barak

  • Missing in Action

    Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Psalm 103:1 NASB O my soul – The first thing we notice about this poem of praise is that half of the English translations simply leave out of the opening word, l’david. The other half attempt translations like, “of…

  • Battle Strategy

    For the lead player, al-tashchet, a David michtam, when he fled from Saul into the cave.  Psalm 57:1 (in the Hebrew text, translated by Robert Alter) Fled – Fight or flight – human behavior in the face of conflict hasn’t changed much in 10,000 years.  What’s your default behavior?  Do you find the hairs on…

  • The Un-Beatitude

    “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  Matthew 25:34  NASB Blessed – If you turn to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, you will find that each one begins with the Greek word makarioi.  This word should not be translated “blessed are” since…

  • Contented Blessing

    Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, “Oh that you would bless me . . .”  1 Chronicles 4:10  ESV Bless – This word is barak.  Examining it as a noun, we find that receiving a blessing in the Old Testament means getting something favorable from someone greater.  The paradigm case is the transmission…

  • Couch Potato

    Blessed is the man to whom YHWH does not charge iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Psalm 32:2 Guile – There are two important verbs for blessing in the Hebrew text.  The first is barak. This is the verb used to bless God and it is the verb used by God to…