בָּרַךְ
to bless
‘to bless’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Piel verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘kneel down’
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem. Here: ‘bless God’
- Pual
- The passive counterpart of the Piel. Here: ‘to be blessed’
- Hithpael
- The reflexive or reciprocal stem (the subject acts on itself).
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”).
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”).
Form
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
52 verses where H1288 appears in the Piel stem in the Book of Genesis. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis
- Genesis 1:22 וַ/יְבָ֧רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
- Genesis 1:28 וַ/יְבָ֣רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
- Genesis 2:3 וַ/יְבָ֤רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work which he had created and made.
- Genesis 5:2 וַ/יְבָ֣רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
- Genesis 9:1 וַ/יְבָ֣רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
- Genesis 12:2 וַ/אֲבָ֣רֶכְ/ךָ֔ conj + Piel impf 1cs + sfx pers 2ms I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
- Genesis 12:3 וַ/אֲבָֽרֲכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔י/ךָ וְ/נִבְרְכ֣וּ conj + Piel impf 1cs Piel ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 2ms conj + Niphal pf 3cp I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. In you will all of the families of the earth be blessed."
- Genesis 14:19 וַֽ/יְבָרְכֵ֖/הוּ בָּר֤וּךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms Qal ptcp.pass ms He blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:
- Genesis 17:16 וּ/בֵרַכְתִּ֣י וּ/בֵֽרַכְתִּ֨י/הָ֙ conj + Piel wpf 1cs conj + Piel wpf 1cs + sfx pers 3fs I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her."
- Genesis 17:20 בֵּרַ֣כְתִּי Piel pf 1cs As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
- Genesis 22:17 בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְ/ךָ֗ Piel inf.abs Piel impf 1cs + sfx pers 2ms that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies.
- Genesis 24:1 בֵּרַ֥ךְ Piel pf 3ms Abraham was old, and well stricken in age. Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things.
- Genesis 24:35 בֵּרַ֧ךְ Piel pf 3ms Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and donkeys.
- Genesis 24:48 וָ/אֲבָרֵ֗ךְ conj + Piel wimpf 1cs I bowed my head, and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.
- Genesis 24:60 וַ/יְבָרֲכ֤וּ conj + Piel wimpf 3mp They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, "Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your seed possess the gate of those who hate them."
- Genesis 25:11 וַ/יְבָ֥רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms It happened after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac, his son. Isaac lived by Beer Lahai Roi.
- Genesis 26:3 וַ/אֲבָרְכֶ֑/ךָּ conj + Piel impf 1cs + sfx pers 2ms Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
- Genesis 26:12 וַֽ/יְבָרֲכֵ֖/הוּ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him.
- Genesis 26:24 וּ/בֵֽרַכְתִּ֨י/ךָ֙ conj + Piel wpf 1cs + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham's sake."
- Genesis 27:4 תְּבָרֶכְ/ךָ֥ Piel impf 3fs + sfx pers 2ms Make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die."
- Genesis 27:7 וַ/אֲבָרֶכְ/כָ֛ה conj + Piel coh 1cs + sfx pers 2ms 'Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh before my death.'
- Genesis 27:10 יְבָרֶכְ/ךָ֖ Piel impf 3ms + sfx pers 2ms You shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death."
- Genesis 27:19 תְּבָרֲכַ֥/נִּי Piel impf 3fs + sfx pers 1cs Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me."
- Genesis 27:23 וַֽ/יְבָרְכֵֽ/הוּ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms He didn't recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother, Esau's hands. So he blessed him.
- Genesis 27:25 תְּבָֽרֶכְ/ךָ֖ Piel impf 3fs + sfx pers 2ms He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you." He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank.
- Genesis 27:27 וַֽ/יְבָרֲכֵ֑/הוּ בֵּרֲכ֖/וֹ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms Piel pf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, "Behold, the smell of my son Is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed.
- Genesis 27:29 וּֽ/מְבָרֲכֶ֖י/ךָ בָּרֽוּךְ conj + Piel ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Qal ptcp.pass ms Let peoples serve you, Nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, Let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, Blessed be everyone who blesses you."
- Genesis 27:30 לְ/בָרֵ֣ךְ prep + Piel inf.cs It happened, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
- Genesis 27:31 תְּבָרֲכַ֥/נִּי Piel impf 3fs + sfx pers 1cs He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me."
- Genesis 27:33 וָ/אֲבָרֲכֵ֑/הוּ בָּר֖וּךְ conj + Piel wimpf 1cs + sfx pers 3ms Qal ptcp.pass ms Isaac trembled violently, and said, "Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed."
- Genesis 27:34 בָּרֲכֵ֥/נִי Piel impv 2ms + sfx pers 1cs When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, my father."
- Genesis 27:38 בָּרֲכֵ֥/נִי Piel impv 2ms + sfx pers 1cs Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father." Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
- Genesis 27:41 בֵּרֲכ֖/וֹ Piel pf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I will kill my brother Jacob."
- Genesis 28:1 וַ/יְבָ֣רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
- Genesis 28:3 יְבָרֵ֣ךְ Piel juss 3ms May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,
- Genesis 28:6 בֵרַ֣ךְ בְּ/בָרֲכ֣/וֹ Piel pf 3ms prep + Piel inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,"
- Genesis 30:27 וַ/יְבָרֲכֵ֥/נִי conj + Piel wimpf 3ms + sfx pers 1cs Laban said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have divined that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake."
- Genesis 30:30 וַ/יְבָ֧רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms For it was little which you had before I came, and it has increased to a multitude. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I turned. Now when will I provide for my own house also?"
- Genesis 31:55 וַ/יְבָ֣רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms Early in the morning, Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them. Laban departed and returned to his place.
- Genesis 32:26 בֵּרַכְתָּֽ/נִי Piel pf 2ms + sfx pers 1cs The man said, "Let me go, for the day breaks." Jacob said, "I won't let you go, unless you bless me."
- Genesis 32:29 וַ/יְבָ֥רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." He said, "Why is it that you ask what my name is?" He blessed him there.
- Genesis 35:9 וַ/יְבָ֖רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.
- Genesis 39:5 וַ/יְבָ֧רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms It happened from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that Yahweh blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of Yahweh was on all that he had, in the house and in the field.
- Genesis 47:7 וַ/יְבָ֥רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
- Genesis 47:10 וַ/יְבָ֥רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
- Genesis 48:3 וַ/יְבָ֖רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
- Genesis 48:9 וַ/אֲבָרֲכֵֽ/ם conj + Piel impf 1cs + sfx pers 3mp Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." He said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them."
- Genesis 48:15 וַ/יְבָ֥רֶךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
- Genesis 48:16 יְבָרֵךְ֮ Piel impf 3ms the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
- Genesis 48:20 וַ/יְבָ֨רֲכֵ֜/ם יְבָרֵ֤ךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms + sfx pers 3mp Piel impf 3ms He blessed them that day, saying, "In you will Israel bless, saying, 'God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh'" He set Ephraim before Manasseh.
- Genesis 49:25 וִ/יבָ֣רְכֶ֔/ךָּ conj + Piel impf 3ms + sfx pers 2ms Even by the God of your father, who will help you, By the Almighty, who will bless you, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies below, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
- Genesis 49:28 וַ/יְבָ֣רֶךְ בֵּרַ֥ךְ conj + Piel wimpf 3ms Piel pf 3ms All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his blessing.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
ברך (bârak) is a Hebrew verb most often rendered “to bless.” Read the stem: it spans 6 stems, including Qal and Niphal. It turns up in 289 verses across 24 books, a common footprint. It first appears in Genesis 1:22. From the same root come ברך, ברך and ברכה. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1288 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 289
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 289 distinct verses.
- 24 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 24 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #148
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 148 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 289 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Psalms 68 verses 24%
- Genesis 62 verses 21%
- Deuteronomy 35 verses 12%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 289 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 116 verses · 40%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 111 verses · 38%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 62 verses · 21%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Blessed 105×, Bless 50×, Hath blessed 14×
- American Standard Version: Blessed 96×, Bless 44×, Hath blessed 11×
- Berean Standard Bible: Blessed 70×, Bless 44×, Will be blessed 13×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Blessed 62×, Bless 46×, And 27×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1288 across 331 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 75 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1288 across 331 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 89 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1288 across 323 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 63 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 6 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1288 across 416 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 55 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
32 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Pual (the passive of Piel) and Hithpael (reflexive or reciprocal).
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 32 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
Qal
- Impf. יִבְרַךְ 2 Ch 6:13; נִבְרְכָה ψ 95:6; בָּרוֹךְ (v. Pi.); Pt. pass. בָּרוּךְ Gn 9:26 + 70 times;— e.g. 2 Chronicles 6:13
- 1. kneel down (so Arabic Syriac Ethiopic): וַיִּבְרַךְ עַל־בִּרְכָּיו and he kneeled upon his knees 2 Ch 6:13; נִבְרְכָה לפני י׳ let us kneel before Yahweh ψ 95:6. e.g. 2 Chronicles 6:13
- 2. bless (only pt. pass.).
- a. of God: בָּרוּךְ י׳ blessed be (or is) י׳ Ex 18:10 (E) Gn 9:26; 24:27 (J) Ru 4:14; 1 S 25:32, 39; 2 S 18:28; 1 K 1:48; 5:21; 8:15, 56; 10:9; 1 Ch 16:36; 29:10; 2 Ch 2:11; 6:4; 9:8 Ezr 7:27; ψ 28:6; 31:22; 41:14; 72:18; 89:53; 106:48; 119:12; 124:6; 135:21; 144:1; Zc 11:5; ב׳ אלהים ψ 66:20; 68:36; ב׳ אדני ψ 68:20 (prob. for an original יהוה); ב׳ אל עליון Gn 14:20 (E); ב׳ צוּרִי 2 S 22:47 (= ψ 18:47); ב׳ כבוד י׳ Ez 3:12; ב׳ שׁם כבודו ψ 72:19. e.g. Exodus 18:10
- b. of men: Gn 27:33 (J) Nu 22:12 (E) Dt 7:14; 28:3, 6; 33:20, 24 1 S 25:33; 26:25; Ju 17:2; 1 K 2:45; ψ 118:26; Is 19:25; Je 17:7; 20:14; מברכיך ברוך blessed be the one blessing thee Gn 27:29; Nu 24:9 (E); ב׳ ליהוה Ru 2:19, 20; 3:10; 1 S 15:13; 23:21; 2 S 2:5; ψ 115:15; ב׳ לאל עליון Gn 14:19; בְּרוּךְ י׳ Gn 24:31; 26:29 (J); בְּרוּכֵי י׳ Is 65:23. e.g. Genesis 27:33
- c. things: בָּרוּךְ פרי בטנך blessed be the fruit of thy womb Dt 28:4 cf. Dt 28:5; 1 S 25:33; Pr 5:18. e.g. Deuteronomy 28:4
Niphal
- Pf. נִבְרְכוּ Gn 12:3; 18:18; 28:14 (J) bless oneself (cf. Hithp.). e.g. Genesis 12:3
Piel
- Pf. בֵּרַךְ Gn 24:1 + 29 times; בֵּרֵךְ ψ 10:3 Nu 23:20; בֵּרְכוּ 2 Ch 20:26; וּבֵרֲכוּ Jb 1:5; sf. בֵּרֲכוֹ, בֵּרֲכַנִי, etc., Gn 27:27 + 5 times; בֵּרַכְךָ Dt 2:7 + 9 times; Impf. יְבָרֵךְ, וַיְּבָ֫רֶךְ etc., Gn 28:3 + 52 times; אֲבָֽרֲכָה Gn 12:3 + 2 times; pl. יְבָֽרֲכוּ Gn 24:60 + 11 times; sf. יְבָרֶכְךָ Gn 27:10 + 21 times; יְבָֽרֲכֶךָּ Gn 49:25 + 2 times; יְבָֽרֲכֵהוּ Gn 14:19 + 16 times; יְבָֽרֲכֵם Gn 48:20 + 6 times; אֲבָרֶכְכָה Gn 27:7; תְּכָֽרֲכַנִּי Gn 27:19, 31; יְבָֽרֲכֶנְהוּ ψ 72:15; יְרָֽרֲכוּכָה ψ 145:10; Imv. בָּרֵךְ Dt 33:11; + 29 times; Inf. cstr. בָּרֵךְ Gn 22:17 + 24 times; Inf. abs. בָּרוֹךְ Jos 24:10 (Ki, cf. Köi. 191, Ew§ 240 b, 2 Ol Sta); Pt. מְבָרֵךְ Pr 27:14 + 4 times;— e.g. Genesis 24:1
- 1. bless God, adore with bended knees: acc. ברך י׳ Gn 24:48 (J) Dt 8:10; Ju 5:2, 9; 1 Ch 29:10, 20; 2 Ch 20:26; 31:8; Ne 9:5; ψ 16:7; 26:12; 34:2; 63:5; 103:20, 21, 22; 115:18; 134:1, 2; 135:19, 20; 145:2, 10; ברכי נפשׁי את י׳ ψ 103:1, 2, 22; 104:1, 35; ברך שׁם bless the name of Yahweh Ne 9:5; ψ 96:2; 100:4; 145:1, 21; ברך אלהים Jos 22:33; ψ 66:8; 68:27 (doubtless for an original יהוה), with לְ 1 Ch 29:20; מְבָרֵךְ אָוֶן Is 66:3 (of idolatrous worship). e.g. Genesis 24:48
- 2. God blesses
- a. men: abs. Nu 23:20 (E) ψ 109:28; with acc. Gn 32:27, 30; 48:16; Ex 20:24; Nu 24:1; Jos 24:10 (E) Gn 12:2, 3; 22:17; 24:1, 35; 26:12; 30:27, 30; 39:5; 49:25; Jos 17:14 (J) Gn 1:22, 28; 5:2; 9:1; 17:16, 20; 25:11; 26:3, 24; 28:3; 35:9; 48:3 Nu 6:24, 27 (P) Dt 1:11; 2:7; 7:13; 12:7; 14:24, 29; 15:4, 6, 10, 14, 18; 16:10, 15; 23:21; 24:13, 19; 26:15; 28:8; 30:16; Ju 13:24; 2 S 6:11, 12; 7:29; 1 Ch 4:10; 13:14; 17:27; 26:5; 2 Ch 31:10; Ne 8:6; Ru 2:4; Jb 42:12 ψ 5:13; 28:9; 29:11; 45:3; 67:2, 7, 8; 107:38; 115:12, 13; 128:5; 134:3; 147:13; Pr 3:33; Is 19:25; 51:2; 61:9; Je 31:23; Hg 2:19. e.g. Numbers 23:20
- b. things: sabbath Gn 2:3 Ex 20:11 (P); field Gn 27:27 (E); bread Ex 23:25 (E); work Dt 28:12 Jb 1:10 cf. Dt 33:11 ψ 65:11; 132:15. e.g. Genesis 2:3
- 3. men bless men: priests & kings בשׁם י׳ Dt 10:8; 21:5; 2 S 6:18; 1 Ch 16:2; 23:13; ψ 129:8; Melchizedek Abraham Gn 14:19; Moses Dt 33:1; Ex 12:32; 39:43; Joshua Jos 14:13; 22:6, 7; priests Lv 9:22, 23; Nu 6:23; Dt 27:12; Jos 8:33; 2 Ch 30:27; ψ 118:26; Solomon 1 K 8:14, 55 (= 2 Ch 6:3); David 2 S 6:20 (= 1 Ch 16:43) 19:40; Eli 1 S 2:20; Balaam Nu 22:6; 23:11, 20, 25; 24:10; fathers, especially on death-bed Gn 27:4 + 12 times Gn 27 (all JE) 28:1, 6 (P) 32:1 (E) 48:9 (P) 48:15, 20; 49:28 (J) 2 S 13:25; in consecrating a sacrifice 1 S 9:13. e.g. Deuteronomy 10:8
- 4. salute, greet, with an invocation of blessing (stronger than שׁלום): בך יברך ישׂראל with thee will Israel bless Gn 48:20 (E). e.g. Genesis 48:20
- a. in meeting Gn 47:7 (P) 2 K 4:29; 10:15 1 S 13:10. e.g. Genesis 47:7
- b. in departing Gn 24:60 (J) 47:10 (P) 1 K 8:66. e.g. Genesis 24:60
- c. by messengers 1 S 25:14 2 S 8:10 1 Ch 18:10. e.g. 1 Samuel 25:14
- d. in gratitude Jb 31:20 Pr 30:11 Ne 11:2. e.g. Job 31:20
- e. morning salutation Pr 27:14. e.g. Proverbs 27:14
- f. congratulations for prosperity Gn 12:3 (J) 27:29 Nu 24:9 (E) 1 K 1:47 ψ 49:19; 62:5. e.g. Genesis 12:3
- g. in homage 2 S 14:22 ψ 72:15. e.g. 2 Samuel 14:22
- h. in friendliness 2 S 21:3. e.g. 2 Samuel 21:3
- 5. bless, with the antithetical meaning curse (Thes) from the greeting in departing, saying adieu to, taking leave of; but rather a blessing overdone and so really a curse as in vulgar English as well as in the Shemitic cognates: 1 K 21:10, 13 Jb 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9 ψ 10:3. e.g. 1 Kings 21:10
Pual
- Impf. יְבֹרַךְ 2 S 7:29 + 3 times; תְּבֹרַךְ Ju 5:24 Pr 20:21; Pt. מְבֹרָךְ Nu 22:6 + 3 times; f. מְבֹרֶכֶת Dt 33:13; מְבֹרָכָיו ψ 37:22;— e.g. 2 Samuel 7:29
- 1. pass. to be blessed, adored: שׁם י׳ Jb 1:21 ψ 113:2. e.g. Job 1:21
- 2. prospered by God:
- a. persons 2 S 7:29 1 Ch 17:27 ψ 37:22; 112:2; 128:4 Pr 20:21. e.g. 2 Samuel 7:29
- b. things Dt 33:13. e.g. Deuteronomy 33:13
- 3. have prosperity invoked, by Balaam Nu 22:6. e.g. Numbers 22:6
- 4. in gratitude Pr 22:9 Ju 5:24. e.g. Proverbs 22:9
Hiphil
- וַיַּבְרֵךְ הַגְּמַלִּים and he made his camels kneel Gn 24:11 (J). e.g. Genesis 24:11
Hithpael
- הִתְבָּרֵךְ Dt 29:18 + 3 times; Impf. יִתְבָּרֵךְ Is 65:16 ψ 72:17; Pt. מִתְבָּרֵךְ Is 65:16;—bless oneself, congratulate oneself בלבבו in his heart Dt 29:18; בזרעך with or by (cf. בְּ iii. 2. d) thy seed (invoke for oneself the blessing of the seed of Abraham) Gn 22:18; 26:4 (J); by the Messianic king ψ 72:17; באלהי אמן Is 65:16; by י׳ Je 4:2. e.g. Deuteronomy 29:18
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
vb. kneel, bless (NH id.; Arabic بَرَكَ Ethiopic በረከ Aramaic בְּרֵךְ, ܒܪܶܟ (praise), Palm. especially in בריך שמו לעלמא VogPalm. 74 ff. cf. 94, 144)—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
בָּרַךְ
- 1. to cave out. Denom. בְּרֵכָה, בֶּרֶךְ; cmp. בּוּרְכָּא, בּוּרְכְּתָא.
- 2. (cmp. ברר) to select, point out (cmp. esp. Gen. II, 3) whence to bless (Pi.).—Part. pass. בָּרוּךְ chosen, blessed, praised. הקדוש ב׳ הוא (abbr. הקב"ה) the Holy One, blessed be He. Pes. 118ᵃ; a. v. fr. Ib. 104ᵇ, a. fr. פותח בב׳ וכ׳ he (who prays) opens the benediction with barukh and closes with barukh (i.e. ברוך אתה ה׳). Tosef. Sot. I, 10 ב׳ בכלל, v. כְּלָל; a. fr. e.g. Genesis 2:3
- (b. h.)
- 1. to praise, bless, esp. to recite the due benediction. Ber. VI, 1. Ib. 5 בי׳ על היין having recited the blessing over wine &c. Pes. X, 9 ב׳ ברכת הפסח having recited the blessing over the Paschal lamb. Ib. 5 אנחנו חייבים … לְבָרֵךְ we are bound to … praise &c.; a. v. fr.
- 2. (cmp. נקב) to blaspheme. Snh. 56ᵃ עד שֶיְבָרֵךְ שם בשם until he blasphemes the Lord by His name. Ib. שבי׳ את השם בכינוי who blasphemed the Lord by an attribute.—Part. Pu. מְבוֹרָךְ blessed, praiseworthy. Ber. VII, 3; a. fr.
- 3. *to cut through, to clear virgin ground or forest. Tosef. Shebi. III, 20 ed. Zuck. (Var. מגדר); Y. ib. IV, 35ᵇ bot. מבדין; Y. Sabb. VII, 10ᵃ top המברה, v. בהי h. [Tosef. Shebi. I, 6 מבורכות, v. infra.]
- , Nithpa. נִתְבָּרֵךְ to be blessed (praised); to be increased (v. בְּרָכָה). Y. Ber. IX, 14ᵃ top ויִתְבָּרַךְ and be blessed. Y. M. Kat. I, beg. 80ᵃ if the waters were scanty ונִתְבָּרְכוּ and grew plentiful. Yeb. 63ᵃ; a. fr.
- (denom. of בֶּרֶךְ or בְּרִיכָה) to form a knee, to engraft; esp. to bend a vine by drawing it into the ground and making it grow forth as an independent plant, to sink. Shebi. II, 6; R. Hash. 10ᵇ; a. fr.—Tosef. Shebi. I, 6 אם היו מוּבְרָכוֹת (incorr. מבורכ׳) if they have been sunk before New Year &c.—Yeb. 63ᵃ (allud. to Gen. XII, 3) שתי ברכית טובות יש לי להַבְרִיךְ בך two good shoots (proselytes) have I to engraft on thee, Ruth and &c. (B. Kam. 38ᵇ … פרידות וכ׳). e.g. Genesis 12:3
בְּרַךְ
- Part. Peil בְּרִיךְ blessed. Targ. Gen. IX, 26; a. fr.—Sabb. 67ᵃ, a. fr. קודשא ב׳ הוא the Holiness (Holy One), blessed be He. Cant. R. to. IV, 4; Gen. R. s. 32 הדין טורא בְּרִיכָא this blessed mount (Gerizim, revered by the Samaritans; Deut. R. s. 3 קדיש).
- as preced. Pi.
- 1. to bless &c. Targ. Deut. VIII, 10; a. fr.—Esp. to say grace after meal. Ber. 46ᵃ כי מטי לְבָרוּכֵי וכ׳ when it was time to say grace, he said, Will you please, say grace for us. Y. ib. VI, 10ᵇ מהו למיבָרְכָה בסופה what benediction must be said after it? Ib. bot. לא אנא חכים מברכא I do not know how to say grace after it.—Part. pass. מְבָרַךְ. Targ. Y. II, Gen. XLIX, 2.
- 2. to blaspheme. Targ. Job II, 9.—Snh. 56ᵃ לישנא דברוכי in the sense of blaspheming.
- as preced. Hithpa. Targ. Gen. XII, 3; a. fr.
בֶּרֶךְ
- preced.)
- 1. knee. Y. Ber. I, 3ᵈ top.
- 2. a knee-shaped pole. Taan. 25ᵇ כמלא ב׳ חמחרישה (Var. כוך, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l.) (until the rain penetrates) as far as the knee of the plough enters the soil; Ohol. XVII, 1 בו׳. Kel. XXI, 2 בו׳. [Tosef. Shebi. IV, 20 ברך, v. בְּרִיכָה.]—Du. בִּרְכַּיִם. Ber. 34ᵇ; Meg. 22ᵇ; Shebu. 16ᵇ כריעה על ב׳ the word כרע means falling on one’s knees. [בִּרְכּוֹת, v. בְּרִיכָה.]
בֶּרֶךְ ²
- 1. knee. Targ. Is. XLV, 23.—Pl. בִּרְכַּיָא, בִּרְכֵּי, בִּי׳. Targ. Jud. VII, 6; a. e.—Ber. 6ᵃ הנהו ב׳ וכ׳ those fatigued knees (of scholars) must be ascribed to them (the demons). Pes. 108ᵃ, v. זְגָא.
- 2. = h. בְּרִיכָה. Pl. בִּירְכֵּי shoots, branches. Tam. 30ᵃ top (Var. in Rashi בְּרִיכֵי, Ar. בורכי).
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 219 distinct written forms H1288 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 159 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1288, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 8 — not the complete family. 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 264 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 289 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 1:22
- Exodus 12:32
- Leviticus 9:22
- Numbers 6:23
- Deuteronomy 1:11
- Joshua 14:13
- Judges 5:2
- Ruth 2:4
- 1 Samuel 2:20
- 2 Samuel 2:5
- 1 Kings 1:47
- 2 Kings 4:29
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
