In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated as scribe identified a person who numbered or mustered the troops. - Jer. 52:25 - Such a steward controlled the access of the people to the throne rooms of king David and Solomon. - 2Sam. 8:17 - Gradually, the word came to refer to those who chose a profession of literary studies.
Hezekiah, king of Judah, chose a body of men who transcribed the ancient records for preservation including the proverbs of Solomon. - Prov. 25:1 - The nature of the scribe's work had changed by this time. He was no longer an officer of the king's court; he had become a person who interpreted the Scriptures. The scribes soon became known for their study and knowledge of the Mosaic Law.
After the Jews returned from the Captivity in Babylon, the era of the scribes began. The reading of the Law before the nation of Israel by Ezra - Nehemiah chapter 8 to 10 - signaled the nation's return to exact observance of all the laws and rites that had been given. Following the Law and the traditions that had grown up around it became the measure of devotion and spirituality.
At first the priests were responsible for the scientific study and professional communication of this legal code. But this function eventually passed to the scribes. Their official interpretation of the meaning of the Law eventually became more important than the Law itself.
This position of strength allowed these early scribes to enforce their rules and practices with a binding authority. To speak of the scribes as interpreters of Scriptures means that they provided rules for human conduct out of their study.
By the time of Jesus, the scribes were a new upper class among the Jewish people. Large number of priests in Jerusalem before A.D.70 served as scribes. One of these was Josephus, the Jewish historian. Some scribes came from among the Sadducees. Others came from the ordinary priestly ranks. But the largest group of scribes came from among every other class of people, including merchants, carpenters, flax combers, tent makers, day labourers, like Hillel, who became a famous Jewish teacher.
The young Israelite who devoted his life to become a scribe went through a set course of study for several years. Josephus began his preparation when he was 14 years old. Students were in continual contact with the teacher, listening to his instruction. The disciple-scribe first had to master all the traditional material and the unique method of interpretation of the Jewish Halakah. The aim was to give the apprentice competence in making decisions on questions of religious legislation and penal justice.
The apocalyptic writings of late Judaism contained great theological systems that were understood only by the specially initiated. This was left to the confidential teaching of the scribes. They believed that God intended to leave the mass of people ignorant of His reasons for requiring certain things under the Law. These truths was hidden from the masses because they could not be trusted to understand and apply the Law.
The city of Jerusalem was the center of this scribal knowledge and interpretation of the Law. Only ordained teachers could transmit and create the tradition; this was the matter studied to perfection by students often beginning at age 14. When they completed their study at the age of 40, they could be ordained. As members with full rights, they could act as judges, be called rabbis and occupy positions in administration of justice, government and education. They joined their chief priests and aristocratic families who made up the Sanhedrin. The scribes were held in greatest esteem by the people. Sometimes the gospels refer to the scribes as lawyers - a title that identifies them as experts in the Mosaic Law.
All the people who heard him and the tax collectors too, acknowledged God's plan by accepting baptism from John; but by refusing baptism from him the Pharisees and the lawyers had thwarted what God had in mind for them. - Luke 7:29-30 -
In Jesus' day, this Law.......
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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