what was the most significant biblical archeological find? the dead sea scrolls? others may argue that another discovery evidencing the torah portion naso brings us historically closer to mt. sinai.

in 1979, israeli archaeologist mr. gabriel barkay, with the help of one of his young workers, found a silver amulet in a jerusalem burial tomb. the amulet, after going through an extensive process to unroll it, was found to contain the priestly blessing which is found in the book of numbers chapter 6. experts date the object to five hundred years prior to the dead sea scrolls. to date, it is the oldest extra-biblical evidence for the name of god found in jerusalem. it is dated to either the seventh or sixth century b.c.e. for those playing jeopardy or love biblical scholarship, the four letter name for god is also called the tetragrammaton.

the find’s implication is that the blessing existed during the times of the davidic dynasty and most likely existed for centuries prior.

the blessing comes from the passage in naso in which god tells moses to speak to aaron and his sons, saying: “this is how you shall bless the children of israel, saying to them: “may the lord bless you and watch over you. may the lord cause his countenance to shine to you and favor you. may the lord raise his countenance toward you and grant you peace.”

on friday nights it is a custom, at the shabbat dinner that parents bless their child with this priestly blessing. as such, no irony is lost that it was a young child who played a major role in the discovery of this archeologically significant artifact. this child blessed the world by moving those interested closer to the biblical events.

be well!!

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