Maranatha
Encyclopedia
Maranatha is an Aramaic word occurring twice in the New Testament
(see Aramaic of Jesus) and also in the Didache
which is part of the Apostolic Fathers
' collection. It is transliterated into Greek letters rather than translated, and is found at the end of Paul
's First Epistle to the Corinthians
. The NRSV
translates it as: "Our Lord, come!" but notes that it could also be translated as: "Our Lord has come"; the NIV
translates: "Come, O Lord"; the NAB
notes:
The phrase may have been used as a greeting between Early Christians, and it is possibly in this way that it was used by the Apostle Paul.
The original Greek meaning of "anathema
", a gift or sacrifice to God, leads to the interpretation that "Anathema Maranatha" in a New Testament context could mean "a gift to God at the coming of our Lord." John Wesley
in his Notes on the Bible comments that, "It seems to have been customary with the Jews of that age, when they had pronounced any man an Anathema, to add the Syriac expression, Maran - atha, that is, "The Lord cometh;" namely, to execute vengeance upon him." The Catholic Encyclopedia states, "Anathema signifies also to be overwhelmed with maledictions... At an early date the Church adopted the word anathema to signify the exclusion of a sinner from the society of the faithful; but the anathema was pronounced chiefly against heretics." The negative understanding of maranatha began to die out by the late 19th Century; Jamiesen, Fausset and Brown's commentary of 1871 separates Maranatha from anathema in the same way as modern scholars. However the traditional interpretation is still occasionally found among some Christians today.
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
(see Aramaic of Jesus) and also in the Didache
Didache
The Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles is a brief early Christian treatise, dated by most scholars to the late first or early 2nd century...
which is part of the Apostolic Fathers
Apostolic Fathers
The Apostolic Fathers are a small number of Early Christian authors who lived and wrote in the second half of the first century and the first half of the second century. They are acknowledged as leaders in the early church, although their writings were not included in the New Testament...
' collection. It is transliterated into Greek letters rather than translated, and is found at the end of Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
's First Epistle to the Corinthians
First Epistle to the Corinthians
The first epistle of Paul the apostle to the Corinthians, often referred to as First Corinthians , is the seventh book of the New Testament of the Bible...
. The NRSV
New Revised Standard Version
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible released in 1989 in the USA. It is a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version .There are three editions of the NRSV:...
translates it as: "Our Lord, come!" but notes that it could also be translated as: "Our Lord has come"; the NIV
New International Version
The New International Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible. Published by Zondervan in the United States and by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK, it has become one of the most popular modern translations in history.-History:...
translates: "Come, O Lord"; the NAB
New American Bible
The New American Bible is a Catholic Bible translation first published in 1970. It had its beginnings in the Confraternity Bible, which began to be translated from the original languages in 1948....
notes:
- "As understood here ("O Lord, come!"), it is a prayerPrayer in the New TestamentPrayer in the New Testament is presented as a positive command . The people of God are challenged to include prayer in their everyday life, even in the busy struggles of marriage as it brings people closer to God....
for the earlyDoomsday cultDoomsday cult is an expression used to describe groups who believe in Apocalypticism and Millenarianism, and can refer both to groups that prophesy catastrophe and destruction, and to those that attempt to bring it about...
return of ChristSecond ComingIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
. If the Aramaic words are divided differently (Maran atha, "Our Lord has come"), it becomes a credalCreedA creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
declaration. The former interpretation is supported by what appears to be a Greek equivalent of this acclamation in Book of RevelationBook of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
22:20 "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!""
The phrase may have been used as a greeting between Early Christians, and it is possibly in this way that it was used by the Apostle Paul.
The original Greek meaning of "anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
", a gift or sacrifice to God, leads to the interpretation that "Anathema Maranatha" in a New Testament context could mean "a gift to God at the coming of our Lord." John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
in his Notes on the Bible comments that, "It seems to have been customary with the Jews of that age, when they had pronounced any man an Anathema, to add the Syriac expression, Maran - atha, that is, "The Lord cometh;" namely, to execute vengeance upon him." The Catholic Encyclopedia states, "Anathema signifies also to be overwhelmed with maledictions... At an early date the Church adopted the word anathema to signify the exclusion of a sinner from the society of the faithful; but the anathema was pronounced chiefly against heretics." The negative understanding of maranatha began to die out by the late 19th Century; Jamiesen, Fausset and Brown's commentary of 1871 separates Maranatha from anathema in the same way as modern scholars. However the traditional interpretation is still occasionally found among some Christians today.
External links
- Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871),
- CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Anathema,
- World Community for Christian Meditation Welt der Bibel German Site containing article on maranatha
- http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/451.htm From the Catechism of the Catholic Church