the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Bless, Blessed, Blessedness, Blessing
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words
or lit., "to speak well of" (eu, "well," logos, "a word"), signifies, (a) "to praise, to celebrate with praises," of that which is addressed to God, acknowledging His goodness, with desire for His glory, Luke 1:64; 2:28; 24:51,53; James 3:9; (b) "to invoke blessings upon a person," e.g., Luke 6:28; Romans 12:14 . The present participle Passive, "blessed, praised," is especially used of Christ in Matthew 21:9; 23:39 , and the parallel passages; also in John 12:13; (c) "to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers, to ask God's blessing on a thing," e.g., Luke 9:16; 1 Corinthians 10:16; (d) "to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on," said of God, e.g., in Acts 3:26; Galatians 3:9; Ephesians 1:3 . Cp. the synonym aineo, "to praise." See PRAISE.
"to bless," is used in the Passive Voice, Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8 . The prefix en apparently indicates the person on whom the blessing is conferred.
from a root mak---, meaning "large, lengthy," found also in makros, "long," mekos, "length," hence denotes "to pronounce happy, blessed," Luke 1:48; James 5:11 . See HAPPY.
akin to A, 1, means "blessed, praised;" it is applied only to God, Mark 14:61; Luke 1:68; Romans 1:25; 9:5; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 11:31; Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3 . In the Sept. it is also applied to man, e.g., in Genesis 24:31; 26:29; Deuteronomy 7:14; Judges 17:2; Ruth 2:20; 1 Samuel 15:13 .
akin to A, No. 3, is used in the beatitudes in Matthew 5 and Luke 6 , is especially frequent in the Gospel of Luke, and is found seven times in Revelation, 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7,14. It is said of God twice, 1 Timothy 1:11; 6:15 . In the beatitudes the Lord indicates not only the characters that are "blessed," but the nature of that which is the highest good.
akin to A, 1, lit., "good speaking, praise," is used of (a) God and Christ, Revelation 5:12,13; 7:12; (b) the invocation of blessings, benediction, Hebrews 12:17; James 3:10; (c) the giving of thanks, 1 Corinthians 10:16; (d) a blessing, a benefit bestowed, Romans 15:29; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:3; Hebrews 6:7; of a monetary gift sent to needy believers, 2 Corinthians 9:5,6; (e) in a bad sense, of fair speech, Romans 16:18 , RV, where it is joined with chrestologia, "smooth speech," the latter relating to the substance, eulogia to the expression. See BOUNTY.
akin to A, 3, "blessedness," indicates an ascription of blessing rather than a state; hence in Romans 4:6 , where the AV renders it as a noun, "(describeth) the blessedness;" the RV rightly puts "(pronounceth) blessing." So Romans 4:9 . In Galatians 4:15 the AV has "blessedness," RV, "gratulation." The Galatian believers had counted themselves happy when they heard and received the Gospel. Had they lost that opinion? See GRATULATION.
Note: In Acts 13:34 , hosia, lit., "holy things," is translated "mercies" (AV), "blessings" (RV).These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Bless, Blessed, Blessedness, Blessing'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ved/b/bless-blessed-blessedness-blessing.html. 1940.
