Kejadian 48:16

48:16 the Angel ¹  who has protected me ² 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, ³ 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

Bilangan 6:24

6:24 “The Lord bless you ⁴  and protect ⁵  you;

Rut 2:4

Boaz and Ruth Meet

2:4 Now at that very moment, ⁶  Boaz arrived from Bethlehem ⁷  and greeted ⁸  the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, ⁹  “May the Lord bless you!”

Mazmur 129:8

129:8 Those who pass by will not say, ¹⁰ 

“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!

We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”

[48:16]  ¹ sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

[48:16]  ² tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

[48:16]  ³ tn Or “be recalled through them.”

[6:24]  ⁴ tn The short blessing uses the jussive throughout, here the Piel jussive with a pronominal suffix. While the jussive has quite a range of nuances, including wish, desire, prayer, or greeting, the jussives here are stronger. The formal subject of the verb is the Lord, and the speaker pronouncing the blessing is the priest, notably after emerging from the holy of holies where atonement has been made. The Lord says in this passage that when the priest says this, then the Lord will bless them. The jussive then is an oracle, not a wish or a prayer. It is a declaration of what the Lord imparts. It is as binding and sure as a patriarchal blessing which once said officially could not be taken back. The priest here is then pronouncing the word of the Lord, declaring to the congregation the outcome of the atonement.

[6:24]  ⁵ tn The verb “to keep” concerns the divine protection of the people; its basic meaning is “to exercise great care over,” “to guard,” or “to give attention to” (see TWOT 2:939). No doubt the priestly blessing informed the prayer and promise that makes up Ps 121, for the verb occurs six times in the eight verses. So in addition to the divine provision (“bless” basically means “enrich” in a number of ways) there is the assurance of divine protection.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and look”; NIV, NRSV “Just then.” The narrator invites the audience into the story, describing Boaz’s arrival as if it were witnessed by the audience.

[2:4]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.

[129:8]  ¹⁰ tn The perfect verbal form is used for rhetorical effect; it describes an anticipated development as if it were already reality.