The "Our Father" (Lord’s Prayer) In Light of Jewish Barekah

Jesus gave his disciples a model to follow in the Lord's Prayer. In this prayer, Jesus brings to a clear focus many expressions and elements already present in first-century Jewish synagogue worship. The "Our Father," of which we have two versions (Luke 11:24; Matt. 6:9-13), also reflects to an important degree the liturgy of the synagogue. Contrary to the claims of apologetes who like to emphasize the radical originality of the "Our Father," a careful analysis shows that this prayer has deep roots in Judaism. This statement applies first to the very structure of the "Our Father." This reflects the ideal structure of Jewish prayer, as seen, for example, in biblical prayers such as that of David (1 Chron. 29:10-20); an opening barakhah, or petitions, and a final, summarizing barakhah. For this reason it is improbable that the Lord's Prayer ended with the words "but deliver us from evil. " The ending in some codices of Matthew's gospel would seem closer to the original: "For yours is…