The Priestly Blessing (3): Be Gracious

“…the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you." Numbers 6:25 (ESV)

Ya'er YHVH (Adonai) panav elecha veechuneka…

When I pondered upon the Hebrew meaning of the second priestly blessing, I realized that I do not fully understand what the words mean. It has taken me several months of prayer, study, and reflection to deepen my understanding of the familiar concepts and to finally be able to share my insights.

The verb ya'er in this sentence has a causative sense and means “to become light, to cause to shine.” It shares the root with the word “light,” (or, אוֹר) used in the first verses of the Bible: “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” [1] Note that this light does not refer to physical light that comes from any created object but to supernatural, spiritual light that dispels darkness and brings life. But there is more to it. The words “make His face to shine upon you” is a translation of a Hebrew idiom which means “smile on you,” and this is actually how it is rendered in the New Living Translation (NLT).

The verb that follows, veechuneka (“be gracious”) has the root chen (חֵן). The noun chen is usually translated into English as “grace.” Its other translations are “favor,” “kindness” or “mercy.” However, there are other Hebrew words that are also translated “grace,” “kindness,” and “mercy.” For example, the word chesed, חֶ֫סֶד, also translated as “lovingkindness.” The difference between chen and chesed is that while both words mean favor, mercy, and generosity of a superior to an inferior, chesed implies that there is a covenant love, a mutual duty, faithfulness, and loyalty between two parties, whereas chen does not imply a covenantal relationship and implies the favor of the superior who has no obligation to show it to the inferior who has no claim to it.

The first letter in the word chen is chet, which in Paleo-Hebrew pictographs means “fence.” The second letter is nun, which means “offspring, life.” Together, the two Hebrew letters convey the thought of protecting life.

Following the principle of first mention, we find that the word describes the favor that God extended to Noah (whose name in Hebrew, Noach, consists of the same letters as chen, albeit in a reversed order, and means “rest”) saving him from the flood: “But Noah found favor (chen) in the eyes of the LORD... [2] While here the meaning is consistent with the idea of mercy, the verse continues to say that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” [3] Noah obeyed God! David, too, connects God’s chen with blameless living: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor (chen) and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” [4] So, chen, while given freely, is connected to man’s attitudes and actions. Let’s keep digging.

Chen is closely related to the word chanah which is most often translated “encamp, be or abide in encampment. “The angel of the LORD encamps (chanah) around those who fear him, and delivers them.” [5] In this verse, the concept of grace/favor as deliverance is connected to the fear of the Lord. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [6, 7, 8]. And here is the key.

When we are convinced that we have and can do nothing apart from God, we cry out, Chonneni, and only then we are able to receive the gift of God's favor, love, and acceptance—His grace.

Choneini, Elochim. Be gracious to me, O God.

[1] Genesis 1:3. (ESV)

[2] Genesis 6:8 (ESV)

[3] Genesis 6:9 (ESV)

[4] Psalm 84:11 (ESV)

[5] Psalm 34:7 (ESV)

[6] 1 Peter 5:5 (ESV)

[7] James 4:6-10 (ESV)

[8] Proverbs 3:34 (NLT)