About
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.
Series Preface
Introduction
1. The Blessing in Worship
2. The Blessing's Thesis
3. Unpacking the Thesis
4. Putting the Blessing into Practice
Appendix: Translation
Indexes
Endorsements
"This is a wise, penetrating, and compassionate look at Christian blessing through the lens of a careful reading of the Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6:24-26. Stephen Chapman shows how this Old Testament passage has been understood over time and how a better understanding of blessing might not only restore the integrity of American churches in an increasingly partisan era of divisiveness but also renew a robust sense of the clerical vocation. This is a valuable contribution to the Touchstone Texts series and well worth reading."
Kate Bowler, associate professor of American religious history, Duke Divinity School
"Lucid, disciplined, insightful, fresh--Stephen Chapman shows the Priestly Blessing to be a living link to a storied heritage of faith, both Jewish and Christian. He clarifies the meaning of blessing not only in the biblical text but also as a reality for today. Here we learn better how to understand and appropriate the subject matter of Scripture."
Walter Moberly, emeritus professor of theology and biblical interpretation, Durham University
"In a bifurcated world, biblical scholar Stephen Chapman bridges historical ancient society and contemporary reality, meticulous scriptural exegesis and ecclesial liturgical practice. With sensitive attunement to pastoral life within congregations, Chapman offers a literary blessing about the meaning of the Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6. This book is an implicit call for Christians not only to understand more fully what a blessing is but to practice blessing others more faithfully in the world. The biblical passage under discussion is a 'touchtone text,' but this book is one as well because it touches a hurting world with a timely message: 'The Lord bless you.'"
Luke A. Powery, dean of Duke University Chapel; professor of homiletics, Duke Divinity School
"This beautifully written book will shed considerable light on one of the most important texts of the Bible--the Priestly Blessing found in the book of Numbers. Chapman pauses over each phrase in order to give ear to all the tones sounded in this famous prayer."
Gary A. Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Thought, University of Notre Dame
The Author
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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...
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