“BLESSED ARE THE POOR”
(Mt v, 3; Lk vi, 20b)
Matthew’s beatitude is in the third person, Luke’s in the second. Matthew adds “in spirit.” If the beatitude stood alone, the changes in it are not too great to be attributed to Matthew, and the “in spirit” is what might be expected. But taking it in close connection with much material that could not have stood alike in Matthew’s source and in Luke’s it is better to assign it to QMt and QLk.
“BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN”
(Mt v, 5; Lk vi, 21b)
The wording is not at all similar, μακάριοι being the only word in common. Yet the two beatitudes sound like two versions of the same one. κλαίω is a Lucan word, used eleven times by Luke in his Gospel, against twice by Matthew and three times by Mark. γελάω is used twice in Luke’s Gospel, and not elsewhere in the New Testament. Both of these occurrences are in Luke’s “Sermon on the Level Place.” These facts, with the context, indicate a source in Luke’s hands partly like, and partly unlike, the source in Matthew’s. The verse is therefore assigned to QMt and QLk.
“BLESSED ARE THEY THAT HUNGER”
(Mt v, 6; Lk vi, 21a)
Matthew’s version is again in the third person and Luke’s in the second. Luke understands the hunger to be literal. Matthew “spiritualizes” by adding τὴν δικαιοσύνην. Luke adds νῦν, to point the contrast between his beatitude and the corresponding woe, which Matthew does not have. In spite of these differences, out of ten words in Matthew’s form and six in Luke’s, five words are identical (except for a deviation in personal ending). Except for the context the verse might be assigned simply to Q; but it is better ascribed to QMt and QLk.