Proverbial poetry: its settings and syntax
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3R. O. Faulkner, "The Installation of the Vizier," JEA 41 (1955):18, 22-23; and Janet H. Johnson, "Avoid Hard Work, Taxes, and Bosses: Be a Scribe!" (Unpublished paper, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, n.d.). Jerusalem addresses his requests directly to the scribe of Pharaoh and requests that the scribe communicate a message to the pharaoh apart from the content of the document itself.1 This may explain not only Baruch's copying of the words of Jeremiah, but also his presenting of them to Jehoiakim (Jer 36:16-26).2 The scribes frequently functioned in diverse governmental structures as commissioned by the king or vizier.3 Not only did the scribes fulfill the writing mania by which the Pharaoh's were made immortal, but they also oversaw legal proceedings as judges, prosecutors and cross-examiners.4 They maintained economic order in the country as well, overseeing the care of dykes, agricultural matters, import and export transactions, the collection of taxes, and the distribution of monies to governmental employees. They were experts in political propaganda, so it is little wonder that the art of proper ____________________
Mesopotamia," in Studies in Honor of Benno Landsberger on His Seventy-fifth Birthday, April 21, 1965, Assyriological Studies 17 (1965), p. 253. He also notes a similar phenomenon at Mari.
(London: SCM, 1970), p. 227. 3Johnson, "Be a Scribe," pp. 4, 5. 4Halvorsen, "Scribes and Scribal Schools," p. 111. speech is stressed in instruction texts.1 In order to pursue a professional career, scribal training was a prerequisite.2 Rainey points out that there were even scribal soldiers.3 Scribes may also have had temple reponsibilities.4 Of the four major types of wisdom literature which have come from ancient Egypt (instruction texts [sebayit], the onomastica, speculative reflections, and texts on the scribal profession), a whole genre is given to the praising of the scribal art and the satirizing of the other trades. These texts are particularly informative as to the role of the scribe in Egyptian culture. "In Praise of Learned Scribes" and "The Satire on the Trades" commend the immortal status of those who write over those who build perishable tombs, condemn the baseness of the other trades (the cobbler as a leather biter, for example), and recommend the benefits of the life of a scribe as follows: ____________________ 1E. W. Heaton, Solomon's New Men, p. 20. 2Humphrey, "The Motif of the Wise Courtier in the Old Testament," pp. 22-23; and Cyril Alfred, The Egyptians (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1961), pp. 175-76.
Anastasi I," JNES 26 (1967):58-60. 4Johnson, "Be a Scribe," p. 2. Behold, there is no profession free of a boss--except for the scribe: he is the boss. . . . Behold, I have set thee on the way of god. . . . Behold, there is no scribe who lacks food, from the property of the House of the King--life, prosperity, health!1
important for wisdom-cult studies. In Egypt, Ugarit, and Mesopotamia there is a strong link between the wise men and the temple.2 Lastly, Khanjian is right when he highlights the role of the scribes in international affairs. This aided in the transmission of wisdom traditions between cultures. Scribes were needed to provide written documents in the proper languages and proper forms so that they would be acceptable at foreign courts.3 Thus, one should not view the scribe as a mere ____________________ 1Pritchard, ANET, "The Satire on the Trades," p. 434. Cf. Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, p. 223; Williams, "Scribal Training in Ancient Egypt," p. 218 (where he labels them as the "white kilt class"); Heaton, Solomon's New Men, p. 105; and Fontaine, "The Use of the Traditional Saying in the Old Testament," p. 281. Especially interesting is the "Papyrus Lansing: A Schoolbook," translated by Miriam Lichtheim, in Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:168-77; and Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," p. 100.
2Muilenburg, "Baruch the Scribe," p. 228; Erman, The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians, p. 185. Cf. Lambert, BWL, p. 8; Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 93; and Rainey, "The Scribe at Ugarit," p. 127. Very helpful is Rylaarsdam, Revelation in Jewish Wisdom Literature, pp. 12-13.
notes in the Wenamun journey the king of Byblos had "a letter scribe" to which the El Amarna tablets bear ample witness (Solomon's New Men, p. 169). copyist, although he was that, or as a simple creator of documents (both royal and poetic), although he often did such, for the scribes were also intertwined in the warp and woof of the political structure and provided the necessary skills for the maintenance and sustenance of civilization itself. The term "secretary" provides a nice translation in English, since "secretary" may mean a mere copyist or, as in the case of the Secretary of State, may indicate high governmental status and a relationship to the president. Scribes in Mesopotamia The scribe in Mesopotamia functioned in a manner similar to that of his Egyptian counterpart, although differences in writing materials and governmental structure would superficially alter his job description. As in Egypt, he was a master of languages, often of both the international Akkadian and the archaic Sumerian, in addition to Hittite or regional vernacular languages and dialects.1 Reading and writing were not commonly possessed skills. So, the three factors which were responsible for producing the rise of a scribal class in ____________________
p. 256. Kramer translates a text, "A scribe who knows not Sumerian, what kind of a scribe is he?" in The Sumerians:
of Chicago, 1963), p. 226. Rainey, "The Scribe at Ugarit," p. 129; and Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," p. 125.
difficulty of the writing script; (2) the governmental needs; and (3) the temple economy.1 The ability to write was lauded in "In Praise of the Scribal Art," where the scribe was commissioned "To write a stele, to draw a field, to settle accounts . . . ."2 Even in Sumer, some of the proverb collections mention the advantage of the scribal profession over the other trades, although Oppenheim has noted that scribal snobbishness over the other trades is not as prevalent in Akkadian texts as it is in the Egyptian literature.3 Often families who had mastered the tradition dwelt in segregated parts of the city, in a guild-like setting.4 ____________________ 1Speiser singles out the temple as a motivating factor (E. A. Speiser, "Some Sources of Intellectual and Social Progress in the Ancient Near East," in Studies in
ed. P. W. Long [Freeport, NY: Books for Library Press, 1942], p. 58). Kramer, "Schooldays: A Sumerian Composition Relating to the Education of a Scribe," JAOS 69 (1949):199. Oppenheim portrays him as one working for the "Great Organizations" of the ancient world ("The Position of the Intellectual in Mesopotamian Society," p. 39).
cf. also Gordon, Sumerian Proverbs, p. 154. A. Leo Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead
1977), p. 242. 4Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," p. 66; and B. Cutler and J. MacDonald, "The Unique Ugaritic Text UT 113 and the Question of 'Guilds,'" UF 9 (1977):30.
wealthier families and often scaled the political ladder to high governmental posts. Olivier counts as many as five hundred eighteen scribes in four cities.1 Landsberger estimates that seventy percent of the scribes had administrational positions, with the remainder being employed by private individuals (the street scribes) perhaps for taking letter dication. He suggests that ten percent were involved in magical arts.2 Landsberger lists nineteen different scribal titles, thereby demonstrating the diversity of scribal vocations, sometimes by comic caricature: scribe for labor groups, deaf writer, wise scribe, royal scribe, bungler, field scribe, mathematician and adviser.3 ____________________
Some Goals of Sargonic Scribal Education," Archiv fur Orienforschungen 25 (1974-77):95. J. P. J. Olivier, "Schools and Wisdom Literature," Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 4 (1975):50. 2Benno Landsberger, "Scribal Concepts of Education," in City Invincible, pp. 99, 119. Cf. Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," p. 130 and Halvorsen, "Scribes and Scribal Schools," p. 61. 3Benno Landsberger, "Babylonian Scribal Craft and its Terminology," in Proceedings of the Twenty-Third International Congress of Orientalists (London: The Royal Asiatic Society, 1954), pp. 125-26. Humphreys ("The Motif of the Wise Courtier in the Old Testament," p. 63) provides a similar title list. Cf. Oppenheim, "The Position of the Intellectual in Mesopotamian Society," p. 50 and Olivier, "Schools and Wisdom Literature," pp. 50-51 for a listing of scribal duties.
scribes and the king is more difficult to ascertain because the kings do not present themselves as surrounded by counselors, although foreign kings are often thus described.1 Ahiqar was a counselor to the king and, as manifest in the title ummanu, was considered a scholar. He was also the famous author of a well-known, extant, wisdom text from Mesopotamia.2 The connection between the gods and the scribes comes not only from the requisite presence of the scribes in the regulation of the temple economy, but also, especially in Mesopotamia, from the fact that magical powers were often part of the scribe's repertoire, although Gordon renders a Sumerian proverb: "A disgraced scribe becomes a man of spells."3 Perdue notes, in "Counsels of Wisdom," that the scribal responsibility to the cult and to the personal deity is rewarded with ____________________ 1Oppenheim, "The Position of the Intellectual in Mesopotamian Society," p. 40. 2Jonas C. Greenfield, "The Background and Parallel to a Proverb of Ahiqar," in Hommages A. Andre Dupont-Sommer (Paris: Librairie D'Amerique et D'Orient Adrien- Maisonneuve, 1971), p. 49. 3Gordon, Sumerian Proverbs, p. 211; cf. Khanjian, "Wisdom in Ugarit," pp. 50, 133; Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, p. 28 (who notes the function of scribes in interpreting omen texts); and Westenholz, "Old Akkadian School Texts," p. 107.
scribe, was so renowned for his wisdom that he became the assistant to Ea who was said to have called the world order into being. Scribes in Israel So far a survey has been made of the prominence of scribes in the ancient Near East and their particular connection with writing, often of wisdom texts, and their relationship to the king and his court. The foreign wise man is frequently referred to in Scripture as a type of magician. In Genesis 41:8 the two terms appear in a hendiadys construction.2 Even within Israel, the case has been made that Shisha (1 Kgs 4:3), the secretary, was a foreigner, based on the difficulty of the writing script and the fact that he is the only one of David's main officials whose father is not listed.3 It will be shown that the scribe in Israel functioned in much the same way as his counterpart in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The same factors which provided ____________________
also 2 Kgs 25:19; Jer 52:25; and Exod 7:11. 3McKane, Prophets and Wise Men, pp. 27-28. Cf. also Allan A. MacRae, "Akkadian and Sumerian Elements," in Nuzi Personal Names, ed. I. Gelb, P. M. Purves and A. MacRae (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1963), p. 282.
work in Israel. The demands of a growing bureaucratic government, with more and more crucial international, commercial and political contacts, required the expertise of a scribe.1 The need for utilizing Akkadian, the lingua
proper form required the professional scribal skills, as the El Amarna letters suggest.2 The temple structure lent itself to scribal activity, not only because of the massive economic details which were associated with the construction and centralization of the temple, but also because of the Hebraic emphasis on the canon and on the proper teaching of torah. One boon of an alphabetic script was the democratization of learning which is manifested in Israel. The necessity of canonical transcription and teaching, however, would nonetheless favor a substantial scribal presence even in a literate society. The literacy rate among Israelites and Canaanites was apparently quite high, as all were commanded to write the law on their door posts (Deut 6:9) and monuments were erected for all to read (Deut 27:2-8, the writer is aware of Hammurabi's boastful ____________________ 1John Paterson, The Wisdom of Israel, p. 55. 2Rainey, "The Scribe at Ugarit," p. 126; and Oppenheim, "A Note on the Scribes in Mesopotamia," p. 254. epilogue). Joshua's choosing of three men, who are to write a description of the land (Josh 18:4, 8-9), and Gideon's catching of a random young man outside of Succoth, who wrote the names of the elders, demonstrate a widespread ability to write (Judg 8:14).1 With the development of the monarchy under David and Solomon, there is a proliferation of governmental offices. One of these, which is explicitly mentioned, was the role of the scribe (2 Sam 8:17; 20:25; 2 Kgs 12:10; 18:18 [which also mentions a recorder]; Jer 36:12; 37:15; Isa 37:2; et al.).2 Second Chronicles 25:16 contrasts the roles of the prophet and the adviser. The adviser's counsel was favored more than the acrimonious prophetic announcements, although some prophets also were involved in recording the royal happenings (2 Chr 12:15). The counselor and scribe, though not strictly synonymous,3 seem to have played similar roles at times in Israel.4 ____________________ 1Kaster, "Education, Old Testament," p. 34. 2R. T. Anderson, "Was Isaiah a Scribe?" JBL 79 (1960):57. For a simple overview, vid. Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books, pp. 23-24 and Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel, vol. 1 (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965), pp. 127-32. One should not forget the command that the king himself copy the law (Deut 17:18-20).
distinction between the scribe and wise man. 4For a scrutiny of the role of counselor, vid., P. A. H. De Boer, "The Counsellor," VTSup 3 (1969):42-71. This superb article notes the role of the counsellor
of wisdom but a description of Yahweh's counselor.1 After the exile, the role of the scribe was further developed by the coalescing of his function as copyist and transmitter of the tradition with the responsibility of interpreting the law (Ezra 7:6). An examination of Ben Sirach demonstrates the movement of later scribes towards torah (Sir 8:8-9).2 Scott is correct in pointing out that the title "secretary of the law of the God of heaven" in the post-exilic period (Ezra 7:11; Neh 8:1-8) was indicative of the scribe's role in the post-exilic religious community.3 Perhaps the clearest canonical picture of the scribes or wise men as a group is found in Jeremiah. Not only does the relationship between Jeremiah and Baruch (Jer 36) highlight prophetic-scribal associations, but Baruch's position with Jehudi and the "room of Elishama the secretary" also shows scribal access to the royal ____________________ (Hushai, Ahithophel; Isa 3:1-3; Ezek 11:1-2) and notes the divine aspect of this position (Isa 9:6). Perdue, Wisdom
ultimate scribe ("Sociological-Structural Constraints," p. 184).
Ben Sirach," Semeia 17-19 (1980):59. 3Scott, The Way of Wisdom, p. 17. Cf. Halvorsen, "Scribes and Scribal Schools," p. 125. archives.1 Interestingly enough, Avigad reports on a bullae which reads, "Belonging to Berechiah son of Neriah the scribe" (cf. Jer 36:4).2 The term hakam can be used adjectivally to describe a wise person without positional ramifications, but in Jeremiah 8:8, 9 and 18:18 it strongly suggests that the "wise man" was a vocational post.3 McKane argues that the class or profession of "wise man" goes back to Solomonic times.4 Whybray has vociferously objected to the proposal of there having been a "wise man" position or class in Israel. Rather, he portrays a few scribal families as taking care of the needs of the small administrational needs in Israel.5 He distinguishes sharply between the scribe and the hakam, which, he suggests, never referred to a position.6 Whybray rejects Proverbs 22:17 as evidence to the contrary ____________________
the King's Son," IEJ 28 (1978):53. 3Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, p. 28; von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, pp. 20-21; De Boer, "The Counsellor," p. 61; Bryce, A Legacy of Wisdom, p. 239; and Kovacs, "Sociological-Structural Constraints," p. 243.
Scott, who sees it as developing after the time of Hezekiah.
because it is "prose" and does not have the article; therefore, it is indefinite. Jeremiah 18:18, because of its relationship with Ezekiel 7:26, is rejected as titular too. His case is argued in much detail, yet commits the semantic blunder of word-concept equation in his faulty analysis of the word hakam.1 His rejection of the scribal-wise man connection and the role of "wise men" in Israel has not been accepted by most scholars. Morgan correctly critiques Whybray's position for begging as many questions as it answers. Verses such as 1 Chronicles 27:32 point to the fallaciousness of Whybray's discussion of scribes in Israel.2 The exact function of the scribe in the Solomonic government is elucidated in detail by Mettinger and need not be repeated here.3 It is not the purpose of this section to scribalize the wisdom material. Rather, it is to provide a ____________________ 1Ibid., pp. 15-32. 2Glendon E. Bryce, review of The Intellectual Tradition in the Old Testament, by R. N. Whybray, in JBL 94 (1975):596-98; Morgan, "Wisdom and the Prophets," p. 219; and Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 228. One wonders about the consistency of Whybray himself and his comments on Ecclesiastes 12:9 in "Qoheleth the Immoralist?" (Qoh 7:16-17)," in Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, ed. J. G. Gammie, et al. (New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978), p. 195. 3Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, Solomonic State Officials: A Study of the Civil Government Officials of the Israelite Monarchy, Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series 5 (Lund: CWK Gleerup, 1971), pp. 25-51; also see his work on the scribal school, pp. 140-57.
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