Arar (אָרַר) is the primary Hebrew verb for pronouncing a curse — invoking divine harm or judgment upon a person, place, or thing. A curse in the biblical world was not mere profanity but a solemn, spiritually powerful declaration that bound the subject to affliction. God curses, humans curse, and the ground itself is cursed as a result of sin.
The curse first appears in Genesis 3 — God curses the serpent and the ground following the Fall. The entire biblical story is the reversal of this curse through redemption. Galatians 3:13 proclaims: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." The gospel is the definitive uncursing of creation, completed in Revelation 22:3: "No longer will there be any curse."