Van Aarde, A.G. (Andries G.)2015-10-092015-10-092015-07-24Van Aarde, A.G., 2015, ‘Vredemakers as kinders van God (Matt 5:9): ’n Pragmaties-linguïstiese lesing’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 71(1), Art. #2935, 9 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/hts.v71i1.2935.0259-9422 (print)2078-8050 (online)10.4102/hts.v71i1.2935http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50203This article is a reworked version of a paper presented at the NAVNUT/ OT Nederlands-Afrikaans- Vlaamse Konferensie, Faculty of Theology of the North-West University, Potchefstroom, 20–22 January 2015.The article investigates different options of the pragmatic meaning (implicature) of the beatitude in the Gospel of Matthew, ‘blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God’ (Mt 5:9). It also explores this Jesus logion’s seeming contradiction with Jesus’ remark in die Matthean mission discourse, ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword’ (Mt 10:34). The pragmatic use of the concept ‘peace’ in Matthew is probed against the background of scribal activity in the context of the restoration of villages in North Galilee and South Syria after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. The Pax Romana and Josephus’s appeal to the inhabitants of these villages to collaborate with the Romans is described as the context of these Matthean Jesus logia. It argues that Matthew interprets Jesus as a ‘Mosaic Joshua’ in continuum with the Judaic tradition of Solomon as the ‘king of peace’, especially 1 Chronicles 22:5–11. The macarism about the ‘peacemakers as children of God’ is interpreted in correlation with the macarism ‘blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted’ (Mt 5:4). The article concludes with the finding that the sword motif in Matthew 10:4 does not contradict the beatitude on peace in Matthew 5:9.Afrikaans© 2015. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.VredemakersPeacemakersKinders van GodChildren of GodTheology articles SDG-10SDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesTheology articles SDG-11SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communitiesTheology articles SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsArticle