אַשְׁרֵי־הָאִישׁ ashrei ha’ish “happy is the man” (cf. Psalms 1:1) or אַשְׁרֵי ashrei “happy are” (cf. Matthew 5:3) is commonly translated as “blessed is…” or “blessed are” because the Greek word μακάριος makarios (G3107) interchangeably means “blessed” or “happy” without the deeper differences between the words as Hebrew has. Though these words can have similarities in the Greek or English language, they have completely different meanings in Hebrew. In short, “Happy is how you live, blessed is how you give.” – Corey Scott
אֶשֶׁר asher (H835) comes from a root word which means “to tie a cord” as in a שֹׁר shor (H8270) which is a naval or umbilical cord (cf. Proverbs 3:8; Ezekiel 16:4) or to make a harness or armor from tightly woven cords (cf. 2 Chronicles 18:33; Isaiah 59:17). In the sense of “happy” אֶשֶׁר asher means “to be straight” because a pulled cord makes a straight line for measurement or to securely fasten something. Thus, to be happy is to live one’s life on straight and upright (cf. Psalms 5:8; Isaiah 40:3) which is יָשַׁר yashar (H3474) and comes from same root as אֶשֶׁר asher.
בָּרַךְ barakh (H1288) comes from a root word which means “to kneel” (cf. Psalms 95:6) in the sense of bending at the knee to drink (cf. Genesis 24:11) or bending in homage (cf. Genesis 24:48) or bending down to present a tangible gift to another (cf. Deuteronomy 8:10). בָּרַךְ barakh is most translated (over 300 times) as bless, to blessed, blessed, or to be blessed in the Bible. However, since the root of בָּרַךְ barakh is neutrally applied to kneeling before another to present a gift, whether the gift is good or bad, the word has also been translated as “blaspheme” (cf. 1 Kings 21:10,13) and “curse” (cf. Job 1:5; Job 1:11; Job 2:5).
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