The Scribe In The Biblical World A Bridge Between Scripts Languages And Cultures Esther Eshel Eds Michael Langlois Eds by Esther Eshel (eds.); Michael Langlois (eds.) 9783110996685, 3110996685 instant download after payment.

During our joint work on the project The Alphabet: History and Development in the First Millennium BCE Southern Levant, we asked ourselves, “what is the role of the individual scribe in the writing process?” Much research has been devoted to the characteristics of scripts in ancient times and to their development. A fresh look at the status of the scribe in each society, his training, practices, and work in the biblical world, was still needed.
As part of our research, the idea of having a conference on the question of the scribe during the biblical period developed gradually. Focusing on the east- ern Mediterranean region, we invited scholars from various fields to ask ques- tions such as: What was the scribe’s role in these societies? Were there rival scribal schools? What was their role in daily life? How many scripts and lan- guages did they grasp? Did they master political and religious rhetoric? Did they travel or share foreign traditions, cultures, and beliefs? Were scribes redactors, or simply copyists? What was their influence on the redaction of the Bible? How did they relate to the political and religious powers of their day? Did they possess any authority themselves? Though we may have been unable to fully answer all these questions, these theoretical concerns were central to the preparation of this volume.