Has the Lord’s Prayer Been Misinterpreted?
Has The Lord’s Prayer been misinterpreted … Does the line “give us today our daily bread” mean daily food or the bread of life? Does the Greek word epiousios used in the prayer have another possible meaning?
Excerpt From The Answer
Usage of a word determines the meaning. So when you look a word up in your English dictionary, you might find multiple meanings. With the word used in the Lord’s prayer for daily bread (epiousios), we only find two uses. So we have to look at extra-biblical language. How is it used beyond the literature of the scripture? This can be very helpful; it can also create confusion. That is why we find different interpretations from different sources.
Now, when you read the Lord’s prayer, one of the things to keep in mind is that it’s really the disciples’ prayer. In Matthew and Luke, the disciples come to Jesus and say, ‘Teach us to pray like John’s disciples.’ Jesus says, ‘Pray then in this way:’ So it’s not how Jesus prayed, it’s how He instructed the disciples to pray. It’s always good hermeneutics to stick with the clear context of the scripture.
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