-
mon on the Mount principle
stated 5:17-20) Do not accumulate trea-
sures on earth but in heaven.
Do not worry about your life or your
body. But seek first the
God
will take care of your physical needs.
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:19-21
(Paragraph) (Role: HEADl of
6:19-34) Do not accumulate treasures
on earth, but accumulate
treasures
in heaven.
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:22-24
(Paragraph Cluster) (Role:
Grounds of 6:19-34) If your eye is
healthy (that is, if you are gen-
erous), then your whole body will be full of light
(that is, you will
be entirely
devoted to serving God). But if your eye is evil (that is,
if you are
covetous), then your whole body will be full of darkness
(that is,
you will be entirely devoted to greed). It is impossible to
serve both
God and greed (in order to amass wealth on earth).
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:22-23 (
graph) (Role: HEADl
of 6:22-24) If your eye is healthy (that is,
if you are generous), then your whole body will
be full of
light (that is, you will be entirely devoted to
serving God). But
if your eye is evil (that is, if you are
covetous), then your
whole body will be full of darkness (that is,
you will be en-
tirely devoted to
greed).
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:24 (Paragraph)
(Role: HEAD2 of 6:22-24) No one
is able to serve two (abso-
lute) masters. It is impossible to serve both
God and greed (in
order to amass wealth on earth).
66
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:25-32
(Paragraph Cluster) (Role:
HEAD2
of 6:19-34) Do not wony about your life or your body.
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:25 (Paragraph)
(Role: Specificl-2 and groundsl-2 for 6:25-32) Do
not worry
about your life or your body.
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:26 (Paragraph)
(Role: Illustration of 6:25a-d) Look at the birds of the sky (and
see how God) your father in heaven feeds them.
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:27 (Proposi-
tional Cluster) (Role:
Grounds3 for 6:25a-d) No one can add
one small length (of time) to his life by means
of wonying
[Rhetorical Question].
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:28-29 (Paragraph)
(Role: Illustration of 6:25e-f) Consider the wild flowers growing
in the field; King Solomon was not clothed as
well as one (of them).
PARAGRAPH CLUSTER CONSTITUENT 6:31-32 (
graph) (Role: HEAD of 6:25-32) Therefore do not
worry about
what you will eat, drink, or wear.
SECTION CONSTITUENT 6:33-34
(Paragraph) (Role: Summary
of 6:19-34)
Seek first the
life since
God will take care of your physical needs.
IV. Analysis and Conclusion
The schematic at the end of this
article highlights the following
about the paragraph which contains the Lord's Prayer.
First, the para-
graph divides broadly into two commands, one negative
(vv 7-8) and
one positive (vv 9-13). Second, each command begins
with an orienter
which specifically sets the bounds for the command
(i.e., each will in-
volve prayer and is directed
towards the original hearers). The first
command does not just communicate that Jesus’
hearers are not to re-
peat their prayers again and again. On the third
discourse level this
behavior is compared to that of people who do not
know God (v 7c).
Furthermore, the motivational
grounds for the command are
given in v 7 d-f: they think that they will be heard
by God because of
their "much speaking." Instead of stating
that they will not, Jesus re-
states the command in v 8a, thus compressing and
intensifying the
discourse. The restatement of
the original command, "Therefore, do
not be like they (are)," is further supplied
motivational grounds in
v 8b-c: God the father knows our needs even
before we ask. The im-
plied conclusion is that the behavior of the heathen
is ignorant and
counterproductive; those who truly know
God will behave otherwise.
David E. Lanier: THE LORD'S
PRAYER 67
Verses
7-8 therefore serve to establish a strong command together
with underlying motivational appeal for that which
follows.
The positive command for prayer
consists mainly of the content
of the prayer itself. The word-for-word content
given is in itself a
prominence device, being imbedded within a direct
command. The
orienter for the Lord's Prayer,
v 9a, gives the command itself, "You,
therefore, pray in the following way." The
content of the prayer is ar-
ranged around six petitions; three in the third person
singular imper-
ative, and three in the
second person singular imperative, all
addressed to the Father. The orienter
in 9b is a title of respectful ad-
dress "Our Father in heaven," which gives
the Person toward whom
the three permissive imperatives and then the three
imperatives of
entreaty are addressed. Verse 9c represents the proper
beginning
point for worship: that the name of God be reverenced
and honored.
Verse
10a calls for the
desired by the faithful in
dience. The order of appeal
repeats the order of revelation given to
Moses:
first God's name and nature, then his deliverance. Verse 10b,
the third permissive imperative, calls for God's
will to be done on
earth, an acknowledgment both of the eschatological
nature of the
prayer and of the "not yet" conditions
regnant in the earth at the time
of the prayer. The level-three comparison in v 10c
makes the third
command a bit more prominent and calls out the
faith of the hearers:
God's
prophetic will, so often spurned and mocked on earth (which,
incidentally, is the theme of much intertestamental literature), is al-
ready being carried out in the heavenlies.
The implied argument is
therefore from greater to lesser; fulfillment is
just a matter of time.
The first three permissive
imperatives have dealt with the name,
the kingdom, and the will of God the Father. The
second group of im-
peratives of entreaty will center
around his people.15 The first, v 11a,
consists of a petition for subsistence,
ostensibly of a physical nature
(though not necessarily limited to such, to the exclusion of
the "spiri-
tual food" of doing the
Father's will).16 The basic need for survival
strikes at the heart of
tations in the Judean
wilderness.17 After that comes our need of for-
giveness and restoration with
God, equally basic spiritually, in v 12a.
But
this command is also qualified by a comparison: God is to forgive
15 Since the time of Tertullian, interpreters have distinguished these two broad
areas of concern as the "heavenly" and
"terrestrial." Meyer 151.
16 See Gundry, Matthew, 107, E. M. Yamauchi, "The
'Daily Bread' Motif in An-
tiquity," WTJ 28 (1966) 145-56.
17 See J. Carmignac, Recherches sur le "Notre Pere"
(Paris: Letouzey & Ane,
1969)
121-43,214-20. Gundry 108.
68
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
us as we forgive those who wrong us (v 12b). The
entire paragraph
closes with an extremely prominent elaboration on this
very point in
vv 14-15, a comment upon the twin commands of vv
7-8 and vv 9-13.
The
final command, v 13a, is that God would not let the believers be
tempted (by Satan), together with its equivalent
by negated antonym
in v 13b.18 "Deliver us from
evil" would then amount to a positive
equivalent, a mild prominence device pointing back
to a Semitic vor-
lage. The doxology included
in the majority of the Greek MSS, if in-
serted here, would serve as
grounds for all six petitions and bring the
prayer full circle to the glory of the Father. One's
text-critical presup-
positions would determine the outcome here. Those
who hold that the
Alexandrian
text tradition represents the "oldest and best" conclude
with Gundry that the original prayer was left
open-ended and a later
redactor completed the prayer. He cites an
example of just such an
earlier, truncated prayer from Did. 8.2.19
Finally, the necessity of forgiving
others as God is willing to for-
give is lifted out of the content of the prayer and
given prominent
treatment in vv 14-15. Love, not law, is to be the
basis for our relation-
ship--with God, our fellow believers, and with our
enemies. By this
we will truly be acting as his children. Verse 14a
states the condition
under which we may expect the consequence (marked
HEAD on the
third level) of v 14b, "then your father in
heaven will forgive you
also." But equally prominent is the negative
upon which the entire
paragraph is brought to a close: anticipating a
rejection of the positive
condition/consequence given in vv 14, 15a-b
sounds a warning by
means of a parallel construction. The warning resonates
to the
present day, just as Jesus intended: "But
if you do not forgive others
[condition], then your father in heaven will not forgive you
[conse-
quence]." Such a breach
of relationship would undermine the entire
purpose for praying in the fashion God the
Father desires of his king-
dom citizens. A restored,
loving relationship with the Father lies at
the heart of prayer and makes it efficacious.
18 Cf. Matt 5:17; 21:21,
and Rom 9:1 for further examples. Beekman, Callow,
and Ko-
pesec 95.
19
Gundry, Matthew, 109. Hill
notes that both Davies and Moule consider the possi-
bility that the doxology might
be original and adds that it was probably based on 1 Chr
29:11
and added not later than the early 2nd century. "Even in the time of Jesus
it would
have been very unusual for a Jewish prayer to have
ended without a doxology, expressed
or assumed, but the form of words may have
remained the choice of the person praying
until this prayer became increasingly used as a
common prayer in worship when a fixed
form of doxology was established.” Hill, 139. But cf. Davies and Allison, 1.615, n. 54, who
quote Jeremias that many
prayers in Judaism could be closed with a “seal,” or a freely for-
mulated conclusion (cf. Tertullian, On Prayer
10), subjoined to a standard prayer as is the
practice in eastern liturgies today, where the
congregation speaks the prayer after which
the priest alone vocalizes the doxology. J. Jeremias, New
Testament Theology (London/New
David E. Lanier: THE LORD'S
PRAYER 69
A Semantic-Structural
Analysis of Matt 6:7-15 (The Lord's Prayer)
MATTHEW
6:7-15 (Paragraph) (Role: Head2 of 6:5-15)a
THEME:
When you pray, do not repeat the same words over and over like the people
who do not know God, but pray as Jesus prayed. --
SCHEMA
RELATIONAL STRUCTURE CONTENTS
--orienter
(topic) (6:7a) And when you prayb
HEADl HEAD HEAD
(6:7b) do not repeat the
(neg.)
same words over and over
comparison (6:7c) like the people who do
not know God
-orienter (6:7d) since they think
grounds CONTENT (6:7e) that they will be
(mot)
heard (by God)
reason (6:7f) because they
repeat
their words (often)
restatement
(6:8a) Therefore, do not
be
like they (are)c
grounds HEAD (6:8b) since (God) your
(mot)
father knows what you
need
circumstance (6:8c) before you ask
(him)
orienter (6:9a) You, therefore,
pray in
the following. way:d
orienter (6:9b)(God)
our father in heaven,
HEAD2
HEAD CONTENT HEAD1 (6:9c)
Let your name be honored
(pos.) (because
it is holy)e
HEAD2
(6:10a) Let your kingdom come (to
the earth)f
HEAD3
HEAD (6:10b) Let your will be done on earth
Comparison (6:10c) As it is (done now) in heaven
HEAD4
(6:11a) Give us today the food we
need for todayg
HEAD5
HEAD (6:12a) and forgive us when we
disobey your laws
comparison (6:12b) just as we
forgive those
who do us wrong
HEAD6 HEAD (6:13a)
And do not allow us to be
tempted (with evil)h
equivalent (6:13b) but deliver us from (Satan,
the source of) evil
comment HEAD1 condition (6:14a)
If you forgive others when
(pos.)
they do you wrong,i
HEAD
(6:14b) then (God) your father in
heaven will forgive you also
HEAD2
Condition (6:15a) But if you do not forgive
(neg.)
others when they do you wrong,
notes follow on next page HEAD (6:15b) then (God) your father in
heaven will not forgive youj
70
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
a
BOUNDARIES AND COHERENCE Relatively few of the authorities surveyed
began a new paragraph at 6:7 (Z C. Hodges and A. L Farstad, ed., The
Greek New Tes-
tament According to the Majority Text [
your father, who sees in secret, will reward
you." Not only has this identical phrase
marked a paragraph ending once before, but we have the
linker de<
as well. This does not
signal so much a shift in topic as in focus. Now the
comparison is to be with the "nations"
who use vain repetitions in prayer. At the close of
the Lord's Prayer, the subject shifts
to fasting, and we have the o!tan clause plus the shift from future tense. The structure of
6:7-15
is also markedly different from what has been encountered in the parallel struc-
ture. When conjoined to the
preceding paragraph, 6:7-15 makes a long paragraph, and
then it must be explained why the repeating
structure was not allowed in this instance.
PROMINENCE AND THEME The phrase o!ti
e]n t^? polulogi<% au]tw?n
"because by
their much speaking," is placed before the verb
in marked prominent position. This ties
in with the theme of the paragraph in that the
nations are not necessarily being heard
for their much speaking, and Jesus (and Matthew)
wish to call attention to the proper
way to be heard by God. The Lord's Prayer is in
itself prominent, being a direct quotation
within a larger discourse. Also, it contains an
unusual cluster of imperatives. It is also be-
ing addressed to God
himself in addition to the hearers.
b
6:7 TRANSLATION AND RELATION "repeat the words over and over" batta-
logh<shte. This is an aorist
subjunctive of battaloge<w "to gabble,
patter," M. Zerwick and
M.
Grosvenor, A
Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament, rev. ed.(
lical Institute Press, 1981)
15. "Stutter, stammer," H. L Boles, A Commentary on the Gos-
pel According to Matthew (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate, 1976) 157-58.
Perhaps
derived from the Aramaic lFeBa "idle, useless," or perhaps it is an onomatopoeic
word like
the English "babble." D. A. Carson, W. W.
Wessel, and W. L Liefeld, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, vol. 8 (Expositor's
Bible Commentary; 12 vols.; ed. F. E. Gaebelein; Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1984), 8.166. ]En is translated by Zerwick and Grosvenor as a
Semitic causal
"because of "--this fits reason--RESULT well in 6:7f. Zerwick and Grosvenor 15. Matt 6:7c
was labeled HEAD--comparison instead of
HEAD-illustration because it represents a
lower level, and because of its brevity.
c
TRANSLATION AND RELATION "Therefore do not be like they (are)" mh> ou#n
o[moiwqh?te au]toi?j originally was labeled grounds for HEADl
in 7b. This was later seen to
be a restatement of 7b for which 8b is the
grounds. [Omoiwqh?te "become like" (aorist, pas-
sive, subjunctive) signals
the HEAD-comparison relationship in the surface structure.
d
6:9 TRANSLATION "pray" proseu<xesqe u[mei?j. There is a free
pronoun pointing
to the ones who are being contrasted to the
heathen, Boles 159. It is not however, fronted
in the word order. The question arises whether the
author was really calling attention
to it in such a way as to need to be reflected in
the propositionalization itself. It seems
to be used as an orienter,
merely underlined for the purposes of contrast. "Hallowed"
a[giasqh<tw
means to render or pronounce holy, or "let be celebrated, venerated, or es-
teemed as holy." A Barnes,
Notes on the New Testament, Explanatory
and Practical:
Matthew and Mark (ed. P. Frew;
e
So Plummer 97-98. "The petition requests that God's name be set apart in
honor
and glory to evoke respect and awe." Guelich 289.
f 6:10 TRANSLATION
"your kingdom" h[ baqsilei<a
sou. The
curring motif in Scripture. It
has so many facets that it was felt best to let it stand as a
technical term. Some of the aspects included in
the concept are: "dominion," Zerwick and
Grosvenor 16, "heavenly reign and rule of God
through Christ in the gospel of grace,"
Lenski 266, "that God may reign everywhere, that
his laws may be obeyed, and especially
that the gospel of Christ may be advanced,"
Barnes 67. "Messianic kingdom," H. A W.
Meyer,
Kritisch exegetisches Handbuch "ber das Evangelium des Matthaus (
David E. Lanier: THE LORD'S
PRAYER 71
Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1844) 154-55. "Extension of
God's reign and rule in the
hearts of self and others according to the divine
will," R Earle, H. J. S. Blaney, and C. W.
Carter,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, vol.
4 (Wesleyan Bible Commentary; 6 vols.; ed.
C. W. Carter;
tion of the
prayer 'Thy Kingdom come,' if we only knew, is asking
God to conduct a major opera-
tion." G. A Buttrick, quoted in Mead 273. "Christians ought not utter this petition lightly
or thoughtlessly."
g
6:11 TRANSLATION AND CONTENT "we need for today" e]piou<sion. This may
be translated three major ways: (1) "for the
coming day, that is, today or tomorrow," from
e]p-ei]mi<; (2) "for the present day, today," from e]pi>
th>n ou#san; and (3)
"necessary for exist-
ence," from e]pi>
ou]si<a, Zerwick
and Grosvenor 16, B. M. Newman, Jr., A Concise Greek-
English Dictionary of
the New Testament
(London: United Bible Societies, 1971) 70. The
context clearly mentions "today,"
though the word may be redundant; but that would not
be as serious as omitting the element of necessity
if it is indeed present The word seems
closer related etymologically to (3). But cf. Broadus:
"Epiousios
comes easily and naturally
from he epiousa, 'the
oncoming (day),' a very common expression for 'to-morrow' or 'next
day.'" J. A. Broadus, Commentary on Matthew (
tion Society; repro
our bread for to-morrow,' would mean that our daily
bread, if we remember that one
should not let the day close without knowing how he is
to have food for the next morn-
ing." Ibid., 136. Carson, Matthew, 67. Both alternatives [(1) and
(2) above] refer to the
amount of bread, a measure, the equivalent of a day's
needs regardless of whether it also
connotes 'today's' or 'tomorrow's'." Guelich 293.
Luther translated it "was zum Dasein
gehort," quoted in Lenski 269. "Give us today the food we need"-an
accepted translation
but "linguistically artificial" according
to Carson, Wessel, and Liefeld,
8.171. One article
which may be helpful in this regard is H. Bourgoin, "' ]Epiou<sioj explique
par le notion
de prefixe vide," Biblica 60 (1979)
91-96. “Daily bread”--only here and in Luke 11:3. See
further Davies and Allison 607-8, Hendriksen 332-33, and Guelich
292-93.
h
6:13 RELATION AND TRANSLATION "and do not allow us to be tempted [with
evil],
but deliver us from [Satan, the source of] evil." kai> mh>
ei]sene<gk^j h[ma?j ei]j
peirasmo>n,
a]lla> r[u?sai h[ma?j a]po> tou? ponhrou?. ]
(neuter), or "from the evil one" (masculine). Boles
says, "The petition is not merely to be
delivered from evil, either the moral or physical
sense, but to be delivered from the devil who is
the author of the temptations," Boles 162.
Seen as two options by Zerwick and Grosvenor,
Zerwick and Grosvenor 16. The masculine usage has been used in the chart
because in
6:34
it is obvious that the Christian cannot escape being exposed to affliction (kaki<a).
However,
Christ did come that he might deliver us out of the kingdom of the evil one,
and into his own kingdom. The prayer seems to be
not so much to deliver us from being
tempted, as to deliver us from the power and
dominion of the tempter. Plummer 103.
Davies
and Allison 1.614-15. Carson, Wessel, and Liefeld, 8:174. Broadus 139.
A further question arises whether
the a]lla< adversive
combines the sixth and sev-
enth imperatives into one
petition with positive and negative aspects. Lenski
holds that
it does not and attaches value to the number
seven. The adversive is due merely to the
negative form of the sixth petition, according to
Lenski. Lenski 271, Gundry
105, and
Strecker 128. Augustine and the
German Lutherans interpreted this way. Origen, Chry-
sostom, Calvin, Keirn, Hendriksen, Plummer, and
Meyer note only six. Meyer 151.
mer 96. Hendriksen 325, n. 313. It
seems, however, that 6:13a and b stand in the relation
HEAD-equivalent,
an example of restatement by negated antonym (see
and Kopesec 95).
something by negating the contrary. Carson,
Matthew, 70. The a]lla< would then
a forceful way to underline the contrast, which
works out to saying the same thing
72
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
much more emphatically, only in a positive vein.. “Deliver”
r[u?sai means to rescue, or de-
liver; Christ came not to deliver us from temptation
(1 Cor 10:13), but from the power of
Satan.. Cf.. Ber. 60b: “Do not bring me into the power of a sin, a
temptation, a shame,”
quoted in Hill 189.
6:13 TEXT The
Alexandrian tradition ends with the word “evil,” whereas the Ma-
jority Text tradition reads “for
thine is the kingdom,“ UBS has an A reading in favor
of omission. There are six majuscules in favor of
the longer reading, and four (including
x) in favor of the
shorter. The reading is determined by
the presuppositions of the textual
theory one holds. Convincing arguments can be adduced
for both. The UBS reading is
both shorter and simpler; however, in favor of the
longer ending it should be said that
it is not so abrupt an ending for a prayer, and it
would then begin and end with a re-
spectful address to the father,
rather than on a note of petition for one's own needs. The
prayer began with a petition for the father's glory to
be manifest; it would end upon the
same note. Thematically, the longer ending seems
more balanced. Cf. Lenski,
"The
tual authority for the
genuineness of the doxology with the amen is rather greater than
one is led to think by commentators who sometimes
refer to II Tim. 4:18 as the source."
Lenski 271. Hendriksen 338-39. Externally, the shorter reading has a bit more
evidence
in its favor. Broadus 139, n. 1.
i 14-15 RELATION These verses
were labeled HEAD-comment because they do
not seem to be an integral part of the Lord's
Prayer. Rather, they make an aside concern-
ing HEAD5
(6:12a-b). A spirit of unforgiving bitterness hinders prayer (cf. 1 Pet 3:7);
per-
haps that is why this comment is given such a large
portion of the discourse as well as
the prominent position of a summary statement.
j 6:15 TEXT “if you do
not forgive men when they do you wrong” e]a>n
de> mh> a]fh?te
toi?j
a]nqrw<poij. Some texts add ta> paraptw<mata au]tw?n.
UBS D reading. Only x and D
and a few minor authorities favor the shorter
reading here; even the UBSGNT goes with the
minority text tradition here. Seven majuscules,
and many minuscules, plus the usual MSS
backing the majority tradition appear in favor
of the longer reading. The shorter reading
is poorly attested, yet preference is given to it
on the basis of x being the oldest MS. The
fuller reading brings out the parallel in 14a and 15b and
helps to develop the theme. As
an obvious structural parallelism is in evidence
here, both internal and external evi-
dence are in favor of the
longer reading.
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