BLESSING (i?13, eu\oyla). — Throughout the Bible we meet with two forms of blessing. (1) Blesnina by Gud. This is either (a) a direct and immediate act of God in conferrin}: some boon, as expressed by the phrase, ' The Lord blessed Obed- edom and all his household ' (2 S 6") ; or (6) a di\-ine utterance expressing the will of God to confer future favour, and thus approaching; the general usage of the word, which is indicative of benediction, or speaking with a wish for the good of the persons concerned, e.g. ' God blessed them, sajang. Be fruitful,' etc. (Gn 1**). The blessing of God is priniarilj" of persons, and secondarily of things, as implied in the phrase, ' Bless, Lord, his substance' (Ut 33"). The seeondarj' blessing is attached to a daj' in the benediction of the Sabbath, e.g. 'God blessed the seventh day' (Gn 2-'). (2) Blessing by num. This is really an appeal for the first form of lilessing, a prayer that (iod will confer His own blessing on the object of the speaker's good wishes. But it comes to be regarded <as in lonie way directly beneficial, just as the evil eye is supposed to blight directly, while the curse proper is an appeal to Heaven to smite its object, as the true bles-sing is an appeal to Heaven to confer some Ijoon. This seems to be the case with the patriarchal blessings, Isaac directly determining the destiny of Jacob ; and j'et the language employed shows that the actual source of the boons spoken of is looked for in God (Gn 27^-**). In such a case the peculiar privilege of conferring a blessing resolves itself into a peculiar right to seek certain favours of (Jod. A similar condition may be discovered in ISalaara's benediction of Israel. Wliile the narrative im|iUes a belief on the part of Bahik that the seer has peculiar mystic powers of cursing and blessing, Balaam's utterances are simply prophetic, declaring' the will of J" and predicting the destiny of Israel (Nu 23. 24). A man who is excep- tionally blessed is taken as tlie model and type of blessing, and is then said to be ' a ble.ssing ' (Gn 12'^) ; and others are said to bless themselves uy him, in the sense that they appeal to the blessing he has received as a specimen of what they desire for themselves, e.g. ' The nations .shall bless them- selves in him — i.e. by Him, by reference to His blessing (Jer 4'). Wlien our Lord Ls de.scribed in the Gospels as bles-siug, no doubt the idea is analogous to the second form of blessing, the appeal to Heaven to confer favour, with the as-sociated thought that Jesus Christ had especial power in making this appeal. Thus we must understand the action of the mothers who brought their children to Him for a blessing as they might have brought them to a holy Ilabbi (Buxtorf, Hyn. Jud. p. 13S). But with those who perceived His divine nature, the act of blessing by Jesus Christ must have passed over into the primary and immediate act of God in conferring grace, e.g. in the final benediction (Lk 24°'). The ble.s.sin" of bread, of which we read in the Gospels, is equivalent to giving thanks for it, the thought being that good received gratefully comes aa a blessing (compare tiXbyriaoi in Mt 14'" and (I'Xoyiiiros ai/rd In Vfk 8' with tixa.p^<rTri<ras in Mt 15"). To bless God is to praise Him with acknowledgment of His goodne.ss and expressed desires for His g'ory. The act of blessing was usually performed by the
imposition of hands (e.g. Gn 48"-", Mt 19") ; or, where a number of persons were concerned, with uplifted hands (e.g. Lv 9", Lk 24»). The priests pronounced a benediction after every morning and evening sacrifice, according to a triple formula (Nu 6^^--' ; Keil, Biblical Arc/ueol. ii. p. 457). A more primitive form of blessing seems to have been used under the kings (e.g. IK 8"-'" ; Ewald, Antiq. pp. 15, 132). A benediction was regularly pronounced at the close of the synagogue service (Buxtorf, Syn. Jud., note subjoined to index).
W. ¥. Adkney. BLINDINO.— See Chimes. BLINDNESS.— See Medicine.
BLOOD. — By the Hebrews, as by other peoples of antiquity, the blood, both of man and of bea-st, was regarded as the seat of the soul (Pjj), that is, of tlie vital principle common to all sentient organisms (Lv 17" ' tlie life [EV, Heb. nephesh, ' soul '] of the flesh is in the blood,' and parll. pass. ). When we reflect how little we know even now, notwithstanding all our advance in physiology and allied sciences, of the mystery of life and death, we can in some measure realise the emotions of awe and dread— not without a large admixture of the sujierstitious element — with wliicli the early Semites must have regarded the shedding of blood.
Inasmuch as all slaughter was originally sacri- fice, the real significance of the provision, carried back by Heb. tradition to the days of Noah (Gn 9''), that tlie blood of animals slain for human food was forliiilden or taboo, will demand careful in- vestigation under the article Sacrifice (see also l'"ooD). To the same art. belont's tlie study of the piacular or expiatory etficacy of blood, whieli finds expression in the familiar wonls : ' Without shcddin" of blood is no remi-ssion ' (He 9*").