Aaron's Blessing

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

This beautiful blessing has been sung and passed on from generation to generation in Jewish homes and synagogues for over 3,000 years. Christians have also spoken this blessing from the early days of the church to the present day for 2,000 years.

This blessing is also the oldest surviving biblical inscription in existence today! In 1979, Dr. Gabriel Barkay and his archaeological team discovered what is now known as the Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls just outside the old city of Jerusalem.  These two tiny silver scrolls about the size of a cigarette found in a collapsed tomb were carefully unrolled and analyzed.  Written in paleo-Hebrew were the words of the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, something scholars have declared to be one of the most significant biblical archaeological finds in history!  These scrolls which also had verses from Deuteronomy written on them date to the 7^th century B.C. of the 1^st Temple Period.

The Aaronic blessing of Numbers and the words of Deuteronomy found on the Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls have rocked the academic world, discrediting the idea of the German liberal scholar Wellhausen taught in seminaries throughout the world that the Torah wasn’t written down until the 2^nd century B.C. and that it was written by 4 different authors.  Instead, this archaeological discovery points to a much earlier date for the writing of the Torah and helps affirm Jesus’ statements of the Mosaic authorship of the Law as found in the New Testament.

The next time you hear, sing, speak or read the blessing of Aaron, may you know that this blessing comes from God and is just as real and powerful for you as it was for the children of Israel 3,000 years ago.