bless(ed)

The Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic that is translated into English as “(to) bless” or “blessed” is translated into a wide variety of possibilities.

The Hebrew term barak (and the Aramaic term berak) also (and originally) means “kneel” (a meaning which the word has retained — see Gen. 24:11) and can be used for God blessing people (or things), people blessing each other, or people blessing God. While English Bible translators have not seen a stumbling block in always using the same term (“bless” in its various forms), other languages need to make distinctions (see below).

In Bari, spoken in South Sudan, the connection between blessing and knees/legs is still apparent. For Genesis 30:30 (in English: “the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned”), Bari uses a common expression that says (much like the Hebrew), ‘… blessed you to my feet.'” (Source: P. Guillebaud in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 189ff. .)

Other examples for the translation of “bless” when God is the one who blesses include (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight):

  • “think well of” (San Blas Kuna)
  • “speak good to” (Amganad Ifugao)
  • “make happy” (Pohnpeian)
  • “cause-to-live-as-a-chief” (Zulu)
  • “sprinkle with a propitious (lit. cool) face” (a poetic expression occurring in the priests’ language) (Toraja Sa’dan) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “give good things” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • “ask good” (Yakan) (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • “praise, say good things” (Central Yupik) (source: Robert Bascom)
  • “greatly love” (Candoshi-Shapra) (source: John C. Tuggy)
  • “showing a good heart” (Kutu) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • “good luck — have — good fortune — have” (verbatim) ꓶꓼ ꓙꓳ ꓫꓱꓹ ꓙꓳ — ɯa dzho shes zho (Lisu). This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 58)

In Tagbanwa a phrase is used for both the blessing done by people and God that back-translates to “caused to be pierced by words causing grace/favor” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

Ixcatlán Mazatec had to select a separate term when relating “to people ‘blessing’ God” (or things of God): “praise(d)” or “give thanks for” (in 1 Cor. 10:16) (“as it is humans doing the ‘blessing’ and people do not bless the things of God or God himself the way God blesses people” — source: Robert Bascom). Eastern Bru and Kui also use “praise” for this a God-directed blessing (source: Bru back translation and Helen Evans in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) and Uma uses “appropriate/worthy to be worshipped” (source: Uma back translation).

When related to someone who is blessing someone else, it is translated into Tsou as “speak good hopes for.” In Waiwai it is translated as “may God be good and kind to you now.” (Sources: Peng Kuo-Wei for Tsou and Robert Hawkins in The Bible Translator 1962, pp. 164ff. for Waiwai.)

Some languages associate an expression that originally means “spitting” or “saliva” with blessing. The Bantu language Koonzime, for instance, uses that expression for “blessing” in their translation coming from either God or man. Traditionally, the term was used in an application of blessing by an aged superior upon a younger inferior, often in relation to a desire for fertility, or in a ritualistic, but not actually performed spitting past the back of the hand. The spitting of saliva has the effect of giving that person “tenderness of face,” which can be translated as “blessedness.” (Source: Keith Beavon)

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the Danish Bibelen 2020, comments on the translation of this term: “As for ‘blessing’, in the end we in most instances actually kept the word, after initially preferring the expression ‘giving life strength’. The backlash against dropping the word blessing was too hard. But we would often add a few words to help the reader understand what the word means in a given context — people often understand it to refer more to a spiritual connection with God, but in the Hebrew texts, it usually has to do with material things or good health or many children. So when e.g. in Isaiah 19:25 the Hebrew text says ‘God bless them’, we say ‘God bless them’ and we add: ‘and give them strength’. ‘And give them strength’ is not found in the overt Hebrew text, but we are again making explicit what we believe is the meaning so as to avoid misunderstanding.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

See also bless (food and drink), blessed (Christ in Mark 11:9), and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.

See also “Blessed by ‘The Blessing’ in the World’s Indigenous Languages” and Multilingual version of “The Blessing” based on Numbers 6:24-26 .

complete verse (Genesis 27:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 27:12:

  • Kankanaey: “If/When father places-his-hands-on-me, he-will-come-to-know that it is I, and-so surely he will think to himself (lit. say in his thoughts) that I am just mocking/belittling him and he will replace his blessing with a curse.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Suppose father tries to touch me, it would seem like I was deceiving him. Then I would be given a curse instead of a blessing.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Father might touch me and will-know that I am- just -deceiving him and he will-curse me instead of blessing-(me).'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “What will happen if my father touches me? He will realize that I am tricking him, and as a result I will be cursed/he will say that God will do bad things to me, not a blessing!'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

addressing one's or someone else's father respectfully in Japanese (父上)

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One important aspect of addressing someone else in one’s or someone else’s family is by selecting the correct word when referring to them. One way to do this is through the usage of an appropriate title within a conversation as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

When the speaker humbly refers to his or her father in the presence of respected interlocutor(s), chichi (父) is often used (see addressing one’s father humbly / respectfully in Japanese (父)).

In some conversations, archaic honorific forms for “father” are chosen that also contain chichi (父) and typically indicate a greater level of respect. That includes chichi-ue (父上). An interesting contrast between the use of of chichi and chichi-ue can be found when there is a reference to “my father and your father.” The former is addressed with chichi and the latter with chichi-ue (for more see 1 Kings 15:19, 1 Kings 20:34, and 2 Chronicles 16:3 along with addressing one’s father humbly / respectfully in Japanese (父)). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Genesis 27:12

Perhaps my father will feel me: Perhaps translates an adverb that most often expresses a hope (Gen 16.2 “it may be”; 1 Sam 6.5), but in our context it expresses a fear or doubt. See also Job 1.5. Revised English Bible have “Suppose my father feels me.” This clause may also be translated as an “if” clause, which may express the doubt element more adequately in some languages. For example, Bible en français courant says “If my father touches me….” Feel refers here to examining by feeling with the hands. Jacob is afraid that his father will feel his hairless skin and discover that he is not hairy like his brother. In translation it may be necessary to say, for example, “I am afraid my father will feel me with his hands” or “… that my father will feel my skin.”

I shall seem to be mocking him is literally “I shall be in his eyes like a mocker.” Mocking is the meaning of the same rare Hebrew word in 2 Chr 36.16; if the meaning is the same here, the sense expressed is that, if discovered, Jacob will appear to be ridiculing or making fun of his father, a serious misconduct having the consequence of being cursed. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “If my father touches me and recognizes me, he will think that I am ridiculing him.” However, in the context of this story, the sense of “deceiving” or “tricking” is much more appropriate; and so many of the versions take the word in this sense. King James Version has “a deceiver,” Good News Translation “deceiving him,” New Jerusalem Bible “cheating him,” New International Version and New English Bible “tricking him,” Revised English Bible “playing a trick.” Note the idiomatic force of the literal Hebrew “in his eyes” used in reference to the blind Isaac and translated I shall seem. The meaning of the expression has nothing to do with the physical eyes but rather with his understanding, thought, perception.

And bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing: the conclusion of Jacob’s worry is that he will cause himself to be cursed instead of blessed. Curse translates the same word here as used in 8.21 and 12.3. However, for a discussion of the meaning and function of curse, see 3.14. In translation it may be more natural to shift to a passive construction and say “I will cause myself to be cursed and not blessed.” As an active construction we may also say, for example, “instead of giving me his blessing he will curse me” or “he will not bless me but will curse me.” Two recent examples of how this has been translated are “he [my father] will ask God to injure me, and I won’t get the blessing” and “he won’t give me that last word, and I will make trouble for myself.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .