“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”(Matthew 28)

 

Rather than an expression of heathenism, this expression parallels the three aspects of the Divine addressed in the priestly blessing:

 

“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘So shall you bless the Children of Israel, saying to them,

• ‘May the Lord bless you and safeguard you.[יברכך יי וישמרך]

• May the Lord illuminate His countenance for you and guide you. [יאר יי פניו אליך ויחנך]

• May the Lord carry His countenance to you and grant you completion. [the term ‘shalom’, שלום, may imply completion, wholeness, perfection, and/or peace]. [ישא יי פניו אליך וישם לך שלום]”’”(Numbers 6: 23-26)

 

‘May the Lord bless you and safeguard you.’ Considering the perspective from on High, the words ‘bless’ and ‘safeguard’ are understood to convey the Lord’s aspect of ‘create’ and ‘maintain.’ From this perspective, the first blessing represents the Divine aspect of Father, the Creator Who maintains Creation at all times.

 

‘May the Lord illuminate His countenance for you and guide you.’ The word ve’chunecha, ויחנך, may be translated alternately as ‘be gracious to you’ or ‘guide you.’ Although the meaning differs greatly, both spelling and pronunciation are the same. Indeed, both meanings presumably apply.

 

If the word ויחונך is understood as a a complex verb form of the root [חנן], “grace”, then the verb form is of standard third person future tense with second-person possessive suffix: to ‘be gracious to you.’ Alternatively, if the word ויחונך is understood as a complex verb form of the root [חנך], “guide”, then the verb form is of third person future tense with irregular second-person possessive suffix: to ‘guide you’. In the latter case, the possessive suffix is categorized as “defective” because it borrows the letter “כ" from the third position of the root. The word is thus ויחונך rather than ויחונכך. Since both ויחונך and ויחונכך are permissible constructions, it is presumed that the defective suffix was chosen for stylistic reasons, at least in part. See Proverbs 1:10 and Leviticus 15:31; 17:8,10,13; for similar examples of this construction.

 

So as to parallel the Trinity, this work has chosen to translate this word in the context of a guide. It follows that the second blessing must correspond to God as Guiding Light. This blessing can thereby be seen to constitute the Divine aspect of Son, who guides humanity from within Creation.

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A Guiding Light might be a Divine presence encountered by a prophet or a deep sense of purpose in life. In the context of the Son of the Trinity, however, this blessing refers more specifically to the Divine Light that shines through Jesus the Teacher. For Jesus brought the wisdom, heritage, and prophecy of the Old Testament to the Christians and Christian world at large.

 

‘May the Lord carry His countenance to you and grant you completion.’ This blessing conveys an aspect of Divine Eminence: that is, it constitutes the person, place, and/or situation where God permits Himself to be found. It is man connecting to God, and God touching the soul of man. Regarding the Holy Trinity, this blessing can thus be seen to parallel the Holy Spirit: the eminence of the One God in man and in all things.

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