Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)/Bless

Bless

God blesses people

God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual (Genesis 1:22; 24:35; Job 42:12; Psalm 45:2; 104:24,35).

People bless God

We bless God when we thank him for his mercies (Psalm 103:1,2; 145:1,2).

Self blessing

A man blesses himself when he invokes God's blessing (Isaiah 65:16), or rejoices in God's goodness to him (Deuteronomy 29:19; Psalm 49:18).

Praying for another

One blesses another when he expresses good wishes or offers prayer to God for his welfare (Genesis 24:60; 31:55; 1 Samuel 2:20). Sometimes blessings were uttered under divine inspiration, as in the case of Noah, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses (Genesis 9:26,27; 27:28,29,40; 48:15-20; 49:1-28; Deuteronomy 33). The priests were divinely authorized to bless the people (Deuteronomy 10:8; Numbers 6:22-27). We have many examples of apostolic benediction (2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 6:23,24; 2 Thessalonians 3:16,18; Hebrews 13:20,21; 1 Peter 5:10,11).

Thank offering

Among the Jews in their thank-offerings the master of the feast took a cup of wine in his hand, and after having blessed God for it and for other mercies then enjoyed, handed it to his guests, who all partook of it. Psalm 116:13 refers to this custom. It is also alluded to in 1 Corinthians 10:16, where the apostle speaks of the "cup of blessing."