In the world of words: Daily bread. Biblical phrases that have become catchphrases The principle of studying historical context

The gospel has penetrated very deeply into our lives. Biblical concepts and quotes have disappeared into the everyday life of even non-believers. It is enough that modern chronology is carried out from the Nativity of Christ, and the etymology of the seventh day of the week, resurrection, takes us to well-known New Testament events. We often hear from teachers and lecturers “to know how to “Our Father””. This implies that you need to know it very well, almost by heart. And although few in modern society can boast of having memorized the text of this prayer, the expression, which comes from pre-revolutionary times, is used everywhere.

These are far from the only examples. Much more often, people, without knowing it, quote the words of Jesus recorded in the four canonical Gospels. However, their meaning can be distorted so much that they take on the opposite meaning to the original one, or are used in completely inappropriate situations.

We all know the expression “Man does not live by bread alone”. It is usually used to emphasize the spiritual content of an action we perform, such as going to the theater. However, it also happens that these words are given in their literal meaning, for example, when on the dinner table, in addition to bread, there is also meat. In itself, this expression cannot exist without its original continuation: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Only in this way does it become clear what Jesus Christ really meant.

More than once we have heard “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword”. This expression has its roots in the text of the New Testament, but slightly paraphrased, it acquired a bloodthirsty meaning that was not intended at all. In the Bible we can read the following: “Then Jesus said to him: Return your sword to its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matt. 26:52) “Whoever kills with the sword must himself be killed with the sword.” (Rev. 13:10) Jesus tells us that violence only begets violence.

Characteristic "not of this world", applied to a person, has a negative connotation, implying that this person is not all right in his head. The New Testament expression acquired a meaning unusual for it. By stating that “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18-36), Jesus means only that He is not an earthly king, but a heavenly one.

The four Gospels gave the world many words and expressions that are used today with completely different meanings. This is the “kiss of Judas”, “wash your hands”, “stumbling block”, “lost sheep”, “carry your cross”, “this cup will pass from me”, “there is no prophet in his own country”, etc. This once again shows that the Bible is a concentration of great wisdom for man.

Adam's eyelids [times]. Adam is the name of the first person on earth, the progenitor of the human race. This is where the expression “Adam’s ages (times)” arose, used to mean: ancient times.

Alpha and Omega(of something) - the basis of everything, the most important thing, the beginning and the end (alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). The expression goes back to the biblical text: “I am the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end,” says the Lord.

Poor as Lazarus. Sing Lazarus. The expression arose from the Gospel (Luke 16:20-21), from the parable of the beggar Lazarus, who lay covered in scabs at the rich man’s gate and would have been glad to be fed even with the crumbs falling from his table. In the old days, crippled beggars, begging for alms, sang “spiritual verses” and especially often the “verse about poor Lazarus,” based on the plot of the Gospel parable. This verse was sung plaintively, to a mournful tune. This is where the expressions “sing Lazarus”, “pretend to be Lazarus” came from, used to mean: complain about fate, cry, beg, pretend to be poor, unhappy.

Rembrandt van Rijn. Return of the Prodigal Son

Prodigal son. The expression arose from the Gospel parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15, II-32), which tells how a certain man divided his property between two sons; the younger went to the far side and, living dissolutely, squandered his property. Having experienced need and hardship, he returned to his father; his father took pity on him, hugged him and kissed him; and the son said to him: “Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But his father ordered him to be dressed in the best clothes and arranged a feast in his honor, saying: “Let’s eat and have fun! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” The expression “prodigal son” means: a son who disobeyed his father; used in the meaning: a dissolute person, morally unstable, but more often in the meaning: repentant of his mistakes.

Throwing a stone- to condemn, accuse, denigrate, defame someone. Expression from the Gospel story. When the scribes and Pharisees, tempting Jesus, brought to him a woman caught in adultery, he said: “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (in ancient Judea there was a custom of stoning criminals).

Babylonian cry. Babylonian captivity. Babylonian melancholy. The expressions originated from the Bible, from Psalm 136, which speaks of the anguish of the Jews who were in Babylonian captivity and weepingly remembered their homeland: “On the rivers of Babylon, there was a gray horse and a mourner...”

Babel. The expression originated from the biblical story of an attempt to build a tower in Babylon that would reach the sky. When the builders began their work, the angry God “confused their language,” they ceased to understand each other and could not continue the construction (Genesis, II, 1-9). (Church Glav.: pandemonium - the structure of a pillar, tower.) Used in the meaning: disorder, confusion, noise, turmoil.

Balaam's donkey. The Old Testament speaks of the donkey of the Mesopotamian sorcerer Balaam, who went to overcome the Israelites with spells at the instigation of the king of the Moabites, Balak. The donkey resisted these insidious plans and did not want to go, Wallam began to beat her. Then, to the great surprise of Balaam, the donkey suddenly spoke in a human voice (Book of Numbers, chapter 22, v. 28): “And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam: what have I done to you, that you have beaten me for the third time?” ? Nowadays, the expression is used ironically when applied to silent and submissive people who suddenly speak up and protest.

Belshazzar's feast. Live as Belshazzar. The expression arose from the Bible (Book of the Prophet Daniel, 5) from a story about a feast at the Chaldean king Belshazzar (Balthazar), during which a mysterious hand inscribed letters on the wall that foreshadowed the death of the king; that same night Belshazzar was killed, and Darius the Mede took possession of his kingdom. Used to mean: a cheerful, frivolous life during a disaster. “Living like Belshazzar” means carelessly living in luxury.

Faith moves mountains— conviction in the rightness of a cause helps to overcome all the difficulties associated with it. The expression goes back to the Gospel text: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Back to square one- a catchphrase meaning the return of something or someone to its usual place, to its original position, and also that there is nothing new on earth, everything is repeated again. Comes from the Old Testament (Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, verse 6): “The wind goes to the south, and passes to the north, whirling, whirling as it goes, and the wind returns to its circles.”

Old Adam [man]. The expression goes back to the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Romans (6, 6), Ephesians (4, 22), Colossians (3, 9), where it means: a sinful person who must be morally reborn. From here, “putting off the old man, Adam” received the meaning: to be spiritually renewed, to free oneself from old habits and views.

To contribute. In the gospel narrative there is an episode where a poor widow donates her last two mites (small coins) to the temple. The expression means “to take part in some activity, no matter how small.”

Wolf in sheep's clothing. The expression originated from the Gospel: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Used as a characteristic of a hypocrite who hides his bad intentions under the guise of virtue.

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones. This famous phrase comes from the Book of Ecclesiastes, one of the books of the Old Testament. Everything in life happens in strict sequence, depending on the Divine world order, and man is not able to change it. Nowadays, the expression has the following meaning: the hour is inevitable when one will have to bear responsibility for everything previously done.

Voice in the wilderness. This biblical expression refers to John the Baptist, who lived in the desert in strict fasting and called the people to repentance (Isaiah, 40, 3; quoted: Matt., 3, 3; Mark, 1, 3; John, 1, 23). Nowadays, the expression is used to mean: a call that remains unheeded, unanswered.

Egyptian work. This expression, used in the meaning: hard, exhausting work, arose from the biblical story about the hard work that the Jews performed while in Egyptian captivity (Exodus, 1, 11, 13-14).

Egyptian executions. This expression, used in the meaning: cruel, destructive disasters, arose from the biblical myth about the ten plagues that God subjected Egypt to for Pharaoh’s refusal to free the Jews from captivity: he turned water into blood, sent toads, midges, pestilence and other disasters. (Exodus 7-12).

Egyptian captivity. The expression originated from the biblical account of the plight of the Jews in captivity in Egypt (Exodus 1). Used to mean: severe bondage.

Lost sheep. This is what they say about a dissolute person who has gone astray from the right path. The expression arose from the Gospel (Matt. 18:12; Luke 15:4-6). The Lord Jesus Christ, through the parable of the lost sheep, explained to the Pharisees why He pays so much attention to sinners.

The Forbidden fruit. The expression is used to mean: something tempting, desirable, but forbidden or inaccessible. It arose from the biblical story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the fruits of which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat. (Genesis, 2, 16-17).

Golden calf. The expression is used in the meaning: gold, wealth, the power of gold, money - according to the biblical story about a calf made of gold, which the Jews worshiped in the desert while Moses was on Mount Sinai (Exodus, 32).

Serpent-tempter. The expression is used in the meaning: seducer; goes back to the biblical story of how the serpent, “the wisest of all the beasts that are on earth,” tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for which she and Adam were expelled from paradise (Genesis, 3).

Wait till doomsday. At the moment of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, two angels appeared to His disciples with a prediction about the Second Coming: “Men of Galilee! Why are you standing and looking at the sky? This Jesus, who has ascended from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him ascending into heaven.” The early Christians expected this event to happen any day now. And subsequently, theologians from different countries repeatedly “set” the date of the Second Coming and the End of the World, but all their predictions did not come true. Nowadays, the expression “waiting until the Second Coming” means waiting for a long time in vain.

Massacre of the innocents. The expression arose from the Gospel story about the killing of all babies in Bethlehem at the command of the Jewish king Herod, after he learned from the wise men about the birth of the King of the Jews (Matt. 2, 1-5 and 16). Wanting to kill the Baby Jesus and not knowing how to find Him, Herod killed all the babies two years old and younger in Bethlehem, totaling 14 thousand. Used as a definition of child abuse, and also when jokingly talking about strict measures applied to anyone in general.

Judas the traitor. Kiss of Judas. The expressions arose from the Gospel story about the betrayal of one of the twelve disciples of Jesus - Judas Iscariot; he betrayed his Teacher to the Jewish high priests for thirty pieces of silver; Having brought the guards to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was, Judas said that whoever he kissed should be taken, and immediately approached Jesus and kissed Him (Matt. 25:48-49; Mark 14:44; Luke 22 , 47). The name Judas became synonymous with traitor; The expression “Kiss of Judas” is used in the meaning: a treacherous act, hypocritically covered up by a manifestation of love and friendship.

There's a pair of each creature. This is how they jokingly talk about the mixed, motley composition of a human group, crowd, society. This expression arose on the basis of the biblical story about the global flood, from which only the pious Noah and his family were saved, since God told him to build an ark. Noah, at the command of God, took with him seven pairs of “clean” and one pair of “unclean” animals of all breeds to preserve life on Earth after the flood.

Stumbling block. The expression is used to mean: a difficulty that someone encounters in some matter. The biblical meaning of the expression is much deeper. In the book of the prophet Isaiah (8, 14), the Stumbling Stone is called Christ, the Savior of the world, whom the elders and high priests of Israel did not accept, thereby missing the main meaning of their faith.

Put it at the forefront. The expression is borrowed from the Gospel of Matthew (21:42): “the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.” The words are borrowed from Psalm 118:22-23. The Lord brings them to show the Jews that the way they will behave towards Him is predicted in Scripture. The comparison is borrowed from the construction practice of antiquity. Typically, the largest and hardest stones were placed at the corners of the base (foundation). Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Church, and therefore is often compared to such a cornerstone (see: Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7).

Foundation stone. The basis, the most important, essential part; main idea.
An expression from the Bible: “I lay as a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a cornerstone, a precious stone, a sure foundation,” says the prophet Isaiah.

No stone can be left unturned. Destroy, destroy to the ground. An expression from the Gospel: “Truly I say to you, not one stone will remain here upon another, everything will be destroyed,” the words of Christ, a prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans in 70 AD.

Sealed book. The expression comes from the Revelation of John the Theologian, the most mysterious book of the New Testament. In everyday speech it means “something incomprehensible, hidden, completely inaccessible to understanding.”

Scapegoat. A person who is blamed for someone else, responsible for others. A biblical expression that arose thanks to a ritual that existed among the ancient Jews: on the day of remission of sins, the high priest laid both hands on the head of a live goat as a sign of placing the sins of the Jewish people on it, after which the goat was expelled into the desert.

Penitent Magdalene. Mary Magdalene (from the city of Magdala), according to the Gospel story (Mark, 16, 9; Luke, 7, 37-48; 8, 2), was healed by Jesus Christ, who cast out seven demons from her, after which she repented of her sinful life and became one of His faithful followers. The image of the evangelical penitent Magdalene was widely popularized by the masters of Italian painting, especially Titian (1477-1576), Correggio (1494-1534), Guido Reni (1575-1642). After her name, “penitent Magdalenes” began to be called women who returned to work after a depraved life. This usage goes back to the statutes of refuges for “penitent Magdalenes” that arose in the Middle Ages at women’s monasteries; the earliest refuges were organized in 1250 in Worms and Metz. In Russia, Magdalene shelters have existed since 1833. “Penitent Magdalenes” are also ironically called persons who tearfully repent of their misdeeds.

Who does not work shall not eat. This slogan was attributed to Lenin in Soviet times and appeared on many posters. Meanwhile, the words originally belong to the Apostle Paul, who wrote in his second letter to the Thessalonians: “If anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat.”

From the evil one. The expression “from the evil one” is used to mean “superfluous, incorrect, harmful.” Jesus Christ forbade swearing by heaven, by earth, by the head of the swearer, and said: “But let your word be: yes, yes; no, no; and whatever is more than this is from the evil one.”

Manna from heaven. Something desirable, extremely necessary, rare. “Wait like manna from heaven” - wait with great impatience, strong desire, very strong.
According to the Old Testament, manna from heaven is the food that God sent to the Jewish people every morning from heaven when the children of Israel wandered in the desert for forty years.

Moloch. Make a sacrifice to Molech. These expressions are used as a symbol of cruel, inexorable force that requires human sacrifice. They arose from the name of the Phoenician deity, which is mentioned in the Bible.

Man does not live by bread alone. Expression from the Bible (Deuteronomy, 8, 3; Matt., 4, 4; Luke, 4, 4). Used to mean: a person must take care of satisfying not only his material, but also his spiritual needs.

Not of this world. An expression from the Gospel, the words of Jesus: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). In an everyday sense, it applies to people immersed in dreams, blissful, and free from worries about the real.

Burning bush. This expression is used as a figurative definition of indestructibility and safety. According to the biblical narrative, a miraculous burning but not consumed thorn bush, in the flame of which God appeared to Moses.

Jacopo Tintoretto. Carrying the cross

Carry your cross. Heavy cross. This is what they say about someone’s difficult fate, severe suffering. In this sense, the word cross was used by Jesus Christ Himself: “And he called the people with His disciples, and said to them: If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Do not make yourself an idol. A verbatim quote from the second of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament (Exodus 20:4). Used to mean: do not blindly worship someone or anything like an idol.

Noah's Ark. Ark of Salvation. The expressions arose from the biblical story of the global flood, from which Noah and his family and animals were saved, since God commanded him in advance to build an ark (Genesis, 6, 7). Used to mean: a room filled with many people; means of salvation.

Sprinkle ashes on the head. To grieve deeply over some disaster, the loss of something valuable. The expression goes back to a story from the Bible about the ancient custom of Jews to sprinkle ashes or earth on their heads, mourning the misfortune of themselves or loved ones.

Byword. An expression from the Bible (Deuteronomy 28, 37). A parable is a short story with a moralizing meaning; the word “pagans” means languages, dialects, and also peoples and tribes. “A proverb of the town” is something that has become widely known, on everyone’s lips, and has become the subject of general conversation, causing disapproval and ridicule.

Deadly sin. Seven deadly sins. A very big vice, an unforgivable offense. In religious beliefs, it is a serious sin, entailing the loss of the salvation of the soul in the absence of repentance. In Catholicism, there are seven deadly sins. In Orthodox asceticism, they correspond to eight main sinful passions: gluttony, fornication, love of money, anger, sadness, despondency, vanity, pride.

Sodom and Gomorrah. An expression meaning licentiousness, as well as extreme disorder, noise, turmoil. Goes back to the Old Testament story about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed by fiery rain and an earthquake for the grave sins of their inhabitants. On the site of these cities, the Dead Sea was formed.

Salt of the earth. Used in the meaning of “the most active, creative force of the people.”
Expression from the Gospel; words of Jesus Christ to the disciples: “You are the salt of the earth.”

Vanity of vanities and all sorts of vanity. Used in the meaning of “petty worries, everything insignificant, useless, without true value.” An expression from the Old Testament: “Vanity of vanities,” said Ecclesiastes, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” (...) I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, everything is vanity and vexation of spirit!”

Nikolay Ge. The Court of King Solomon. 1854

Solomon's Judgment. This expression is used to mean a wise and correct decision. It is based on a biblical story (Third Book of Kings, 3, 16-28). One day, two women came to the wise King Solomon with a request to resolve their dispute. One of them said: “We live together and we each had a son the same age. Last night she accidentally strangled her son in her sleep and transferred the dead one to me, and took my living one to her.” But the other claimed that she herself strangled her child and now wants to take her living son away from her. Solomon ordered a sword to be given to him and said: “Since both women appropriate the child for themselves, then cut it into two parts and give half to one and half to the other.” Then the woman, whose son was alive, said: “Give her this child, but don’t kill him.” But the other insisted: “Let it be neither for me nor for you.” And then Solomon decided that the child’s mother was the one who begged him not to kill him. Others were written based on the plot of this biblical story, included in various collections of legends known in ancient Rus'. Stories entitled “The Judgment of Solomon” are found in handwritten collections of the 16th–17th centuries. This trial was depicted in popular prints (I. Porfiryev, History of Russian Literature, Part 1, Kazan, 1897, pp. 261-262)

Pitch darkness. Complete, hopeless darkness; ignorance, painful, gloomy life.
In the text of the Gospel this is the name of hell, the underworld.

Wash your hands. According to the Gospel story, Pontius Pilate, forced to agree to the execution of Jesus, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said: “I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One.” This is where the expression “I wash my hands” comes from to abdicate responsibility.

Daily bread. Necessary means for life, for existence. The most important, essential, vital. From the prayer in the Gospel: “Give us this day our daily bread (give us this day the bread we need for subsistence).”

What goes around comes around. This apt expression has firmly entered our lives. And it comes from the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap: he who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

And a few more expressions, not biblical, but somehow related to faith and religion

According to Christian custom, a priest confessed a person who did not have long to live, gave him communion and burned incense. As a result, the expression "breathing its last breath".

According to the ideas of some peoples, every unrepentant sinner, if a curse weighs on him, after death comes out of the grave in the form of a ghoul, vampire, ghoul and destroys people. To remove the spell, you need to dig up the remains of the deceased and wash the preserved bones with clean water. Today's expression "wash the bones" denotes an analysis of a person’s character.

In the old days, it was believed that the human soul was located in the depression between the collarbones, the dimple in the neck. It was customary to keep money in the same place on the chest. That's why they say about a poor man that he has “there is nothing behind the soul”.

Expression "after the rain on Thursday" arose from distrust of Perun, the Slavic god of thunder and lightning, whose day was Thursday. Prayers to him often did not achieve their goal, so they began to talk about the impossible, that this would happen after the rain on Thursday.

Conveying one general meaning. There are more than one and a half thousand such expressions in the Russian language.

The value of such phrases is that they reflect the unique realities of the language. Interest in set expressions encourages students to delve into their history. This promotes motivation to learn, broadens horizons, and increases intellectual level.

Meaning

Phraseologism has an ambiguous meaning. The interpretation of this expression affects the main aspects of human life: material and spiritual.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “daily bread”:

If we convey the meaning of the phraseological unit briefly, “daily bread” is a necessity.

Archaization

This stable expression disappears from the colloquial speech of modern people. This is a natural process in any language when words or catchphrases gradually fall out of use.

If you noticed, in modern speech it is more common to hear simply the word “bread” in the same meaning. So often they talk about making money in a metaphorical way. For example: “You need to study well! This is your future bread!”

The disappearance of some expressions from speech is not only due to the fact that they or their components become obsolete, as happened with the word “urgent”. The reason is also the fact that any language strives for economy. Why talk a lot if you can convey the meaning in one word? This is exactly how language “thinks”.

Origin

The expression has its roots in the history of early Christianity. In the Gospel of Matthew it meant “food.” Hence the meaning of the phraseological unit “daily bread”.

Every Christian knows this line from the biblical prayer “Our Father.” But not everyone knows what the word “urgent” means. And linguistic research is being conducted on this issue.

Pastor Pavel Begichev, in his blog on the LIVEJOURNAL website, analyzes different meanings of the word “urgent”.

Interpretation of the adjective

The meaning and origin of the phraseological unit “daily bread” are closely related. This stable expression has a metaphorical quality. At first, only food was called “daily bread.” Soon the meaning expanded, and this word began to refer not only to food, but also to financial means. Nowadays, spiritual needs are also called this way - something that a cultured person cannot do without.

Synonyms

The meaning of the phraseological unit “daily bread” can be conveyed by words and expressions that are similar in meaning. The neutral words “earnings”, “food”, “food”, “need” will serve as replacements.

Outdated synonyms include “food”, and colloquial synonyms include the adjective “necessary”, “feed”. A phraseological unit with a similar meaning is “a piece of bread.”

Synonyms can be used to replace words depending on the context, the style of the text, and also to avoid repetition.

Examples from literature

Phraseologisms are the “face” of Russian culture, its national wealth. This is what the Russian critic V. G. Belinsky said about them. Literature as a part of Russian culture is a field for studying stable expressions.

Use examples from written sources to verify the meaning of the phraseological unit being studied:

• Quote from A. Rybakov’s book “Heavy Sand”: “How to earn your daily bread?”
  Phraseologism is used in the meaning of “need”.
• “For us immigrants, such books are more than our daily bread.” This is a quote from V. Zak for the Russian Musical Newspaper. Here the phraseological unit expresses a person’s spiritual need for literature.

Conveying one general meaning. There are more than one and a half thousand such expressions in the Russian language.

The value of such phrases is that they reflect the unique realities of the language. Interest in set expressions encourages students to delve into their history. This promotes motivation to learn, broadens horizons, and increases intellectual level.

Meaning

The phraseological unit “daily bread” has an ambiguous meaning. The interpretation of this expression affects the main aspects of human life: material and spiritual.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “daily bread”:

1. Vital things that you can’t do without.
   This interpretation is about the material. Often “daily bread” refers to food, water, medicine and other things you cannot live without.
   Example: “...the role of a great exile who earns his daily bread through labor...” (From the book “My Diamond Crown” by Soviet writer Valentin Kataev).
2. Necessity, value.
   This is another meaning of the phraseological unit “daily bread”, which affects precisely the spiritual side of life. This expression refers to any cultural or universal values, without which the existence of people will be incomplete, and their condition will be unsatisfied.
   Example: “When we talk about the aesthetic:... This is our daily bread” (From the article by K. Kobrin and O. Ball “From the entomology of meaning to the literature of open possibilities.”

If we convey the meaning of the phraseological unit briefly, “daily bread” is a necessity.

Archaization

This stable expression disappears from the colloquial speech of modern people. This is a natural process in any language when words, phraseological units, idioms or catchphrases gradually fall out of use.

If you noticed, in modern speech it is more common to hear simply the word “bread” in the same meaning. So often they talk about making money in a metaphorical way. For example: “You need to study well! This is your future bread!”


The disappearance of some expressions from speech is not only due to the fact that they or their components become obsolete, as happened with the word “urgent”. The reason is also the fact that any language strives for economy. Why talk a lot if you can convey the meaning in one word? This is exactly how language “thinks”.

Origin

The expression has its roots in the history of early Christianity. In the Gospel of Matthew it meant “food.” Hence the meaning of the phraseological unit “daily bread”.

Every Christian knows this line from the biblical prayer “Our Father.” But not everyone knows what the word “urgent” means. And linguistic research is being conducted on this issue.



Pastor Pavel Begichev, in his blog on the LIVEJOURNAL website, analyzes different meanings of the word “urgent”.

Interpretation of the adjective




The meaning and origin of the phraseological unit “daily bread” are closely related. This stable expression has a metaphorical quality. At first, only food was called “daily bread.” Soon the meaning expanded, and this word began to refer not only to food, but also to financial means. Nowadays, spiritual needs are also called this way - something that a cultured person cannot do without.

Synonyms

The meaning of the phraseological unit “daily bread” can be conveyed by words and expressions that are similar in meaning. The neutral words “earnings”, “food”, “food”, “need” will serve as replacements.

Outdated synonyms include “food”, and colloquial synonyms include the adjective “necessary”, “feed”. A phraseological unit with a similar meaning is “a piece of bread.”

Synonyms can be used to replace words depending on the context, the style of the text, and also to avoid repetition.

Examples from literature

Phraseologisms are the “face” of Russian culture, its national wealth. This is what the Russian critic V. G. Belinsky said about them. Literature as a part of Russian culture is a field for studying stable expressions.

Use examples from written sources to verify the meaning of the phraseological unit being studied:

• Quote from A. Rybakov’s book “Heavy Sand”: “How to earn your daily bread?”
  Phraseologism is used in the meaning of “need”.
• “For us immigrants, such books are more than our daily bread.” This is a quote from V. Zak for the Russian Musical Newspaper. Here the phraseological unit expresses a person’s spiritual need for literature.

Question. What's happened "daily bread", for whose daily alms we are taught to pray?

Answer. When a worker remembers the words of the Lord, Who says: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink.”(Matt. 6:25), and the words of the Apostle, who commands to do, “so that there is something to give to those in need”(Eph.4:28), he works not for his own needs, but for the sake of the Lord’s commandment (because "The worker deserves food"(Matt. 10:10): then he does not provide his daily bread, that is, what contributes to our nature for the daily sustenance of life, but asks it from God, and having revealed to Him the necessity of need, he thus partakes of what is given to him by those who , after testing, was assigned to do what was said every day: “everyone was given whatever they needed”(Acts 4:35)

The rules are summarized in the questions and answers.

St. John Chrysostom

give us this day our daily bread

What's happened " daily bread"? Everyday. Since Christ said: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”(Matthew 6:10), and He talked with people clothed in flesh, who are subject to the necessary laws of nature, and cannot have angelic dispassion, then, although He commands us to fulfill the commandments in the same way as the angels fulfill them, yet He condescends to weakness nature, and, as it were, says: I demand from you the strictness of life equal to the angels, however, without demanding dispassion, since your nature, which has a necessary need for food, does not allow it. Look, however, how there is a lot of spirituality in the physical! The Savior commanded us to pray not for wealth, not for pleasures, not for valuable clothes, not for anything else like that, but only for bread, and, moreover, for everyday bread, so that we would not worry about tomorrow, which is why he added: “ daily bread", i.e. everyday. He was not even satisfied with this word, but then added another: “ give us this day“so that we do not overwhelm ourselves with worries about the coming day. In fact, if you don’t know whether you will see tomorrow, then why bother yourself with worrying about it? The Savior commanded this and then later in His sermon: "don't worry", speaks, "about tomorrow"(Matt. 6:34) . He wants us to always be girded and inspired by faith, and to yield no more to nature than necessary needs require of us.

Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew.

Since He mentioned the earth, and the creatures that came from it and live on it and are clothed with an earthly body need appropriate food, then He necessarily added: “Give us this day our daily bread”. He commanded to ask for bread "urgent", not for gluttony, but for food that replenishes what is spent in the body and averts death from hunger - not luxurious tables, not various dishes, the works of cooks, the inventions of bakers, delicious wines and other things of the like that delight the tongue, but burden the stomach, darkens the mind, helps the body to rebel against the soul and makes this foal disobedient to the driver. This is not what the commandment asks or teaches us, but "daily bread", i.e., a body that turns into a being and can support it. Moreover, we are commanded to ask for it not for a great number of years, but for as long as we need for the present day.

"Don't worry, said the Lord, about tomorrow"(Matt. 6:34) . And why should one care about tomorrow, Who, perhaps, will not see tomorrow, who undertakes labor and does not reap the fruit? Trust in God, who "provides food for all flesh"(Ps. 136:25) . The One who gave you a body, breathed in a soul, made you a rational animal and prepared all the good things for you before he created you, how will he despise you created if “He makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”(Matt. 5:45) ? So, trusting in Him, ask for food only for the present day, and leave your concern for tomorrow to Him, as blessed David says: “Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you”(Ps. 54:23) .

About life according to God and the words: “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way...”, etc. and an explanation of the prayer “Our Father.”

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

give us this day our daily bread

Our common bread is not our daily bread. This Holy Bread is our daily bread: instead of saying, it is provided for the being of the soul. This bread is not "the womb enters", A "comes from the aphedron"(Matthew 15:17), but your entire composition is divided for the benefit of body and soul. And the word "today" it says instead of “all day,” just as Paul said: “dondezhe, today, denounced”(Hebrews 3:13)

Secret teachings. Lesson 5.

St. Tikhon Zadonsky

give us this day our daily bread

1) Daily bread, according to the understanding of St. John Chrysostom, means everyday bread.

2) Here we mean not only bread, but also everything necessary for this temporary life, for example, drink, clothing, rest, home, etc., as some interpret.

3) We do not ask for wealth, but we ask for what is necessary to support this life. It is commanded to pray not for money, not for luxury, nor for valuable clothing, nor for anything similar, but only for bread, and for everyday bread, so that one does not worry about the morning, says Saint Chrysostom.

4) It follows that a Christian should not care about wealth, expensive clothing, rich houses, rich food, and so on. For a Christian must always be ready for the Lord to call him, and then he will be forced to leave all this. The Lord calls everyone to Himself through death. He wants, says St. John Chrysostom, for us to always be ready and be content with what our nature needs.

5) When we pray: "give us bread", we confess that we are beggars, wretched and needy, and therefore we must ask God for everything, and whatever we have, we must attribute to His goodness, as the Psalmist sings: “The eyes of all trust in You, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with Your good pleasure.”(Ps. 145:15–16)

6) When we say: "Give us our bread", then we show that we ask not only for our own food, but also for others, out of Christian love. For Christian love requires that we take care not only of ourselves, but also of our neighbors.

7) It is known that God, since He is Generous, gives temporary blessings not only to Christians, but also to those who do not know Him. But Christians must ask Him with all their faith, like sons from a father, and thereby show that everything they have necessary for life is God’s good, and so, accepting the benefit, thank the Benefactor.

About true Christianity. Book II.

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

give us this day our daily bread

We are not talking about food that perishes here! “Don’t worry about anyone who says that there are pits, or what we drink, or what we wear.”(Matt. 6:31); it speaks of food that gives eternal life and endures forever, about new food that was given to people by the Son of God made man, about the bread of life that came down from heaven, about the bread of God, capable of satisfying and giving eternal life to the whole world (John 6:27, . Word "urgent" means that this bread is superior in quality to everything existing. His greatness and holiness are infinite, incomprehensible; the sanctification and dignity brought by eating it are immense and inexplicable. The bread given by the Son of God is His all-holy flesh, which He gave for "belly of the world"(John 6:51) . “Give us our daily bread every day”. Combined with the petition is a commandment that imposes on Christians the obligation, now so lost, of daily communion with the Holy Mysteries. "Having said "every day" The Lord expressed by this that without this bread we are unable to spend a single day in spiritual life. Having said "today", expressed by this that it must be eaten daily, that teaching it on the previous day is not enough if it is not taught to us again on the current day. The daily need for it requires that we make this petition more frequent and bring it at all times: there is no day on which it would not be necessary for us to strengthen the heart of our inner man by using and communing it.” This explanation of daily bread does not make it at all strange to read the Lord’s Prayer before the meal, according to the monastic rules: material bread serves as an image of bread, descended from heaven.

Ascetic sermon.

Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage

give us this day our daily bread

This can be understood both in a spiritual and in a simple sense, because both understandings, by Divine gift, [equally] favor salvation. Christ is bread of life, and this one bread not everyone, but only our. As we say: Our Father(see Matt. 6:9), because [God] is the Father of those who know Him and believe, so we call Christ our bread, because He is bread those who touch His Body. And we ask daily that this bread be given to us, and that we, abiding in Christ and daily receiving His Eucharist as food of salvation, being, due to some grave sin, excommunicated from communion and deprived of heavenly bread, are not separated from the Body of Christ, since the Lord Himself preaches and says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world(John 6:51) .

About the Lord's Prayer.

St. Isidore Pelusiot

give us this day our daily bread

The prayer that the Lord taught His disciples does not contain anything earthly, but everything heavenly and related to the benefit of the soul. For it teaches us to ask for neither power, nor wealth, nor beauty, nor strength, nor anything that quickly fades, from which, when it exists, we are commanded to abstain, and asking for pleasure when it does not exist is an unnecessary matter.

Even what in it seems unimportant and sensual, in the opinion of wise men, is said more about the Word of God, which nourishes the disembodied soul and in some way enters its essence and unites with it. That's why it's called our daily bread, since the name “essence” is more appropriate for the soul than for the body. If this is also said about daily bread, commensurate with the needs of the body, then when consumed in this way, it becomes spiritual, for not demanding anything other than bread will be a sign of spiritual, bright and wise understanding. So, let us ask for what we have been taught, and not for what easily disappears. For it would be disastrous and would mean great foolishness to ask for what, even if we have it, we are commanded to give up.

Letters. Book II.

St. Maxim the Confessor

give us this day our daily bread

In a word " today”, as I think, means the present century. Or, to interpret this passage of the Prayer more clearly, we can say: our bread, which You prepared in the beginning for the immortality of [human] nature, give us today, in a real mortal life, so that eating the bread of life and knowledge will overcome sinful death - that bread, the communion of which was deprived by the crime of the Divine commandment by the first person. After all, if he had been satisfied with this Divine food, he would not have been taken captive by the death of sin.

However, the one who prays to receive this daily bread does not receive it entirely as it is, but receives only as much as the recipient himself can [perceive it]. For the Bread of Life, as a Lover of Mankind, although He gives Himself to all who ask, does not give Himself equally to everyone: to those who have done great deeds He gives more, but to those who have done [acts] lesser He gives less, that is, He gives to everyone as much as he can accept his spiritual dignity.

The Savior Himself led me to such an understanding of the present saying [of the Prayer], commanding [His] disciples not to worry at all about sensual food, saying to them: Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will wear.(Matt. 6:25) because all this is what the people of this world are looking for(Luke 12:30) [and you] seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you(Matt. 6:33) . How does [the Lord] teach in Prayer not to seek what He [Himself] previously commanded? - It is clear that in Prayer He did not order to ask for what He did not command in His commandment, for in Prayer we must ask for what we should seek according to the commandment. And what [the Lord] does not allow us to seek is unlawful to pray for. If the Savior commanded to seek one Kingdom of God and truth, then He encouraged those seeking Divine gifts to ask for the same thing in Prayer, so that, through this Prayer, having confirmed the grace of those sought by nature [goods], to unite and identify through relative unity the will of those asking with the desire of the Giver of grace .

If Prayer commands us to ask for that everyday bread that naturally supports our present life, then this is so that we do not go beyond the boundaries of Prayer, covering whole periods of years in thought, and do not forget that we are mortal and have [here] life, similar to a passing shadow, but so that, without being burdened with unnecessary worries, they ask in Prayer for bread for the day. And let us show that we wisely, according to Christ, transform [our earthly] life into a meditation on death, by our own will forestalling nature and, before death, cutting off the care of the body from the soul, so that it does not cleave to the corruptible and does not pervert [by attraction ] to the matter of natural use of [one’s] desire [for God], becoming accustomed to covetousness, which deprives the wealth of Divine blessings.

So, let us avoid, as far as possible, love for matter and wash away, like dust, from [our] mental eyes the very connection with it; Let us be content only with what supports our life, and not with what gives it pleasure. Let us pray to God, as we have learned, so that our soul does not fall into slavery and not, for the sake of the body, fall under the yoke of visible [things]. Then it will be clear that we eat in order to live, and do not live in order to eat, since the first is characteristic of rational nature, and the second - of irrational nature. Let us be strict guardians of this Prayer, showing by our very deeds that we firmly adhere to one and only life - life in the Spirit, and to acquire it we use [our entire] real life. Let us prove in practice that for the sake of spiritual life we ​​only endure this [mortal life], supporting it with one bread and keeping it, as far as possible, in a healthy state, only so that we do not [simply] live, but live for God, making the body, inspired by virtues, a messenger of the soul, and a soul distinguished by constancy in goodness, making it a preacher of God. And we will naturally limit this bread to [the needs of] one day, not daring to extend requests for it to another day out of [obedience] to the One who granted this Prayer. Therefore, having actively adjusted ourselves in accordance with the meaning of the Prayer, let us proceed in purity to the rest of the sayings.

Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer.

Right John of Kronstadt

This petition means that we should not worry too much about the means of life, and if God has given these means for today, then thank Him and continue to hope in Him, in His Providence; not to be stingy, not to tremble, as they say, over everything, especially when guests or beggars and strangers come, but to receive them with good will and simplicity of heart, treat them or give them alms. The basis for this: God did not leave me with the means of life at all previous times, but gave them in abundance; will not, therefore, be left for the future.

Diary. Volume III. 1859-1860.

Give us our daily bread today- only today (today). It takes a little sense to understand this. Everyone sees how little a person needs to maintain his bodily life. And fire, cramped conditions, extreme torment and some kind of disappearance from the desire for silver and from avarice, don’t they tell us too clearly that in the hunger for silver there is death, and not life... These words mean, by the way: only the necessary book, the Bible and the Gospel, grant us like bread for the soul, but we do not seek or require many books. Grant us to read this book of books more often and understand it properly and apply its holy word to our hearts like bread, strengthening our hearts with it.

Diary. Volume V

He who wants to do the will of God does not worry much about food, drink, clothing, for he knows that the Lord knows, that you need all this(Matthew 6:32), for he knows that first of all and most of all it is necessary to seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, that with the dignity of his deified nature it is incompatible to be immersed in worries in materiality, but it is necessary to philosophize on heaven, where Christ sits at the right hand of God(Col. 3, 1) .

Word urgent(bread) shows that we should ask for and eat bread only to support life - no more.

These words of prayer are directed against those who are overly concerned about what to eat and drink and what to wear. Don't worry, says the Savior, about tomorrow, for tomorrow itself will take care of its own: enough for each day of its own care(Matt. 6:34) . The bird is sleeping on a branch this night and, foolish, neither sowing nor reaping, does not know what it will eat tomorrow, but the Heavenly Father feeds it every day.

Diary. Volume IV. 1860-1861.

Blzh. Hieronymus of Stridonsky

Art. 11-13 Give us daily the bread we need for subsistence. And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil

What we put into words necessary for existence(supersubstantialem), in Greek expressed by the word έπιούσιον, is a word that the Seventy very often translates with the word περιούσιον, that is, abundant, excellent. Therefore we turned to the Hebrew language, and where they translated περιούσιον, we found sgolla (םגןלה), which Symmachus translated with the word έξαίρετον, i.e. “special” or: “excellent,” although in one place he also translated with the word “ special, one's own." So, when we ask God to give us special, special bread, we ask the One who says: (John 6:51) . In the Gospel, which is called “from the Hebrews,” instead of the bread necessary for subsistence, there is the word mahar (םהד), which means “tomorrow”; so the meaning is: “Give us today our bread for tomorrow,” i.e., “future.” By the word supersubstantialem we can also understand something else, namely bread, which stands above all essences and surpasses all creatures. Others - based on the words of the apostle: Having food and clothing, we will be content(1 Tim. 6:8) - they simply understand that the saints should care only about their daily bread. Therefore, in the further words of [the Savior] it is commanded: Don't worry about tomorrow(Matt. 6:34) .

Amen

This is like a seal in confirmation of the Lord's prayer; Aquila translates: “undoubtedly true” (fideliter); we can translate: “truly” (vere).

Blzh. Theophylact of Bulgaria

give us this day our daily bread

Under " urgent“The Lord understands that bread that is sufficient for our nature and condition, but He eliminates concern for tomorrow. And the Body of Christ is daily bread, for whose uncondemned sacrament we must pray.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.

Evfimy Zigaben

give us this day our daily bread

Knowing that angelic nature does not need food, but human nature does need it, he commanded to ask for what is a necessity of nature. Our bread said, i.e. existing for our sake; A urgent called it as necessary for the being, existence and maintenance of the body. Or according to Chrysostom: urgent, i.e. daily. I also added today, distracting us from caring about the future time, because he wants believers in their prayers to ask for one bread, and only for today, and not worry about the coming day, since we do not yet know whether we will even live on that day. Therefore, it is unnecessary to worry about that day, regarding which we do not know whether we will travel the distance to it. Later He commands this in greater detail, saying: don't worry about it in the morning(Matthew 6:34) In this way, we will always be ready, yielding a little to natural necessity, and devoting everything else to spiritual work. It is fair to ask for bread for the soul, because it also needs daily bread, i.e. in enlightenment from above and delivery of Divine knowledge.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.

Origen

give us this day our daily bread

Following the Teacher Himself, Who teaches about bread, we will present this issue in more detail. He says in the Gospel of John to those who came to Capernaum to look for Him: Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw miracles, but because you ate bread and were filled(John 6:12) . For he who has tasted of the loaves blessed by Jesus and is filled with them earnestly seeks to more accurately comprehend the Son of God and hurries to Him. Therefore He gives a wonderful command, saying: Do not strive for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.(John 6:27) . When those who heard these words asked: What should we do to do the works of God?(John 6:28) Jesus responded by saying to them: This is God's work, that you believe in Him Whom He sent(John 6:29) . God, as it is written in the psalms, sent His Word and healed them(Ps. 106:20), that is, those who are sick. With this Word believers create works of God, that are food that endures to eternal life. And He says: My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world(John 6:32-33) . True bread there is one who nourishes the created in the image of God(Gen. 1:27) true man, who, being imbued with it, becomes [created] and in the likeness(Gen. 1:26) Creator.

About prayer.

Stephen of Thebaid

give us this day our daily bread

And it is also written: I am the living bread that came down from heaven(John 6:51). And further: And the bread that I give you is My flesh, which [I give] for the life of the world(John 6:51). [Therefore the saying] give us this day our daily bread implies [giving us] His Body, His Word and His Commandments.

Ascetic word.

Ep. Mikhail (Luzin)

give us this day our daily bread

Urgent. Daily (cf. James 2:15), or necessary for the maintenance of our being (Prov. 30:8). Our being is twofold - bodily and spiritual, and our food is twofold - bodily and spiritual; spiritual food is the word of God (John 5:24), the Holy Sacraments of the Church and especially the Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ (John 6:35).

To this day. One must ask God for this only for the present day, without further concern for the future, since excessive care is contrary to trust in God (cf. below v. 34).

The Explanatory Gospel.

Lopukhin A.P.

give us this day our daily bread

Literally - give us our daily bread today(glory. today; Vulg. hodie). The word “bread” is completely similar to what is used in our Russian expressions: “earn your bread by labor,” “work for a piece of bread,” etc., i.e. here bread should be understood as a general condition for life, food, a certain well-being, etc. In sacred scripture, “bread” is often used in its proper sense (cibus, and farina cum aqua permixta compactus atque coctus - Grimm), but it also means in general all food necessary for human existence, and not only bodily, but also spiritual (cf. John chapter 6 - about the bread of heaven). Commentators do not pay any attention to the word “ our" This is, let’s say, a trifle, but in the Gospel, even the little things are important. At first glance, it seems not entirely clear why we need to ask God for bread when this bread “ our", i.e. already belongs to us. The word “our” seems to be superfluous; one could simply say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” An explanation will be given below. “Essential” (επιούσιος) is explained differently and is one of the most difficult. The word is found only here and also in Luke. 11:3. It has not yet been found anywhere in the Old Testament and classical Greek literature. Explaining it “was torture for theologians and grammarians” (carnificina theologorum et grammaticorum). One writer says that “wanting to achieve something precise here is like hammering a nail in with a sponge” (σπογγῳ πάτταλον κρούειν). They tried to avoid difficulties by pointing out that this was a copyist’s mistake, that in the original it was originally τον άρτον επί ούσίαν, i.e. bread for our existence. The scribe mistakenly doubled τον in the word άρτον and, in accordance with this, changed επιουσιαν into επιουσιον. This is how the Gospel expression was formed: τοναρτοντονεπιουσιον. To this, without going into details, we will say that the word ημών (τον άρτον ημών τον επιουσιον) completely prevents such an interpretation; in addition, in Lk. 11:3 undoubtedly stands επιουσιον - as in Matthew. Therefore, the interpretation in question is now completely abandoned. Of the existing and accepted interpretations by the latest scientists, three can be noted.

1. The word “urgent” is derived from the Greek. prepositions επί (on) and ουσία (sic) from είναι, to be. This interpretation has the authority of ancient church writers, and precisely those who wrote in Greek, among them Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigaben, etc. If the word is understood this way, then it will mean: “bread, necessary for our existence, necessary for us, give us today.” This interpretation is obviously accepted in our Slavic and Russian Bibles. It is objected to that if the word επιούσιος is not found anywhere except the Lord’s Prayer, then, however, επεστι and others are found, a word composed of the same preposition and verb, but with the omission of ι. Therefore, if the Gospel spoke specifically about “daily bread,” it would say not επιούσιος, but έπούσιος. Further, ουσία in popular usage meant property, state, and if Christ had used ουσία in exactly this sense, then it would not only be “purposeless” (Wiener-Schmiedel), but would also have no meaning; if He used it in the sense of being (the bread needed for our being, existence) or being, essence, reality, then all this would be distinguished by a philosophical character, since ουσία in this sense is used exclusively by philosophers, and the words of Christ would not be understandable to the common people.

2. The word επιούσιος is derived from επί and ίέναι - to come, to advance. This word has different meanings; All that matters for us is that in the expression έπιούσα ήμερα it means tomorrow, or the coming day. This word was composed by the evangelists themselves and attached to άρτος in the meaning of future bread, the bread of the coming day. Support for such an interpretation is found in the words of Jerome, in whom, among his rather brief interpretations, the following note is found. “In the Gospel, which is called the Gospel of the Hebrews, instead of daily bread I found mahar, which means tomorrow (crastinum); so the meaning should be this: our bread is tomorrow, i.e. give us the future today.” On this basis, many of the newest critics, including the best, for example, the German compilers of grammars for the New Testament Wiener-Schmiedel, Blaess and the exegete Zahn, suggested that the word means tomorrow (from ή έπιούσα, i.e. ήμερα). This explanation is given, by the way, by Renan. It is absolutely clear what a difference in meaning comes from whether we accept this interpretation or agree with the previous one. However, if we accept Jerome’s interpretation, then we should admit, not to mention various philological difficulties, that it contradicts the words of the Savior in 6:34 - “do not worry about tomorrow”; It would also be unclear why we ask: “Give us tomorrow’s bread today.” Pointing at mahar, Jerome himself translates επιούσιος with the word super-substantialis. From ίέναι and complexes with it, according to Kremer, it is impossible to prove a single production ending in ιουσιος; on the contrary, many such words are produced from ουσία. In words compounded with επί, in which the root begins with a vowel, fusion is avoided by omitting ι, as in the word έπεϊναι; but this does not always happen and ι is retained, for example, in words such as έπιέτης (in other cases επέτειος), έπιορκειν (in Church Greek έπιορκίζειν), επιε ικής, έπίουρος (in Homer = έφορος). Thus, it should be assumed that επιούσιος was formed from ουσία, like similar formations from words ending in ία - ιός (επιθυμία - έπιθύμιος, επικαρπία - επικαρπίος, περιουσία - περιούσιος, etc.). The meaning of ουσία in the place under consideration will not be philosophical, but simply - being, nature, and άρτος επιούσιος means “bread necessary for our existence or for our nature.” This concept is well expressed in the Russian word “urgent”. This explanation is strongly confirmed by the use of the word, ουσία among the classics (for example, Aristotle) ​​in the sense of even life, existence. “Daily bread,” that is, necessary for existence, for life, is, according to Kremer, a short designation of what is found in Proverbs. Hebrew 30:8 lechem hok, urochny bread, which in LXX is translated by the words: necessary (necessary) and sufficient (Russian: urgent). According to Kremer, it should be translated: “give us our bread, necessary for our life, today.” The fact that the interpretation of “tomorrow” is found only among Latin writers, but not Greek, is of decisive importance here. Chrysostom, of course, knew the Greek language well, and if he had no doubt that επιούσιος was used in the sense of “essential,” then this interpretation should be preferred to the interpretation of Latin writers, who sometimes knew Greek well, but not as well as natural Greeks.

3. Allegorical interpretation, partly caused, apparently, by the difficulties of other interpretations. Tertullian, Cyprian, Athanasius, Isidore Pilusiot, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine and many others explained this word in a spiritual sense. etc. Of course, in the application of the expression to “spiritual bread” there is, in fact, nothing subject to objection. However, in the understanding of this “spiritual bread” there is such a difference among interpreters that it deprives their interpretation of almost all meaning. Some said that by bread here we mean the bread of the sacrament of communion, others pointed to spiritual bread - Christ Himself, including the Eucharist here, and others - only to the teaching of Christ. Such interpretations seem to be most contradicted by the word “today,” as well as by the fact that at the time when Christ spoke His words, according to the Evangelist, the sacrament of communion had not yet been established.

The translations “daily” bread, “supernatural” should be considered completely inaccurate.

The reader sees that of the above interpretations, the first seems to be the best. With him, the word “our” also receives some special meaning, which, they say, although “does not seem superfluous,” could have been omitted. In our opinion, on the contrary, it makes sense, and quite an important one. What kind of bread and by what right can we consider “ours”? Of course, the one that is acquired through our labors. But since the concept of earned bread is very flexible - one works a lot and gains little, another works a little and gains a lot - then the concept of “our”, i.e. earned, bread is limited to the word “daily”, i.e. , necessary for life, and then with the word “today”. It has been well said that this simply indicates the golden mean between poverty and wealth. Solomon prayed: “Do not give me poverty and wealth, feed me with my daily bread”(Prov. 30:8) .

Prot. Alexander (Schmeman)

give us this day our daily bread

This is the fourth petition - for daily bread. Urgent translated from Slavic it means essential, necessary for life. And therefore this word was also translated as daily, which we need every day. If the first three petitions related to God, were our desire for His Name to be sanctified, His Kingdom to come, His will to be accomplished not only in heaven, but also on earth, then now, with this fourth petition, we seem to move on to our own needs , we begin to pray for ourselves. By bread in this petition we mean, of course, not only bread as such, and not even only food, but also everything that we need for life. Everything on which our life, our existence on earth depends.

To understand the full depth, the whole meaning of this petition, we must first of all remember everything that is associated with the symbol of food in the Bible, for only then does this petition cease to be limited, so to speak, to one physical life of a person and is revealed to us in all its authenticity meaning.

We find the meaning of food in the very first chapter of the Bible, in the story of the creation of man. Having created the world, God gives it to man as food, and the first thing this means is the dependence of human life on food, and therefore on the world. Man lives from food, transforms food into his life. This dependence of man on the outside, on matter, on the world is so self-evident that one of the founders of materialist philosophy concluded man in the famous formula - “man is what he eats.” But the teaching and revelation of the Bible is not limited to this dependence. Man receives food, that is, life itself, from God. This is God’s gift to man, and he lives not in order to eat and thus affirm his physiological existence, but in order to realize in himself the image and likeness of God.

Thus, food itself is a gift of life as knowledge of the freedom and beauty of the spirit. Food is translated into life, but life is shown from the very beginning as a victory over this dependence on food alone, for, having created man, God gives him the commandment to possess the world. Thus, receiving food from God as a gift of God means filling a person with Divine life. And therefore, the biblical story about the Fall of man is also connected with food.

This is the famous story about the forbidden fruit that a man ate secretly from God in order to become like God. The meaning of this story is simple - a person believed that from food alone, from dependence on it alone, he would receive what only God could give him. Through food he wanted to free himself from God, and this led him to slavery to food, enslavement to the world; man became a slave to the world. But this also means a slave of death, for food, while giving him physical existence, cannot give him that freedom from the world and from death that only God can give him. Food - a symbol and means of life - has also become a symbol of death. For if a person does not eat, he dies. But if he eats, he also dies, for food itself is communion with mortals and death. And therefore, finally, salvation, restoration, forgiveness, and resurrection itself are connected in the Gospel again with food.

When Christ, tempted by the devil, felt hungry, the devil invited Him to turn stones into bread. And Christ refused, saying: “Man cannot live by bread alone”(Matthew 4:4), He overcame and condemned the very complete dependence of man on one bread, on physical life, to which the first man doomed himself in the biblical symbol. He freed himself from this dependence, and food again became a gift from God, a participation in Divine life, freedom and eternity, and not dependence on the mortal world.

For this is the deep meaning of that new, Divine food, which from the very first days of Christianity has constituted the main joy, the main sacrament of the Christian Church, which Christians call the Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving.” The Christian revelation about food ends with the Eucharist, faith in the communion of new food, new and Divine bread. And only in the light of this revelation, this joy, this thanksgiving can one truly understand the depth of the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer: . Give us – today – the food we need.

Yes, of course, this is, first of all, a request for what we need for life, for the simplest, necessary and essential things: for bread, for food, for air, for everything that is part of our life. But that's not all. "Give it to us" this means that the final source of all this for us is God Himself, His love, His care for us; No matter from whom and no matter how we receive a gift, it is all from Him. But this also means that the final meaning of this gift or these gifts is He Himself.

We receive bread, we receive life, but in order to reveal the meaning of this life. And the meaning of this life is in God, in knowing Him, in love for Him, in communication with Him, in His joyful eternity and that life that the Gospel calls "life... abundantly"(John 10:10) .

My God, how far we are from the small and blind mole whose name is Feuerbach. Yes, of course, as he said, a person is what he eats. But he eats the gift of Divine love, but he partakes of light and glory and joy, but while living, he lives with all that God has given him.

“Give us this day our daily bread”. Give us all this today in Your love, let us not just exist, but actually live, that full, meaningful and ultimately Divine and eternal life for which You created us, which You gave and are forever giving to us and in which we will know, and we love and thank You.

“Give us this day our daily bread”- so that I receive my whole life, all its joys - but also all its sorrows, beauty - but also suffering, as a gift, from the hand of God, with gratitude and trembling, so that I live only in the essential - the main and lofty, and not in what for which the priceless gift of life is pettyly exchanged.

Conversations on Radio Liberty. Lord's Prayer.

Trinity leaves

give us this day our daily bread

After asking for heavenly things, that is, for the glory of God, for the Kingdom of Heaven, for the will of God, Divine wisdom makes room for petitions for earthly needs: give us this day our daily bread. The word daily bread can be understood both spiritually and simply. “We call Christ our bread,” explains Saint Cyprian, “because we eat His Body, as He Himself says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever(John 6:51) and threatens, saying: If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you(John 6:53) . At the same time, we also ask for bodily food, daily food.” “The Savior,” says Saint Chrysostom, “commanded to pray not for wealth, not for pleasures, not for valuable clothes, but only for bread, and moreover, for daily bread, so that we do not worry about tomorrow. For this purpose I added: urgent, i.e. day. He wasn’t even satisfied with this word, but added something else after it: give us this day, so that we do not overwhelm ourselves with worry about the coming day. And why worry about tomorrow for someone who, perhaps, will not see tomorrow? The One who gave you a body, breathed in a soul, made you a rational animal and prepared all the blessings for you before He created you - will He forget you, His creation? Trusting in Him, ask for food only for the present day, and leave your concern for tomorrow to Him, as blessed David says: Cast your worries on the Lord and He will support you(Ps. 54:23).” “With the word bread,” explains St. Gregory of Nyssa, “it’s as if the Lord is saying to those who listen: stop, people, tormenting yourselves with vain desires. Stop multiplying your own reasons for hard work. Your nature does not need much; You are obliged to provide food to your flesh: it is a small and easy task if you only have in mind the need. Why do you impose on yourself the yoke of carrying so many debts? Ask for yourself only one bread; in this nature has made you a debtor to the body. If Evin’s advisor (the devil) enters into a conversation with you about what is beautiful to the eye and pleasing to the taste, then you will certainly become entangled in the nets of covetousness. From necessary food you will then move on to tasty foods, and from them to luxury and every need. Therefore, limit your prayer to asking only for bread.” “When we pray,” says Blessed Augustine, “for our daily bread, we ask for everything that our flesh needs on earth. But we need food and drink, clothing and shelter. And the word of God, which is proclaimed to you daily, is your daily bread. And his mind hungers like his belly hungers for material bread. This is what we ask for in the Lord’s Prayer. Thus, by daily bread we mean everything that is necessary for soul and body in this life.” “When we say: give us our bread,” notes Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, “we show that we ask the same for others. Christian love requires that we strive not only for ourselves, but also for our neighbors.” God, in His goodness, gives everything needed to those who do not know Him; but Christians must with faith ask Him for these blessings, like children do with the Father, in order to show that they consider everything necessary for life to be God’s gift and accept this gift from the hand of God with thanksgiving. So, the meaning of this petition can be expressed in these words: Heavenly Father! You know our needs better than ourselves; the eyes of all trust in You, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with Your good pleasure(Ps. 144:15) . We do not ask You for luxury, wealth, or golden palaces; We don’t ask for sweet foods to overeat; do not deprive us of the most necessary things: give us this day our daily bread. Bread for food, water for drinking, air for breathing, clothing to cover a sinful body, a home where we can lay our heads - these are the things we cannot do without while we live on earth. Thy Holy Word, Thy grace distributed in the Sacraments of Thy Church, especially the living bread, the heavenly bread - the most pure Body and Blood of Thy Son - this is it daily bread, without which our souls perish in hunger! Give us, Our Father, all this, give us the strength, although by the sweat of our brow, to earn our own bread through righteous labor! Give us for this day - not for the barns for many years, but for this day only, for we ourselves do not know whether we will live to see tomorrow and what tomorrow will give birth to, maybe tomorrow we will no longer be on earth; and when tomorrow comes for us, we believe that if You give the day, you will also give us food...

Trinity leaves. No. 801-1050.

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev)

give us this day our daily bread

Expression "daily bread" has firmly entered the vocabulary of modern man in the sense of everyday food necessary for life. In Russian the word "urgent", meaning “vital”, “important”, appeared exclusively thanks to the prayer “Our Father” in its Slavic version. In many languages ​​there is no such word at all, and the Greek επιουσιος in the phrase "daily bread" is conveyed using the words “everyday”, “daily” (Latin panis quotidianus, French pain quotidien, English daily bread).

However, the exact meaning of this word has been the subject of debate for many centuries. In classical Greek there is no such word at all. The Aramaic word that is translated with its help is unknown, and all attempts to reconstruct it are hypothetical. The combination of the prefix επι- (on-, over-) with the noun ουσια (essence, existence, content, property) can be understood in several senses. If we understand ουσια as “content” or “property” - in this sense the word is used, for example, in the story of the woman who spent all her property on doctors (Luke 8:43) - then επιουσιος can be understood as “necessary for existence.” If the term ουσια is understood as “essence,” as is typical of Greek patristics, then the literal translation would be “supra-essential” or “super-essential.”

Based on the semantic proximity of the term in question to the expression η επιουσα, meaning “tomorrow,” one could translate the petition of the Lord’s Prayer as follows: “Give us our tomorrow’s bread today.” The term is also close to the concept επι την ουσαν ημεραν, meaning “for today.” Finally, the interpretation of the term may be related to the concept of το επιον, meaning “future”: in this case "our daily bread" would turn into “our future bread.”

To understand the original meaning of Jesus' words, it seems to us that we need to focus not so much on the meaning of an ambiguous and ambivalent term "urgent" how much on the meaning of the concept itself "bread".

For the first time on the pages of the Bible the term "bread" used in God's address to Adam after his fall: by the sweat of your face you will eat bread(Gen. 3:19) Further, bread is mentioned in the story of how Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought bread and wine as a blessing to Abraham (Gen. 14:18). Abraham treats three travelers who came to him with bread (Gen. 18:5). Bread plays an important role in the story of Joseph and his brothers: when Joseph, who had saved a lot of grain, becomes second in command to Pharaoh, and there is a famine in all the surrounding lands, they come to him for bread (Gen. 42:1-5).

Bread in the Bible is a universal symbol of food. The quality of bread and the mood with which a person eats bread symbolizes the quality of a person's life. In sorrow, tears become his bread (Ps. 41:4; 79:6), and when God is pleased with his deeds, he eats bread with joy (Eccl. 4:17).

When interpreting the Lord's Prayer, it is necessary to take into account the Eucharistic context in which the early Church perceived this prayer. From the very beginning it became part of the Eucharist, in the context of which the words “Give us this day our daily bread” could mean only one thing: a request for communion with the bread that came down from heaven, that “super-essential” bread, which is the Body of Christ broken at the Eucharist. The words of the Lord’s Prayer are filled with this meaning whenever they are heard at the liturgy.

If the Lord’s Prayer is read outside the liturgical context, for example, before a meal, then daily bread is understood as ordinary earthly food, which every person, every family needs. In a broad sense, daily bread can be understood as everything that a person needs for life.

Jesus Christ. Life and teaching. Book II.

Daily bread

Daily bread
From the Bible. In the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 6, v. 11) the prayer “Our Father” is given, where there are the words: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
The Russian translation of this verse is: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Allegorically: something vital, necessary for existence.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

Daily bread

An expression from the prayer given in the Gospel (Matt. 6:11): “Give us this day our daily bread,” that is, give us the bread we need for existence this day. In addition to the direct meaning, it is used in the sense: vital.

Dictionary of catch words. Plutex. 2004.

Synonyms:

See what “Daily Bread” is in other dictionaries:

Like daily bread, a piece of bread, required, necessary, food, food, necessary, food, food, required, desired, required, desirable Dictionary of Russian synonyms. daily bread noun, number of synonyms: 13 food (82) ... Synonym dictionary

Daily bread- Express. High 1. The most necessary means for life, for existence. People think about more than just their daily bread. They care not only about themselves, but also about the nature of their region (I. Ryabov. Years and People). 2. Anything most important, vital... ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language

- (necessary) Wed. Almost all of the working people in our homeland are without bread. Give us our daily bread today! So he, hungry, prays to the sky. And Dr. Mikh. Zhemchuzhnikov. Bread for everyone. Wed. We all know Pucherta flour; Since then we have been reading the prayer: Our daily bread... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

Daily bread (necessary). Wed. Almost all of the working people in our homeland are without bread. “Give us this day our daily bread!” So he, hungry, prays to the sky. And dr Mikh. Zhemchuzhnikov. Bread for everyone. Wed. We all know Pucherta flour; Since then, prayer... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Daily bread- wing. sl. An expression from a prayer given in the Gospel (Matt. 6:11): “Give us this day our daily bread,” that is, give us the bread we need for subsistence this day. In addition to the direct meaning, it is used in the sense: vital... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

daily bread- Food, food... Dictionary of many expressions

Necessary, daily bread, necessary, required, required, desirable, desired, required Dictionary of Russian synonyms. like daily bread adj., number of synonyms: 8 desired (14) ... Synonym dictionary

Ah, plural breads and breads, m. 1. only units. h. Food product baked from flour. Pecked bread. Rye bread. Wheat bread. White bread (wheat flour). Black bread (made from rye flour). A kilogram of bread. □ Long before the light, Ilyinichna flooded... ... Small academic dictionary

BREAD- Food product baked from flour (only singular bread); a food product made from flour in the form of a baked product of any shape (plural bread); grain from which flour is made (singular bread only); cereals... ... Linguistic and regional dictionary

urgent- oh, oh; puppy, puppy, puppy. see also urgently, urgently Having important life significance, absolutely necessary. Urgent question. New tasks, needs. daily bread … Dictionary of many expressions

Books

• Desmod. Continuation of the “Daily Bread” series, Pavel Karelin. The book “Desmod” is a continuation of the “Daily Bread” series. The author talks about the incredible adventures of a police officer. Sometimes a non-fictional story may seem like a lie because... eBook