אַשְׁרֵי הַחִוכִּים שְׁיְנוּחָמוּ׃
The above is the second Matthaean Beatitude, Mt. 5:4, according to Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew, pointed as well as I was able. It reads, "Happy are those who wait, for they shall be comforted." This differs, of course, from the canonical "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Professor Howard tried to explain (p. 226 of his 1995 edition, footnote 104) mourn/wait as a translation variant. Maybe it is, somehow, but his explanation seemed like a stretch to me.
In some ms. traditions, this saying appears as verse 5, coming after "the meek," which appears in only one of the nine texts that Howard examined. The reversed verse order is found in the older, "Western" (Syro-Latin) tradition, and in the Vulgate.
I cannot explain why the Greek tradition has "mourn," while Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew has "wait." It seems to me, though, that "wait" fits in well here, coming after a verse about humility. Humility and patience are both personal virtues, while mourning is not. It would seem, thus, that Rabbi Yeshua intended this set of sayings to teach personal virtues.
As to the other verse, "the meek," I have never liked it, and to me it does not sound like Rabbi Yeshua's voice. Most of the mss. of Hebrew Matthew do not have it, nor does Luke. My view is that "the meek" is probably not original.
Text © 2020 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.
