Texts in Conversation
The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew asks that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, using language found in many Jewish traditions. 1 Maccabees uses similar language when describing how Judas tells his soldiers that the outcome of battle would follow the will of heaven.
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1 Maccabees 3:60
Deuterocanon
57 Then the army marched out and encamped to the south of Emmaus. 58 And Judas said, "Arm yourselves and be courageous. Be ready early in the morning to fight with these Gentiles who have assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary. 59 It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary. 60 But as his will in heaven may be, so shall he do."
Date: 100 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Matthew 6:10
New Testament
7 When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles because they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 So pray this way: “Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored, 10 may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Here we are very much in targumic terminology, the corresponding Aramaic phrase — rawa min qdam Adonai — being of extremely common occurrence in the Aramaic paraphrases. Rawa is a word none too easy to translate precisely. It is used to render such Hebrew words as rason (good will,' 'favour,' 'will'), heseq ('desire') and hepes ('pleasure'). It can be rendered by 'will,' good will,' etc ... The expression, which does not occur in the Hebrew Bible or in the Septuagint, is also found in Hebrew, in the prayer formula: 'may it be well-pleasing in thy sight,' literally: 'may there be [good] will before you'. Its antiquity is attested by 1 Maccabees 3:60: 'as there is the will (thelema) in heaven ..."
McNamara, Martin
Targum and Testament Revisited Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible: A Light on the New Testament
(pp. 143-145) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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