Maranatha (either מרנא תא;
maranâ' thâ' or מרן אתא;
maran 'athâ' ) is an
Aramaic phrase occurring once only in the
New Testament (
see Aramaic of Jesus) and also in the
Didache which is part of the
Apostolic Fathers' collection. It is
transliterated into Greek letters rather than
translated, and is found at the end of
Paul's
First Epistle to the Corinthians (
1 Cor 16:22) . The
NRSV translates it as: "Our Lord, come!" but notes that it could also be translated as: "Our Lord has come"; the
NIV translates: "Come, O Lord"; the
NAB notes:
- "As understood here ("O Lord, come!"), it is a prayer for the early return of Christ. If the Aramaic words are divided differently (Maran atha, "Our Lord has come"), it becomes a credal
declaration. The former interpretation is supported by what appears to
be a Greek equivalent of this acclamation in Rev 22:20 "Amen. Come,
Lord Jesus!""
The phrase may have been used as a greeting between
Early Christians,
[1] and it is possibly in this way that it was used by the Apostle Paul.
The original Greek meaning of "
anathema",
a gift or sacrifice to God, leads to the interpretation that "Anathema
Maranatha" in a New Testament context could mean "a gift to God at the
coming of our Lord."
John Wesley in his
Notes on the Bible
comments that, "It seems to have been customary with the Jews of that
age, when they had pronounced any man an Anathema, to add the Syriac
expression, Maran - atha, that is, "The Lord cometh;" namely, to
execute vengeance upon him." The Catholic Encyclopedia states,
"Anathema signifies also to be overwhelmed with maledictions... At an
early date the Church adopted the word anathema to signify the
exclusion of a sinner from the society of the faithful; but the
anathema was pronounced chiefly against heretics." The negative
understanding of
maranatha began to die out by the late 19th
Century; Jamiesen, Fausset and Brown's commentary of 1871 separates
Maranatha from anathema in the same way as modern scholars. However the
traditional interpretation is still occasionally found among some
Christians today.
"Maranatha" is the name of a Swedish Pentecostal movement of
considerable success during the 1960s, although it has since lost in
popularity. Some of its opinions are controversial, including denial of
evolution. Latterly it has lent its name to Maranatha Music and to various other Pentecostal churches, including Maranatha, Waterford.
"Maranatha" is the name of a song by Christian artist
Michael Card. It is also the name of a song by
Christian hip hop artist
Sho Baraka, as well as the title of an album by Swedish black metal band
Funeral Mist.
"Maranatha" is the name of a song by Christian artist James Hellings, which features on the album 'Agnus Vincit'
"Maranatha" is the prayer word recommended by the
World Community for Christian Meditation, the community of followers of the teaching of
John Main OSB's teachings on the practice of
Christian meditation.
The prayer is one where one places everything aside: instead of talking
to God, one is just being with God, allowing God’s presence to fill
one's heart, thus transforming one's inner being.
[1]
"Maranatha" is the name of Tenth Presbyterian Church's youth group in Philadelphia.
Maranatha is the name of a first season episode of the TV series
Millennium by Chris Carter.
The term is also used for projects involving working with those in need, such as the
Maranatha Care Children charity.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maranatha
