Matthew 5:3

New Testament

1 When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them by saying: 3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Pirkei Avot 4:10

Mishnah
Rabbinic

9 Rabbi Jonathan said: whoever fulfills the Torah out of a state of poverty, his end will be to fulfill it out of a state of wealth; And whoever discards The torah out of a state of wealth, his end will be to discard it out of a state of poverty. 10 Rabbi Meir said: Engage but little in business, and busy yourself with the Torah. Be of humble spirit before all men. If you have neglected the Torah, you shall have many who bring you to neglect it, but if you have labored at the study of Torah, there is much reward to give unto you 11 Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said: he who performs one commandment acquires for himself one advocate, and he who commits one transgression acquires for himself one accuser. Repentance and good deeds are a shield against punishment. Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar said: every assembly which is for the sake of heaven, will in the end endure; and every assembly which is not for the sake of heaven, will not endure in the end. 12 Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua said: let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own, and the honor of your colleague as the reverence for your teacher, and the reverence for your teacher as the reverence of heaven. 13 Rabbi Judah said: be careful in study, for an error in study counts as deliberate sin. Rabbi Shimon said: There are three crowns: the crown of torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty, but the crown of a good name supersedes them all.

 Notes and References

"... Torah observance is explicitly advocated in the Sermon (Matthew 5:17-20), although none of its beatitudes mention the law directly. Puech argues that the 'poor in spirit' of Matthew 5:3 refers to those who 'submit themselves to the divine Law.' The 'poor in spirit' of Matthew 5:3 has a parallel in the expression 1QH 6:3, part of Puech's reconstructed beatitude collection (compare 23:14-15; 1QM 14:7; 1QS 4:3). In this text the term is part of a sequence of expressions, such as 'men of truth,' which apparently refer to the Dead Sea sect. According to 4Q525, the one who is happy should not reject wisdom 'with the humility of his soul (1033 HUM)' (compare 1QS 3:8; Testament of Judah 19:2). Humility is a prominent feature of the character development fostered by 4QBeatitudes, as in 4QWords of the Maskil (compare 4Q298 3-4 ii 5-6) ... The stress on humility can be read as a call to submit oneself to the Torah, as Puech has argued regarding the 'poor in spirit' of Matthew (compare Avot 4:10) ..."

Goff, Matthew J. Discerning Wisdom: The Sapiential Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls (pp. 207-208) Brill, 2007

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