The word denotes the side of the face where one is struck, the “cheek” or “jaw.” In Scripture that part of the body becomes a metaphor for vulnerability, humiliation, and the testing of one’s response to hostility. A strike on the cheek was a calculated insult in the ancient Near East, conveying contempt more than bodily harm. Thus the term carries emotional as well as physical overtones, touching themes of honor, retaliation, and meekness.

Occurrences in the New Testament

Matthew 5:39 and Luke 6:29 record Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek.” The instruction appears within parallel sermons (the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain), both setting forth the ethics of the kingdom. By using the image of the cheek, Jesus confronts the heart of self-defense and retaliation culture. His call is not to passive acceptance of evil, but to an active, grace-filled refusal to answer insult with insult, violence with violence. The focus rests on personal relationships; governmental justice and legitimate self-protection in other spheres are not abolished. The singular form in both verses underscores individual responsibility rather than social policy.

Connection to Old Testament Imagery

Striking the cheek as an act of contempt appears repeatedly in the Hebrew Scriptures. Micah 5:1 foretells Messiah’s humiliation: “They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.” Lamentations 3:30 urges the suffering servant to “offer his cheek to the striker.” Job laments, “They strike my cheek in reproach” (Job 16:10). The Septuagint employs the same Greek term in several of these passages, creating a literary bridge between Old and New Testaments. Samson’s use of a donkey’s jawbone (Judges 15:15-16) adds another layer: the very instrument of vengeance in Judges later becomes, in the mouth of Jesus, an emblem against vengeance.

Christ’s Teaching on Non-Retaliation

1. Personal affronts, not criminal assaults: Jesus addresses the insult of a backhanded slap more than a life-threatening blow.
2. Internal transformation: turning the other cheek reflects a heart that has surrendered its right to revenge because it trusts God for justice (Romans 12:19).
3. Witness to the persecutor: the unexpected response exposes the aggressor’s sin, opening a door for repentance (1 Peter 2:23).
4. Foreshadowing the Cross: Jesus Himself fulfills His teaching when He is struck in the face during His trials (John 18:22; Matthew 26:67), answering with silence or gentle correction.

Pastoral and Practical Applications

• Conflict resolution: believers are called to absorb personal slights in family, church, and community life, choosing reconciliation over escalation.
• Persecution: missionaries and persecuted saints have often found in this command the courage to endure hostility without compromising testimony.
• Discipleship: instructs new converts that following Christ includes relinquishing the instinct to retaliate.
• Counseling: helps victims differentiate between personal insult (which may be borne) and criminal abuse (which may call for lawful protection).

Patristic and Historical Understanding

The early church cited these verses to forbid personal vengeance and curb participation in gladiatorial games or blood feuds. Fathers such as Tertullian and Augustine argued that Christian soldiers could defend the innocent yet must never strike back for private revenge. The Anabaptists and later non-violent movements (e.g., Mennonites) built entire ethical frameworks on this single injunction, while Reformed theologians affirmed its binding force on individual ethics alongside the legitimacy of the civil sword (Romans 13).

Theological Significance

The “cheek” passages encapsulate the gospel ethic of overcoming evil with good. They reveal the character of the Father, “kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35), manifested in the Son, and reproduced by the Spirit in believers. The command confronts pride, cultivates humility, and magnifies the power of redemptive love. When the church obeys, it displays a counter-cultural kingdom whose citizens entrust themselves to the righteous Judge.

Summary

Strong’s 4600 points beyond anatomy to a call for Christ-like meekness. In two brief commands Jesus transforms an ancient symbol of insult into a lasting emblem of grace. Believers who “turn the other cheek” participate in the Savior’s own pattern, bearing witness to the gospel’s power to subdue wrath and reconcile enemies.