To Bless or Curse, that is the Question

Generally when we think of a blessing we usually think of it as something that is a standard to say or to do. Like the Catholics bless with the signing of the cross over people so as to sanctify them, the Jewish people raise their hands spreading their fingers apart representing the Hebrew letter shin (the first letter of the Hebrew word for Almighty). Others believe that it is to be an exclamation like, "bless you brother/sister", or "I am so blessed."  But does anyone really know what it means? This is the problem because we tend to use words in our vocabulary without checking them out. We hear our kids do it all the time. They use slang words because they want to be cool like their friends, but really have know clue what they are saying. The body of believers do it as well.

I hope that this short teaching will help explain the differences in the things we say and why some of them should never be released into the airways.  Proverbs 18:21 states the tongue speaks both life and death.  That means that we bless (life) and curse (death) out of the same mouth and do not know it.  I hear Christians make poor confessions all the time and then wonder why they are sick, unhappy at times, or having problems in their lives. Yeshua states in Matthew 15:17-20 that only what comes out of our mouth from the heart defiles (death) us.

Cursings:
In the list below I have chosen not to add one of the words for curse because I feel that it does not belong here. The word is bless, and an example of this is found in the book of Job (1:11 as curse, and  1:5 cursed also translated blasphemed). The reason the author translated this word as curse is because it means the opposite of to bless. The actual Hebrew reads no bless(ing).

Here are five different words for curse from the Hebrew.
  • Kah-lahl – To be lacking or light (as in something is missing – like a light material is not strong or sturdy). Gen. 8:21
  • Ah-rar – A very strong and harsh word that means to abhor or detest , but its root meaning is to spit. The action behind the word is to flow (more as a liquid like spitting saliva is a flow). This means that you can flow in cursings just like you can in blessings. Ex. 22:28 (pray for our president)
  • Qah-vav – To pierce through creating a cavity or a hole. Num. 22:11
  • Nah-kav - Means the same thing as Qah-vav . Prov. 24:24
  • Ah-lah – An oath as in a binding agreement which includes the curse if it were to be broken. Neh. 10:29.

Blessings:
I like the way Jeff Benner (Ancient Hebrew Research Center) best describes it:

The Hebrew verb barach means to bless as seen in Genesis 12:2 but can also mean kneel as in Genesis 24:11. A related Hebrew word is b'rachah meaning a blessing or a gift or present. From this we can see the concrete meaning behind barach in the sense of a blessing. It is to bring a gift to another while kneeling out of respect. The extended meaning of this word is to do or give something of value to another. God "blesses" us by providing for our needs and we in turn "bless" God by giving him of ourselves as his servants.

Now putting this all together, let us look at a scripture verse to see how some of it actually applies.

Genesis 12:3
And I will kneel before those presenting gifts (b'rachah) who will kneel before you presenting gifts (b'rachah), and those who give lightly (qah-lahl) to you, I will spit upon (ah-rar).

Obviously we need to be very careful in what we say and do because it is apparent that a blessing carries more weight than a curse.  Besides I want to be in His perfect will and get lots of good gifts.

Until next time - Shalom!

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