There are two main reasons to interpret the phrase as a
reference to a personified evil (“the evil one”). The first is due to the
eschatological interpretation of the entire prayer. If petitions such as the
request for daily bread and the forgiveness of debts have non-temporal
significance, then understanding του
ποnηρου as “the evil one” rather
than a general variety of everyday evils is better suited to the eschatological
framework of the prayer. Moreover, if πειρασmός in verse 13a refers to the
final tribulation, then it is likely that του ποnηρου indicates the satanic power behind that
eschatological turmoil. The second reason is that the expression is used
elsewhere in Matthew to mean “the evil one.” Based on context, του ποnηρου
in 5:37 and 13:38 are meant to indicate a singular masculine personal being,
and å ποnηρäς in 13:19 refers to the devil. Although the phrase is not always
used to denote a non-human “evil one” (cf. 5:39), the point is that there is
precedent in Matthew for του
ποnηρου to signify “the evil one”
Satan. Some also suggest that if the expression is intended to describe evil in
general there should be a qualifying παnτός, and while an absent adjective does
not in itself justify a specific interpretation, it contributes to the overall
argument that του
ποnηρου should be identified as a
singular personified being. (Michael J. Morris, Warding Off Evil: Apotropaic
Tradition in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Synoptic Gospels [Wissenschaftliche
Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 451; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017],
231)
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