εὐλογέω

The last thing Jesus did on earth, before His ascension, was to bless His disciples.

Luke describes it carefully:

“Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” (Luke 24:50-53)

The detail is striking but rarely noticed. Jesus did not ascend with a final teaching, a parting commission, or a benedictory speech. Jesus ascended while in the act of blessing. The Greek text emphasizes the simultaneity: kai egeneto en tō eulogein auton autous, diestē ap’ autōn kai anephereto eis ton ouranon — and it happened, while he was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. The verb eulogein (to bless) is in the present infinitive, naming a continuous action that was still going on at the moment of the ascension.

The image has theological weight. Christ ascended in the posture of blessing. His last visible action on earth was to lift His hands over His disciples in priestly blessing. And the implication, for the early church and the church across the centuries, is that He has not stopped. The risen and ascended Christ continues to bless His people from the right hand of the Father. The blessing He pronounced on the disciples in Bethany was not a one-time farewell; it was the inauguration of His continuing high-priestly work of blessing the church.

The Greek word at the center of this scene — and at the center of the New Testament’s whole vocabulary of blessing — is eulogeō. The verb means “to speak well of,” to praise, to invoke favor upon, to confer blessing. The cognate noun eulogia (blessing, praise) and adjective eulogētos (blessed, worthy of praise) round out the word family. Together they constitute the New Testament’s primary vocabulary for the great Christian theme of blessing — blessing that flows from God to His people, blessing that the people return to God in praise and doxology, and blessing that believers speak over one another in the patterns of Christian life.

This chapter is about that word — the verb that Christ embodied in His ascending posture and continues to embody from the throne.

The Word

The Greek word is εὐλογέω (eulogeō), pronounced in the Erasmian convention as eu-lo-GEH-oh, with the accent on the third syllable. The verb appears throughout the New Testament in standard conjugated forms.

The etymology is a compound that gives the chapter its central pedagogical handle. Eu- (εὖ) is the Greek prefix for “well,” “good,” or “favorably.” Logos (λόγος) is the Greek word for “word” or “speech” (treated at length in Volume One Chapter 1). The verbal ending produces the action verb. Literally and exactly, eulogeō means to speak well, to say good things. The English word eulogy comes from the same root — a eulogy at a funeral is, etymologically, a speaking-well of the deceased.

The basic Greek sense is therefore not magical or ritualistic but verbal. To eulogeō someone is to speak well of them — to praise them, to invoke favor upon them, to call good things upon them. The translation as “to bless” is the standard English rendering that has emerged because the religious context of the New Testament gives the term its theological weight; but the basic etymological sense — to speak well — remains in view throughout.

The word family is substantial and theologically rich:

Eulogeō (εὐλογέω) — to bless, to speak well of, to praise. The chapter’s main word.

Eulogia (εὐλογία) — blessing, praise, fine speech. Used at Ephesians 1:3 (every spiritual blessing in Christ), Romans 15:29 (the fullness of the blessing of Christ), 2 Corinthians 9:5-6 (the generous gift, the bountiful blessing), Hebrews 6:7 and 12:17 (the blessing connected to Esau’s lost birthright). The noun names the thing-blessed-into-existence — the gift, the praise, the favorable speaking.

Eulogētos (εὐλογητός) — blessed, worthy of praise. The verbal adjective. Used in the doxological formulas of the apostolic letters: Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3, 1 Peter 1:3 — Eulogētos ho theos kai patēr tou kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou — “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In the New Testament, eulogētos is almost always used of God; the human is eulogēmenos (the passive participle, see below).

Eulogēmenos (εὐλογημένος) — blessed (passive participle, used as adjective). Used of those who have received blessing. Matthew 21:9 and parallel passages — “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (the crowd’s acclamation of Jesus at the triumphal entry). Matthew 25:34 — “Come, you who are blessed by my Father.” Luke 1:42 — “Blessed are you among women” (Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary).

Eneulogeō (ἐνευλογέω) — to bless in/with. The compound with en- (in). Used at Acts 3:25 and Galatians 3:8 — both in the context of the Abrahamic promise: “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”

A few important lexical distinctions deserve attention.

First, the distinction between eulogētos and makarios (μακάριος). Both Greek terms are translated “blessed” in standard English Bibles, but they cover different theological territory. Makarios names the state of being blessed — the happy, fortunate, flourishing condition. The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12 — Makarioi hoi ptōchoi tō pneumati, “blessed are the poor in spirit”) use makarios. Eulogētos names the one praised — the recipient of well-speaking. The apostolic doxologies (Eulogētos ho theos, “Blessed be God”) use eulogētos. The English language’s use of one word (“blessed”) for both Greek terms obscures the distinction. Makarios describes a condition; eulogētos names a relation in praise.

Second, the relationship between eulogeō and the broader vocabulary of speech. The compound eu- + logos places blessing squarely within the realm of speaking. To bless is fundamentally to speak — to pronounce, to invoke, to call. The blessing is not first a feeling or a wish but a word spoken. The Lutheran emphasis on blessing as a word that does what it says — that actually conveys what it pronounces — rests in part on this etymological foundation.

Third, the relationship between blessing and cursing. The opposite of eulogeō in the New Testament is kataraomai (καταράομαι) or katarōmai — to curse, to invoke evil upon. Romans 12:14 contrasts the two directly: “bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (eulogeite tous diōkontas hymas, eulogeite kai mē katarasthe). The choice between blessing and cursing — between speaking-well and speaking-evil — runs throughout the New Testament’s pastoral teaching on the believer’s speech.

The Septuagint background is foundational. Eulogeō and the related family are used extensively in the LXX to translate Hebrew barak (בָּרַךְ) and related vocabulary. The Hebrew barak is the Old Testament’s standard word for blessing, used hundreds of times for both divine and human blessing. The LXX translators consistently rendered the Hebrew barak family with the Greek eulogeō family, so the whole Old Testament theology of blessing flows directly into the New Testament’s vocabulary.

Several Old Testament passages are foundational for the New Testament’s eulogeō doctrine:

Genesis 1:22, 28 — The creation blessings. “And God blessed (wayebarek, LXX eulogēsen) them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’” The first uses of the blessing vocabulary in the Hebrew Bible are God’s blessings on creatures and humanity at creation. Blessing is fundamental to God’s relation to His creation.

Genesis 12:1-3 — The Abrahamic blessing. “And I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Four uses of barak in one passage. The Abrahamic blessing is the foundational narrative of God’s blessing flowing through one chosen family to the whole world. Galatians 3:8-14 develops this as the foundation of the gospel.

Numbers 6:24-26 — The Aaronic blessing. “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” The standard priestly blessing of Israel, still in use in confessional Lutheran worship as the closing benediction of the Divine Service. Three uses of barak (in the verb-forms) structure the threefold blessing.

Psalm 103:1-2 — “Bless (baraki, LXX eulogei) the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” The Hebrew piety’s pattern of human blessing returned to God in praise. The blessing that God has given is the blessing the believer returns in doxology.

Psalm 67:1 — “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us.” A psalmic echo of the Aaronic blessing applied to the whole congregation.

The Old Testament’s view of blessing is consistent and rich. Blessing flows from God to His creation, to humanity, to His chosen people, through them to the whole world. Blessing is then returned to God in praise. Blessing is mediated through priests and patriarchs to those under their care. The New Testament’s eulogeō doctrine inherits this whole tradition and develops it Christologically.

Range of Meaning

Eulogeō in the New Testament covers a meaningful range:

God’s blessing of humanity in Christ. The dominant theological sense. Ephesians 1:3 — God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Galatians 3:14 — “the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles” through Christ. Acts 3:26 — God’s blessing of the people through Jesus, “turning every one of you from your wickedness.” The New Testament’s foundational use: God blesses His people through Christ.

Humans blessing God in praise and doxology. The reverse direction. Luke 1:64 (Zechariah blessing God), Luke 2:28 (Simeon blessing God when he holds the infant Jesus), Luke 24:53 (the disciples after the ascension, “continually in the temple blessing God”), the apostolic doxologies (Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3, 1 Peter 1:3). When humans bless God, they are returning praise for what He has done — speaking well of Him in response to His having spoken well to them.

Human-to-human blessing in priestly or pastoral contexts. Luke 24:50-51 — Jesus blessing the disciples at the ascension. Acts 3:26 — the apostolic preaching as the medium of God’s blessing. The Aaronic blessing in its New Testament continuation through the Christian ministry. Hebrews 7:1, 6-7 — Melchizedek’s blessing of Abraham as the typological pattern of Christ blessing the church.

Blessing of those who curse or persecute. The believer’s ethical practice. Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28 — “bless those who curse you.” Romans 12:14 — “bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” 1 Peter 3:9 — “do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.” The Christian ethic of blessing as the response to evil is one of the most striking New Testament reversals of natural human response.

Blessing connected to the sacraments. Mark 6:41, 14:22 / Matthew 14:19, 26:26 / Luke 9:16, 22:19 — Jesus blessing the bread at the feeding miracles and at the Last Supper. 1 Corinthians 10:16 — “the cup of blessing (poterion tēs eulogias) that we bless.” The sacramental use connects the verb to the church’s continuing practice in the Lord’s Supper.

Blessing as gift or generosity. 2 Corinthians 9:5-6 — the Corinthian collection for the saints in Jerusalem described as a eulogia, a “blessing” or “bounty.” The metaphorical extension of blessing from speech to material generosity reflects the Hebrew background where barak could carry the same dual sense.

Where You’ll Meet It

Ephesians 1:3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” The Greek: Eulogētos ho theos kai patēr tou kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou, ho eulogēsas hēmas en pasē eulogia pneumatikē en tois epouraniois en Christō.

The verse is the densest packing of the eulogeō word family in the New Testament. Three forms of the same root appear in a single sentence: eulogētos (blessed be), eulogēsas (the one who has blessed), eulogia (blessing). The structure is itself a small theological statement.

The first eulogētos is doxological: blessed be God. The believer’s response is to speak well of God, to return praise to Him. The second eulogēsas (aorist participle) is descriptive: God is the one who has blessed us. The blessing flows from God to His people. The third eulogia pneumatikē (spiritual blessing) names the substance: every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly places.

The verse establishes the structural pattern of New Testament blessing. God blesses His people in Christ (the divine-to-human direction); the people bless God in praise (the human-to-divine direction); the substance of the blessing is the spiritual gifts secured in Christ. The whole apostolic doxology that follows (Ephesians 1:3-14, treated extensively in Volume Two Chapter 14 on apolytrōsis) develops what these “spiritual blessings” include: election (verse 4), predestination to adoption (verse 5), redemption (verse 7), the sealing of the Spirit (verses 13-14).

The theological implication is substantial. Christian blessing is not a vague positive disposition or wishful well-wishing. Christian blessing is the substantial gift of God’s saving work in Christ — election, redemption, adoption, sealing, inheritance. When the believer is “blessed in Christ,” he is the recipient of these concrete gifts, not a recipient of generalized divine favor.

Luke 24:50-53. “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.”

The ascension scene developed in the chapter’s hook. Three observations matter.

First, the timing and posture. Jesus blessed the disciples as His last act on earth, and He was carried up into heaven while He was blessing. The blessing was ongoing at the moment of the ascension. The image of Christ ascending in the act of blessing has theological weight: the priestly blessing that Christ pronounced has not ended; Christ continues from the throne the priestly work He began on earth.

Second, the lifting of the hands. Luke specifies eparas tas cheiras autou — “lifting up his hands.” The gesture is the priestly gesture of blessing, going back to Aaron and the Old Testament priesthood (Leviticus 9:22 — “Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them”). Christ’s act is priestly. He is the great High Priest blessing His people in the very moment of His exaltation.

Third, the disciples’ response. The disciples worshiped Him (proskynēsantes) and returned to Jerusalem meta charas megalēs — with great joy. And in the temple they were eulogountes ton theon — continually blessing God. The pattern is the structural movement of Christian worship: God blesses the people through Christ; the people return blessing to God in worship; the cycle continues. The disciples’ response on the day of the ascension is the foundational pattern of the church’s worship across the centuries.

The Lutheran tradition has preserved this pattern in the Divine Service. The pastor pronounces the Aaronic Benediction at the close of worship — Christ’s blessing through the office of the ministry — and the congregation returns in praise. The structural shape of the liturgy is the receiving-and-returning of blessing.

Galatians 3:8-14. “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith… Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ — so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” The Greek of verse 14: hina eis ta ethnē hē eulogia tou Abraam genētai en Christō Iēsou.

The passage develops the connection between the Abrahamic blessing and the Christian’s blessing in Christ. The promise to Abraham — that all nations would be blessed in him — is fulfilled in Christ, who became a curse for us so that the blessing might come to the Gentiles. The whole movement is Christological: Christ takes the curse so that we receive the blessing; Christ bears the rejection so that we receive the welcome; Christ becomes the cursed one so that we become the blessed.

This is one of the most theologically substantial uses of the eulogeō family in the New Testament. The connection between blessing and cursing is not symmetric; the believer’s blessing is not earned by good behavior or merited by faithful practice. The believer’s blessing flows from Christ’s bearing of the curse. The cross is the place where the curse and the blessing exchange — Christ takes the curse the believer deserved; the believer receives the blessing Christ alone deserves.

Numbers 6:24-26 (and its New Testament continuation). “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

The Aaronic Benediction is not directly quoted in the New Testament, but its pattern runs throughout the apostolic writings. The threefold structure — bless and keep, shine and be gracious, lift up countenance and give peace — is one of the most concentrated Old Testament blessings on God’s people, given to Aaron and his sons as the priestly blessing.

The confessional Lutheran tradition has preserved this blessing as the closing of the Divine Service. The pastor pronounces it over the congregation at the close of worship, with the lifting of his hands in the priestly gesture. The blessing is real — not merely a wish or expression of hope, but the conferring of God’s actual benefits on the gathered congregation. The pastor speaks in the name of the Lord; the words convey what they name.

The implications for confessional Lutheran piety are substantial. The Aaronic Benediction at the close of Sunday worship is not a religious formality; it is the conferring of God’s blessing on the gathered people through the called and ordained pastor. The believer who hears the blessing pronounced has actually been blessed. He returns home from worship under God’s pronounced blessing for the week ahead.

Romans 12:14 and 1 Peter 3:9. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” The Greek of Romans 12:14: eulogeite tous diōkontas hymas, eulogeite kai mē katarasthe.

The two passages name the most distinctive Christian ethical practice with respect to enemies. The natural human response to those who curse or persecute is to curse back, to retaliate, to wish ill on the wrongdoer. The Christian ethic, taught by Christ Himself (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:28) and developed by the apostles, is the reverse: bless those who curse you.

The Greek imperative eulogeite — “bless” — is in the present tense, naming continued action. The Christian is to continue blessing in the face of continued cursing. The verb katarasthe — “do not curse” — names the prohibited response. The contrast is sharp: bless, do not curse.

The pastoral reading of these passages includes the recognition that this is one of the most difficult Christian practices. The believer’s natural impulse is to defend himself, to retaliate, to wish ill on those who have wronged him. The Christian discipline is to speak well of even those who have spoken evil against him — not because the wrong they have done is somehow excused, but because the believer’s identity is in Christ, who blessed those who crucified Him (“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” — Luke 23:34).

The 1 Peter passage adds a striking observation: the believer who blesses receives a blessing in return. “To this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” The economy of blessing is not loss but gain. The believer who speaks well of enemies is participating in the same blessing-pattern that Christ embodies; the believer’s own blessing is somehow tied to his exercise of blessing toward others.