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There is an intriguing use of a Greek word in the Lord’s Prayer that is found nowhere else in extant Greek literature. It is the adjective, '[x]epiousis[/x]'; traditionally translated as ‘daily’ in the phrase, ‘our daily bread.’

Əlbəttə, Jesus did not address his disciples in Greek. He would almost certainly have been speaking in Aramaic, the native dialect of Israel at that time. So ‘[x]epiousis[/x]’ is itself a translation: but of what? St Jerome, when creating the Latin Vulgate translation in the late 4th century, rendered it as ‘daily’ in [x]Luka 11:3[/x]: but as ‘supersubstantial’ in [x]Mathevarı 6:11[/x]. Scholars throughout the centuries have argued as to it’s real meaning: but most reject the translation of ‘daily’ as being both unnecessary (because the words, ‘this day’ are also present) and improbable (seeing that there are much less obscure words that could have been used).

lakin, the suggested renderings have been many and various. It appears to be a compound of ‘[x]epi[/x]’ and a form of either ‘[x]eimi[/x]’ (‘to exist’) or ‘[x]heimi[/x]’ (‘to go’). Since ‘[x]epi[/x]’ has a wide range of meanings, generally along the lines of being above or beyond in terms of time, position, və s., suggestions include such concepts as ‘essential for existence,’ ‘for the future’ or ‘for the coming day’, ‘in abundance,’ ‘that doesn’t run out,’ və s. Many of these renderings are ascribed both practical and spiritual or eschatological meanings. But most of them also suffer from the problem that, had this been the intended meaning, why didn’t the writer use a commoner, more easily understood word?

When translating between languages, word meanings often overlap; so that a word in one language has a range of meanings and associations that may not always be properly understood in the target language and culture. I would suggest that this is most probably what has happened here: the word Jesus used had multiple meanings and associations that would have forced the translator to use many words to convey a full sense of its meaning. Amma İsa’ prayer was given as a model of simplicity and brevity: so the translator didn’t want to do that. His next best choice was to compound two words together in order to try to convey a sense of the depth of meaning in what Jesus had said. Ehtiva etmək, what I am saying is that there is probably truth in most, hamısı olmasa, of the obvious inferences that may be drawn from a literal breakdown of the compound, '[x]epi-ousis[/x].’

But what was the original word Jesus used that caused the translator such a problem? I think that the suggestion advanced by Kenneth Bailey in ‘Jesus Through Middle-Eastern Eyes’¹ is the most plausible. He refers us to the 2nd-century ‘Old Syriac’ translation of the Greek; which is both the earliest known translation of the New Testament and is in a language that is extremely close to the Aramaic spoken by Jesus. This uses the word ‘[x]ameno[/x],’ which in Syriac means ‘lasting, never-ceasing, never-ending or perpetual.’ It comes from the same root as the Hebrew word [x]’Amin,[/x]’ meaning ‘to be firm, confirmed, etibarlı, faithful, have faith, believe.’ It was often used by Jesus to introduce his own sayings: ‘Truly ('[x]amen[/x]') I say to you…’ (often doubled for additional emphasis according to John’s gospel). Its common use was as an affirmation at the end of a prayer, in the sense of, ‘It is settled.’ Used in these ways it was simply transliterated into Greek, where it appears numerous times in the gospels; and is even used to conclude this prayer in [x]Mathevarı 6:13[/x].

But if Jesus used this word as an adjective, to describe bread, he would be plainly inferring something more than the simple fact that he was asking for ‘real’ bread: which means that we have to consider the entire scope and cultural context of the words in order to appreciate their full meaning to Jesus and his disciples.

The meaning implied by the Old Syriac translation is clearly part of it. The prayer is affirming the absolute reliability of God’s supply, just as Jesus taught his disciples:

Buna görə də, Sənə deyirəm, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? ([x]Döşəmək 6:25-26[/x])

But there is more. Consider the discussion recorded in John, fəsil 6, when the people came to Jesus just after the feeding of the 5,000, wanting to make him king:

İsa onlara cavab verdi, “Şübhəsiz ki, sizə deyirəm, sən məni axtarırsan, əlamətlər gördüyünüz üçün deyil, ancaq çörəyi yediyiniz üçün, və doldular. Tələf olan qida üçün çalışmayın, lakin əbədi həyata qalan yemək üçün, Bunu Bəşər Oğlu sizə verəcək. Çünki Ata Allah onu möhürləmişdir.”

Buna görə də ona dedilər, “Nə etməliyik, ki, biz Allahın işlərini yerinə yetirək?”

İsa onlara cavab verdi, “Bu, Allahın işidir, ki, Onun göndərdiyinə inanırsınız.”

Buna görə də ona dedilər, “Bir işarə üçün nə edirsən?, ki, görə bilək, və sənə inanıram? Nə işlə məşğulsan? Atalarımız səhrada manna yedilər. Yazıldığı kimi, “Onlara yemək üçün göydən çörək verdi.’ “

İsa onlara dedi, “Əlbəttə, Sənə deyirəm, Sənə göydən çörəyi verən Musa deyildi, amma Atam sizə göydən həqiqi çörəyi verir. Çünki Allahın çörəyi göydən enəndir, və dünyaya həyat verir.”

Buna görə də ona dedilər, “Lord, həmişə bizə bu çörəyi verin.”

İsa onlara dedi, “Mən həyatın çörəyiyəm. Mənim yanıma gələn ac qalmaz, Mənə iman edən heç vaxt susuz qalmaz. ([x]John 6:26-35[/x])

The people came looking for a dependable supply of food, like the manna that the Israelites had during their journeys with Moses in the desert. Amma İsa’ response was that this isn’t the true bread. Odur; and the people needed to put their faith in Him. Notice how the root meaning of ‘Amen’ carries the concept of both truth and faith.

The concept of manna from heaven was deeply ingrained in Jewish culture, both in its historical concept and as a future hope at the coming of the Messiah. Kenneth Bailey mentions that St Jerome refers to a copy of a ‘Gospel of the Hebrews’ that translates this phrase as ‘Give us our bread of tomorrow.’

And last, but by no means least, we have the fact that Jesus saw his own death as the ultimate Passover sacrifice, by which he would become the source of the true bread of life for the world:

Mən həyatın çörəyiyəm. Atalarınız səhrada manna yedilər, və öldülər. Bu, göydən enən çörəkdir, Hər kəs ondan yesin və ölməsin. Mən göydən enmiş diri çörəyəm. Kim bu çörəkdən yesə, əbədi yaşayacaq. Bəli, dünya həyatı üçün verəcəyim çörək mənim bədənimdir.”

Buna görə də yəhudilər bir-biri ilə mübahisə etdilər, söykənmək, “Bu adam öz ətini bizə yeməyə necə verə bilər??”

İsa onlara dedi, “Şübhəsiz ki, sizə deyirəm, Bəşər Oğlunun ətini yeyib qanını içməyincə, sizin özünüzdə həyat yoxdur. Ətimi yeyib qanımı içən əbədi həyata malikdir, Mən onu son gündə dirildəcəyəm. Çünki mənim ətim həqiqətən yeməkdir, və mənim qanım həqiqətən içkidir. Ətimi yeyib qanımı içən Məndə yaşayır, və mən onun içində. Yaşayan Atanın Məni göndərdiyi kimi, və mən Atanın sayəsində yaşayıram; Məni yedizdirən, o da mənim sayəmdə yaşayacaq. Bu, atalarımızın manna yediyi kimi deyil, göydən enən çörəkdir, və öldü. Bu çörəyi yeyən əbədi yaşayacaq.” ([x]John 6:48-58[/x])

Jesus longed for this moment to be accomplished (another meaning of ‘[x]amen[/x]') and desired that they would never forget it:

Onlara dedi, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, dedi, “Take this, and share it among yourselves, for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God comes.” He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, söykənmək, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.” ([x]Lökəxana 22:15-19[/x])

In the book of Revelation, John describes how Jesus actually called Himself the ‘[x]Amin[/x]’ Allahın:

To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: “The [x]Amin[/x], the Faithful and True Witness, the Head of God’s creation, says these things: … ” ([x]Rev 3:14[/x])

When Jesus taught this prayer, the gospels indicate that he already had a clear sense of his ultimate mission. So He would have had all of the above in view as he spoke. But his disciples and the listening crowds did not have his foresight: so their initial thinking would have been primarily about food and the possibility of heavenly manna. lakin, our unknown translator did have the benefit of hindsight – as did all Jesus’ followers in later years.

Belə ki, when we consider all the overtones implied by Jesus’ söz, ‘Give us this day our ‘[x]amen[/x]’ bread,’ it is easy to see why an Aramaic-speaking Christian translator would struggle to find any word in Greek to convey a concept so pregnant with meaning. Is it any wonder that, when trying to find a word to describe this bread, he resorted to inventing a new compound word capable of being variously understood as something like, ‘true and abundant provision beyond all reality and for all time?’

Haşiyələr

1. ‘Jesus Through Middle-Eastern Eyes’ Kenneth E. Bailey, SPCK Publishing (21 mart. 2008), səh. 121. (ISBN 978-0281059751)