More Than a Wish: Translating Old Testament Blessings as Multifunctional Speech Acts (Schmidt 2026)

SIL’s Journal of Translation is pleased to announce the publication of the second article of 2026:

More Than a Wish: Translating Old Testament Blessings as Multifunctional Speech Acts

Schmidt, Peter. 2026. “More Than a Wish: Translating Old Testament Blessings as Multifunctional Speech Acts.” Journal of Translation 22 (1): 27–52. https://doi.org/10.54395/JOT-PSWISHSA.  

Abstract

Common renderings of Old Testament blessings, such as “The LORD bless you”, risk reducing this speech act to a wish. This practical paper examines the grammatical, speech-act-theoretical, and translational evidence for the Hebrew jussive blessings of the Old Testament, taking the Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6 as its principal test case. Following an analysis of Septuagint renderings and a review of select literature, it is argued that biblical blessings function as multifunctional speech acts that simultaneously express a wish on the part of the speaker, an assurance to the addressee, and a request directed to God. On the basis of this characterization, translation suggestions are provided for bridging linguistic and cultural mismatches; for example, the qal passive participle construction בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה “blessed [are] you” should not be rendered identically to the jussive יְבָרֶכְךָ “he [may] bless you”. The conclusion raises questions for further study in the New Testament.

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