Editing Beatitudes (section)

{{Short description|Part of Jesus' sermon on the mount}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:TissotBeatitudes.JPG|thumb|[[James Tissot]], ''The Beatitudes Sermon'', c. 1890, [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]

The '''Beatitudes''' ({{ipac-en|b|i|ˈ|æ|t|ɪ|tj|u|d|z}}) are blessings recounted by [[Jesus]] in [[Matthew 5]]:3&ndash;10 within the [[Sermon on the Mount]] in the [[Gospel of Matthew]], and four in the [[Sermon on the Plain]] in the [[Gospel of Luke]], followed by four woes which mirror the blessings.<ref name= "Synop" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Matthew 5:3-10 - NIV - "Blessed ar... |url=https://www.christianity.com/bible/niv/matthew/5-3-10 |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=www.christianity.com |language=en}}</ref>

In the Latin [[Vulgate]], each of these blessings begins with the word {{Lang|la|beātī}}, which translates to {{Gloss|blessed}} (plural adjective). The corresponding word in the original Greek is {{Lang|grc|μακάριοι}} ({{transliteration|grc|makarioi}}), with the same meaning.{{Efn | "[T]he name of "Makaria", the "blessed" or "prosperous" one— ...as well as the family's membership in the upper classes.{{Refn | {{Citation | title = Gender, Class and Ideology: The Social Function of Virgin Sacrifice in Euripides' ''Children of Herakles'' | first = David Kawalko | journal = Classical Antiquity | volume = 26 | number = 1 | date = April 2007 | pages = 81–169 | url = https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:14100/datastreams/CONTENT/content | last = Roselli | publisher = University of California Press| doi = 10.1525/ca.2007.26.1.81 | url-access = subscription }}.}}}}<ref>{{Citation | quote = Blessed, happy, fortunate; in Attic, one of the upper classes. | last1 = Liddell | last2 = Scott | title = Lexicon}}</ref> Thus "Blessed are the poor in spirit" appears in [[Latin]] as {{Lang|la|beātī pauperēs spīritū}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Vulgate New Testament with the Douay Version of 1582 in Parallel Columns |year= 1872 |page= 5 |publisher= Samuel Bagster and Sons |url= https://archive.org/stream/vulgatenewtesta00jerogoog#page/n21/mode/2up}}</ref> The Latin noun {{Lang|la|beātitūdō}} was [[neologism|coined]] by [[Cicero]] to describe a state of blessedness and was later incorporated within the chapter headings written for [[Matthew 5]] in various printed versions of the Vulgate.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Gospel of the Kingdom |last= Savage |first=Henry Edwin |author-link= Henry Edwin Savage |date= 1910 |page=69 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IVw7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA69}}</ref> Subsequently, the word was [[anglicisation|anglicized]] to {{lang|enm|beatytudes}} in the [[Great Bible|Great Bible of 1540]],<ref>{{cite book |title= Great Bible | year = 1540 |page= 431 |url= https://archive.org/stream/GreatBible1540/1540GreatBible#page/n429/mode/2up}}</ref> and has, over time, taken on a preferred spelling of ''beatitudes''.

While some opinions can differ as to exactly how many distinct statements into which the Beatitudes should be divided (ranging from eight to ten), most scholars consider them to be only eight.<ref name="Westmin">{{cite book |title=The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and early Christian literature |first1=David Edward |last1=Aune |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-664-21917-8 |pages=75–78|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press }}</ref><ref name="Cathenc">{{cite book |title=Beatitudes |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02371a.htm |work=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |access-date=September 5, 2013}}</ref> These eight of Matthew follow a simple pattern: Jesus names a group of people normally thought to be unfortunate and pronounces them blessed.<ref name="Synop">{{cite book |title=The Synoptics: Matthew, Mark, Luke |first1=Ján |last1=Majerník |first2=Joseph |last2=Ponessa |first3=Laurie Watson |last3=Manhardt |year=2005 |location= Steubenville, OH |publisher=Emmaus Road |isbn=1-931018-31-6 |pages=63–68}}</ref>