Lost In Translation: Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
English versions of the Bible can fool us by translating a very uncommon word as in the same way as another, very common word. This occurs in this verse, but it also has problems with other Greek words as well. One word is commonly translated in a misleading way throughout the Bible, and another one is translated in a way that doesn’t fit this context.
First, here is Matthew 6:33:
NIV: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Since the uncommon word is at the end, let start with other issues as we work through the verse.
Broader Meanings
A number of words here have broader meanings. The word translated as “seek” here can mean “search after” or “chase after,” but it can also mean the less active "desire" and "feel the want of." Notice this verse says nothing about finding what is sought, what matters is seeking higher things or simply desiring things.
What are “these things” being sought or desired? Understanding this requires the context of the previous verse. The topic of this part of the Sermon on the Mount is things to eat, drink, and wear. In the verse before this one, Matthew 6:32, Jesus describes these as what “the pagans run after” and that “the Father knows we need.” And Jesus says “these things” right after “kingdom” and “righteousness,” so they are included as well.
The word translated as “kingdom” has a meaning in Greek that is much broader. The Greek word, basileia,, refers generally to the authority of a ruler. This can means the region, that is, the “kingdom,” but it also can mean the kingly office, his kingship, the ruler’s position, or the nature of his authority. It is misleading to think of it as a region alone, such as “heaven,” which is how may Christians hear this word. After all, the dominion of the Divine extends over all existence. The question is which of these meanings pairs best with “righteousness.”
"Righteousness" is from a Greek word that means "righteousness", “virtue,” "justice", "fulfillment of the law," and "the business of a judge." In a sense, it is like “kingdom” but applies to the domain of a judge rather than a ruler. Traditionally, for the Judean people at the time, it specifically meant “fulfilment of the law,” that is, a act required by the laws of Moses. This word is being applied to God here, so "justice" seems better, since he is the judge. Personally, I prefer “virtue” because it applies both to the judge and those being judged.
The Uncommon Word
When we see a phrase like “these things will be given” in a Bible verse, we should be able to assume that it is the common word for “give,” didomi, that Jesus uses a hundred and forty-seven times. This doesn’t include how often he uses the six common compound verbs that are formed from this root meaning “give up,” “give freely,” “give over,” and so on, all of which are often translated as plain “give” as well. Needless to say, the word used here is not this word or one of its derivatives.
This word is a very different verb from another popular root. It is prostithemi, which Jesus only uses seven times. This word has many different meanings but it has a general idea of increasing something. Jesus uses it to mean “to add,” “more,” and “again.” Depending on the context, it is also translated as "to put towards," "put to", "to hold close", "to apply medicine [to a wound]", "to hand over", "to give something more", "to impose upon", "to attribute to", "to agree", "to associate with", "to bring upon oneself," and "to apply to oneself." All these translations have a sense of “to increase something.”
The verb form is singular, future passive. The subject is “these things,” which is plural, but the verb is singular because a neuter, plural subject takes a singular verb as a conglomeration. The sense is “these will be added.”
Literally, prostithemi means to “put towards.” Its root is tithemi, which primarily means "to put," but like our “put” it has a lot of other meanings based upon its context and the prepositions it is used with. It is used to mean "to propose," "to suggest," "to deposit," "to set up," "to dedicate," "to assign," "to award," "to agree upon," "to institute," "to establish," "to make," "to work," "to prepare oneself," "to bear arms [military]," "to lay down and surrender [military]," "to lay in the grave," "to bury," and "to put words on paper [writing]," and a metaphor for "to put in one's mind." The “towards” is from an preposition/prefix with a lot of meanings as well. These meanings change with the form of the nouns with which it is used. Generally, it means "towards," "by reason of," "in reply to," "before" both in time and place, "in the presence of," and "against."
The point here is that nothing is being given for either desiring or seeking. This is not a reward much as it is what happens. When we focus on the “realm” and “justice,”
these things increase for us and possibly others.
The Punchline of Many Meanings
Jesus’s teaching is not as simple as it is represented by Christianity. While simplifying his ideas helps in educating children, iwe should still study his teaching as adults, we need something more meaty to wonder over.
The many types of increase from prostithemi are the penultimate word, that is,the setup. We might expect the next word as its object to clarify its meaning. It doesn’t. The last word is “you” in a specific form. That form is of an indirect object that means “to you,” "with you," "in you," "of you" "as you," "by you," "for you," "at you," or "on you" depending on the context.
Jesus could have made this all a lot clearer choosing a simpler verb and a preposition to put before “you” to cut down on the possible meaning, but he chose not to. My sense was that he wanted us to think about his meaning.
My simplified version is just one possible meaning and it too is open to a number of interpreations.
Listeners Heard: Desire, however, first that ruling authority and that judicial authority of His, and all these things? will be added for you.
For me, this means the laws seeking natural law and moral law. Biblical laws are only a part of this knowledge, science and history are also included.