“The Child of the Blessing”

“The Child of the Blessing” is a sacred-sounding name attached to Joey, but its meaning shifts between communal superstition and Ish’s private hope for his son. The phrase links a child’s exceptional reading to the tribe’s growing belief in the mystical power of Ish’s hammer, then becomes Ish’s name for the future he longs to entrust to Joey.

The Phrase and the Hammer

The children regard Ish’s hammer as an implement of power, dangerous for anyone but Ish to touch. Kept by itself on the mantelpiece and used on state occasions, it has acquired the aura of a relic. Ish recognizes that an idea which may have begun as a half-serious game has, over a few years, become a serious belief among the children.

Joey stands apart within that belief. Ish speculates that his son may not have reasoned that the hammer is an ordinary tool; instead, Joey may believe that his unusual reading ability marks him as having something in common with Ish. As the High Priest’s child and the “Son of the Blessing,” Joey might imagine himself entitled to touch relics that would harm the others. Ish also considers, without claiming certainty, that Joey may have encouraged the superstition to make himself seem important. In this context, the title describes a status produced by the children’s beliefs, not proof of supernatural power.

Ish’s Naming of Joey

Later, Ish watches Joey smile, and understands the happiness as a response to feeling sympathy with his father rather than to grasping the significance of Ish’s words. To a child, Ish reflects, a decade is as remote as centuries. Yet the gap between the boy’s limited understanding and Ish’s hopes does not diminish Ish’s love. Looking at Joey, he thinks, “This one, this one,” he thought, “is the Child of the Blessing! This one will carry on!”

The phrase now becomes Ish’s own declaration. It expresses his hope that Joey will continue what Ish has begun, turning the children’s mystical title into a father’s image of inheritance. Its force lies in that double meaning: Joey is set apart by an emerging tribal superstition, while Ish privately sees in him a possible bearer of continuity.

Hope and Vulnerability

The naming does not leave Ish in uncomplicated triumph. As Joey’s eyes lose focus and his eyelids close, Ish sits beside the bed holding his hand. The boy’s sleep brings death to Ish’s mind, and the love embodied in the title sharpens his fear of loss. He remembers having loved Em deeply and now recognizes the same exposure in his love for Joey; unlike Em, Joey seems physically fragile to him, with a faint pulse close to the surface and a powerful mind driving a small body.

The expression therefore holds promise and danger together. Ish calls Joey the one who will carry on, but the scene makes clear that this future is only a hope, dependent on a vulnerable child’s life. The title’s sacred resonance cannot protect Joey; instead, it gives Ish’s desire for continuity a name while exposing how much he stands to lose.