SEV Biblia, Chapter 6:11
Danos hoy nuestro pan cotidiano.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 6:11
Verse 11. Give us this day our daily bread] The word epiousian has greatly perplexed critics and commentators. I find upwards of thirty different explanations of it. It is found in no Greek writer before the evangelists, and Origen says expressly, that it was formed by them, all eoike peplasqai upo twn euaggelistwn. The interpretation of Theophylact, one of the best of the Greek fathers, has ever appeared to me to be the most correct, artov epi th ousia kai austasei hmwn autarkhv, Bread, sufficient for our substance and support, i.e. That quantity of food which is necessary to support our health and strength, by being changed into the substance of our bodies. Its composition is of epi and ousia, proper or sufficient for support. Mr. Wakefield thinks it probable, that the word was originally written epi ousian, which coalesced by degrees, till they became the epiousion of the MSS. There is probably an allusion here to the custom of travelers in the east, who were wont to reserve a part of the food given them the preceding evening to serve for their breakfast or dinner the next day. But as this was not sufficient for the whole day, they were therefore obliged to depend on the providence of God for the additional supply. In Luke xv. 12, 13, ousia signifies, what a person has to live on; and nothing can be more natural than to understand the compound epiousiov, of that additional supply which the traveler needs, to complete the provision necessary for a day's eating, over and above what he had then in his possession. See Harmer. The word is so very peculiar and expressive, and seems to have been made on purpose by the evangelists, that more than mere bodily nourishment seems to be intended by it. Indeed, many of the primitive fathers understood it as comprehending that daily supply of grace which the soul requires to keep it in health and vigour: He who uses the petition would do well to keep both in view. Observe 1. God is the author and dispenser of all temporal as well as spiritual good. 2. We have merited no kind of good from his hand, and therefore must receive it as a free gift: Give us, &c. 3.
We must depend on him daily for support; we are not permitted to ask any thing for to-morrow: give us to-day. 4. That petition of the ancient Jews is excellent: "Lord, the necessities of thy people Israel are many, and their knowledge small, so that they know not how to disclose their necessities: Let it be thy good pleasure to give to every man, what sufficeth for food!" Thus they expressed their dependence, and left it to God to determine what was best and most suitable. We must ask only that which is essential to our support, God having promised neither luxuries nor superfluities.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 11. Give us this day our daily bread .] The Arabic version reads it, our bread for tomorrow; and Jerom says, that in the Hebrew Gospel, used by the Nazarenes, he found the word rjm , which signifies tomorrow: but this reading and sense seem to be contradicted by Christ, ( Matthew 6:34) were it not that it may be observed, that this signifies the whole subsequent time of life, and so furnishes us with a very commodious sense of this petition; which is, that God would give us, day by day, as Luke expresses it, ( Luke 11:3) that is, every day of our lives, to the end thereof, a proper supply of food: or the meaning of it is, that God would give us, for the present time, such food as we stand in need of; is suitable to us, to our nature and constitution, state and condition, and is sufficient and convenient for us: to which agrees the petition of the Jews: The necessities of thy people are great, and their knowledge short; let it be thy good will and pleasure, O Lord, our God, that thou wouldst give to everyone wtsnrp ydk , what is sufficient for his sustenance, and to every ones body what it wants. Says R. Jose f411 , all the children of faith seek every day whyynwzm alal , to ask their food of the Lord, and to pray a prayer for it.
By bread is meant all the necessaries of life, and for the support of it: it is called ours; not that we have a right unto it, much less deserve it, but to distinguish it from that of beasts; and because it is what we need, and cannot do without; what is appointed for us by providence, is ours by gift, and possessed by labour. It is said to be daily bread, and to be asked for day by day; which suggests the uncertainty of life; strikes at all anxious and immoderate cares for the morrow; is designed to restrain from covetousness, and to keep up the duty of prayer, and constant dependence on God; whom we must every day ask to give us our daily bread: for he is the sole author of all our mercies; which are all his free gifts; we deserve nothing at his hands: wherefore we ought to be thankful for what we have, without murmuring at his providences, or envying at what he bestows on others. All kind of food, everything that is eatable, is with the Jews called jl , bread f412 .
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 9-15 - Christ saw it needful to show his disciples what must commonly be the matter and method of their prayer. Not that we are tied up to the us of this only, or of this always; yet, without doubt, it is very good to use it. It has much in a little; and it is used acceptably no furthe than it is used with understanding, and without being needlessl repeated. The petitions are six; the first three relate more expressl to God and his honour, the last three to our own concerns, bot temporal and spiritual. This prayer teaches us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and that all other things shal be added. After the things of God's glory, kingdom, and will, we pra for the needful supports and comforts of this present life. Every wor here has a lesson in it. We ask for bread; that teaches us sobriety an temperance: and we ask only for bread; not for what we do not need. We ask for our bread; that teaches us honesty and industry: we do not as for the bread of others, nor the bread of deceit, Pr 20:17; nor the bread of idleness, Pr 31:27, but the bread honestly gotten. We ask for our daily bread; which teaches us constantly to depend upon Divin Providence. We beg of God to give it us; not sell it us, nor lend i us, but give it. The greatest of men must be beholden to the mercy of God for their daily bread. We pray, Give it to us. This teaches us compassion for the poor. Also that we ought to pray with our families We pray that God would give it us this day; which teaches us to rene the desires of our souls toward God, as the wants of our bodies ar renewed. As the day comes we must pray to our heavenly Father, an reckon we could as well go a day without food, as without prayer. We are taught to hate and dread sin while we hope for mercy, to distrus ourselves, to rely on the providence and grace of God to keep us from it, to be prepared to resist the tempter, and not to become tempters of others. Here is a promise, If you forgive, your heavenly Father wil also forgive. We must forgive, as we hope to be forgiven. Those wh desire to find mercy with God, must show mercy to their brethren Christ came into the world as the great Peace-maker, not only to reconcile us to God, but one to another.
Greek Textus Receptus
τον 3588 T-ASM αρτον 740 N-ASM ημων 2257 P-1GP τον 3588 T-ASM επιουσιον 1967 A-ASM δος 1325 5628 V-2AAM-2S ημιν 2254 P-1DP σημερον 4594 ADV
Robertson's NT Word Studies
6:11 {Our daily bread} (ton arton hemwn ton epiousion). this adjective "daily" (epiousion) coming after "Give us this day" (dos hmn smeron) has given expositors a great deal of trouble. The effort has been made to derive it from epi and "n (ousa). It clearly comes from epi and i"n (epi and eimi) like tei epiousei ("on the coming day,"the next day," #Ac 16:12). But the adjective epiousios is rare and Origen said it was made by the Evangelists Matthew and Luke to reproduce the idea of an Aramaic original. Moulton and Milligan, _Vocabulary_ say: "The papyri have as yet shed no clear light upon this difficult word (#Mt 6:11; Lu 11:3), which was in all probability a new coinage by the author of the Greek Q to render his Aramaic Original" ( this in 1919). Deissmann claims that only about fifty purely New Testament or "Christian" words can be admitted out of the more than 5,000 used. "But when a word is not recognizable at sight as a Jewish or Christian new formation, we must consider it as an ordinary Greek word until the contrary is proved. Epiousios has all the appearance of a word that originated in trade and traffic of the everyday life of the people (cf. my hints in _Neutestamentliche Studien Georg Heinrici dargebracht_, Leipzig, 1914, pp. 118f.). The opinion here expressed has been confirmed by A. Debrunner's discovery (_Theol. Lit. Ztg_. 1925, Col. 119) of epiousios in an ancient housekeeping book" (_Light from the Ancient East_, New ed. 1927, p. 78 and note 1). So qen it is not a word coined by the Evangelist or by Q to express an Aramaic original. The word occurs also in three late MSS. after 2Macc. 1:8, tous epiousious after tous artous. The meaning, in view of the kindred participle (epiousi) in #Ac 16:12, seems to be "for the coming day," a daily prayer for the needs of the next day as every housekeeper understands like the housekeeping book discovered by Debrunner.
