NELC 150

Introduction to the Bible

Slide 56


Amulet containing priestly blessing (Numbers 6:24-26). This is one of two such amulets found in Jerusalem and dating to ca. 600 BCE, probably just prior to the Babylonian exile. Both quote a form of the Priestly Benediction, using it as part of a magical spell to protect the amulet's owner from harm (see Slide 59). Although it is not a verbatim quotation, it is nevertheless the oldest known quotation of a Biblical passage, older than the Dead Sea Scrolls by at least three centuries.