Th Doctrin of Bârak 1 Introduction: I must admit that I ntr into this particular study with som trpidation, and for 3 rasons: (1) this word occurs wll ovr 300 tims in th Bibl; (2) this is th nam of th church I go to, so I nd to gt this right; and (3) I will hav to dal with th ida of us blssing (bârak ) God. Topics Pronunciation and Splling Manings Passags Th arlist occurrncs of bârak Conclusion Charts, Maps and/or Doctrins Th Manings of Bârak 1. Pronunciation and splling: 2. Manings alrady attributd to : a. KJV rndrings: to blss; blssd; to salut, to curs, to blasphm, to knl, to congratulat, cursd, to prais, to thank. b. Strong's rndrings: proprly to knl; by implication to blss God (as an act of adoration), and (vicvrsa) man (as a bnfit); also (by uphmism) to curs (God or th king, as trason). Strong's #1288. c. BDB translations: i. to blss, to knl (1) (Qal) (a) to knl (b) to blss (2) (Niphal) to b blssd, blss onslf (3) (Pil) to blss (4) (Pual) to b blssd, b adord (5) (Hiphil) to caus to knl (6) (Hithpal) to blss onslf ii. (TWOT) to prais, salut, curs iii. BDB #138. d. Gsnius translations: i. To bnd th kns; to knl down. This appars to b givn as th basic maning of bârak. ii. to invok God, to ask for a blssing, to blss iii. iv. Niphal (usd in th rflxiv sns): to blss onslf (s Hithpal) Pil: to invok God, to prais, to clbrat, to ador, to blss [God] [which is don on bndd kn]; to blss [usd of mn towards on anothr]; to invok blssings [on anyon in th nam of God]; to blss [as God, mn and othr cratd things]; this is oftn usd as th rsult of divin favor: to caus to prospr. God is said to blss inanimat things, to mak thm to prospr, to b abundant (Ex. 23:25 Job 1:10 Psalm 65:11 132:15 Prov. 3:33). This vrb is usd to salut [anyon, by invoking a blssing upon thm 1Sam. 15:13]. Usd as a salutation to ask of anothr s wlfar (1Sam. 25:14 2Kings 4:29 Prov. 27:14). This is also usd in a bad sns, to curs; i.., to imprcat som vil [on somon by calling upon God]. 1Kings 21:10 Psalm 10:3 Job 1:5, 11 2:5 31:30. v. Pual: to b blssd, to b praisd; to b causd to prospr [by God]. vi. Hiphil: to caus [camls] to knl down [to rst and/or to drink]. Gn. 24:11. vii. Hithpal: to blss onslf (Dut. 29:18). 3. Cognats: a kn (Strong s #12900; blssing (Strong s #1293). 1 Dud!
Pag -2- From I Sam. 2: 4. Passags: What is quit nic is, in th book of Gnsis, w will gt a prtty complt undrstanding of this word, and in such a way that, contxt will indicat th maning of bârak. a. blssd, 176 occurrncs in th KJV: Gn. 1:22, 28 2:3 5:2 9:1 9:26 12:3 17:20 22:18 24:1, 27, 31, 35, 48, 60 25:11 26:4, 12, 29 27:23, 27, 29, 33, 41 28:1, 6, 14 30:27, 30 31:55 32:29 35:9 39:5 47:7, 10 48:3, 15, 20 49:28 Ex. 20:10 11 39:43 Lv. 9:22 23 22:6, 12 23:11, 20 24:9 10 Dut. 2:7 7:14 12:7 14:24 15:14 16:10 28:3 6 33:1, 13, 20, 24 Joshua 17:13 14 22:6 7, 33 24:10 Judgs 13:24 17:2 Ruth 2:19 20 3:10 4:14 1Sam. 2:20 15:13 23:21 25:32 33, 39 26:25 2Sam. 2:5 6:11 12, 18 7:29 13:25 18:28 19:39 22:47 1Kings 1:48 2:45 5:7 8:14 15, 55 56, 66 10:9 1Chron. 13:14 16:2 16:36 17:27 26:5 29:10, 20 2Chron. 2:12 6:3 4 9:8 30:26 27 31:8, 10 Ezra 7:27 Nh. 8:6 9:5 11:2 Job. 1:10, 21 31:20 42:12 Psalm 18:46 28:6 37:21 22 41:13 45:2 49:18 66:20 68:19, 35 72:17 19 89:52 106:48 113:2 115:15 118:26 119:12 124:6 128:4 135:21 144:1 147:13 Prov. 5:18 20:21 22:9 Isa. 19:25 51:2 61:9 65:23 66:3 Jr. 17:7 20:14 Ezk. 3:12 Zch. 11:5 b. blss, 116: Gn. 12:2 3 22:17 26:3, 24 27:4, 7, 10, 19, 25, 31, 34, 38 28:3 32:26 48:9, 16, 20 49:25 Ex. 12:32 23:24 25 Num. 6:23 24, 27 23:20, 25 24:1 Dut. 1:11 7:13 8:10 10:8 14:29 15:4, 10, 18 16:15 21:5 23:20 24:13, 19 26:15 27:12 28:8, 12 29:19 30:16 33:11 Joshua 8:33 Judgs 5:9 Ruth 2:4 1Sam. 9:13 2Sam. 6:20 7:29 8:10 21:3 1Kings 1:47 1Chron. 4:10 16:43 17:27 23:13 29:20 Nh. 9:5 Psalm 5:12 16:7 26:12 28:9 29:11 34:1 63:4 66:8 67:1, 6 7 68:26 96:2 100:4 103:1 2, 20 22 104:1, 35 109:28 115:12 13, 18 128:5 129:8 132:15 134:1 3 135:19 20 145:1 2, 10, 21 Prov. 30:11 Isa. 19:25 65:16 Jr. 4:2 31:23 Haggai 2:19 c. blssth 8: Gn. 27:29 Num. 24:9 Dut. 15:6 Psalm 10:3 Psalm 107:38 Prov. 3:33 Prov. 27:14 Isa. 65:16 d. salut 4: 1Sam. 13:10 1Sam. 25:14 2Kings 4:29. blssst 3: Num. 22:6 1Chron. 17:27 Psalm 65:10 f. curs 3: Job. 1:10 11 (2) Job. 2:5 Job. 2:9 g. blasphm 2: 1Kings 21:10 1Kings 21:13 h. knl 2: Gn. 24:11 Psalm 95:6 i. abundantly 1: Psalm 132:15 j. blssing 1: Gn. 22:17 k. congratulat 1: 1Chron. 18:10 l. cursd 1: Job 1:5 m. down 1: Gn. 24:11 n. knld 1: 2Chron. 6:13 o. prais 1: Judgs 5:2 p. praisd 1: Psalm 72:15 q. salutd 1: 2Kings 10:15 r. thankd 1: 2Sam. 14:22 5. A good plac to start with th vrb is Gn. 24:11: And h mad th camls knl outsid th city, by a wll of watr at th tim of th vning, th tim that womn go out to draw. This is th only Hiphil us of bârak, and it clarly mans to caus to knl, to mak knl. Somwhr in th back of my dusty mind, I hav som sort of rmmbranc about th caml s kns and that thy somhow do not bnd, so I chck my World Book Encyclopdia, and it xplains how a caml gts on its kns to rst, which involvs bnding th 2 front kns first and thn th back ons. W can go through all th various sts of manings, and this is th only maning which maks any sns. Sinc Abraham s srvant is th on doing th action of th vrb, but it is th camls who ar knling, th Hiphil (causativ) stm sms to b th most apropos. Abraham s srvant causs th camls to knl. 6. Th nxt thing w ought to look at ar th arlist occurrncs of bârak : I am hopful that I can com to rasonabl manings for bârak from th arlist chaptrs of Scriptur, which should st th maning for us. As I go through th book of Gnsis, th manings of this word bcom prtty clar. a. First of all, th basic maning of bârak is to knl bfor; to blss. b. Th us of bârak sms to b, in on sns, an indication that on blivs in Jsus Christ. It is as if th prson is saying, I am a blivr in Jsus Christ; but, in th Old Tstamnt, this would man I am 2 Th World Book Encyclopdia; 1983 by W orld Book, Inc.; Vol. 3, p. 66.
Th Doctrin of Bârak Pag -3- a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, th God of th Jws. Th prson is xprssing prais and adoration toward God, or h is asking for God to blss th on to whom h is spaking, but th implication appars to b that this prson is a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, and thrfor, in a sns, making a public dclaration of faith. c. Pil (intnsiv) Stm (I am listing th Pil stm first, bcaus this is th first stm which bârak is found in): i. Gn. 1:22: And God blssd thm, saying, B fruitful and multiply, and fill th watrs in th sas; and lt th birds multiply in th arth. This is th first occurrnc of bârak, and, quit obviously, thr is no knling involvd nor is thr any kind of worship involvd of any sort. God would not worship His own cration. Hr bârak is tid to fish and birds multiplying (having lots of baby birds and baby fish). God blssing th fish and th birds mans that H has cratd thm to brd and to hav mor birds and fish; and to incras abundantly. ii. Gn. 1:28: And God blssd thm [th man and th woman]; and God said to thm, B fruitful and multiply, and fill th arth, and subdu it, and rul ovr th fish of th sas, and ovr birds of th havns, and ovr all basts crping on th arth. God s blssing has to do with not just having childrn, but by having dominanc ovr th arth, which was rstord for th inhabitation of man. W hav a lot of xampls of how man has subdud th arth, but to m, on of th most amazing is th city of Dubia. I hav a pictur of th manmad islands and on of th structurs of Dubia, and rcommnd for your plasur: http://www.lutcium.org/www.jp-ptit.com http://www.lutcium.org/www.jp-ptit.com/humour/du bai/villas_palm.gif /humour/flouzland.htm for mor photos of this incrdibl city. Hr is a wbsit of a guy slling condos in Dubia: http://www.condohotlcntr.com/alrts/dubai.htm It is amazing to s ths photos and to rcogniz this is man ruling ovr and subduing th arth. Gn. 5:2 is part of a gnalogy of Adam: H cratd thm mal and fmal, and blssd thm, and calld thir nam Adam in th day whn thy wr cratd. Th ida is, to mak abundant, to mak prosprous, (both from Gsnius); and lt mt suggst to provid for in grat abundanc. Whn God blsss us, this indicats that H has providd for us in grat abundanc. God placs bfor us goals, aspirations, matrial things, right man or right woman, family, our right job, and ths ar all blssings to us. W tnd to think of this in th ralm of tim, lik God is chcking us out and dcids on day, Hll, I ll just drop a million dollars on Charli Brown bcaus h has bn prtty th damn good. Howvr, what God has don is, H provid for us in trnity past. By th 6 day of rstoration, vrything for our livs had bn laid out for us. Th most important vnt of human history had alrady bn st into motion, vn though Adam and th woman had just bn compltd. W find th cross spokn of in Gn. 3 18 Psalm 22 Isa. 53, to nam just a fw placs. God alrady had st things in motion; thy just had to com to pass. (1) Now, so you don t gt all wonky on m, what God st into motion took into account vry dcision which you and I would mak from our own fr will. God knowing what w would think and dcid in trnity past affctd what things H st into motion with rspct to us. Howvr, God dos not, at any tim, chang th function or modify th function of our fr will. What w choos to do manats from our fully functioning fr will. Now, this dos not man that God dos not ncourag us from tim to tim with both doctrin and disciplin. God xposs us to both of ths things, but th dcisions w mak com from our own fr will. If you hav a child, you know that spanking that child is, now and again, going to hlp str him in th right dirction. Howvr, you will nvr gt that child s old sin natur compltly undr control. No mattr what you do as a parnt, vry child has fr will, and somtims thy ar going to xrcis this fr will in vry unplasant ways. As parnts, w larn what our childrn will and won t do; w can prdict much of thir bhavior; and a good
iii. iv. Pag -4- From I Sam. 2: parnt can xrcis som control ovr his child, although nvr complt control. Som childrn ar going to larn som lssons th hard way. In ordr to undrstand God s dalings with us, this is bst illustratd with our rlationship to our own childrn. End of digrssion. (2) Back to th topic at hand, w find th sam us of bârak in Gn. 9:1, whr God blsss Noah. Gn. 2:3 And God blssd th svnth day and sanctifid it, bcaus H rstd from all His work on it, which God had cratd to mak. Intrstingly nough, w ar gtting anothr us of th vrb bârak arly on in Gnsis. God is blssing a crtain day and stting it asid. This is a day during which God dos not crat anything or do anything. Sinc God is omnipotnt, H cannot b tird. H rsts bcaus H compltd what H wantd to do. Looking through th dfinitions givn abov, only Gsnius sms to mak a rasonabl stab at to clbrat. Whn you complt a projct, it is normal to clbrat th compltion of that projct. Hll, if I mow th lawn on a hot day, I ll somtims clbrat that with a br. Gn. 12:2 3: And I will mak of you a grat nation. And I will blss you and mak your nam grat; and you will b a blssing [noun cognat of this vrb]. And I will blss thos who blss you, and curs th on dspising you. And in you all familis of th arth shall b blssd [Niphal stm]. Hr, th vrb clarly mans to blss, to mak prosprous [Gsnius manings; compar Gn. 17:20 24:1]. This introducs th ida of Gntils blssing Jws, which would imply th manings to trat with rspct, to trat with dfrnc. v. Th manings to blss, to mak prosprous ar clar in Gn. 24:35: And Jhovah has blssd my mastr much, and h is grat. And H has givn to him flocks and hrds, and silvr and gold, and mal slavs and slav-girls, and camls and asss. vi. vii. Mn blss othr mn. Or, in this situation, Rbkah s family blssd hr as sh lft to mt Isaac, hr husband to b. And thy [Rbcca s family] snt away thir sistr Rbkah, and hr nurs, and Abraham's slav and his mn. And thy blssd Rbkah, and said to hr, Our sistr, may you bcom myriads of thousands, and may your sd possss th gat of ons hating thm (Gn. 24:59 60). This us of bârak indicats that thy dsir or wish for Rbkah blssing, happinss, prosprity, and childrn. It is rasonabl to suppos that thy ar invoking or njoining God for ths blssings. S also Gn. 27:23. Thr sms to b a spcializd us of this trm whr blssing a prson is mor than just wishing thm good luck in th futur. Sinc all blssings com from God, prhaps this is a smi-formal way of asking that blssings b givn to somon ls by God. Gn. 27:23: And h did not know him, bcaus his hands wr lik th hairy hands of his brothr Esau. And h blssd him. Hr, Jacob and his mothr flt it was important for Isaac to officially blss Jacob. So, it is much mor than simply saying, Hy, I hop things go good for you. Gn. 27:1 29 is all about Jacob dciving his fathr Isaac in ordr to rciv a spcial blssing from Isaac. This story sms to carry with it som sort of xclusivity as wll as th xpctation of blssing bing bstowd. To invok or njoin God for blssings [prosprity, happinss] for anothr. viii. Bârak is usd as a grting and as a goodby. On xampl of it bing usd as a grting is Ruth 2:4: And, bhold, Boaz cam from Bthlhm, and said to th raprs, Jhovah b with you. And thy answrd him, Jhovah blss you. Whn saying goodby: Gn. 47:10: And Jacob blssd Pharaoh, and wnt out from bfor Pharaoh. S also 2Sam. 6:18 ix. Thr is an unusual Pil us of bârak : (1) Job 1:5: And it happnd, whn th day of fasting had gon around, Job would snd and sanctify thm. And h would ris arly in th morning and offr burnt sacrifics according to all thir numbr. For Job said, It may b that my sons hav sinnd, and cursd God in thir harts. This, Job always did. (2) In th first chaptr of Job, Satan as God to put His hand against Job, and s how Job racts. Job 1:11: But put out Your hand now, and touch against all that is his, and s if h will not thn curs You to Your fac. Whn this did not work, Satan told God to mak Job physically ill, and notic Job s raction. Job 2:5: But indd put out Your hand now and touch his bon and his flsh, and h will curs You to Your fac. (3) Whn ths things cam upon Job, his wif had advic for him: Job 2:9: And his wif said to him, Ar you still holding fast to your intgrity? Blss [curs?] God and di!
Th Doctrin of Bârak Pag -5- (4) Ths uss ar not confind just to th book of Job. 1Kings 21:10: And st two mn, sons of worthlssnss, across from him; and thy shall tstify of him, saying, You hav cursd God and th king. And thy shall bring him out and ston him; and h shall di. 1Kings 21:!3: And thr cam in two mn, sons of Blial, and sat bfor him. And th mn of Blial witnssd against him, against Naboth, in th prsnc of th popl, saying, Naboth blasphmd [cursd? blssd?] God and th king. And thy carrid him out of th city and stond him with stons so that h did. (5) Barns suggsts th following: Th word rndrd blasphm [or curs ] is that which commonly mans blss. Th opposit sns of cursing, sms, howvr, to b rquird hr and in Job 1:5, 11 2:5. Prhaps th bst xplanation of th bad sns of th original word is to b found in th practic of blssing by way of salutation, not only on mting, but also on taking lav (Gn. 47:7, 10). From th lattr custom th word cam to man bidding farwll to, and so rnouncing, casting off, cursing. 3 (6) Clark writs: Many think that th word áøê (barach) signifis both to blss and curs; and so it is intrprtd in most Lxicons: it is passing strang that out of th sam word procds blssing and cursing; and to giv such opposit and slf-dstructiv manings to any word is vry dangrous. Parkhurst dnis that it vr has th maning of cursing, and xamins all th txts whr it is said to occur with this maning; and shows that blssing, not cursing, is 4 to b undrstood in all thos placs. (7) Prhaps w might simply undrstand this us to man to bid farwll to. Howvr, its us in 1Kings 21:10 13 (quotd abov) sms to b harshr than that. d. Qal (common) Stm: i. Th first difficult passag is Gn. 9:26, which is also th first occurrnc of this vrb in th Qal stm: H [Noah] also said, "Blssd b th LORD, th God of Shm; and lt Canaan b his srvant. Th circumstancs around this phras is, Noah is cursing Canaan and h is blssing Jhovah Elohim. Now, this is a mor difficult phras to dal with: w can rasonably undrstand how God can blss us, but how do w blss God? Hr, w must go back to th original maning of this word, which is to knl bfor, which indicats som kind of worship is involvd. Howvr, this just dos not quit fit th contxt. Howvr, th Pil offrs th manings to clbrat, to prais, to ador, and ths manings sm apropos hr. ii. Th Qal passiv participl is usd in Gn. 24:26 27: And th man bowd and worshipd Jhovah. And h said, Blssd b Jhovah, God of my mastr Abraham, who has not lft off His kindnss and His truth with my mastr, I bing in th way, Jhovah guidd m to th hous of th brothr of my mastr. Essntially, hr, th srvant is blssing God as a rsult of answrd prayr. Again, th manings offrd in th Pil sm to b apropos hr: to clbrat, to prais, to ador. iii. Th Qal passiv participl is found in th sam chaptr, but usd in a diffrnt way: And h said, Com in, blssd of Jhovah! Why ar you standing outsid? I hav prpard th hous and a plac for th camls (Gn. 24:31). Hr, blssd of Jhovah mans that h is a blivr in Jhovah Elohim. This is on who has rcivd blssing from God, which indicats a rlationship with God. iv. W find th Qal passiv participl usd with God blssing man, w undrstand this to man to blss, to b mad prosprous, to b mad to hav many childrn. Gn. 26:29. v. Thr ar tims whn th us of this vrb indicat somon has blivd in Jsus Christ. Ex. 18:10 12: And Jthro said, Blssd b Jhovah who has dlivrd you from th hand of Egypt, and from th hand of Pharaoh; H who dlivrd th popl from undr th hand of Egypt. Now I know that Jhovah is gratr than all th gods; truly, in th way in which H actd proudly against thm. And Jthro, th fathr-in-law of Moss, took a burnt offring and sacrifics to God. And Aaron and all th ldrs of Isral cam to at brad bfor God with Moss' fathr-in-law.. Niphal (passiv) Stm: i. Th first tim w find bârak in th Niphal stm is Gn. 12:3, whr a promis is givn from God to Abraham, which includs th statmnt: And in you [Abraham] all familis of th arth shall b 3 4 Albrt Barns, Barns Nots on th Old Tstamnt; from -Sword, 1Kings 21:10. Adam Clark, Commntary on th Bibl; from -Sword, 1Kings 21:10.
Pag -6- From I Sam. 2: blssd. To b blssd, to rciv blssing; to b mad prosprous; to b mad abundant. Ths manings can b arrivd at by simply applying th Niphal (passiv) stm to th manings which w hav alrady obsrvd; and to rasonably apply ths manings to th vrb in this contxt. W hav a similar rading in Gn. 28:14. f. Hithpal (intnsiv rflxiv) Stm: i. Gn. 22:18: And in your Sd shall all th nations of th arth b blssd bcaus you hav obyd My voic. Although th Hithpal is primarily usd in th rflxiv sns, hr it is obviously usd in th passiv sns and quit similar to th Niphal manings abov: To b blssd, to rciv blssing; to b mad prosprous; to b mad abundant. Howvr, th Hithpal actually draws attntion to this vrb hr, and, bing intnsiv, I think that w can rasonably assum that th blssing rfrrd to hr gos far byond simpl human blssing. Hr w ar spaking of trnal blssing to b rcivd by all th nations of th arth bcaus of th Sd of Abraham, which Sd is Jsus Christ. S also Gn. 26:4, 12. g. Th Pual uss ar not found in th book of Gnsis. Th Pual is th passiv stm of th Pil, making it th passiv, intnsiv stm. i. To rciv blssing; to rciv divin favor; to b givn prosprity and/or abundanc. S Num. 22:6: And now plas com, curs this popl for m, for it is strongr than I. Prhaps I will prvail, that w may strik thm, that I may driv thm out from th land. For I know that whovr you blss is blssd, and whovr you curs is cursd. ii. This also appars to rfr to blssing, prosprity and abundanc from God. Dut. 33:13: And of Josph h said, Blssd of Jhovah b his land, with th bst of th havns, for th dw, for th dp crouching bnath;... iii. This can b usd of God by man, and thrfor, it mans God should rciv th bowing of th kns, th worship, and th obisanc from man. Job 1:21: And h said, I cam nakd out of my mothr's womb, and nakd I shall rturn thr. Jhovah gav, and Jhovah has takn away. Blssd b th nam of Jhovah. 7. Conclusion: Bârak has th following rasonabl manings, basd upon th work abov: a. Som gnral commnts: i. First of all, th basic maning of bârak is to knl bfor; to blss. ii. Th us of bârak sms to b, in on sns, an indication that on blivs in Jsus Christ. It is as if th prson is saying, I am a blivr in Jsus Christ; but, in th Old Tstamnt, this would man I am a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, th God of th Jws. Th prson is xprssing prais and adoration toward God, or h is asking for God to blss th on to whom h is spaking, but th implication appars to b that this prson is a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, and thrfor, in a sns, making a public dclaration of faith. b. Qal (common) Stm: i. To bnd to kn; to blss ii. Whn addrssd toward God, to clbrat, to prais, to ador; to bnd th kn to (Gn. 9:26). (1) This is found in th Qal passiv participl, usd in this way bcaus God has answrd prayr (Gn. 24:27). iii. Th Qal passiv participl is usd in th phras blssd of Jhovah (in Gn. 24:31) to indicat that a prson is a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, witnssd to bcaus Jhovah has blssd him. At th vry last, this may b undrstood that Jhovah has blssd him with salvation. iv. W find th Qal passiv participl usd with God blssing man, w undrstand this to man to blss, to b mad prosprous, to b mad to hav many childrn. Gn. 26:29. v. Th us of th word bârak could indicat that a prson was a blivr in Jhovah Elohim. Ex. 18:10 13. c. Pil (intnsiv) Stm: i. To blss [in th sns of giving craturs th ability and th dsir to procrat in abundanc] (Gn. 1:22, 28 22:17). ii. To blss [in th sns of man using all his God-givn rsourcs to subdu th arth; mor gnrally, to mak grand us of God s provisions] (Gn. 1:28). iii. To mak abundant, to mak prosprous, (both from Gsnius); and lt m suggst to provid for in grat abundanc (Gn. 1:28 5:2 17:20 22:17 24:1, 31, 35 25:11).
Th Doctrin of Bârak Pag -7- iv. To clbrat [i.., th Sabbath] (Gn. 2:3). v. To blss; to trat with rspct; to giv du dfrnc (Gn. 12:3 with rfrnc to Gntils blssing Jws). This st of manings can b rasonably drivd from th fundamntal maning to bnd th kn to; and to xtrapolat from this, Gntils rlating to Jws in th sns of blssing thm. vi. Th Pil is usd of man blssing God in th sns that it mans to clbrat, to prais, to ador; to bnd th kn to (Gn. 24:48). vii. On prson blssing anothr prson mans to wish a prson blssing, happinss, prosprity, and childrn. S Gn. 24:60. 27:23 howvr, thr is mor to this word than on prson asking nic things to happn to anothr. Gn. 27 contains a story about Isaac blssing Jacob (who prtndd to b Esau in ordr to gt this blssing). That dcit would b usd to gt blssing, indicats that Jacob rciving th blssing of Isaac is quit important. Gn. 27:1 29. So, thr is mor to this than simply to blss; to wish for blssings for somon; to ask God to giv spcial blssings and abundanc to anothr. This story sms to carry with it som sort of xclusivity as wll as th xpctation of blssing bing bstowd. To invok or njoin God for blssings [prosprity, happinss] for anothr. viii. Bârak is usd as a grting and as a goodby. Ruth 2:4 Gn. 47:10 2Sam. 6:18 ix. Thr ar problm vrss: 1Kings 21:10, 13 Job 1:5, 11 2:5 Psalm 10:3 whr bârak (found in th Pil) is translatd by som as curs. Othrs suggst that th common manings may b applid. Sinc this word is usd in a farwll (Gn. 47:7, 10; and how many popl, whn thy say good by to you, say, God blss ), it is suggstd that it mans to bid farwll to, to grt. Barns maks this suggstion, affirming that bârak may b rndrd to curs: Prhaps th bst xplanation of th bad sns of th original word is to b found in th practic of blssing by way of salutation, not only on mting, but also on taking lav (Gn. 47:7, 10). From th lattr custom 5 th word cam to man bidding farwll to, and so rnouncing, casting off, cursing. In th vrss namd, it is quit difficult to rndr bârak to man blss whn it clarly appars to man curs, blasphm in 1Kings 21:10, 13. d. Niphal (passiv) Stm: i. To b blssd, to rciv blssing; to b mad prosprous; to b mad abundant (Gn. 12:2).. Hithpal (intnsiv rflxiv; rflxiv of th Pil) Stm: i. To b blssd, to rciv blssing; to b mad prosprous; to b mad abundant. Gn. 26:4, 12. f. Th Pual uss ar not found in th book of Gnsis. Th Pual is th passiv stm of th Pil, making it th passiv, intnsiv stm. i. To rciv blssing; to rciv divin favor; to b givn prosprity and/or abundanc. S Num. 22:6. ii. This also appars to rfr to blssing, prosprity and abundanc from God. Dut. 33:13. iii. This can b usd of God by man, and thrfor, it mans God should rciv th bowing of th kns, th worship, and th obisanc from man. Job 1:21. 5 It may b hlpful to also list this as a doctrin, so that I can plac ths conclusions in with any chaptr which I hav xgtd. What is found blow is idntical to th conclusions abov. Th Manings of Bârak 1. Som gnral commnts: a. First of all, th basic maning of bârak is to knl bfor; to blss. b. Th us of bârak sms to b, in on sns, an indication that on blivs in Jsus Christ. It is as if th prson is saying, I am a blivr in Jsus Christ; but, in th Old Tstamnt, this would man I am a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, th God of th Jws. Th prson is xprssing prais and adoration toward God, or h is asking for God to blss th on to whom h is spaking, but th implication appars to b that this prson is a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, and thrfor, in a sns, making a public dclaration of faith. 2. Qal (common) Stm: Albrt Barns, Barns Nots on th Old Tstamnt; from -Sword, 1Kings 21:10.
Pag -8- From I Sam. 2: Th Manings of Bârak a. To bnd to kn; to blss b. Whn addrssd toward God, to clbrat, to prais, to ador; to bnd th kn to (Gn. 9:26). i. This is found in th Qal passiv participl, usd in this way bcaus God has answrd prayr (Gn. 24:27). c. Th Qal passiv participl is usd in th phras blssd of Jhovah (in Gn. 24:31) to indicat that a prson is a blivr in Jhovah Elohim, witnssd to bcaus Jhovah has blssd him. At th vry last, this may b undrstood that Jhovah has blssd him with salvation. d. W find th Qal passiv participl usd with God blssing man, w undrstand this to man to blss, to b mad prosprous, to b mad to hav many childrn. Gn. 26:29.. Th us of th word bârak could indicat that a prson was a blivr in Jhovah Elohim. Ex. 18:10 13. 3. Pil (intnsiv) Stm: a. To blss [in th sns of giving craturs th ability and th dsir to procrat in abundanc] (Gn. 1:22, 28 22:17). b. To blss [in th sns of man using all his God-givn rsourcs to subdu th arth; mor gnrally, to mak grand us of God s provisions] (Gn. 1:28). c. To mak abundant, to mak prosprous, (both from Gsnius); and lt m suggst to provid for in grat abundanc (Gn. 1:28 5:2 17:20 22:17 24:1, 31, 35 25:11). d. To clbrat [i.., th Sabbath] (Gn. 2:3).. To blss; to trat with rspct; to giv du dfrnc (Gn. 12:3 with rfrnc to Gntils blssing Jws). This st of manings can b rasonably drivd from th fundamntal maning to bnd th kn to; and to xtrapolat from this, Gntils rlating to Jws in th sns of blssing thm. f. Th Pil is usd of man blssing God in th sns that it mans to clbrat, to prais, to ador; to bnd th kn to (Gn. 24:48). g. On prson blssing anothr prson mans to wish a prson blssing, happinss, prosprity, and childrn. S Gn. 24:60. 27:23 howvr, thr is mor to this word than on prson asking nic things to happn to anothr. Gn. 27 contains a story about Isaac blssing Jacob (who prtndd to b Esau in ordr to gt this blssing). That dcit would b usd to gt blssing, indicats that Jacob rciving th blssing of Isaac is quit important. Gn. 27:1 29. So, thr is mor to this than simply to blss; to wish for blssings for somon; to ask God to giv spcial blssings and abundanc to anothr. This story sms to carry with it som sort of xclusivity as wll as th xpctation of blssing bing bstowd. To invok or njoin God for blssings [prosprity, happinss] for anothr. h. Bârak is usd as a grting and as a goodby. Ruth 2:4 Gn. 47:10 i. Thr ar problm vrss: 1Kings 21:10, 13 Job 1:5, 11 2:5 Psalm 10:3 whr bârak (found in th Pil) is translatd by som as curs. Othrs suggst that th common manings may b applid. Sinc this word is usd in a farwll (Gn. 47:7, 10; and how many popl, whn thy say good by to you, say, God blss ), it is suggstd that it mans to bid farwll to, to grt. Barns maks this suggstion, affirming that bârak may b rndrd to curs: Prhaps th bst xplanation of th bad sns of th original word is to b found in th practic of blssing by way of salutation, not only on mting, but also on taking lav (Gn. 47:7, 10). From th lattr custom th word cam to man 1 bidding farwll to, and so rnouncing, casting off, cursing. In th vrss namd, it is quit difficult to rndr bârak to man blss whn it clarly appars to man curs, blasphm in 1Kings 21:10, 13. 4. Niphal (passiv) Stm: a. To b blssd, to rciv blssing; to b mad prosprous; to b mad abundant (Gn. 12:2). 5. Hithpal (intnsiv rflxiv; rflxiv of th Pil) Stm: a. To b blssd, to rciv blssing; to b mad prosprous; to b mad abundant. Gn. 26:4, 12. 6. Th Pual uss ar not found in th book of Gnsis. Th Pual is th passiv stm of th Pil, making it
Th Doctrin of Bârak Pag -9-1 Th Manings of Bârak th passiv, intnsiv stm. a. To rciv blssing; to rciv divin favor; to b givn prosprity and/or abundanc. S Num. 22:6. b. This also appars to rfr to blssing, prosprity and abundanc from God. Dut. 33:13. i. This can b usd of God by man, and thrfor, it mans God should rciv th bowing of th kns, th worship, and th obisanc from man. Job 1:21. Albrt Barns, Barns Nots on th Old Tstamnt; from -Sword, 1Kings 21:10. Chaptr Outlin Charts, Maps and Short Doctrins