Meaning of the Greek Word "Macarios" in Scripture

The Greek adjective μακάριος (transliterated makarios) is a significant term in the New Testament, frequently translated as "blessed" or "happy" ^{[2, 3]}. It appears as early as the 5th century BC in Greek literature, used by poets like Pindar and Euripides, and is common in prose ^[1]. The term is a collateral form of the poetic μάκαρ (makar), which Homer and Hesiod primarily applied to the gods and the departed ^[3].

In the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Old Testament, makarios often translates the Hebrew אֹשֶׁר (osher), which also conveys ideas of happiness or blessedness ^[3]. The word describes a state of supreme blessedness or good fortune ^[2].

Lexical Range and Usage

The core meaning of makarios encompasses both "blessed" and "happy" ^{[1, 2, 3]}. While these terms can sometimes be used interchangeably in English, makarios often carries a connotation of divine favor or spiritual well-being that distinguishes it from mere worldly happiness. It can describe:

Individuals: Most commonly, makarios refers to people who are blessed or happy ^[1]. This is evident in the Beatitudes, where Jesus declares various groups of people "blessed" (e.g., Matthew 5:3-11; Luke 6:20-22) ^[3]. For instance, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3) uses the plural form μακάριοι (makarioi) ^[5]. Similarly, Jesus tells Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29), again using makarioi ^[8].
God: The term is applied to God, as in "the blessed God" (1 Timothy 1:11) and "the blessed and only Sovereign" (1 Timothy 6:15) ^[3].
Hope: It can also describe abstract concepts, such as "the blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) ^[3].

The grammatical forms of makarios vary depending on gender, number, and case. For example, in Luke 14:14, it appears as μακάριος (makarios), an adjective in the nominative singular masculine ^[4]. In Matthew 13:16, the plural form μακάριοι (makarioi) is used ^[5].

Key Passages and Contexts

The most prominent usage of makarios in the New Testament is found in the Beatitudes, recorded in Matthew 5:3-11 and Luke 6:20-22. These declarations by Jesus pronounce blessings upon those who embody certain spiritual qualities or experience particular circumstances. For example, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3) ^[3]. Other instances include:

Luke 1:45: Elizabeth declares Mary "blessed" for believing that the Lord's word to her would be fulfilled ^[3].
Luke 14:15: A guest at a meal exclaims, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" ^[6].
Matthew 16:17: Jesus tells Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" ^[7].
Revelation 1:3: "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near" ^[3].

These passages illustrate that makarios often denotes a state of favor or spiritual privilege bestowed by God, rather than merely a feeling of contentment. It points to a deeper, more enduring happiness rooted in one's relationship with God or adherence to His will.

Distinction from Other Terms

It is important to distinguish makarios from other Greek words that might also be translated as "blessed." For instance, the verb εὐλογέω (eulogeō) means "to bless" in the sense of speaking well of someone, praising, or invoking divine favor upon them. While related in concept, makarios describes the state of being blessed, whereas eulogeō describes the act of blessing. The noun form μακαρισμός (makarismos) refers to "blessedness" or "beatification," the attribution of good fortune ^[9].

Patristic Interpretations

Early Christian writers, such as Augustine, frequently engaged with the concept of blessedness. Augustine, in his Homilies on the Gospels, discusses the pursuit of the kingdom of God and its righteousness, implying that those who prioritize these things are truly blessed ^[10]. He also speaks of glorying "not in himself, but in the Lord," connecting true blessedness with God ^[11]. Athanasius of Alexandria, in On the Incarnation of the Word, emphasizes that the Word's manifestation in a human body was out of "loving-kindness and goodness," leading to salvation, which is a form of blessedness for humanity ^[12]. These patristic interpretations underscore the theological depth of makarios, linking it to divine grace, spiritual priorities, and the ultimate salvation offered through Christ.

The use of makarios in the New Testament, particularly in the Beatitudes, presents a counter-cultural understanding of happiness. It suggests that true blessedness is not found in worldly possessions, power, or comfort, but in humility, righteousness, mercy, and suffering for Christ's sake. This divine perspective on blessedness contrasts with common human notions of happiness, which often focus on external circumstances.

Sources

TFLSJ (Liddell-Scott-Jones) “[G3107] μακάριος — blessed (part 1/6): μᾰκᾰρ-ιος, α, ον, also ος, ον [<a href="javascript:void(0)" title=" 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Leges” 803c: collateral form. of μάκαρ">Refs 5th c.BC+</a>], mostly used in Prose, but also in Poets, as [<a href="javascript:void(0)" title=" 5th c.BC: Pindarus Lyricus, and frequently in 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus ">Refs 5th c.BC+</a>], <Level3>__1</Level3> mostly of men, blessed, happy, [<a href="javascript:void(0)" title=" 5th c.BC: Pindarus Lyricus “P.” 5.46, 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Orestes” 86, etc.; σοφοί τ”
Strong's Greek Dictionary “[G3107] μακάριος (makários) — Definition: supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off | Derivation: a prolonged form of the poetical (meaning the same); | KJV usage: blessed, happy(X -ier)”
STEPBible TBESG “[G3107] G3107 = (G3107) — μακάριος, -α, -ον (collat. form of poët. μάκαρ, in Hom., Hes., chiefly of the gods and the departed), [in LXX for אֹשֶׁר ;] blessed, happy (DCG, i, 177, 213): θεός (δυνάστης), <ref='1Ti.1.11; 6.15'>1Ti.1:11 6:15</ref>; ἐλπίς, <ref='Tit.2.13'>Tit.2:13;</ref> esp. in congratulations, usually with the omission of the copula (M, Pr., 180; B1., § 30, 3), μ. ὁ, <ref='Mat.5.3'>Mat.5:3</ref> ff., <ref='Luk.6.20'>Luk.6:20</ref> ff. <ref='Jhn.20.29'>Jhn.20:29</ref>, <ref='Rev.1.3'>Rev.1:3</ref>, al.; before ptcp., <ref='Luk.1.45'>Luk.1:45”
STEPBible TAGNT “Luk.14.14#02=NKO — Greek tagged text (TAGNT): μακάριος (makarios) [blessed] "G3107=A-NSM"”
STEPBible TAGNT “Mat.13.16#03=NKO — Greek tagged text (TAGNT): μακάριοι (makarioi) [blessed [are]] "G3107=A-NPM"”
STEPBible TAGNT “Luk.14.15#09=NKO — Greek tagged text (TAGNT): μακάριος (makarios) [Blessed [is he]] "G3107=A-NSM"”
STEPBible TAGNT “Mat.16.17#08=NKO — Greek tagged text (TAGNT): μακάριος (makarios) [Blessed] "G3107=A-NSM"”
STEPBible TAGNT “Jhn.20.29#10=NKO — Greek tagged text (TAGNT): μακάριοι (makarioi) [blessed [are]] "G3107=A-NPM"”
Strong's Greek Dictionary “[G3108] μακαρισμός (makarismós) — Definition: beatification, i.e. attribution of good fortune | Derivation: from G3106 (μακαρίζω); | KJV usage: blessedness”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — CHAP. XVII.--56. For in the case of those who are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, i.e. who are preferring this to all other things, so that for its sake they are seeking the o (part 1): 57. In the use of this passage, however, we must be very specially on our guard, lest perchance, when we see any servant of God making provision that such necessaries shall not be wanting either to himself or to those with whose care he has been entrusted, we should decide that he is acting contrary to the Lord's precept, and is anxious”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM LXV III.[10] (part 18): glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom to me the world hath been crucified, and I to the world:"[5] so that "he hath glorieth, not in himself, but in the Lord may glory."[6] "Why" then "do ye imagine mountains full of curds," that" Mountain wherein it hath pleased God to dwell therein"? Not because in other men He dwelleth not, but because in them through Him. "For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead,"[7] not in a shadow, as in the temple made by king Solomon,[8] but "bodily," that”
CCEL (Patristic) “Athanasius of Alexandria, Select Works and Letters, section 98: what has been previously said; in order that you may neither fail to know the cause of the bodily appearing of the Word of the Father, so high and so great, nor think it a consequence of His own nature that the Saviour has worn a body; but that being incorporeal by nature, and Word from the beginning, He has yet of the loving-kindness and goodness of His own Father been manifested to us in a human body for our salvation. 4. It is, then, proper for us to begin the treatment of this subject by speaking of the creation of the univers”

Ask Your Own Question