Meekness

Biblical Texts

The best-known verse is Matthew 5:5, the third of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." This saying closely parallels Psalm 37:11, "But the meek shall inherit the earth."

Numbers 12:3 says of Moses that he "was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." In Matthew 11:29–30, Jesus describes himself as "meek and lowly in heart." Among the epistles, Galatians 5:23 lists meekness as one of the fruit of the Spirit. Meekness also appears repeatedly as a quality believers should possess. Examples include the exhortation in Galatians 6:1 to restore others "in the spirit of meekness," the lists of virtues in Ephesians 4:2 and Colossians 3:12, "a meek and quiet spirit" in 1 Peter 3:4, and the command in James 1:21 to "receive with meekness the engrafted word."

Original Languages and Background

The Old Testament Hebrew word anaw shares a root with words meaning "poor" and "afflicted." It therefore strongly connotes a person who, even when oppressed, does not seek revenge but relies on God. For this reason, some translations render the word in Numbers 12:3 as "humble." In the Greek world of the time, the New Testament Greek word praus and its noun form prautēs denoted a gentleness that is not easily provoked to anger. Aristotle treated the term as the mean between excessive anger and excessive insensibility.

Meaning Across Scripture

The New Testament takes up the portrait of the meek found in Psalm 37: a person who does not fret when the wicked seem to prosper but waits on God. Matthew 21:5 quotes Zechariah 9:9 in depicting Jesus riding on a donkey at the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and the Greek word used there is also praus. The New Korean Revised Version renders this word as "humble." In the New Testament, meekness is portrayed both as a trait of Christ's character and as fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in believers. It is especially emphasized as the proper attitude when correcting someone who has done wrong or dealing with opponents (2 Timothy 2:25).

Interpretations and Issues

• Meekness and anger: Moses, described as a meek man, broke the stone tablets during the golden calf incident, and Jesus cleansed the Temple. On this basis, many interpreters explain that meekness is neither an absence of emotion nor passivity, but a quality of character that sets aside anger on one's own behalf while still responding to injustice.
• The meaning of "inherit the earth": Several interpretations coexist. One reads the phrase as a direct continuation of the promise of the land in Psalm 37; another sees it as a promise to be fulfilled in the new heaven and new earth; and a third takes it as an expression for inheriting the Kingdom of God.
• The problem of Moses' self-description: The traditional view holds that Moses himself wrote Numbers 12:3, while another view regards the verse as an explanatory note added later. This discussion is tied to the question of the authorship of the Pentateuch.
• The "tamed horse" analogy: Because praus was used of tamed animals, the explanation that "meekness is power under control" has become widespread. Some point out, however, that this explanation was added by interpreters rather than stated in the text itself, and that caution is needed in narrowing the word's meaning on the basis of this usage alone.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, meekness is frequently addressed in teaching on the Beatitudes and the fruit of the Spirit. Sunday schools also commonly have children memorize the nine fruit of the Spirit. Sermons often emphasize that "meekness is not weakness." In dealing with conflict among church members or with church discipline, the phrase "the spirit of meekness" from Galatians 6:1 is frequently cited.