ba.rakh denotes bestowing good on people or households, voicing blessings, and declaring the LORD blessed.

The verb most often marks God’s bestowal of good on people, households, land, or their work; it also describes people blessing others, blessing the LORD in response to his acts, and participial statements that someone or something is blessed.

1. Bestowing good on a recipient · dominant

   In Genesis 12:2 the first-person Piel imperfect occurs in the promise to make Abram a great nation and make his name great. In Deuteronomy 14:29 and Deuteronomy 15:10, the LORD’s blessing is connected with the work or deed of the hearer, while 1 Chronicles 13:14 reports good extending to Obed-edom’s household and possessions.

   Genesis 12:2Genesis 17:20Deuteronomy 14:29Deuteronomy 15:102 Samuel 6:121 Chronicles 13:14
2. Speaking a blessing over people · common

   In 1 Samuel 2:20, Eli’s Piel form is followed by a request that the LORD give Elkanah and his wife offspring. Kings bless the assembled people in 1 Kings 8:14 and 1 Kings 8:55, and David returns to bless his own household in 1 Chronicles 16:43.

   1 Samuel 2:201 Kings 8:141 Kings 8:551 Chronicles 16:21 Chronicles 16:432 Samuel 13:25
3. Blessing the LORD in response or address · common

   Deuteronomy 8:10 joins eating and satisfaction with blessing the LORD for the good land given. In 1 Chronicles 29:20, David commands the assembly to bless the LORD, and the verse then reports that the assembly did so before bowing.

   Deuteronomy 8:101 Chronicles 29:101 Chronicles 29:202 Chronicles 20:261 Kings 8:151 Kings 8:56
4. Being described as blessed · occasional

   Qal passive participles describe the LORD in 1 Samuel 25:32 and 1 Kings 1:48, each followed by mention of an act attributed to him. The same participial pattern describes Joseph’s land in Deuteronomy 33:13 in connection with heaven’s gifts, dew, and the deep.

   1 Samuel 25:321 Kings 1:481 Kings 2:451 Samuel 25:33Deuteronomy 33:131 Chronicles 17:27
5. Blessing extending through a person or seed · occasional

   In Genesis 12:3, the clause concerns all families of the land in relation to Abram. Genesis 18:18 and Genesis 22:18 likewise state that all nations of the land or earth will be blessed through Abraham or his seed.

   Genesis 12:3Genesis 18:18Genesis 22:18

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly uses “bless” and “blessed” across these clauses, including blessings bestowed on recipients and declarations about the LORD. Because it translates whole verses rather than aligning individual words, its English wording does not by itself distinguish every use.