Baruch and Berachah: Blessing in Judaism

Pro Ecclesia: A Journal of Catholic and Evangelical Theology

In the midst of life's ambiguities, the biblical tradition proclaimed the goodness of creation, because of its origin and purpose. In the hymn that opens the Bible, the refrain "God saw that it was good" refutes the dismal views of the world and its creatures that underlie pagan dualism. The "descending blessing" which constitutes the gift of life from God celebrates the mystery whereby creatures reproduce and human beings take the responsibilities of stewardship as partners with the Creator. Life unfolds in the context of time and space, so the divine blessing sets apart the sabbath and consecrated places for people to learn that the fullness of life is communion with the living God.

2019

This paper is a survey and outline of the term "blessed" in the Hebraic Scriptures. Hebraic Scriptures is defined as the scholastic classifications of The Torah, The Prophets, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and some New Testament writings. (Pauline epistles are omitted). The survey aims to define "who" is blessed and "what" "blessed" looks like, as defined from The Scriptures.

Paleobulgarica XLVI (2022), 4, 2022

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2020

The Septuagint (LXX) generally approached the antiphrastic, euphemistic use of ברך [bless] with a literal translation of ברך with εὐλογέω. This choice produced a Hebraism, as the Greek verb is not generally used antiphrastically. The translators may have expected the Greek audience to track with the figurative usage. Job contains four of the six uses of this euphemism, and LXX Job is evenly split between the use of εὐλογέω and the use of more creative renderings. These creative renderings in Job 1:5 and 2:9 reflect the exegesis of the translator. Contribution: The contribution of this research article is its focus on the phenomenon of euphemism in Biblical Hebrew and the implications of non-literal renderings in the Septuagint for a theologically-significant Hebrew euphemism. The article fits within the scope of the journal as a contribution to this special collection on the Septuagint.