אָרַר

From the study of Deuteronomy 27:15

Range of meaning

The root ʾārar means to bind under a curse or ban, so that a person is cut off from blessing, fertility, protection and fellowship. The participle ʾārûr ('cursed [is/be]') is the fixed opening of curse formulas, the counterpart of bārûk ('blessed'). The sentence has no verb, so it can be read as a statement ('cursed is') or a wish ('cursed be'). In a ritual like this one, it works as both: it declares the person's status and calls for God to enforce it.

Against the English

Modern English 'cursed' suggests a magical hex, bad luck, or (in church use) eternal damnation. The Hebrew is covenant language. It is the negative sanction of a binding relationship with YHWH, set out in detail in Deut 28:15–68: disease, crop failure, defeat, exile. God, not the words, carries it out.

How it drifted

Folk magic ('curses' and 'hexes') and later theology that reads every biblical curse as being about final judgment after death have both shaped the English word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Twelve times in Deut 27:15–26, and in Deut 28:16–19 as the mirror of bārûk. Also Gen 3:14, 17; 4:11; 9:25; Jer 11:3 ('cursed is the man who does not hear the words of this covenant', with the people answering 'Amen' in 11:5). The LXX uses epikataratos, which Paul quotes from Deut 27:26 in Gal 3:10. Treaty curses throughout the ancient Near East, such as the Neo-Assyrian Esarhaddon Succession Treaties (672 BC), invoke the gods against whoever breaks the oath. The Qumran Community Rule (1QS 2) re-enacts a ceremony like this one: the Levites curse, and the members answer 'Amen, amen'.

From the study of 1 Samuel 26:19

Range of meaning

To curse: to declare or bring about someone's exclusion from blessing and protection, putting them under a ban. The passive participle arur ('cursed') is the formula of solemn curse lists (Deut 27:15–26; Gen 3:14, 17; 4:11).

Against the English

KJV and BSB treat it as a wish ('cursed be they', 'may they be cursed'). WEB reads it as a statement ('they are cursed'). The Hebrew has no verb, so either is possible.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 27–28 covenant curses. Judg 21:18; 1 Sam 14:24, 28 (Saul's own oath-curse). Ancient Near Eastern treaty curse sections, where gods enforce the penalties.

From the study of Deuteronomy 27:16

Range of meaning

The passive participle of ʾārar, 'to curse.' It declares that a person or thing is placed under a curse: excluded from blessing, given over to harm and loss, often with the sense of being banished or cut off from community and land (Gen 3:14, 17; 4:11). It is the opposite of bārûk, 'blessed.'

Against the English

English 'cursed' can call up a magical hex, a swear-word, or an angry outburst. The Hebrew formula is a formal legal and covenant pronouncement, spoken here by the Levites (27:14) on God's behalf. It states that the offender stands outside the covenant's protection and blessing.

How it drifted

Popular use of 'curse' for profanity or witchcraft, and the medieval picture of the curse as personal magic.

Used elsewhere in the period

The ʾārûr formula appears in Gen 3:14; 4:11; 9:25; Josh 6:26; Jer 11:3; 17:5. Curse formulas with the cognate root ʾrr appear in Northwest Semitic inscriptions, for example on tombs threatening grave-robbers. Ancient Near Eastern treaties, such as the Neo-Assyrian succession treaties of Esarhaddon (672 BC), end with long curse lists sworn by vassals. Deuteronomy 27–28 follows that treaty pattern. H. C. Brichto argued that ʾārar basically means 'to bind with a ban, bar from benefits.'