Abstract
Translations of Matt. 6:11 presuppose, erroneously, that the prayer was for material bread. The distinction between literal and metaphorical bread prevents this petition from being banal, out of keeping with the remainder of the prayer. Biblical texts which restore the true meaning include Deut. 8:3 and Isa. 55:1-4. Current Jewish imagery identified lehem/artos as (1) the Law and so (2) a fine comestible. John 6:32-54 relies on this. The basic idea having been recovered, the problem of epiousios remains. Aramaic idiom lies behind it, unintelligible to non-Jews. One thinks of mêmra’ which means both the Word and its Author. A paraphrase, not a translation is called for. Metaphorical ‘bread’ would ensure life, membership of the Kingdom and obedience to the Will. Could a Greek neologism manage this? Epiousios could have meant ‘essential’.
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