Meekness

Meekness (Hebrew anawah; Greek prautes) is the quality of gentle strength and humble submission — not weakness, but power held under control in deference to God and in consideration of others. Moses is described as "very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3), and Jesus invites the weary: "I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). The third Beatitude promises that "the meek shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5), an echo of Psalm 37:11, where the anawim — the poor and lowly who trust God — are promised possession of the land.

Meekness appears in Paul's lists of virtues that characterize the renewed life in Christ: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22–23). It governs the spirit in which believers bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:1), receive the Word (James 1:21), and give an answer for their hope (1 Peter 3:15). Isaiah 66:2 identifies meekness as the disposition God esteems: "to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."