Writings: JudaismThe Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls2 of 10

Writings: Judaism

The Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls

The Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls are two tiny rolled silver sheets found in 1979 in a burial cave in Jerusalem. Each carries a version of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26. Barkay dates them to the second half or last quarter of the 7th century BCE; Berlejung and Na'aman place them later, in the Persian or early Second Temple period.

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Three dates, kept apart

  1. The text's date: the tradition's view

    about 1300 BCE, the Torah, which contains the blessing, given at Mount Sinai (the year is computed here, because the Orthodox Union's entry on the Torah states none: it says the Torah was given there some 3,300 years ago, and the page's date stamp is June 21, 2006, which may be a load date, so an earlier writing date would move the result by years, not centuries; the Orthodox Union is the only voice used here that gives a number of years, and the Union for Reform Judaism's commentary on the priestly blessing, the Central Conference of American Rabbis' 1999 statement, and the Conservative movement's Emet Ve-Emunah (1988) give none; the bar marks the giving of the Torah at Sinai only)

  2. The text's date: critical scholars' view

    No source used here gives a year for the blessing itself, so this row is left blank. The tradition row marks the giving of the Torah at Sinai, which contains the blessing; this row would mark when scholars date the blessing's composition. Jeremy Smoak holds that the blessing circulated before it was set into Numbers, and Christine Hayes says in a lecture that Priestly writings reached final form in the exilic or post-exilic period while often keeping older traditions; neither gives a year for the blessing. Barkay, as Waaler quotes him, and Waaler hold that the full form in Numbers is earlier than the amulets, which Waaler dates to 725 to 650 BCE; neither gives a year for the blessing itself. The oldest known writing of the blessing is the amulets themselves, dated as in the copy row.

  3. This copy made

    late 7th to early 6th century BCE, when the amulets were inscribed on the dating of Barkay and Yardeni (about 650 to 575 BCE, computed here from the centuries and quarters the sources name; Barkay gives the second half or last quarter of the seventh century and Yardeni the early sixth, which Waaler reported in 2002 as the dating of most scholars; the bar shows their dates only; Renz dates the plaques to the early post-exilic period or the second or first century BCE, Berlejung to the Persian period, and Na'aman to the early Second Temple period; the Israel Museum's record gives the 6th century BCE

  4. This copy found

    1979, when Gabriel Barkay excavated the amulets from a burial cave at Ketef Hinnom, Jerusalem (Smoak names Judith Hadley with him; first published in Hebrew in 1989, according to Eames)

All four rows share one timeline. A row with no marker says why in words. How ancient texts are dated.

What it is

Two small silver sheets were found rolled into tiny scrolls in a burial cave in Jerusalem. Each was cut in ancient Hebrew script, and the Israel Museum's record says deciphering the lines was difficult.1 They are amulets, objects worn for protection.23

The lower part of each carries a version of the priestly blessing, the three-part blessing of Numbers 6:24-26 that priests speak over the people.123 Numbers is one of the Five Books of Moses, the Torah, the first part of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible).4 The first amulet also has a statement that parallels Deuteronomy 7:9, about God keeping the covenant. The second keeps the core of the blessing but lacks two clauses, about God being gracious and lifting up his face.3

How the copy was dated

Scholars have used the shape of the letters (paleography), the pottery in the cave, and spelling.5 Gabriel Barkay, who excavated the cave, dated the amulets in 1992 to the second half or last quarter of the seventh century BCE, as Erik Waaler reports.5 Ada Yardeni dates them to the early sixth century.5 Waaler reports that most scholars have dated them to the late seventh or early sixth century BCE.5

In 2004 Barkay, Marilyn Lundberg, Andrew Vaughn, and Bruce Zuckerman re-edited the texts and reaffirmed a late Iron Age date, writing, as Christopher Eames quotes them, that most scholars support it and a minority advocates a later one.6 The 2004 article was not available to this research, so this rests on Eames's report.

Others date them later. Johannes Renz places them in the early post-exilic period (after the exile in Babylon) or in the second or first century BCE, Waaler reports.5 Angelika Berlejung, in 2008, dates them to the Persian period.7 Nadav Na'aman, in 2011, dates them to the early Second Temple period, possibly not many years after the Temple was built.8

Smoak gives about the sixth century BCE, the Israel Museum the 6th century BCE, and the Center for Online Judaic Studies about 600 BCE. The museum and the Center do not say how.312 For the methods, see how ancient texts are dated.

The text: its date and authorship

The strip marks the priestly blessing, Numbers 6:24-26. Its tradition row draws on the Orthodox Union's statement that the Torah, which contains the blessing, was given at Sinai some 3,300 years ago.9 Its scholars' row is blank, because no source used here gives a year for the blessing itself. Barkay, as Waaler quotes him, and Waaler hold that the full form in Numbers is earlier than the amulets, which Waaler, who argues one thesis, dates to 725 to 650 BCE. Smoak holds that the blessing circulated before it was set into Numbers.53

The tradition's view

This column reports the tradition through the Orthodox Union, a Reform commentary, and the Mishnah. Numbers 6:22-27 says God told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons how to bless the Israelites.10 The Orthodox Union teaches that the Torah was given at Mount Sinai some 3,300 years ago, with every word dictated to Moses from Heaven.94

The Mishnah says priests do not lift their hands to recite it with fewer than ten men present.11 Ira Youdovin, in a Reform commentary on the Union for Reform Judaism's site, reports that in Orthodox and many Conservative synagogues it is chanted on weekdays and Shabbat during the repetition of the Amidah, the standing prayer. On the High Holy Days and Festivals, he writes, it is pronounced by kohanim (priests), men (and in some synagogues, women) who say they descend from priests. He adds that parents recite it when blessing their children at the Shabbat dinner table. All of this is one Reform author's account.12

Scholars of the blessing and the Priestly source: Smoak, Barkay, Waaler, and Hayes

Smoak holds that the amulets predate the final composition of the Torah, so they are not a fragment of a biblical manuscript. They show the blessing circulating as a ritual text that was later set into the longer form in Numbers.3 Barkay, as Waaler quotes him, noted that a shorter text is usually the older. He held, however, that the complete structure of the blessing in the Masoretic Text, the traditional Hebrew text of the Tanakh, points to it as the earlier version.513 Waaler, who argues one thesis, assigns Numbers 6:24-26 to the Priestly source.5

Christine Hayes says in a lecture that the Priestly materials emerged over centuries and reached final form in the exilic or post-exilic period, though they often preserve older traditions. She adds that scholars do not fully understand who produced them or exactly when.14

How it was found

Barkay found the two amulets in 1979 in a burial cave at Ketef Hinnom, southwest of ancient Jerusalem. Smoak names Judith Hadley with him.83 Waaler writes that they lay in cave 24, chamber 25, in a repository under the tomb.5 Smoak says the repository held other protective items, including amulets.3

Barkay published the inscriptions in Hebrew in 1989 and in English in 1992, according to Eames.6 The Israel Museum's record carries a photograph and a digital presentation credit. The sources used here name no further digitized copy of the inscriptions.1

What it shows, and what it does not

It shows that a version of the priestly blessing was written on silver and kept in a Jerusalem burial cave.1 On the late Iron Age date that Barkay and his team hold, that was shortly before the Babylonian destruction of the city, Eames reports.6 On Berlejung's and Na'aman's dates it was later.78 Waaler reports that the legible letters on the second amulet agree with Numbers 6:24-26 in the Masoretic Text, and those on the first seem to, in a shorter form.5 The Israel Museum calls them the oldest copies of biblical text known today.1

Whether it shows that a text of Numbers already existed is disputed. Smoak holds that the amulets are not a fragment of a biblical manuscript, and the Center for Online Judaic Studies says it is quite possible they are not quotes from Numbers.32 Barkay held the full form to be the earlier, and Waaler argues that its exact match with the second amulet is hard to explain unless the texts were written down.5 They do not settle who owned them, since the amulets' opening lines are too damaged to restore with confidence.3

See also

Sources

  1. Israel Museum, Jerusalem. 'Priestly Benediction' on amulets (collection record). Israel Museum, Jerusalem, the collection record. Accessed 2026-11-06.
  2. Center for Online Judaic Studies. Silver Scroll Amulets from Ketef Hinnom, c. 600 BCE. Center for Online Judaic Studies (COJS), the page. Accessed 2026-11-06.
  3. Jeremy D. Smoak. The Ketef Hinnom Amulets: Wearing the Priestly Blessing for Protection. TheTorah.com (published June 4, 2026; last updated October 28, 2026), 2026, the article and its footnotes. Accessed 2026-11-06.
  4. Orthodox Union. Tanakh (Judaism 101 glossary). Orthodox Union, glossary entry. Accessed 2026-10-29.
  5. Erik Waaler. A Revised Date for Pentateuchal Texts? Evidence from Ketef Hinnom. Tyndale Bulletin 53.1 (2002), pp. 29 to 55, 2002, pp. 29 to 55; the pages cited are pp. 30 to 33 (find, pottery, Barkay's, Yardeni's and Renz's dates) and pp. 43 to 47 (the blessing and the Masoretic Text). Accessed 2026-11-06.
  6. Christopher Eames. The Ketef Hinnom Scrolls: Earliest Biblical Text Ever Discovered!. Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology, Let the Stones Speak, September-October 2024, 2024, the article. Accessed 2026-11-06.
  7. Angelika Berlejung. Ein Programm fuers Leben. Theologisches Wort und anthropologischer Ort der Silberamulette von Ketef Hinnom. Zeitschrift fuer die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 120, no. 2 (2008), pp. 204 to 230 (abstract on the publisher's page), 2008, abstract only (English, French, and German versions). Accessed 2026-11-06.
  8. Nadav Na'aman. A new appraisal of the silver amulets from Ketef Hinnom. Israel Exploration Journal 61, no. 2 (2011), pp. 184 to 195 (abstract on Tel Aviv University's research portal), 2011, abstract only. Accessed 2026-11-06.
  9. OU Staff. Torah. Orthodox Union, 2006. Accessed 2026-10-29.
  10. Jewish Publication Society of America. The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text. The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Accessed 2026-10-28.
  11. Mishnah (William Davidson Edition). Megillah 4:3. Sefaria, Megillah 4:3. Accessed 2026-10-29.
  12. Ira S. Youdovin. Priestly Blessing (Torah commentary on Naso). Union for Reform Judaism (ReformJudaism.org), 2006, the commentary. Accessed 2026-11-06.
  13. I. Nowell. Psalms, Book of. New Catholic Encyclopedia (Gale), via Encyclopedia.com, the entry. Accessed 2026-11-06.
  14. Christine Hayes. Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) (RLST 145), Lecture 9: The Priestly Legacy: Cult and Sacrifice, Purity and Holiness in Leviticus and Numbers. Open Yale Courses, Yale University, transcript. Accessed 2026-11-06.