‘The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.’ Numbers 6:24-26
INTRODUCTION
Recently I attended a wedding service during which the officiating minister delivered the Aaronic Blessing. I was intrigued by this pronouncement, in a 21st century CE Christian setting, of a liturgical blessing from the ancient Israelite cult. I therefore decided to look more closely at the scriptural occurrence of this benediction and seek to determine the original circumstances and meaning behind its use?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Aaronic Blessing appears in the book of Numbers which is the fourth of the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). These books are often referred to collectively as the Pentateuch, or as the Torah (law or instruction). The Aaronic blessing comes at the end of a large chunk of religious legislation extending from Leviticus 1:1 – Numbers 6: 27.
This cycle of instructions is mainly concerned with the holiness of YHWH (the Lord) and with the holiness of the Israelites as his chosen people. YHWH had revealed himself to the Israelites as their national god, had brought them out of slavery in Egypt (the Exodus) and had made a covenant with them at Sinai by which they obligated themselves to worship him exclusively. He had also delivered to Moses blueprints for the construction and erection of a portable shrine (known as the Tabernacle) dedicated to YHWH worship and had given detailed instructions for an associated cult (set of religious practices). The latter involved the institution of a priesthood and a sacrificial system. All of this had been successfully implemented as instructed by the time the book of Numbers opens.
At that point the Israelites are preparing to leave Sinai and travel through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Just as the community is about to set out on the journey Moses delivers instructions, specifically to the Aaronite priests, about a blessing. It draws attention to the good things that lie in store for YHWH’s covenant people; those who live their lives in accordance with his revealed word.
THE CONCEPT OF BLESSING
‘Bless’ and ‘blessing’ are common words in the Old Testament and in the culture of the time the concept carried various shades of meaning.
1. Blessing functioned as part of an everyday greeting similar to our modern ‘Hello!’ (see Ruth 2:4; Psa 129:8).
2. Blessing was regarded as having almost magical power to bestow future fertility, prosperity and security (see Gen 27:30-38).
3. Blessing often had God as the object and in these instances it conveyed gratitude and thanksgiving on the part of human beings (see Gen 24:27; Ex 18:10; Ruth 4:14; 1 Sam 25:32-33; 2 Sam 18:28; 1 Kgs 1:48; 5:7; 8:15, 56; 1 Chron 16:36; 2 Chron 2:12; 6:4 and various psalms e.g. Psa 28:6; 31:21). The emphasis is on God as the recipient of praise for blessings already received rather than as the giver of future blessings.
4. ‘Blessed’ was used to describe the situation of one who had already received good things, e.g. Psa 1:1
5. Blessing was used as part of religious worship as petition for the favour of the deity and perhaps also, in the case of the Aaronic Blessing, as a prayer for protection through death (e.g. the Ketef Hinnom amulets – see below).
Hagee (2012, p.27) comments:
‘When God blesses man it is to bestow good health, abundant success, and prosperity, both materially and spiritually. When man blesses God, it is presented in the forms of thanksgiving, reverence, obedience, praise and worship. When a man blesses his fellow believer, he recites the Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:22-27…’
It is useful to note the important difference in emphasis between blessings already received and those wished for the future. One produces a beatitude, the other a benediction. The Aaronic Blessing is a benediction.
AN ANCIENT BENEDICTION
In 1979 two tiny silver scrolls were found during the excavation of a tomb at Ketef Hinnom near Jerusalem. Since they contain an abbreviation of this priestly blessing in miniature script it is generally thought that these were worn as amulets by the person buried there (possibly a priest). Dating from about the end of the seventh century BCE, these tiny silver sheets are now the oldest written portions of the Hebrew Bible in known existence, predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by three or four centuries.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE PASSAGE
Following immediately upon the block of legislation dealing with Israel’s holiness, particularly that in Num 5-6 about holiness in the camp, comes this benediction which expresses a wish for the ideal situation; a state of harmony, security and prosperity for the Israelites, brought about by holiness.
6:22-23. The introduction to the blessing.
6:24-26 The wording of the blessing.
6: 27 The conclusion to the blessing.
THE INTRODUCTION TO THE AARONIC BLESSING
‘And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them‘ Num 6:22-23
This introductory section emphasizes that the Lord himself initiated this blessing. YHWH (the Lord) is the author, Moses is the messenger and Aaron and his descendants are the mediators of the blessing. The revelation by YHWH to Moses specifies the blessing as part of a religious ritual that is to be invoked only by priests. These are weighty words that not just anyone can speak casually.
Deuteronomy makes it clear that blessing was one of the main functions of the Levitical priestly office (see also 1 Chron 23:23):
‘At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.’ Deut 10:8
‘And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:’ Deut 21:5
In Numbers 6, however, the message is even more specific: only the Aaronite priests can invoke this priestly blessing. The mediation of the blessing was a specific duty which was exclusive to a single group of priests authorised by YHWH.
We are not told when this blessing was first pronounced by Aaron but it may have been some time earlier when the priests began to exercise their ministry just after the inauguration of the Tabernacle and the priesthood. According to Lev 9:22:
‘And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.’
What Aaron said on that occasion is not divulged nor is there mention of the lifting of the hand in Num 6, but perhaps the wording of that first blessing matched what is recorded here in Numbers 6:24-26.
The particle ‘thus’ (translated ‘on this wise’ in the KJV) specifies that the blessing must be given exactly in the form and wording prescribed by YHWH.
THE WORDING OF THE AARONIC BLESSING
‘The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.’
This formal request to God for the granting of prosperity, fertility and success to the Israelites consists of three lines each having two clauses and containing two verbs.
bless keep
shine be gracious
lift give
The verbs call for six related actions on the part of YHWH in order that this favourable situation for his people might be achieved.
YHWH appears as the first word in each line and is therefore explicitly the subject of the first clause in each line. He is also implicitly the subject of the second clause in each line. The placement of YHWH at the beginning of each line is for emphasis, as grammatically the threefold repetition is unnecessary. This stresses that although the benediction is spoken by the priests it is the Lord who issues the blessing. This rules out the possibility that blessing can come from another source e.g. the priests or false deities.
Some equate the threefold mention of ‘the Lord’ with the Holy Trinity (Father, Psa 110:1; Jesus, Rom 10:9; Holy Spirit, 2 Cor 3:17) and link the Aaronic Blessing with the Apostolic Benediction ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.’ in 2 Cor 13:14.
Scholars see great literary accomplishment in the Hebrew. Each of the three lines is longer than the one before thus, it is thought, illustrating the increasing flow of God’s blessings. In the original the lines have 3, 5 and 7 words which is a regular sequence of odd numbers. The number of consonants in the lines is 15, 20 and 25 which is a sequence by five. The number of syllables is 12, 14 and 16.
The pronouns throughout the blessing are singular. The KJV clearly shows that they are second person singular by the use of ‘thee’, e.g. ‘The Lord bless thee and keep thee’. Although singular, and therefore referring to each individual Israelite, this is a collective singular similar to that in the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:2-17: Deut 5:6-21), e.g ‘Thou shalt, thou shalt not’, so the import is wide.
Although one could hardly describe the relationship between YHWH and his Old Testament worshippers as intimate yet the use of second person singular pronouns emphasizes that it was personal. By blessing individuals YHWH blessed the people as a whole, by blessing the people as a whole (collective sense) he blessed individuals.
There is some discussion as to whether the blessing contains six petitions or three. The general opinion seems to be that there are three. That assumes that the verbs are in pairs. The first clause of each line is a call for YHWH to act towards the Israelites, the second clause has to do with his activity on their behalf in response to that call.
The last part of each line can be taken as expanding or explaining the request in the first part (i.e. it is epexegetical).
Some suggest that the Lord blesses by keeping (protecting), the Lord makes his face to shine by being gracious and that he lifts up his countenance thereby giving peace.
The last part of each line may be regarded as giving the consequent action of God to the request in the first part, i.e. it is the result.
The verbs in the Aaronic Blessing
BLESS
bāraḵ: to bless, kneel, salute, greet. Its derived meaning is to bless someone or something.
Blessing in the Old Testament had little to do with spirituality but more to do with material benefits. The first biblical mention of blessing in Gen 1:28 shows that it has to do with productivity (offspring), prosperity, empowerment and personal physical security. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (which is also in the second person singular) gives a list of blessings that an obedient worshipper of YHWH might expect to receive:
28:3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
28:4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
28:5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
28:6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
28:7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
28:8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
28:11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers to give thee.
28:12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
28:13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath;…
KEEP
šāmar: to watch, to keep, to preserve, to guard, to be careful, to watch over.
This word is used of men guarding, protecting or tending (e.g Gen 2:15; Isa 21:11-12) and of YHWH keeping covenant (e.g. 1Kgs 8:23-25). This request in the Aaronic Benediction is for protection by YHWH against any force, human or spiritual, that would disrupt or destroy the blessing once received by his people.
Psalm 121, in which šāmar occurs several times, is a meditation on YHWH’s vigilance (‘neither slumber nor sleep’) and his preservation of his people. He is a divine security guard.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
SHINE
’ôr: to give light, to shine, to become light, make bright
Examples: Jonathan’s eyes brightened 1 Sam 14:27, 29; and Ezra 9:8 ‘that God may brighten our eyes’.
‘May YHWH make his face to shine in your direction’
This anthropomorphism which attributes human features to God indicates that God makes his presence known but the imagery of his face shining means much more. God is not only near but also friendly and his attitude is benevolent. He will give a positive and favourable reception. See also Psa 31:16; Psa 80:3, 7, 19.
Note: The opposite imagery of the shining face is that of hiding the face (e.g. Deut 31:18) which speaks of rejection.
Psalm 67, which is based on the Aaronic Blessing, is a meditation on ‘bless’ (vv. 1, 6, 7) but also includes the expression ’cause his face to shine upon us’ in v.1.
BE GRACIOUS
ḥānan: to be gracious toward, to favour, to have mercy on.
The idea here is that of God showing favour to his people. This is usually thought of as the action of a superior towards an inferior. There is not the distinction between grace and mercy that we have in the New Testament. The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) translates ‘be gracious’ as ‘show mercy’. The prayer is that God might deal with his people in mercy, grace and deliverance from afflictions. Perhaps forgiveness of sins would be included as one of God’s gracious actions; judgement tempered with mercy.
At Sinai YHWH had revealed himself as ‘merciful and gracious’ but also held out the possibility of judgement:
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Unlike the above quotation from Exod 34:6-7 there is no mention of judgement in in the Aaronic blessing.
LIFT
nāśā’: to lift, to carry, to take away.
The ‘lifting up of the countenance toward’ literally ‘turn his face towards’ suggests that God is looking at and therefore paying attention to his people, smiling upon them with pleasure and affection.
GIVE
śiym: to put, to set, or to place, to appoint, to bring, to call, to put, to change, to charge, to commit, to consider, to convey, to determine.
The petition ends with a request for the Lord to grant šālôm (peace). ‘Peace’ does not just mean the absence of war but also carries the thought of unity, harmony, well-being, health, prosperity,wholeness, security and salvation.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE AARONIC BLESSING
And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. Num 6:27
Following the words of the Aaronic Blessing comes verse 27 which continues the instructions for blessing given by YHWH to Moses in vv. 22-23. The Septuagint places verse 27 at the end of verse 23. The verse concludes the section on the Aaronic Blessing and gives an insight into how it was viewd by the Lord.
‘and they shall put my name upon the children of Israel;‘ Does this refer to a further separate ritual that is not described here or back to the invocation of the Aaronic Blessing? Given that details of a different ritual are not supplied it seems most likely that YHWH regarded the invocation of the blessing by the Aaronite priests as a figurative act of putting his name upon the people.
As a ritual act the recitation of the Aaronic Blessing expressed the divine name (being and character) of the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God and reminded the Israelites that they belonged him.
The divine name reminded them of who he is – his character.
The divine name reminded them of what he had done – his works.
The divine name reminded them of what he had promised- his covenant.
As worshippers of an awe-inspiring, holy God they had to be holy as well. The pronouncement of the benediction did not provide an easy magic shortcut to blessing. They had to worship the Lord, obey him and walk in his ways, then blessing would follow. Whenever the blessing was asked for such people it would definitely be granted.
The blessing had to be requested by the Aaronite priests but it was not caused by them. The Lord alone could bless.
SUMMATION
As Christians today we can enjoy the principle enshrined in the Aaronic Blessing: that the Lord who has saved us and brought us into a relationship with himself can sustain us on our journey of life with blessings which are unmerited but graciously bestowed. It is our responsibility, as those who belong to him, to live holy lives.
‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ Mat 6:33
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Bailey, L. R., 2005. Leviticus-Numbers, Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys
Bush, G., 1858. Notes, Critical and Practical, on the Book of Numbers: Designed as a General Help to Biblical Reading and Instruction, New York: Ivison & Whinney
Duguid, I. M. and Hughes, K. R., 2006. Numbers: God’s Presence in the Wilderness. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Hagee J., 2012. The Power of the Prophetic Blessing, Brentwood, TH: Worthy Publishing
Martin, G. and Anders, M., 2002. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman & Holman.
North, G., 1996. Sanctions and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Numbers, Tyler, TX: Inst for Christian Economics
Pitkänen, P., 2018. A Commentary on Numbers: Narrative Ritual and Colonialism. New York: Routledge
Swete, H. B., 1909, The Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint, Cambridge University Press
Rushdoony, J. R., 2006. Numbers, Vallecito, CA: Chalcedon/Ross House Books
van Kooten, G. H., 2007. The Revelation of the Name YHWH to Moses: Perspectives from Judaism, the Pagan Graeco-Roman World, and Early Christianity, Leiden: Brill.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Cocco, F., 2007, La sonrisa de Dios. Los verbos de la bendición de Num 6,24-26, available at
https://www.academia.edu/9648468/La_sonrisa_de_Dios_Los_verbos_de_la_bendici%C3%B3n_de_Num_6_24_26
Cohen, C., 1993, The Biblical Priestly Blessing (Num. 6:24-26) in the Light of Akkadian Parallels, Tel Aviv, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 228-238
Fishbane, M., 1983, Form and Reformulation of the Biblical Priestly Blessing, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 103, No. 1, pp. 115–121.
Isaak, M. A., 1995, Literary Structure and Theology of the Patriarchal Narratives: The Three-fold Blessing, Direction Magazine, Vol. 24. No. 2 pp. 65-74
Martens, E., 2009, Intertext Messaging: Echoes of the Aaronic Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), Direction Magazine, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 163-178
Miller, P. D., 1975. The Blessing of God, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, Vol. 29, No.3, pp.240-251
Ozolins, K., 2021. Artifact in Focus: The Ketef Hinnom Amulets, Ink Magazine, Issue 9, pp. 12-14
Yardeni, A., 1991. ‘Remarks on the Priestly Blessing on Two Ancient Amulets from Jerusalem.’ Vetus Testamentum, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 176–185
Written Exposition 