goodness

How would you define goodness? This week, we encounter two different words that can be translated as “good” in the Gospel According to
Matthew 7:17. I’ve translated this verse as: “In this way, every good tree makes quality fruits, but the rotten tree makes wicked fruits.”

The first word used to describe the trees is ἀγαθός (agathos), a word that is roughly equivalent in meaning to the English word “good.” It originally had strong moral connotations.

The second adjective that modifies fruit I’ve translated as “quality.” This word, καλός (kalos), has a root meaning of beautiful. From that meaning, it also can mean of fine quality or even good in the moral sense. The Greeks regarded beauty as a great virtue, much more than we do today.

Why do you think moral terminology associated with goodness is being used in this image to describe a tree and its fruit?

related topics: righteousness; worthy

you also may like Volume I of our Psalms study
Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers provides an in-depth look at Psalms prayed in morning and evening liturgies. (Volume II, set for publication in 2024, looks at Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline.) The study is based on The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, a translation prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

Click on the picture of the statue of Moses with horns (above) to learn more about Lost in Translation. A new entry is archived each Monday. Contact us to receive Lost in Translation by email every week. You may use any of the contact links on our website to ask Matthew a question.