The Aaronic Blessing—also known as the Priestly Blessing—is a central biblical prayer in which God, through Moses, instructs Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel. It is a threefold blessing of protection, grace, and peace that has long been used in both Christian and Jewish traditions.
The blessing from the book of Numbers ch 6:24–26 represents a declaration of God’s presence, grace, and harmony (shalom), and invokes the Lord’s protection and well-being:
”The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
The blessing is used in Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran contexts, often to conclude Sunday services, where priests and pastors offer the prayer to convey God’s blessing to congregants. It is also a central part of Jewish liturgy, often called the Priestly Blessing because the priests (Kohanim) pronounce it as a blessing from God Himself.
It is often recited in the synagogue, where the priests raise their hands during the service, sometimes with a tallit (prayer shawl) over their heads. The prayer has thus been used for over 3,000 years to invoke God’s protection, grace, and peace over His people.
Blessing their Children
While Christians primarily use it as a liturgical blessing, in Jewish tradition it is used both for priestly blessings and as a personal blessing within families during milestones or daily life. Parents also use it to bless their children, especially on Friday evenings before the Sabbath or at bedtime.
Temple priests blessed with raised hands, just as Jesus did with his disciples at his ascension (Luke 24:50), pronouncing God’s name (YHWH) as it is. After the blessing in Numbers 6 follows the explanation of its meaning: “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Oldest biblical fragment
The words of the blessing have been found on a 2700-year-old silver scroll discovered in 1979 in a tomb in the Valley of Hinnom in Jerusalem. The scroll, dated to the First Temple period and thus the oldest surviving fragment of a biblical text, bears the Aaronic Blessing written in ancient Hebrew.
The scrolls were found in a chamber in cave 24 at Ketef Hinnom during excavations led by Gabriel Barkay, then a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University. Professor James R. Davila has pointed out that the scrolls show that “some of the material found in the Five Books of Moses existed during the First Temple period.”
