CURSE (אָלָה֩, H460; מְאֵרָה, H4423; קְלָלָה, H7839, H4423; κατάρα, G2932). These Heb. words, with nuances, and the Gr. word are tr. into both nouns and verbs in Eng. Chiefly the meaning is curse, imprecation, and execration.

1. Primitive and pagan beliefs. Primitive people believed that one could pronounce a curse on his enemy and that deity or superhuman beings could be enlisted to execute it. By this means all kinds of disaster, sickness, and hardship could be inflicted. Crop failure, mortality in herd and flock, defeat in battle, and general misfortune were believed possible by curses or spells. Indeed, the validity of pronounced blessings and the antithesis of cursing in early Bible history is amazing. Noah pronounced a curse on Canaan and a blessing on Shem and Japheth (Gen 9:25-27), and subsequent history confirmed his invocations. Isaac proclaimed distinctive blessings on his twin sons, and added a curse to anyone who cursed Jacob (27:27-29). The most elaborate of these paternal blessings was that of Jacob on his twelve sons, “blessing each with the blessing suitable to him” (49:1-28). The eminence of virtue in ancestral blessings held by Jacob (v. 26) shows by contrast the contemporary respect for curses. It was believed that the blessing and the curse released a power which effectively determined the character and destiny of the recipient (27:12).

Balaam, diviner, soothsayer and prophet, enjoyed a wide reputation in the art of blessing and cursing (Num 22:6c). He lived near the upper Euphrates where he doubtless received a heritage from Babylonia, long famed in the art of divination. Consequently, when Trans-Jordania was threatened with invading Israelite hordes, Balak, king of Moab, sent for Balaam. The sword had failed, so a curse was sought from the king of cursers, who had special access to superhuman powers. Divine interference blasted Balak’s hopes, causing Balaam to bless instead of curse Israel (22-24; Deut 23:5). Later, Goliath “the Philistine cursed David by his gods” (1 Sam 17:43). And Shimei, of Saul’s house, cursed David in his flight from Jerusalem when threatened by Absalom (2 Sam 16:5-14). Both imprecations proved futile against God’s elect.

2. Curses of the covenant. As Moses was concluding his liturgies and exhortations, he declared triumphantly, “O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord” (Deut 27:9). Therefore, he said, they were to obey God’s laws, and thereby receive His blessing—but disobedience would invite the curse. He then programmed a cultic ceremony, to be inaugurated at Shechem, to dramatize Israel’s covenant responsibilities. Israel was to make the choice between the goals of “a blessing and a curse” (11:26). At Shechem six tribes were to “stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people,” and six were to “stand upon Mount Ebal for the curse” (Deut 27:12f.; see 11:29). The blessings are not listed here, but twelve curses representing the twelve tribes are spelled out. “And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel with a loud voice” the following curses,” “And all the people shall...say, ‘Amen’” after the reading of each curse: (1) “Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten image,” (2) “Cursed be he who dishonors his father or his mother.” (3) “Cursed be he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.” (4) “Cursed be he who misleads a blind man on the road.” (5) “Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.” (6) “Cursed be he who lies with his father’s wife.” (7) “Cursed be he who lies with any kind of beast.” (8) “Cursed be he who lies with his sister.” (9) “Cursed be he who lies with his mother-in-law.” (10) “Cursed be he who slays his neighbor in secret.” (11) “Cursed be he who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.” (12) “Cursed be he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them” (27:15-26). These twelve curses are old laws, and all except the last two are found in other codes of the Pentateuch. In concluding his second address, Moses listed six blessings and six corresponding curses in short, emphatic style. They represent a different approach than those given above, and were prob. a part of the old covenant ceremony. These are curses on the disobedient wherever he was, in city, in field, coming in or going out; on his food; on his offspring and the offspring of his flocks and herds (28:16-19). The meaning of curses was further expanded in the balance of this long chapter.

Subsequently, Joshua led the Israelites into the heart of Canaan to the twin mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, and there in a great outdoor drama carried out Moses’ commands (Josh 8:30-35). The awesome solemnity of this ceremony must have made a profound and lasting impression on Israel. The penalty of these curses (Deut 28) was often cited to call Israel back to Jehovah worship. It was prob. the reading of them that alarmed King Josiah and resulted in his great reforms (2 Kings 22:8-13). When Judah was heading toward Babylonian exile, Jeremiah in his passionate appeal cited the twelfth curse listed above (Jer 11:3). Likewise other prophets interpreted Judah’s disaster as the curse of the covenant.

3. Curse as an entity. “The curse,” often referred to, was considered a visitation of the judgment of God. It appears first in the sundry laws of Moses in connection with the trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery (Num 5:18-27). Moses set before Israel “the blessing and the curse” (Deut 30:1). Jeremiah doubtless had the same curse in mind when he said, “Because of the curse the land mourns” (Jer 23:10). To this other prophets agreed (Isa 24:6; Dan 9:11; Zech 5:3; Mal 2:2). In a broader sense a divine curse was on all evildoers. “The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked” (Prov 3:33; cf. Job 24:18; Mal 1:14).

“A curse” of some kind had been the common lot of man since Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Because of Adam’s sin God placed a curse on the serpent and on the ground (Gen 3:14, 17). He placed a curse on Cain because he slew Abel (4:11). A curse was a characteristic entity, a power, force, or energy, expressing itself in hurt to man or damage to property. Even a man or a place could become a curse. It was to be feared and shunned. Jacob feared invoking a curse on himself by deceiving his father (27:12). Jeremiah said a curse was on Zedekiah and his house, and on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (Jer 24:9; 25:18; 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22; 49:13). Peter, in confusion, invoked a curse upon himself (Matt 26:74). Cursing in Bible use was not profanity in the modern sense; therefore, neither Peter in this instance nor Jesus in cursing the fig tree used profanity (Mark 11:21). Jesus said that those unfit for the kingdom would be cursed at the judgment (Matt 25:41); Paul rejoiced that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Gal 3:13).

4. Laws governing imprecations. A curse was not considered a mere wish for misfortune on one’s enemies, but a potent force capable of translating pronouncements into tangible results. The fact that one was an enemy made him an eligible victim regardless of his character. Curses were sometimes written on pieces of parchment and left to chance or some deity to make proper delivery. Curses also were inscribed on tombs, as in Egypt, to deter grave robbers. Certain curses were prohibited: “You shall not curse the deaf” (Lev 19:14); “nor...a ruler of your people” (Exod 22:28). “Even in your thought, do not curse the king, nor in your bedchamber curse the rich; for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter” (Eccl 10:20). To curse God would certainly bring death (Job 2:9; cf. 1 Kings 21:10). The Christian view on curse was spoken by Jesus who said, “Bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28); and by Paul, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Rom 12:14).

Bibliography J. H. Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of NT (1889) 335f.; N. K. Gottwald, A Light to the Nations (1959), 25, 80, 156, 336; Davies-Mitchell, Student’s Hebrew Lexicon (1960), 38, 331, 562; R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel (1962), 143, 290f., 408; H. M. Buck, People of the Lord (1966), 147, 253f.