Abstract

Through a macro-syntactic analysis and a word study, this thesis has demonstrated that the root BRK (blessing), throughout the Primeval History and the calling/blessing of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), is consistently related to the Kingdom of God. The undergirding presence of the Kingdom of God makes the root BRK intelligible. Gen. 1:26-28 demonstrates that the purpose of creating and blessing (BRK) mankind was for mankind to rule as God’s representatives on the earth, and that it is the BRK of God that gives mankind the ability/capability to rightly rule on behalf of God. This thesis has defined the root BRK, based upon an analysis of its uses in the Primeval History and the calling/blessing of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), in the following way: The BRK of God provides the recipient with life-giving power and potency. As the term applies more specifically to humans, while incorporating life-giving power and potency, the BRK of God provides the recipient (i.e. one who bends the knee in recognition of the Lordship of God) with the ability/capability to rule rightly, as God’s representatives – to rule in a non-coercive, non-tyrannical way – for the express purpose of building/extending God’s Kingdom – a Kingdom that is meant to encompass all the families of the earth.