The Lord's Prayer is the only prayer that Jesus Christ himself taught his disciples. It is recounted in two Gospels. It is the best-known prayer of Christians and unites Christians worldwide. At the same time, it is thoroughly Jewish and closely related to other Jewish prayers. In this series, we want to explore the Jewish roots of the Lord's Prayer in more detail.
By Kees de Vreugd, translation by Marie-Louise Weissenböck
"Thy will be done"
Most Bible translations render the third prayer as "Thy will be done." This is also how this petition is traditionally interpreted in Christian scholarship. It almost sounds as if it depends on our obedience. Of course, it is about human obedience to God. But in my opinion, there is more to it. The Lord's Prayer in Hebrew and Aramaic reads: "May it be your will." The verb "be" is rendered in Greek as "be done." This is also a common way to translate the Hebrew verb. In Jewish prayers, this request is literally translated as: "May it be your will before you.".
The human being who longs to do God's will is encountered, among other places, in the Psalms, for example in Psalm 40: "To do your will, my God, is my delight; your law is within me." "Delight" may now be a somewhat old-fashioned word. It refers to the will of God. God's will is explained in the psalm as God's Torah, which the psalmist carries deep within. Jesus prays the same words of the Lord's Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: "My Father, if this cup cannot pass from me unless I drink it, your will be done." (Matthew 26:42) God's will must be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The Orthodox rabbi Eliahoe Tzvi Soloveitchik wrote a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew in the 19th century. He explains: “It is the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, to do only good to His creatures. But our sins prevent us from receiving good. Therefore, the prayer is: 'It be Your will.' The message is: 'Let Your will be on earth as Your will is in heaven, for there one does not sin.'”
The three prayers for the sanctification of the name, the kingship of God, and the will of God belong together. They concern the threefold manifestation of God's presence on earth as it is manifested in heaven.
Our Father in heaven…
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
(Translation after Martin Luther from Matthew 6:9–13)
"Our daily bread"
The three praises are followed by three petitions. The first of these is: “Give us this day our daily bread.” The translation of this petition presents a problem. Some translations read: “Give us this day the bread we need,” for example in the Hope for All, the Standard Translation, the Good News Bible, and the Zurich Bible.
Is it about daily bread, or the bread we need, or even something else? The Greek word epiousion (Greek: ἐπιούσιον) appears only here and can be understood in various ways, depending on how one analyzes the parts that make up the word. Possible meanings are necessary for existence, "for today," "daily," or "for tomorrow." Most modern translations opt for the first possibility.
In the desert, Israel received manna daily. On the sixth day, the day before the Sabbath, the manna fell for two days. Thus, Israel also received manna for the following day, the Sabbath. In my opinion, Israel's life in the desert is an important context for understanding Jesus' teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. We can also place the prayer for daily bread in this context. It is about the trust that God provides for us every day, even for tomorrow, as Jesus subsequently says in the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink..." (Matthew 6:25-34)
The Bible itself gives the manna in the desert an even deeper meaning. In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses says to Israel: “And he humbled you, causing you to go hungry and feeding you with the manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus quotes this text when he is tempted by the devil in the desert (Matthew 4:4): “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” He explicitly says “every word from the mouth of God.” This shows that it refers to the Word of God, the Torah.
Manna, or bread, is a symbol of the Torah in Jewish tradition. Seen in this light, this prayer from the Lord's Prayer is also a prayer for the opportunity to engage with God's word daily.
Parts 1 and 2 of this series appeared in our newspaper “Israelaktuell”, 3rd + 4th quarter 2024.
This article first appeared in our newspaper "Israelaktuell," issue 140. You can order the newspaper here . We would also be happy to send you several copies for distribution.
