Bible Word Study
בְּרָכָה
Bᵉrâkâh · Berakah, the name of an Israelite, and also of a valley in Palestine
בְּרָכָה
Berakah, the name of an Israelite, and also of a valley in Palestine
Definition
Berakah (בְּרָכָה) is a proper noun used in the Old Testament to refer to both a person and a geographical location. As a personal name, it designates one of David's mighty warriors, a Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:3). As a place name, it refers to the 'Valley of Berakah' (or 'Valley of Blessing'), a site in the wilderness of Tekoa where King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah celebrated a great victory over a coalition of enemy armies, praising God for the triumph (2 Chronicles 20:26). In both instances, the name is directly derived from the common Hebrew noun for 'blessing.'
Biblical Usage
This word is used only twice in the Old Testament, both times as a proper noun. In 1 Chronicles 12:3, it is the name of a warrior. In 2 Chronicles 20:26, it is the name of a valley where a national act of thanksgiving occurred. The usage in 2 Chronicles is particularly significant, as the location's name commemorates a specific event of divine intervention and corporate praise.
Etymology
Berakah is identical to the feminine noun בְּרָכָה (berakah, H1293), meaning 'blessing,' 'gift,' or 'praise.' It comes from the root verb ברך (barak), meaning 'to kneel' or 'to bless.' The name, therefore, literally means 'Blessing' or 'Place of Blessing,' directly linking the person and the valley to the concept of divine favor and thanksgiving.
Semantic Range
The Valley of Berakah represents a powerful theological theme: remembering and naming places after God's acts of deliverance. It transforms a geographical location into a memorial of thanksgiving, teaching that victories are from the Lord and should be met with praise (2 Chronicles 20:21-22, 26). Understanding this name enriches reading by highlighting the Israelite practice of concretizing their gratitude, making faith and history inseparable. In ancient Israelite culture, naming a person or place after a significant event or attribute was common. The Valley of Berakah exemplifies this, where the very name of the location served as a perpetual reminder of God's intervention for the community. It differs from a modern understanding of place names, which are often merely descriptive or historical, by being an active declaration of faith and collective memory. בְּרָכָה (berakah, H1293) — The common noun for 'blessing,' from which the proper name is directly taken.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]