The real word of Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus was a Jew, and his listeners were all Jews. It makes sense that he delivered these words in the language spoken by Jews: Hebrew. The original Hebrew word which he likely uttered was ashrei (אַשְׁרֵי). This word means “happy” or “fortunate” and is found in many places in the Hebrew Bible, for example: “Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 119:1).
Jesus used the word ashrei because it was familiar to his audience. This word was used frequently in prayers and Jesus' ethical code was a continuation of the tradition found in the Hebrew Bible. Interestingly, the Mount of the Beatitudes is also known in Hebrew as the Mount of Happiness– har ha'osher (הַר הָאֹשֶׁר) due to this exact word. Do you yearn to enter the world that Jesus truly inhabited? Enroll now in our Biblical Hebrew online course and uncover the authentic Hebrew words of Jesus.
