The Priestly Benediction Amulet is another key proof of Israel’s long ownership of the land. Five hundred years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls, it was found in 1979 in the Valley of Hinnom between Old City Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives by a team led by Israeli archaeologist, Gariel Barkay. They had tossed the small item aside thinking it of no consequence when a young boy standing by asked, “Mister, are you sure this isn’t something?”

It resembled the wadded up aluminum foil wrapper holding a piece of gum. Barkay realized the rolled up piece was pure silver. It took special treatment and great care to unroll it, and divine wisdom to decipher the words written in ancient Hebrew, all consonants with no vowels.

One phrase clearly repeated three times. An aged rabbi recognized the sequence as Numbers 6:24-26, the earliest Bible passage found in ancient artifacts—

²⁴ The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: ²⁵ The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: ²⁶ The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

The original is in The Israel Museum, next to the Shrine of the Book holding the Dead Sea Scrolls. It’s possible to buy museum-approved replicas. The photo above shows mine.

In other news, here’s a first. My Minnesota dentist always buys my books. Yesterday, he bought his copy of A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel and showed it to his new partner who is Jewish. That dentist took time to look through it while I was still there. He came and found me and thanked me for writing a book so positive about Israel and its people, though I clearly emphasize the Christian aspects built on Jewish foundations. We had a great conversation. I’ll look for him each time I go. I’m very happy that he was so pleased. May that happen often! If you’ve read it, feel free to show it to Jewish friends. And thanks for posting those important Customer Reviews on Amazon.com.