Word study
Bless
5 Hebrew and 7 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: blessed, bless, blessing, blessings, blesses. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “bless” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- בָּרַךְ bârakkneel, blesstranslated this way 302 times of its 323 uses · Strong’s H1288Verb · Translated: blessed 155, bless 114, blesses 13, pronounce blessings 3Full study and all 289 verses →
Genesis 1:22 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
Exodus 12:32 Take your flocks and herds as well, just as you have said, and depart! And bless me also.”
- בְּרָכָה Berâkâhblessingtranslated this way 61 times of its 69 uses · Strong’s H1293Noun · Translated: blessing 44, blessings 12, gift 4, according to the blessing 2Full study and all 64 verses →
Genesis 12:2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Exodus 32:29 Afterward, Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for service to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother; so the LORD has bestowed a blessing on you this day.”
- אֶשֶׁר esherhappiness, blessednesstranslated this way 45 times of its 45 uses · Strong’s H835Interjection · Translated: Blessed 44, blessings 1Full study and all 42 verses →
Deuteronomy 33:29 Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”
1 Kings 10:8 How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
- אָשַׁר âshargo straight, go on, advancetranslated this way 8 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H833Verb · Translated: blessed 2, walk 2, guide 2, call her blessed 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Job 29:11 For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me,
Psalm 41:2 The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to give him over to the will of his foes.
- בְּרַךְ berakkneel, blesstranslated this way 3 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H1289Verb · Translated: Blessed 3, praised 1, got 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Daniel 2:19 During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven
Daniel 2:20 and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.
Greek words (New Testament)
- μακάριος makárioshappy, blessedtranslated this way 48 times of its 50 uses · Strong’s G3107Adjective · Translated: Blessed 48, fortunate 1, happier 1Full study and all 49 verses →
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 1:45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”
- εὐλογέω eulogéōI blesstranslated this way 39 times of its 41 uses · Strong’s G2127Verb · Translated: blessed 22, bless 8, spoke a blessing 6, praising 2Full study and all 39 verses →
Matthew 14:19 And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
Mark 6:41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
- εὐλογία eulogíaadulation, praise, blessingtranslated this way 10 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s G2129Noun · Translated: blessing 9, generously 3, flattery 1, generous gift 1Full study and all 14 verses →
Romans 15:29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
- εὐλογητός eulogētósworthy of praise, blessedtranslated this way 5 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G2128Adjective · Translated: Blessed 5, worthy of praise 3Full study and all 8 verses →
Mark 14:61 But Jesus remained silent and made no reply. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
- μακαρίζω makarízōI deem happytranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G3106Verb · Translated: call me blessed 1, blessed we consider 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Luke 1:48 For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
James 5:11 See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
- ἐνευλογέω eneulogéōI blesstranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G1757Verb · Translated: blessed 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Acts 3:25 And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
Galatians 3:8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- μακαρισμός makarismósregarding as happy, blessed, or enviabletranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G3108Noun · Translated: blessing 2, blessedness 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Romans 4:9 Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Galatians 4:15 What then has become of your blessing? For I can testify that, if it were possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.