Abstract
Conspicuous in the Old Testament (OT) is the literary genre of blessing that is often construed in poetic forms. They are of various types and were significant to their initial audience. A careful analysis of their texts and contexts is indispensable for a correct understanding of their message. Conversely, in our times, these texts and their contents are misinterpreted for some subjective goals, which deviate greatly from what one can perceive as their original meaning and intention. Misinterpretation and incorrect application of Biblical texts of blessings thrive in a society like ours where ills are perpetrated under the guise of religion. The text of Genesis 27:27–29, carefully inserted in the patriarchal narratives, contains a type of OT blessings portraying parents’ wishful desires for their offspring; this is common to all human cultures. It is chosen as a springboard for the study of other parental blessings in the OT. Employing a literary analysis with particular attention to the functions of poetic devices in the text, the study aimed at understanding the message contained therein and its relevance to our contemporary society.
Highlights
Expressions of the divine-human relationship prevalent in all parts of the Sacred Scripture take varied forms, which include: obedience to God’s law revealed in words and deeds and embedded in natural laws; abhorrence of created things worshipped as gods; and various forms of prayers acknowledging humans’ dependence on God
In the Hebrew Bible, the verbal root of all cognates of the Hebrew word for blessing is brk, which means ‘kneel’. This second connotation most probably refers to the posture that the recipient of blessings takes in the act of blessing
The Biblical concept of blessing, with special attention to the deathbed parental blessing narrated in Genesis 27, offers us a good example of this
Summary
Expressions of the divine-human relationship prevalent in all parts of the Sacred Scripture take varied forms, which include: obedience to God’s law revealed in words and deeds and embedded in natural laws; abhorrence of created things worshipped as gods; and various forms of prayers acknowledging humans’ dependence on God. The contents of the blessings include the gift of fertility, which can be of land, animals and human beings; well-being; and victory over the enemies These were Isaac’s wishes for his son. Amidst the multifaceted features of the narrative surrounding the reception of parental and deathbed blessing in Isaac’s house emerges conspicuously the concept of the divine source of blessings in the OT It is the hinge on which hang the varying actions of persons connected with the paternal blessing that Isaac intended to grant his elder son, but which the younger son eventually obtained. Rebekah’s insightful action in Genesis 27 is often cited as a model of one who hunts for blessing and succeeds
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