Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Psalm 1:1
Psalm 1 opens by declaring that the one who follows the Lord is called “blessed” (v. 1). What does that mean? The idea of blessing and cursing permeates the Biblical pages. However, this is a different word than we find in most places.
Hebrew happiness
The Hebrew word in Psalm 1 is אַשְׁרֵי (ashrei). It appears 44 times in the Hebrew text, mostly in Psalms and Proverbs. It forms the basis for the name and tribe Asher, who was born to Leah’s servant Bilhah: “And Leah said, ‘Happy am I (b’ashri – in happiness am I)! For women have called me happy (ishruni).’ So she called his name Asher” (Genesis 30:13). She exclaims how fortunate, blessed, and happy she is over the birth of the child.
The more common word translated as “blessed” is baruk (ברך), which appears a whopping 323 times. During creation, God blessed the people he made to be fruitful and multiply and rule over the earth (Genesis 1:28). He then blesses the seventh day (Genesis 2:3). We do not have a full appreciation of the importance of blessing in the Biblical world. When Esau had his blessing stolen by his brother Jacob, he wept and begged his father to fix it. A blessing was more than mere words for them.
However, that is not the word we want to focus on here. While certainly similar, what is the difference between ashrei and baruk?
The blessed life
Ashrei contains the idea of happiness or being fortunate. It is only used of people (never God). One definition I heard is the idea of being on the right path. Biblical blessing includes one whose sins are forgiven (Psalm 32:1-2), whose God is the LORD (Psalm 33:12, 144:15), who fears the LORD (Psalm 112:1, 128:1-2, Proverbs 28:14), and who trusts in God (Psalm 40:5, 84:13, Proverbs 16:20).
Fast forward to the time of Jesus. By this time, the Hebrew Bible had been translated into Greek (what’s called the Septuagint). They translated ashrei into the Greek μακάριος (makarios). When Jesus delivered what we call the Sermon on the Mount, he began with what we call the Beatitudes (“Blessed are…”, Matthew 5:3-12), a series of nine statements describing those who are blessed. A similar list appears in Luke 6:20-22. Each of them uses the same Greek word makarios.
Blessed suffering?
Strangely, Jesus and his disciples have a seemingly backwards concept for what it means to be happy. James says, “Blessed (makarios) is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). Peter says we are blessed if we suffer or are insulted for the sake of Jesus (1 Peter 3:14, 4:14).
How can we consider someone happy/blessed/fortunate for enduring trials? Suffering doesn’t make me happy. Perhaps that alternate/related understanding of ashrei can help us: a stride or walk or behavior. You are ashrei because you are on the right path. Blessed is the one who the Lord disciplines (Psalm 94:12). Perhaps we should not focus on the difficult circumstances but on how God is shaping us through them.
