Chapter II: The Scribes of the Age

=1. It should be remembered= that during these ages in all prominent nations =the office of scribe= or historian was a very important one, the existence of which was very general. Before the Exodus the historians accompanied the kings of Egypt and Assyria in their expeditions. Several references to such persons are found in the Scriptures, 2 Kin. 25:19; 2 Chron. 26:11, as especially belonging to the army. They are called “remembrancers” and “writers of chronicles” or “recorders” in the time of David, 2 Sam. 8:16. There were =also poets=, who described the events of the national history or the prowess of the king, not only in Egypt and Assyria, long before David, but also in Israel. The book of Jasher referred to in Josh. 10:13 and 2 Sam. 1:18 was probably a poetic history of heroic acts, very similar to one discovered in Egypt, called the poem of Pentaur, celebrating the courage of the Pharaoh, Rameses II., who was contemporary with Moses.

=2. The number= of writers of different kinds must have been =much greater= than is generally supposed. At a very early period during the residence of the Israelites in Egypt the taskmasters were always accompanied with “writers,” called “officers” in our version, Exod. 5:6, and we find them pictured on the monuments, with their tablets and reeds, writing even while walking. The children of Israel had scribes also on their brick-fields to check off the records of those who wrote for the taskmasters, Exod. 5:15, 19. So also the Judges in “the gates”[83] had their writers, Deut. 16:18, also called “officers.”

Writers were employed for such engineering purposes as are recorded in Josh. 18:9, and these were not simply draughtsmen who mapped the country in a book, but also recorded the position of cities, of which not less than four hundred and eleven are mentioned by name.

=3. In more recent times= there arose the class of writers called by the Hebrews “=Sopherim=” or “scribes,” who appear to have been high officers of the State or secretaries, recording edicts of the king besides the many important occurrences of history.

=4. That writers= or scribes =existed= at so early a period as that when the Israelites were in the desert is certain from the statement in Num. 11:16, where Moses is commanded to assemble these writers with the seventy elders. It is plain from these instances that there were numbers in the camp who were expert writers, and it is highly probable that many of the people were instructed through their writings, not only then, but during all the residence of the Israelites in Canaan.

=5. There were men= then, as now, =peculiarly fitted= to record current events, or interested in genealogy, or gifted with poetic talent, and their inclinations led them to make records which were interesting at those periods, or to make “books” which were known to be faithful and authentic; and hence in no less than fourteen instances there seem to be references to such books throughout the Old Testament writings: Num. 21:14; Josh. 10:13; 1 Sam. 10:25; 1 Kin. 4:32, 33; 11:41; 1 Chron. 27:24; 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 12:15; 20:34; 33:19; 35:25.

=6. It is certain= therefore that in the times of the monarchy =public records= were =carefully= kept, and even long before that time the people were not without their historians, who wrote down all important events and preserved and copied writings for others then living and for those who should come after them.

PERIOD V.

THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS TO THE CAPTIVITY.

FROM B. C. ABOUT 1095 TO B. C. 588, 507 YEARS.