2015•Oxford University Press eBooksRequires access
The Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6:22–27
Jeremy D. Smoak
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Abstract
This chapter discusses the significance of the Ketef Hinnom amulets for understanding the instructions for the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:22–27. After providing a comparison between the versions of the blessing on the two amulets and the version of the blessing preserved in Numbers 6:24–26, the chapter provides a lengthy discussion of the meaning behind the instructions in 6:22–27. The chapter argues that the instructions not only recall the practice of reciting the blessing, but also the ritual of writing the blessing upon materials to be worn upon one’s body for protective purposes. The instruction for the priest to “put” the blessing upon Israel in 6:27 may reflect the practice of writing the blessing upon amulets and other objects for an apotropaic function.