Psalms Chapter One starts with the word “Blessed” (Psalms 1:1, NKJV).
In the New King James Version of the Bible, the English translated word “blessed” is used 205 times, in one form or another. The term is used in two forms; as an adjective and a verb.
Actions of the Blessed Man
When used as a verb it denotes praise or an invocation of divine favor. When used as an adjective it characterizes a noun as happy or highly favored. In the New Bible Dictionary, it states that the Hebrew word “’ašerê” is always used of man and has for its NT equivalent makarios.”[1] In this form, “blessed” is used ninety times in both the Old Testament (OT) and, with the related Greek term, the New Testament (NT).
The first time this form of the Hebrew word is used in the OT is in the Book of Deuteronomy 33:29 and is translated as “Happy.” It is also used in First Kings 10:8, Second Chronicles 9:7, and Job 5:17, using the same English translation.
In Deuteronomy, the word describes Israel, but in most other locations it describes a person. It is used most frequently in Psalms, with a tally of twenty-five times, translated as “happy” and “blessed.”
In the NT, the most well-known portion of Scripture that uses the word is found in the beatitudes, in Chapter Five of the Book of Matthew. At the start of Jesus’ ministry, He gives his sermon on the mount and opens with this word in adjective form.
It is notable that His initial teaching begins with “Blessed,” just like the first chapter of Psalms (Matthew 5:3-11 and Psalms 1:1).
“Blessed is the man,” but not just any man, or mankind (Psalms 1:1). Blessed is the man who practices the instructions that follow.
What comes next, in Part 3, is the book’s first example of a parallelism. Hebrew poetry is filled with them, so it is not a surprise that this literary device is seen in the first verse of Psalms,[2] the Bible’s largest compilation of poetry.[3]
References
[1] W. W. Wessel, “Blessed,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 142–143.
[2] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 780.
[3] Craig C. Broyles, “Psalms, Book of,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
Dan Buteau has been married for the last 33 years and is a father of four adult children. He is also a grandfather to five children. He serves as a Pastor at a church in southern Maine. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Math Studies from Granite State University and he is currently a Master’s of Theology student at Liberty University. In addition, Dan served in the United States Marine Corps for four years and is retired from a 25-year career in law enforcement. He has a hunger and thirst for the Word of God and is continuing to obey the calling of his Savior, Jesus Christ, as he carries out the Great Commission.
