Reference: Bless
Easton
(1.) God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual (Ge 1:22; 24:35; Job 42:12; Ps 45:2; 104:24,35).
(2.) We bless God when we thank him for his mercies (Ps 103:1-2; 145:1-2).
(3.) A man blesses himself when he invokes God's blessing (Isa 65:16), or rejoices in God's goodness to him (De 29:19; Ps 49:18).
(4.) One blesses another when he expresses good wishes or offers prayer to God for his welfare (Ge 24:60; 31:55; 1Sa 2:20). Sometimes blessings were uttered under divine inspiration, as in the case of Noah, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses (Ge 9:26-27; 27:28-29,40; 48:15-20; 49:1-28; De 33). The priests were divinely authorized to bless the people (De 10:8; Nu 6:22-27). We have many examples of apostolic benediction (2Co 13:14; Eph 6:23-24; 2Th 3:16,18; Heb 13:20-21; 1Pe 5:10-11).
(5.) Among the Jews in their thank-offerings the master of the feast took a cup of wine in his hand, and after having blessed God for it and for other mercies then enjoyed, handed it to his guests, who all partook of it. Ps 116:13 refers to this custom. It is also alluded to in 1Co 10:16, where the apostle speaks of the "cup of blessing."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And God blessed them, saying, - Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let, the birds, multiply in the land.
And he said, Blessed be Yahweh, God of Shem, - And let Cantata he their servant: God give extension to Japheth, But make his habitation in the tents of Shem, And let Canaan be their servant.
Now, Yahweh, having blessed my lord exceedingly, and made him great, - and given him flocks and herds and silver and gold, and men-servants and maid-servants, and camels, and asses,
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, Our sister! become thou, thousands of ten thousands, - And let thy seed take possession of the gate of them that hate them!
Then, may God give thee of the dew of the heavens, And of the fatness of the earth, - And abundance of corn and new wine: Let peoples serve thee And races bow down to thee, Become thou lord to thy brethren, And let the sons of thy mother bow down to thee, - He that curseth thee, be accursed! And he that blesseth thee, be blessed!
And on thy sword, shalt thou live, And thy brother, shalt thou serve: But it shall come to pass when thou shalt rove at large, Then shalt thou break his yoke from off thy neck.
And Laban rose up early in the morning, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban went his way and returned to his place.
Thus blessed he Joseph, and said, - God himself - before whom walked my fathers. Abraham and Isaac, God himself - who hath been my shepherd, since I came into being until this day; - The Messenger - who hath been my redeemer from all evil - bless the lads! And may there be called upon them, my name, and the name of my fathers. Abraham and Isaac; And may they swarm into a multitude, in the midst of the earth! read more. And Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim and it was displeasing in his eyes, - so he took hold of his fathers hand to remove it from off the bead of Ephraim, on to the head of Manasseh. And Joseph said unto his father - Not so, my father! for, this, is the firstborn, lay thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said - I know - my son, I know! He also, shall become a people, and he also, shall become great, - but nevertheless, his younger brother, shall become greater than he, and his seed, shall become a filling up of the nations. And he blessed them on that day, saying - In thee, let Israel bless himself saying, God set thee as Ephraim, and as Manasseh! So he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Then called Jacob unto his sons, - and said - Gather yourselves together, and let me tell you, that which shall befall you in the afterpart of the days. Assemble yourselves and hear ye sons of Jacob, - And hearken unto Israel your father! read more. Reuben, my first-born, thou, My vigour, and the first-fruit of my strength, - Pre-eminence of elevation and pre-eminence of power: Boiling over like water, thou mayest not have pre-eminence, Because thou didst mount the bed of thy father, - Then, wast thou profane - My marriage-bed, he mounted! Simeon and Levi, are brethren, - Instruments of violence, are their agreements: Into their circle, do not thou enter my soul! In their convocation, do not thou join mine honour! For in their anger, they slew brave men, And in their wantonness, they hamstrung oxen. Accursed, be their anger, because fierce, And their wrath because cruel, - I divide them in Jacob, And I disperse them in Israel. Judah, as for thee, thy brethren shall praise thee when thy hand is on the neck of thy foes, - The sons of thy father, shall bow them-selves down to thee: A lion's whelp, is Judah, From the prey, my son hast thou come up! He hath stooped - hath crouched As a lion - or as a lioness, Who shall rouse him? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the commanders staff a from between his feet, - Until that he come in as a Shiloh, And, his, be the obedience of the peoples: Binding, to the vine, his ass, And to the choice vine his ass's colt, He hath washed in wine his raiment, And in the blood of grapes, his mantle: Darker - his eyes, than wine, - Whiter - his teeth than milk! Zebulon, by a haven of seas, shall he settle down, - Even he, by a haven of ships, With his utmost part upon b Zidon. Issachar, an ass of strength, - couching between the pens; Then beholdeth he rest, that it is good, And the ground that it is pleasant, - So he bendeth his shoulder to bear, And becometh a tributary servant. Dan, shall vindicate his people, - as one of the tribes of Israel; It cometh to pass that, Dan, is a serpent upon the way, A horned viper, upon the path, - That biteth the heels of the horse, And his rider falleth backwards: - For thy salvation, have I waited O Yahweh! Gad! a troop shall troop on him, - But, he, shall troop on the rear. Out of Asher, fatness, is his feed, - So, he, setteth forth dainties for a king. Naphtali, is a slender hind, - That putteth forth antlers of beauty. A fruitful bough, is Joseph, A fruitful bough over a fountain, - Branches creeping over a wail. So they attack him and have shot, - So they enclose him, do the masters of arrows. But abideth, as an enduring one, his bow, And supple are the arms of his hands, - From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From thence, is the Shepherd the Stone of Israel: From the GOD of thy father who doth help thee And GOD Almighty who doth bless thee, Blessings of the heavens, above, Blessings of the abyss, couching beneath, - Blessings of breasts and womb: The blessings of thy father, have prevailed, Over the blessings of the perpetual mountains, The charm of the age-abiding hills, - They turn out to be, for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the head of him who was set apart from his brethren. Benjamin a wolf that teareth in pieces, In the morning, he eateth prey, And at eventide, he divideth spoil. All these, are the twelve tribes of Israel, - And this, is that which their father spake to them when he blessed them, Each man severally according to the blessing wherewith he blessed them.
Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons saying Thus, shall ye bless the sons of Israel, - saying unto them: Yahweh bless thee, and keep thee: read more. Yahweh cause his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee: Yahweh lift up his face unto thee, and appoint unto thee peace. Thus shall they put my name upon the sons of Israel, - and, I, myself, will bless them.
At that time, did Yahweh separate the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, - to stand before Yahweh to wait upon him and to bless in his name (until this day).
and so it come to pass while he is hearing the words of this oath, that he will bless himself in his heart - saying, Prosperity, shall I have, although in the stubbornness of my heart, I go on, - so that the drunkenness addeth to the thirst:
And, Yahweh, blessed the latter end of Job, more than his beginning, - and so he came to have fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
Most beautiful thou art, beyond the sons of men, Graciousness hath been poured forth by thy lips, For this cause, hath God blessed thee, to times age-abiding.
For, though, his own self - while he lived, he used to bless, And they will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,
Bless, O my soul, Yahweh, - And all that is within me, his holy Name; Bless, O my soul, Yahweh, And forget not all his dealings: -
How thy works abound, O Yahweh! All of them - in wisdom, hast thou made, The earth is full of thy possession: -
Sinners shall be consumed out of the earth And, the lawless, no more, shall exist, - Bless, O my soul, Yahweh, Praise ye Yah!
The cup of salvation, will I lift, and, on the Name of Yahweh, will I call:
I will extol thee, my God, O King, and will bless thy Name, to times age-abiding and beyond:
So that he who blesseth himself in the earth, Will bless himself in the God of faithfulness, And he who sweareth in the earth Will swear by the God of faithfulness - Because the former troubles have been forgotten, and Because they are hid from mine eyes.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not, a sharing together of the blood of the Christ? The loaf which we break, is it not, a sharing together of the body of the Christ?
The favour of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Peace unto the brethren, and love with faith, - from God our Father, and Lord Jesus Christ. Favour be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptness.
But, the God of peace, He that led up from among the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of an age-abiding covenant, - our Lord Jesus, Fit you, by every good work, for the doing of his will, doing within us, that which is well-pleasing, before him through Jesus Christ: to whom be the glory, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Watsons
BLESS, BLESSING. There are three points of view in which the acts of blessing may be considered. The first is, when men are said to bless God, as in Ps 103:1-2. We are then not to suppose that the divine Being, who is over all, and, in himself, blessed for evermore, is capable of receiving any augmentation of his happiness, from all the creatures which he has made: such a supposition, as it would imply something of imperfection in the divine nature, must ever be rejected with abhorrence; and, therefore, when the creatures bless the adorable Creator, they only ascribe to him that praise, and dominion, and honour, and glory, and blessing, which it is equally the duty and joy of his creatures to reader. But when God is said to bless his people, Ge 1:22; Eph 1:3;
the meaning is, that he confers benefits upon them, either temporal or spiritual, and so communicates to them some portion of that blessedness which, in infinite fulness, dwells in himself, Jas 1:17; Ps 104:24,28; Lu 11:9-13. In the third place men are said to bless their fellow creatures. From the time that God entered into covenant with Abraham, and promised extraordinary blessings to his posterity, it appears to have been customary for the father of each family, in the direct line, or line of promise, previous to his death, to call his children around him, and to inform them, according to the knowledge which it pleased God then to give him, how, and in what manner, the divine blessing conferred upon Abraham was to descend among them. Upon these occasions, the patriarchs enjoyed a divine illumination; and under its influence, their benediction was deemed a prophetic oracle, foretelling events with the utmost certainty, and extending to the remotest period of time. Thus Jacob blessed his sons, Genesis xlix; and Moses, the children of Israel, Deuteronomy 33. When Melchizedeck blessed Abraham, the act of benediction included in it not merely the pronouncing solemn good wishes, but also a petitionary address to God that he would be pleased to ratify the benediction by his concurrence with what was prayed for. Thus Moses instructed Aaron, and his descendants, to bless the congregation, "In this wise shall ye bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make his face to shine upon thee; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace," Nu 4:23. David says, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord," Ps 116:13. This phrase appears to be taken from the practice of the Jews in their thank-offerings, in which a feast was made of the remainder of their sacrifices, and the offerers, together with the priests, did eat and drink before the Lord; when, among other rites, the master of the feast took a cup of wine in his hand and solemnly blessed God for it, and for the mercies which were then acknowledged, and gave it to all the guests, every one of whom drank in his turn. To this custom it is supposed our blessed Lord alludes in the institution of the cup, which also is called, 1Co 10:16, "the cup of blessing." At the family feasts also, and especially that of the passover, both wine and bread were in this solemn and religious manner distributed, and God was blessed, and his mercies acknowledged. They blessed God for their present refreshment, for their deliverance out of Egypt, for the covenant of circumcision, and for the law given by Moses; and prayed that God would be merciful to his people Israel, that he would send the Prophet Elijah, and that he would render them worthy of the kingdom of the Messiah. See also 1Ch 16:2-3. In the Mosaic law, the manner of blessing is appointed by the lifting up of hands. Our Lord lifted up his hands, and blessed his disciples. It is probable that this action was constantly used on such occasions. The palm of the hand held up was precatory; and the palm turned outward or downward was benedictory. See BENEDICTION and See LORD'S SUPPER.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And God blessed them, saying, - Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let, the birds, multiply in the land.
from thirty years old and upwards even to fifty years, shalt thou number them, - All that may enter to take rank in the host, to do laborious work in the tent of meeting.
And, when David had made an end of offering the ascending-sacrifices, and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people, in the name of Yahweh. And he apportioned, to every one of Israel, both man and woman, - to every one, a loaf of bread, and a sweet drink, and a raisin cake.
Bless, O my soul, Yahweh, - And all that is within me, his holy Name; Bless, O my soul, Yahweh, And forget not all his dealings: -
How thy works abound, O Yahweh! All of them - in wisdom, hast thou made, The earth is full of thy possession: -
Thou givest unto them, they gather, Thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied with good.
The cup of salvation, will I lift, and, on the Name of Yahweh, will I call:
I, therefore, unto you, say - Be asking, and it shall be given to you, Be seeking, and ye shall find, - Be knocking, and it shall be opened unto you.
But which is the father, from among yourselves, whom the son will ask for, a fish, who, instead of a fish, will give him, a serpent? Or shall also ask, an egg, who will give him, a scorpion? read more. If therefore, ye, being, evil, know how to be giving, good gifts, unto your children, how much rather, will, the heavenly Father, give Holy Spirit unto them that ask him!
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not, a sharing together of the blood of the Christ? The loaf which we break, is it not, a sharing together of the body of the Christ?
Blessed, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing, in the heavenlies, in Christ,
Every good giving, and every perfect gift, is, from above, coming down from the Father of lights - with whom is no alternation, nor shadow cast, by turning: