The Lord Bless You: Numbers 6 for the Life of the Church

The Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6, "The Lord bless you," is one of the most familiar and widely used liturgical texts in Christianity. Although often recited, it is not usually a subject of in-depth study.

In this addition to the Touchstone Texts series, highly regarded Old Testament scholar Stephen Chapman provides a detailed, engagingly written exposition of the Priestly Blessing as well as a broader exploration of blessing in the Old Testament. He explores the historical and liturgical use of the Priestly Blessing in the Jewish and Christian traditions and discusses key issues related to the practice of blessing within contemporary Christianity. His interpretation of the Priestly Blessing highlights the importance of the divine name and the way the blessing offers a vision of religious faith as "name bearing." Chapman's volume will be a helpful resource for pastors and seminarians and an important reminder to all Christians of the centrality of blessing to the life of faith.

The Touchstone Texts series addresses key Bible passages, making high-quality biblical scholarship accessible to the church. The series editor is Stephen B. Chapman.

Stephen B. Chapman (PhD, Yale University) is associate professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. He is the editor in chief of the Journal of Theological Interpretation and the author of The Law and the Prophets: A Study in Old Testament Canon Formation and 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary. He is also an ordained American Baptist minister.