Blessing in the New Testament

In the Old Testament, blessing means pronouncing something good over someone. In the New Testament the meaning shifts. Here, a blessing is an expression of thanksgiving or sanctification.

In early Judaism, blessing chiefly meant speaking short, predetermined texts before and after a meal. In this case, blessing primarily implies thanksgiving. There are examples of this in the New Testament. Before Jesus instructs his disciples to give out the five loaves and two fish, he said a blessing over them (Luke 9:16). At the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus speaks a prayer of blessing over the bread and gives thanks for the wine (Mark 14:22-23).

In early Judaism, blessings were also spoken at the beginning of the Sabbath and on feast days, or other special occasions.