Matthew 6:24 A wealth of logical ideas on mammon

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [kjv]

ουδεις δυναται δυσιν κυριοις δουλευειν η γαρ τον ενα μισησει και τον ετερον αγαπησει η ενος ανθεξεται και του ετερου καταφρονησει ου δυνασθε θεω δουλευειν και μαμωνα [gnt]

The historical usage of "mammon" in Hebrew is that of a confidence in one's own ability to do things (independent of God). The modern Hebrew definition is that of "wealth".
The ancient Greek word "καταφρόνησις" ≈ "hold in contempt, despise". Note that this can be done without the other person knowing. False leaders, false teachers, etc., will show an outward appearance that is different from their heart on the inside.

There appear to be some logical issues in the translation of what Jesus said. Let us investigate.

Matthew 6:24

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KJV: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Greek: ουδεις δυναται δυσιν κυριοις δουλευειν η γαρ τον ενα μισησει και τον ετερον αγαπησει η ενος ανθεξεται και του ετερου καταφρονησει ου δυνασθε θεω δουλευειν και μαμμωνα μαμωνα

Latin: nemo potest duobus dominis servire aut enim unum odio habebit et alterum diliget aut unum sustinebit et alterum contemnet non potestis Deo servire et mamonae

Wessex: Nemo potest duobus dominis seruire. R. Ne mayg nam man twam hlaferden þeowian. oððe he soðliche aenne hateð. & oþerne lufað. oððe he beoð anen gehersum. & oðren ungehersum. Ne magen ge gode þeowian & weorld-weolan.

Wycliffe: No man may serue tweyn lordis, for ethir he schal hate`the toon, and loue the tother; ethir he shal susteyne`the toon, and dispise the tothir. Ye moun not serue God and richessis.

Tyndale: No ma can serve two masters. For ether he shall hate the one and love the other: or els he shall lene to ye one and despise ye other: ye can not serve God and mammon.

Gothic: ni manna mag twaim fraujam skalkinon; unte jabai fijaith ainana, jah antharana frijoth; aiththau ainamma ufhauseith, ith antharamma frakann. ni maguth guda skalkinon jah mammonin.

Luther: Niemand kann zweien Herren dienen. Entweder er wird einen hassen und den andern lieben, oder wird einem anhangen und den andern verachten. Ihr könnt nicht Gott dienen und dem Mammon.

Slavonic: Никтоже может двема господинома работати: любо единаго возлюбит, а другаго возненавидит: или единаго держится, о друзем же нерадити начнет. Не можете Богу работати и мамоне.

Russian: Никто не может служить двум господам: ибо или одного будет ненавидеть, а другого любить; или одному станет усердствовать, а о другом нерадеть. Не можете служить Богу и маммоне.

Spanish: Ninguno puede servir a dos señores; porque o aborrecerá al uno, y amará al otro; o apreciará al uno, y menospreciará al otro. No podéis servir a Dios y a las riquezas.

Portuguese: Ninguém pode servir a dois senhores: ou não gostará de um deles e estimará o outro, ou se dedicará a um e desprezará o outro. Não podeis servir a Deus e ao dinheiro. »

The word "mammon", of Semitic origin and had to do with money and what was associated with money.

The ancient Hebrew word "ממון" (mamon) ≈ "money".
The modern Hebrew word "ממון" (mamon) ≈ "wealth".

The ancient Greek word "μαμωνᾶς" ≈ "mammon" and comes from the Hebrew (or Aramaic).

The Hebrew word for "mammon" is not in the Hebrew OT (Old Testament) but is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls or Qumran documents.

There is a Syrian deity by a similar name that is the god of "riches".

Augustine, whose native language was Punic in north Africa, states that a similar Punic word meant "profit".

*G3126 *4 μαμμωνᾶς (mam-mo-nas') : of Chaldee origin (confidence, i.e. wealth, personified); mammonas, i.e. avarice (deified):--mammon.

Usage

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μαμωνα *4

Matthew 6:24 ... God and mammon.
Luke 16:9 ... friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
Luke 16:11 ... in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Luke 16:13 ... God and mammon.

The context of this verse is the Sermon of the Mount a few verses after those on "treasure".

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: [kjv]

6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: [kjv]

6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [kjv]

More: Matthew 6:19-21: A treasury of treasures of which to treasure

Let us look at a logical analysis of the verse spoken by Jesus 3 verses later.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [kjv]

Hebrew or Aramaic sayings often use a semantic type of poetry whereby similar (or opposite, etc.) ideas are repeated. The redundancy acts as a fault tolerant way to communicate meaning.

Let us use a Venn diagram to represent "you cannot serve God and mammon".

"G" represents "God".
"M" represents "Mammon" or "Money".

The intersection of the two sets is where one serves both "God" and "Money". Jesus says you cannot do this.

To understand this, we need the negation of that intersection of "God" and "Money". Let us first use a more formal way to prove the negation and then do it visually.

The negated conjunction can be expressed as the following.

Expression tree	Truth table	English
	G M \| ! ( G & M ) ----------------- 0 0 \| 1 ( 0 0 0 ) 0 1 \| 1 ( 0 0 1 ) 1 0 \| 1 ( 1 0 0 ) 1 1 \| 0 ( 1 1 1 )

It is not true that one can serve both God and Money.

"!" is "not".
"&" is "and".
"G" is "God".
"M" is "Money".

This Boolean logic is named after George Boole (1815-1864).

The negated conjunction can be expressed as the follows.

Expression tree	Truth table	English
	G M \| ( ! G ) \| ( ! M ) ----------------------- 0 0 \| ( 1 0 ) 1 ( 1 0 ) 0 1 \| ( 1 0 ) 1 ( 0 1 ) 1 0 \| ( 0 1 ) 1 ( 1 0 ) 1 1 \| ( 0 1 ) 0 ( 0 1 )

Either one does not serve God or one does not serve Money or neither.

"|" is inclusive "or".
"!" is "not".

This equivalence is named after Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871)

These two sides can be proven to be equal using a truth table proof.

Expression tree	Extended truth table
	G M \| ( ! ( G & M ) ) = ( ( ! G ) \| ( ! M ) ) --------------------------------------------- 0 0 \| ( 1 ( 0 0 0 ) ) 1 ( ( 1 0 ) 1 ( 1 0 ) ) 0 1 \| ( 1 ( 0 0 1 ) ) 1 ( ( 1 0 ) 1 ( 0 1 ) ) 1 0 \| ( 1 ( 1 0 0 ) ) 1 ( ( 0 1 ) 1 ( 1 0 ) ) 1 1 \| ( 0 ( 1 1 1 ) ) 1 ( ( 0 1 ) 0 ( 0 1 ) )

The column under the "=" is always "1" so this is a "tautology".

Venn diagram with letters	Expanded Venn diagram

Let us now look at the above proof in visual terms using an expanded Venn diagram with text rather than just single letters.

Since one cannot serve the intersection, "God and Money", we need the logical negation of the intersection.

Before negation	After negation

The logical negation of the intersection "God and Money" can be that one serves "God", one serves "Money" or one serves "something else".

Positive logic often does not need to address the "something else". Negative logic does need to address the "something else".

Negation appears in the Greek with the prefix "a" or "α" in words such as "atheist". It appears in the many Greek words. The Greek word for "truth" can be interpreted as "not oblivion" or "reality".

More: Greek truth as reality

The Greek word for "sin" can be interpreted as anything that is "not a witness" to God.

More: A martyred witness to a translation error

How do you reply what asked if you would like a piece of pie or a piece of cake?

Exclusive "or": Pick one and only one.
Inclusive "or": Pick one or both. I will take both.

Most people are used to exclusive "or".

Computer programmers take the "or" as a "logical" or "inclusive" "or". The negation of a conditional (statement) is needed with an inclusive "or" in order to address the something else of the conditional (statement).

More: Two-valued logic: Operators

Since ideas such as "negation" can become confusing, it is best to use logic rules as one does algebra - to transform equations and get results without having to think about what it means until the final result.

There are two parts that Jesus needs to address to provide the Hebrew poetic semantic repetition for "you cannot serve God and Money". These are:

(1) "either he will hate the one, and love the other"
or (2) "he will hold to the one, and despise the other"

Case (1) handles "God" and "Money". Case (2) also appears to handle "God" and "Money". This leaves a hole in the logic. The "something else" is not addressed! Would Jesus leave such a logical hole? Perhaps the translation needs investigated.

One way to handle the "something else" is as follows.

"He will flatter or pay lip service to the one" as in a flowery way since the Greek word has to do with the blossoms of flowers.
"He will quietly despise or otherwise deceive the other" in a "prudent" or "opportunistic" manner which is in line with the Greek word used.

The result of this is that "he" is serving "something else" besides "God" or "Money".

Omitting the "something else" is very convenient for anyone wanting to avoid violation of this verse. The logic goes as follows.

One cannot serve God and Money.
I am not serving Money.
Therefore I must be serving God.

It appears that, in response to this (faulty) logic, the definition of "Money" or "Mammon" has been expanded over time to account for the otherwise unappreciated hole in the logic - as evident from the translation.

It might be better to fix the hole rather than just patch it with some revised definitions.

Let us look at the verses after parable of the unjust servant in Luke since Luke uses "mammon" three times in five verses.

The unjust servant, knowing he was to be demoted, goes out and cancels debts so that he will be able to do better after his demotion. Jesus commends the behavior in a certain way.

Luke 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. [kjv]

Luke 16:8

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KJV: And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

Greek: και επηνεσεν ο κυριος τον οικονομον της αδικιας οτι φρονιμως εποιησεν οτι οι υιοι του αιωνος τουτου φρονιμωτεροι υπερ τους υιους του φωτος εις την γενεαν την εαυτων εισιν

Luke then uses the word "mammon" in 3 verses within a 6 verse span.

Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. [kjv]

16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. [kjv]

Luke 16:9

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KJV: And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Greek: καγω και εγω υμιν λεγω ποιησατε εαυτοις ποιησατε φιλους εκ του μαμωνα της αδικιας ινα οταν εκλιπητε εκλιπη δεξωνται υμας εις τας αιωνιους σκηνας

Latin: et ego vobis dico facite vobis amicos de mamona iniquitatis ut cum defeceritis recipiant vos in aeterna tabernacula

Wessex: And ic segge eow wyrceð eow freond of þisse werold-weolen unrihtwisnesse. þaet hyo un-fon eow on echen earding-stowen þonne ge ge-teoriað.

Tyndale: And I saye also vnto you: make you frendes of the wicked mammon that when ye shall departe they may receave you into everlastinge habitacions.

Luther: Und ich sage euch auch: Machet euch Freunde mit dem ungerechten Mammon, auf daß, wenn ihr nun darbet, sie euch aufnehmen in die ewigen Hütten.

Luke 16:10

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KJV: He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Greek: ο πιστος εν ελαχιστω και εν πολλω πιστος εστιν και ο εν ελαχιστω αδικος και εν πολλω αδικος εστιν

Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? [kjv]

16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? [kjv]

Luke 16:11

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KJV: If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

Greek: ει ουν εν τω αδικω μαμωνα πιστοι ουκ εγενεσθε το αληθινον τις υμιν πιστευσει

Latin: si ergo in iniquo mamona fideles non fuistis quod verum est quis credet vobis

Wessex: Gyf ge on unrihtwisen weordwelan naeren ge-treowe. hwa be-taecð eow þaet eower is.

Luther: So ihr nun in dem ungerechten Mammon nicht treu seid, wer will euch das Wahrhaftige vertrauen?

Luke 16:12

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KJV: And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

Greek: και ει εν τω αλλοτριω πιστοι ουκ εγενεσθε το υμετερον ημετερον τις υμιν δωσει υμιν

Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [kjv]

The next verse uses the Greek word for "love of silver" and translated in the KJV (King James Version) as "covetous".

16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. [kjv]

More: Matthew 13: A pointed discussion of thorny riches

Luke 16:13

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KJV: No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Greek: ουδεις οικετης δυναται δυσιν κυριοις δουλευειν η γαρ τον ενα μισησει και τον ετερον αγαπησει η ενος ανθεξεται και του ετερου καταφρονησει ου δυνασθε θεω δουλευειν και μαμωνα

Tyndale: No servaunt can serve. ii. masters for other he shall hate ye one and love ye other or els he shall lene to the one and despyse the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon.

Luther: Kein Hausknecht kann zweien Herren dienen; entweder er wird einen hassen und den andern lieben, oder wird einem anhangen und den andern verachten. Ihr könnet nicht Gott samt dem Mammon dienen.

Luke 16:14

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KJV: And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

Greek: ηκουον δε ταυτα παντα και οι φαρισαιοι φιλαργυροι υπαρχοντες και εξεμυκτηριζον αυτον

Latin: audiebant autem omnia haec Pharisaei qui erant avari et deridebant illum

Wycliffe: But the Farisees, that weren coueytous, herden alle these thingis, and thei scorneden hym.

Tyndale: All these thinges herde the pharises also which were coveteous and they mocked him.

Spanish: Y oían también todas estas cosas los fariseos, los cuales eran avaros, y se burlaban deÉl.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. [kjv]

αγαπων αργυριον ου πλησθησεται αργυριου και τις ηγαπησεν εν πληθει αυτων γενημα και γε τουτο ματαιοτης [lxx]

In English, one says things like "I love pizza", "I love football", etc. Agape love is usually taken as meaning an unconditional form of love.

A better definition is that of being totally devoted to something, is in "totally devoted to football", etc. This same idea is found in many Bible verses in the GNT (Greek New Testament) and LXX (Septuagint).

One could add examples such as the following.

He that loveth "golf", ...
He that loveth "football", ...
And so on.

More: Love is the only way

Ecclesiastes 5:10

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KJV: He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

Hebrew: אהב כסף לא ישבע כסף ומי אהב בהמון לא תבואה גם זה הבל׃

Greek: αγαπων αργυριον ου πλησθησεται αργυριου και τις ηγαπησεν εν πληθει αυτων γενημα και γε τουτο ματαιοτης

Jeremiah has some verses that appear to describe an expanded idea of "mammon" in Jeremiah 9:23-24.

Jeremiah 9:23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: [kjv]

9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. [kjv]

Jeremiah 9:23

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KJV: Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

Hebrew: כה אמר יהוה אל יתהלל חכם בחכמתו ואל יתהלל הגבור בגבורתו אל יתהלל עשיר בעשרו׃

Greek: ταδε λεγει κυριος μη καυχασθω ο σοφος εν τη σοφια αυτου και μη καυχασθω ο ισχυρος εν τη ισχυι αυτου και μη καυχασθω ο πλουσιος εν τω πλουτω αυτου

Jeremiah 9:24

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KJV: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Hebrew: כי אם בזאת יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידע אותי כי אני יהוה עשה חסד משפט וצדקה בארץ כי באלה חפצתי נאם יהוה׃

Greek: αλλ η εν τουτω καυχασθω ο καυχωμενος συνιειν και γινωσκειν οτι εγω ειμι κυριος ποιων ελεος και κριμα και δικαιοσυνην επι της γης οτι εν τουτοις το θελημα μου λεγει κυριος