CURSE (Iciars). Several Hebrew and Greek words are thus translated.
To curse, signifies to imprecate, to call for mis chief upon, or wish evil to, any one. Noah cursed his grandson Canaan (Gen. ix :25) : Jacob cursed the fury of his two sons (Gen. xlix :7) ; Moses en joins the people of Israel to denounce curses against the violators of the law (Deut. xxvii :15, tift, etc.) Joshua pronounced a curse upon him who should undertake to rebuild Jericho. These curses were such as were either ordained by God himself and pronounced by men under the influence of his Spirit ; or they were predictions of certain evils which would happen to individuals, or to a people, uttered in the form of imprecations. They were not the effects of passion, impatience, or revenge; and, therefore, were not things condemned by God in his law, like the cursing mentioned (Exod. xxi :17; xxii : 28; Lev. xix :14 )• The Mosaic law forbade the cursing of father or mother ( Exod. xxi :17) on pain of death, of the prince of his people ( xxii -28). of one that is deaf (Lev. xix :14) or perhaps absent so that he could not hear. Blasphemy, or cursing God, was a cap
ital crime (Lev. xxiv :to. t t ). ANATIIENIA ) God pronounced his curse against the serpent which had seduced Eve (Gen. iii :Ls), and against Cain. who had imbued his hands in his brother Abel's blood, iv :i t. Ile also promised to bless those who should bless Abraham, and to curse those who should curse him. The divine male dictions are not merely imprecations, nor are they impotent wishes; but they carry their effects with them, and arc attended with all the miseries they pronounce or foretell.
The curse of the law signifies the just and law ful sentence of God's law, condemning sinners to suffer the full punishment of their sin. or the pun ishment indicted on account of transgression (Gal. iii:10), and from which Christ redeems us by "being made a curse for us." (Gal. iii :13 ; Comp. Rom. viii and Gal. iii :i3 with Rom. v :16 and 2 Cor. iii :7-9.
To curse, in an evil or blasphemous sense, is to affirm or deny anything with thoughtless or rash imprecations of Divine vengeance (Matt. xxvi: 74).