“Curses!”

Saturday, September 28, 2013

According to Numbers 22:6, Balak (king of Moab at that time) hired Balaam to curse Israel because Balak saw the great number of the Israelites and became afraid.  Cursing or hexing is hurting someone or something by means of supernatural powers such as a magical spells, prayers to a god, or summoning a spirit.  Throughout the Bible, I see the word "curse".  Now my question is: when I see this word, does it always mean harmful supernatural powers?

Sincerely,
Hexed Out

Dear Hexed Out,

The word ‘curse’ does not inherently involve supernatural consequences.  Balak was seeking a magical curse against Israel, but the word ‘curse’ simply means ‘to condemn or speak evil of’.  In Lk 6:28 and Jas 3:9, the word ‘curse’ is used to refer to someone saying bad things to or about another human (an Old Testament example of this is Ex 22:28).  The word ‘curse’ only involves the supernatural elements you mentioned if the context demands it.  If God (or a prophet from God) is cursing someone, then it obviously involves supernatural power.  If it is a human cursing someone – it just means they are saying unkind things.

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