What's up with human-generated curses (and blessings) in the Bible?

KevinT said:

I have been reading through the Bible (actually listening), and I have come across several passages relating to blessings and curses and thought I would explore the idea here.

First, there are the classic blessings and curses that God gives, linked to Mt. Ebal. And I have no issues with this. God issues a policy of blessing, and his servants (angels) carry it out to bless a person or nation. Likewise a policy of curse (disfavor) can likewise be carried out by angels such that everything seems to go wrong.

Next, I am not considering when a person might (wrongly) say a curse when they are angry, for example if they hit their thumb with a hammer.

But what interests me is when humans issue the blessings or curses.

I'm going to list passages relating curses that I found. Comments below.

1. Gen 9:24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”
   
   
2. Gen 27:11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
   
   
3. Gen 27:27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,
   “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
   28 May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.
   29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
   Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
   May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
   
   
4. Gen 27:33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
   
   
5. Gen 49: Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
   2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. ...
   5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—their swords[a] are weapons of violence. ...
   7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
   
   
6. Numbers 22 10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11 ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’” ... 12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”
   
   
7. Deut 21: 22 If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, 23 you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
   
   
8. Joshua 6 26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:
   “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations;
   at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” ... (see fullfilment of this below)
   
   
9. 1 Kings 16:34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.
   
   
10. Joshua 9:22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
    
    
11. Judges 9 Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal ... murdered his seventy brothers, .... But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. ... he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ... 16 “Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? ... 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!” ... 56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.
    
    
12. Judges 21:17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite."
    
    
13. 1 Sam 14 24 Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food. ... 41 Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault,[d] respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared. 42 Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!” 44 Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
    
    
14. 2 Sam 16 5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!” ... 11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”
    
    
15. 2 King 2 23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
    
    
16. Nehemiah 13 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.
    
    
17. Job 1:5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
    
    
18. Mat 26: 69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, ... 74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.
    
    
19. Luke 6 27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
    
    
20. 1 Cor 16 21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!

Here are my thoughts:

• Blessings or curses are a supernatural phenomena, so if carried out, the source of the power must be from God, either directly from the Father, or by one of His servants (angels) acting in accordance to His policy.
  
  
• Some of the blessings/curses seem to predict the future. E.g. Jacob's words to his sons before his death (item #5 above). I'm not sure if this curse came true. Were Simeon and Levi dispersed in Israel?
  
  
• When Isaac's blessing was stolen by Jacob, how did this work? Was Jacob bound by his word after being tricked? Was God bound to this? This doesn't make sense to me.
  
  
• When Hiel rebuilt Jericho, he lost 2 sons. Did God kill these two to honor the curse issued by Joshua?
  
  
• In the case of Baalam, why did God tell Baalam not to curse the Israelites? What was the worst that would happen, that God would ignore the invocation? What he trying to save Baalam's reputation of being an effective curse-giver?
  
  
• In #13 above, the situation where Saul had put a curse on anyone who ate, was God honoring Saul's authority by not responding after his son had eaten honey?
  
  
• In #20, is this type of curse the same kind of curse seen in the OT? Was Paul really evoking a curse, or was it more causal?
  
  
• In the Law that God instructed Moses to give, there is regulation that a son should not be punished for the sins of the father. But it seems that curses are applied over generations, to people that had not personally done wrong. How is this consistent?

I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts.

Best wishes,

KT

Click to expand...

I found this helpful!

KevinT said:

In the case of Baalam, why did God tell Baalam not to curse the Israelites? What was the worst that would happen, that God would ignore the invocation? What he trying to save Baalam's reputation of being an effective curse-giver?

Click to expand...

Ask and seek from YHVH The Creator for understanding.

He curses everyone anyone who curses Israel,
and blesses everyone anyone who blesses Israel.

KevinT said:

When Isaac's blessing was stolen by Jacob, how did this work? Was Jacob bound by his word after being tricked? Was God bound to this? This doesn't make sense to me.

Click to expand...

Yes. The Words Blessings Meanings spoken were/are binding because God Says So , and btw the Patriarchs always knew this... in todays world, no one keeps their <own> word, nor God's Word <basically> ... (only a remnant is able to) ...

. What kind of sense would it have to make ? It is simply Truth from God, and He Watches over His Word to Accomplish His Word.

KevinT said:

In the Law that God instructed Moses to give, there is regulation that a son should not be punished for the sins of the father. But it seems that curses are applied over generations, to people that had not personally done wrong. How is this consistent?

Click to expand...

Do you believe and acknowledge that YHVH is Perfect, Perfect in Wisdom, Perfect in Character, Perfect in Knowledge, Perfect as He Has Always Been and Will Always Be ?

KevinT said:

I have been reading through the Bible (actually listening), and I have come across several passages relating to blessings and curses and thought I would explore the idea here.

First, there are the classic blessings and curses that God gives, linked to Mt. Ebal. And I have no issues with this. God issues a policy of blessing, and his servants (angels) carry it out to bless a person or nation. Likewise a policy of curse (disfavor) can likewise be carried out by angels such that everything seems to go wrong.

Next, I am not considering when a person might (wrongly) say a curse when they are angry, for example if they hit their thumb with a hammer.

But what interests me is when humans issue the blessings or curses.

I'm going to list passages relating curses that I found. Comments below.

1. Gen 9:24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”
   
   
2. Gen 27:11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
   
   
3. Gen 27:27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,
   “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
   28 May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.
   29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
   Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
   May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
   
   
4. Gen 27:33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
   
   
5. Gen 49: Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
   2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. ...
   5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—their swords[a] are weapons of violence. ...
   7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
   
   
6. Numbers 22 10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11 ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’” ... 12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”
   
   
7. Deut 21: 22 If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, 23 you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
   
   
8. Joshua 6 26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:
   “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations;
   at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” ... (see fullfilment of this below)
   
   
9. 1 Kings 16:34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.
   
   
10. Joshua 9:22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
    
    
11. Judges 9 Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal ... murdered his seventy brothers, .... But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. ... he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ... 16 “Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? ... 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!” ... 56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.
    
    
12. Judges 21:17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite."
    
    
13. 1 Sam 14 24 Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food. ... 41 Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault,[d] respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared. 42 Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!” 44 Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
    
    
14. 2 Sam 16 5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!” ... 11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”
    
    
15. 2 King 2 23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
    
    
16. Nehemiah 13 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.
    
    
17. Job 1:5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
    
    
18. Mat 26: 69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, ... 74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.
    
    
19. Luke 6 27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
    
    
20. 1 Cor 16 21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!

Here are my thoughts:

• Blessings or curses are a supernatural phenomena, so if carried out, the source of the power must be from God, either directly from the Father, or by one of His servants (angels) acting in accordance to His policy.
  
  
• Some of the blessings/curses seem to predict the future. E.g. Jacob's words to his sons before his death (item #5 above). I'm not sure if this curse came true. Were Simeon and Levi dispersed in Israel?
  
  
• When Isaac's blessing was stolen by Jacob, how did this work? Was Jacob bound by his word after being tricked? Was God bound to this? This doesn't make sense to me.
  
  
• When Hiel rebuilt Jericho, he lost 2 sons. Did God kill these two to honor the curse issued by Joshua?
  
  
• In the case of Baalam, why did God tell Baalam not to curse the Israelites? What was the worst that would happen, that God would ignore the invocation? What he trying to save Baalam's reputation of being an effective curse-giver?
  
  
• In #13 above, the situation where Saul had put a curse on anyone who ate, was God honoring Saul's authority by not responding after his son had eaten honey?
  
  
• In #20, is this type of curse the same kind of curse seen in the OT? Was Paul really evoking a curse, or was it more causal?
  
  
• In the Law that God instructed Moses to give, there is regulation that a son should not be punished for the sins of the father. But it seems that curses are applied over generations, to people that had not personally done wrong. How is this consistent?

I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts.

Best wishes,

KT

Click to expand...

Sin is an accursed thing ... we are all sinners ... in every generation ... all generations sin ... in that light sin is passed on.

God's love for us is grace, which has such power that it can turn the most terrible situation into the best one, recalling this biblical text: “The Lord your God turned a curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you” (Deuteronomy 23:5, ESV).

A curse need not be long lasting, it's up to God. He will accomplish His purposes either through curses and/or blessings.

Christ is the best example ... He was cursed because of mankind's sin (He didn't sin) ... yet it was a blessing for mankind.

Each of us are responsible for our own sin (cursed) ... however by the grace of God we can receive forgiveness through Jesus (blessing) and receive eternal life.

Justice and mercy

Psalms 85:10

NLT
Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!

We receive curses and blessings but that does not ever negate Gods unconditional love for us. We must always remember this when we go through trials.

We are not to curse anyone .... because that is judgement and judgement is fully up to the Lord. Only the Lord can meld justice and mercy because only He is righteous and only He knows everything. We trust in all circumstances. We learn from both Gods curses and blessings ... all the while knowing He loves us.

Romans 12:14 ESV / 72 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful​

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

As far a foul language used ....

So how do we reconcile Ezekiel’s filthy tongue with Ephesians 4:29? “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Does this outlaw all forms of vulgarity? Not exactly. The word for “corrupting” (sapros) literally means “rotten, decaying, unwholesome.” The whole point is not to forbid certain words that are labeled “cuss words” by its culture, but all speech that does not “build up.”

KevinT said:

I have been reading through the Bible (actually listening), and I have come across several passages relating to blessings and curses and thought I would explore the idea here.

Click to expand...

YHVH'S Word is permanent eternal unchanging TRUTH.
Man's words are feeble and changing daily,
often opposing Jesus.
So be careful where you explore and what you listen to.

Jesus will reveal to you what you are seeking, if you love Jesus and are called according to His Plan.

KevinT said:

I'm trying to see if there is a consistent pattern or principle that can be extracted from these situations.

Click to expand...

No, there is not.
If God does not reveal from and in His Word what you are seeking, then it will not be known.

If you surrender all to Him, and listen to Him and His Word, then He May Provide Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge, as He is Delighted to do for little children trusting Him in Jesus.

Working things out in the flesh/ human mind, does not work righteously nor produce righteousness as the source is not God but the flesh which cannot produce any good.

KevinT said:

I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts.

Click to expand...

OT bless and curse are mostly for the "education" of the Jews. The Jews are "disciplined" to be "loyal" to God such that message (Word of God) can be faithfully conveyed via the Jews till today's humans. They thus knew that if they obey they are blessed, else they are cursed. This is all to serve the purpose of conveying God's truth faithfully. In general, ancient humans lack the ability to convey a truth. That's why factual history at the end will turn into myths. That's how the different flood stories spread in the different cultures. The one fact split into variety of myths. God needs to specially train up the Jews to carry forward His truth faithfully.

To humans in general then,

Matthew 5:34-37
But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.