The reciprocal blessing and curse

[HollowofHishand]

Has anyone else noticed a peculiar thing about the following verse?

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Here God tells Abraham that He will bless THEM that bless Abraham, but curse HIM that curses Abraham.

Why is it not "them" in both places, or "him" in both places? Could it be that many more will bless Abraham than curse him? Or could it be alluding to satan?

Thoughts?

And then the rest of the verse: "and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." But how can all the families of the earth be blessed unless they all bless Abraham?

Is it not strange that these three statements are in one verse?

I know that the blessing of the families is a reference to Christ, but the verse says the families "shall" be blessed and not "can'.

[Hootmon]

Gen 12:3

(AMP) And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and [1]curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves].(2)

(CJB) I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

(KJV) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

(MKJV) And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.

(NAS77) And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

(NASB) And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

(NIV) I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

(YLT) And I bless those blessing thee, and him who is disesteeming thee I curse, and blessed in thee have been all families of the ground.'

[BlessedinHim]

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

And I will bless barak
1) to bless, kneel

a) (Qal)

1) to kneel

2) to bless

b) (Niphal) to be blessed, bless oneself

c) (Piel) to bless

d) (Pual) to be blessed, be adored

e) (Hiphil) to cause to kneel

f) (Hithpael) to bless oneself

2) (TWOT) to praise, salute, curse

them that bless barak
1) to bless, kneel

a) (Qal)

1) to kneel

2) to bless

b) (Niphal) to be blessed, bless oneself

c) (Piel) to bless

d) (Pual) to be blessed, be adored

e) (Hiphil) to cause to kneel

f) (Hithpael) to bless oneself

2) (TWOT) to praise, salute, curse

thee, and curse 'arar
1) to curse

a) (Qal)

1) to curse

2) cursed be he (participle used as in curses)

b) (Niphal) to be cursed, cursed

c) (Piel) to curse, lay under a curse, put a curse on

d) (Hophal) to be made a curse, be cursed

him that cursethqalal

1) to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light

a) (Qal)

1) to be slight, be abated (of water)

2) to be swift

3) to be trifling, be of little account

b) (Niphal)

1) to be swift, show oneself swift

2) to appear trifling, be too trifling, be insignificant

3) to be lightly esteemed

c) (Piel)

1) to make despicable

2) to curse

d) (Pual) to be cursed

e) (Hiphil)

1) to make light, lighten

2) to treat with contempt, bring contempt or dishonour

f) (Pilpel)

1) to shake

2) to whet

g) (Hithpalpel) to shake oneself, be moved to and fro

thee: and in thee shall all familiesmishpachah

1) clan, family

a) clan

1) family

2) tribe

3) people, nation

b) guild

c) species, kind

d) aristocrats

Root Word (Etymology)
shaphah
1) to sweep bare, scrape

a) (Niphal) to be wind-swept, be bare, be scraped barren (by wind)

b) (Pual) to be bare, be laid bare

of the earth 'adamah



1) ground, land

a) ground (as general, tilled, yielding sustenance)

b) piece of ground, a specific plot of land

c) earth substance (for building or constructing)

d) ground as earth's visible surface

e) land, territory, country

f) whole inhabited earth

g) city in Naphtali

Root Word (Etymology)
'adam
1) to be red, red

a) (Qal) ruddy (of Nazarites)

b) (Pual)

1) to be rubbed red

2) dyed red

3) reddened

c) (Hiphil)

1) to cause to show red

2) to glare

3) to emit (show) redness

d) (Hithpael)

1) to redden

2) to grow red

3) to look red

be blessed.barak

1) to bless, kneel

a) (Qal)

1) to kneel

2) to bless

b) (Niphal) to be blessed, bless oneself

c) (Piel) to bless

d) (Pual) to be blessed, be adored

e) (Hiphil) to cause to kneel

f) (Hithpael) to bless oneself

2) (TWOT) to praise, salute, curse

Interesting how translation is done.....

[LaMontre]

The singular "him" is most likely a reference akin to this:

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

[Wildcat81]

If it makes you feel better, various version translators have had the same issue - apparently, some manuscripts of the Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Syriac OT all turn the singular "him who curses you" into "they who curse you." It's really not that big a difference in Hebrew - the whole thing turns on the presence or absence of a yodh (equivalent to our Y, and the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet). As it is in the Hebrew text, it's m'qallelcha. As a plural, it would be m'qalleleycha.

I don't think there's any particular exegetical or theological significance to it, really. There's no definite article, for one thing, so it isn't "the person who curses you," rather "a person who curses you." Your English translations stick a "the" in there for smoothness, but even so it's certainly a hypothetical, meaning "anyone who curses you."

As for why the author made the blessers plural and the curser singular, I dunno. We can ask him when we see him.

[antsinmypants]

Perhaps, though it was not yet written, it has to do with the portion of Scripture where G-d speaks to what happens if you obey and what happens if you do not...?

Blessings come in multiples and cannot be reversed once given. Curses are conferred upon an individual and can be reversed... however, children learn by example and it often becomes an 'endless cycle' though children are not punished for the sin or their parents and vice-versa... though one can certainly suffer the consequences of the sin (as it has a ripple effect)

[HollowofHishand]

Thanks, everyone for your great replies. Your statement, Ants, about blessings can not be reversed once given is interesting to ponder. I have often wondered if so many blessing have come my way because of the things that my grandfather did (missionary to China just before WWI through to the Japanese occupation) and my dad undertook in his life. I sure don't deserve them on my merit!

[HollowofHishand]

Ants ~ btw ~ congrats on the "bellybean"!