Guide
Blessing and Curse in Early Judaism
2nd Century BCE–6th Century CE
Restricted
By Carol Bakhos
Both blessings and curses are prayers that express wishes: the former for someone’s well-being, the latter for their affliction and destruction. They are common in ancient Near Eastern culture, and they also appear often in the Hellenistic, Greco-Roman, and Byzantine worlds.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
Rabbinic Personal Blessings
b. Berakhot 17a|b. Ta‘anit 5b–6a
When the sages took leave of the study hall of R. Ammi, and some say [it was] the study hall of R. Ḥanina, they would say to him the following [blessing]: May you…
Primary Source
Qumran Covenant Ceremony Blessings and Curses
Rule of the Community 2:1–10
And the priests shall bless all the men of the lot of God who walk perfectly in all his ways, saying: “May he bless you with all good, and preserve you from all evil! May he lighten your heart with…
Primary Source
Qumran Blessings
Rule of the Blessings 1:1–3:21
Words of blessi[ng]. Of the Instructor. To bless those who fear [God, do] his will, keep his commandments, remain constant in his holy co[ven]ant and walk with perfection [on all the paths…