Job's blessing

For most English speakers who have read the book of Job, the following words of Satan in the book are familiar: "But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face" (Job 1:11; cf. 2:5). To Satan's dismay, after Job's children are killed and he loses his possessions, he instead blesses the name of the Lord (1:21).

What many may not know is that the Hebrew word translated "curse" in 1:11 is the exact same word translated "bless" in 1:21. I was surprised to find this out in my Old Testament Wisdom class last semester as I worked my way through the first chapter in Hebrew. The word is barak, and it is almost always translated into English as "bless." In fact, in my Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, under the nifal (passive/reflexive) stem of this word, five glosses are given, all of them some form of "to be blessed." Following all this is one final gloss: "euphemism for 'curse'." So although it usually means "bless," there are also times when it is used to mean the opposite.

By the way, I found it interesting that the LXX translators retained this wording, unlike most English translators, using eulogeo: anga aposteilon tēn cheira sou kai apsai pantōn ōn echei ei mēn eis prosōpon se eulogēsei.

The only other instance I am aware of in the Hebrew Bible when it also has the opposite meaning is 1 Kings 21:10-13. Here, Jezebel instructs the nobles in Naboth's city to bring the charge against Naboth, "You have cursed God and the king." Except what she actually says is "You have blessed God and the king," with barak used as a euphemism. We have to rely on context when deciding whether the word actually means blessing or is being used as a euphemism for "curse."

This produces a certain irony in the first chapter of Job, as Satan's actual words in 1:11 are, "He will bless thee to thy face." This is what happens in 1:21, though in the opposite way meant by Satan, as Job truly blesses the name of the Lord.