CHAPTER FIVE

THE PRIESTLY AS lEXTUAL FORM IN THE BIBLE AND IN QUMRAN

37. IN1RODUCTION

The priestly blessing with which and his sons were commanded to bless the (Num 6:22-26) is not accompanied by any explicit instructions regarding the manner or circumstances of its recitation. Nevertheless, it became the central blessing by which the blessed the people, with upraised hands (Lev 9:22), and an inseparable part of the service of the priests in the Temple.! The information given in the Bible is incomplete, but its actual liturgical use is supported by the fact that phrases taken from it are customarily used in biblical writings and other works, as well as by the information found in the Book of Ben Sira and in the concerning its incorporation in regular divine worship during the Second Temple period.2 It would likewise seem that the literary qualities of this blessing made it easy to recite it, and even facilitated its multi-faceted adjustment to various needs and messages.

38. LITERARY QUALITIES OF TIffi PRIESTLY BLESSING IN NUMBERS 6:24-26 The priestly blessing found in the contains three phrases, formulated in a consistent manner, each phrase containing a petitionary prayer for two general acts which it wishes God to perform on behalf of the one being blessed:

The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

We thereby arrive at a three-part blessing containing six verbal felicitations. However, the contents of most of these felicitations are extremely general, as

1 Deut 10:8; 21:5; 1 Chr 23:13. See M. D. Cassutto. "Birkat Kohanim", EncMqr 2.358. 2 Above, end of §33, nn. 48-49. 146 1HE PRlESTL Y BLESSING AS 1EX1UAL FORM they do not enumerate the specific benefits sought.3 This quality gives the blessing a standard character, making it suitable for recitation under every circumstance. Moreover, its very general formulation gives it the qualities of a pattern (or formula) which may be easily adapted to different contents, whether by means of word-play with its verbs, or by attaching various desired benefits to the verbs of the blessing through the simple expedient of expansion and completion. These phenomena can already be detected in the multi-faceted use of the felicitations of the priestly blessing in the Bible; however, their principal development takes place in the and curses of Qumran. One ought nevertheless to notice that the widespread use of the priestly blessing was evidently influenced by its extensive use in the cult, as explained in §33.

39. LITERARY USE OF 1HE PRIESTLY BLESSING IN 1HE BmLE

We find variegated literary use in the Bible of words alluding to the priestly blessing, albeit not formulated according to its original order. Its phrases appear, not only within the context of blessing, but also for purposes of prayer (Pss 4; 80), praise (ps 67), and exhortation (Ma11:6-2:9). As already demonstrated, the various literary and homiletical aspects of this phenomenon are clearly distinguished when several words from the blessing are used in one work.4 But these are combined in free groupings, such as: '~n~ "~El .,~, '~:>":l" UJI"I' C'il?~ ("May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us") in Ps 67:1 [2]; using word play, as in: C,?tD:J .. .'il "~El .,,~ '~'''ll ilO~ ("Let the light of Your face shine on us, 0 Lord ... in peace"-Ps 4:7 [6],9 [8]); or in the ironic words of exhortation with which Malachi exhorts the priests who show contempt in their task: "?~ tJ:)M ~tD~, tJ:)'~El ?ll rD"'lEl ...C'~El tJ:)Q ~lD"il .. JDM'il ,?~ '~El ,?n ... ("implore the favor of God, that He may be gracious to us ... Will He show favor to any of you? .. spreading dung on your faces ... He shall bear you to it"-Mal

3 1. Licht, Bemidbar, 96. Nevertheless, the benefits of the blessing are interpreted through its verbs, albeit in general terms and not with exact detail. See Licht, ibid., 77, in his interpretation of the relevant verses; Cassutto, "Birkat Kohanim," 359. Greenberg ("Tepi/la," 913), finds the benefits implied in its sentences "which become progressively longer," and "symbolize an increasing abundance." 4 See M. Fishbane, "Form and Reformulation of the Biblical Priestly Blessing" lAOS 103 (1983) 115-121; idem, Biblical Interpretation in Ancient (Oxford: Clarendon, 1985) 329-334, and the bibliography there; L. J. Liebreich, "The Songs of Ascents and the Priestly Blessings," lBL 74, (1955) 33-36. Liebreich finds allusions to the language of the priestly blessing in the Songs of Ascent (Pss 120-134). Indeed, the words "1Q1ZI, Iln, C"ID, and 11::l, which he mentions, appear separately in each psalm; one may therefore see these as routine languages of blessing, and not as being necessarily written in conscious relation to the priestly blessing. The verbs MID' and 1M' are not mentioned in these psalms. Nevertheless, examination of the psalms of ascent as a whole may create an impression consistent with Liebreich's argument.