1 Chronicles 24:6 “And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king”

The Hebrew word for Scribe is Sapar H5608 – sāp̄ar, also meaning to count or number (same word used for census in yesterday’s post about David, and also a repeat of Davids’ census story in 2 Samuel 24 – click here to read more).  Sapar also means to declare or tell people, write or write an account of.  Scribes as a person’s title is first given in 2 Samuel, where scribes often served as royal officials, secretaries, and keepers of records.  But they also played a crucial part in preserving, interpreting, and teaching the scriptures as part of the Levite roles.  They didn’t have the internet those days to capture everything on a database and send it to thousands of people in one go, or take a photo of a page, or record a video of a teaching.  The only way to preserve and learn, and tell others about the Teachings, were to read, and copy and write.  A lot of effort was placed on copying letters and scrolls exactly word for word.  

When it comes to the letters from the new testament, no letter was copied almost exactly the same.  To date, there have been found approximately 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. In addition, there are around 10,000 Latin manuscripts and another 9,300 in various other ancient languages – and no one knows which one is the true correct one, or the original letters that were written.

While some scribes were respected for their knowledge and dedication, others faced criticism, particularly in the New Testament, for their legalism and hypocrisy from Yeshua, because they were bringing in their own ideas and translations, much like we still have today. In Matthew 23, Yeshua pronounces a series of woes against the scribes and Pharisees, condemning their actions and teachings.

From the old testament, Ezra was probably the most famous and righteous scribe, he was also a priest and prophet, lineage of Aaron, who served during the Exile of the Jews in Babylon. Ezra 7:6 gives us the following description: “This Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which YHWH Elohim of Israel had given.”  Not only did he know the Law of Moses, but he also taught the Scripture—and most importantly, he obeyed it. In verse ten, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of YHWH, and to do it, and to teach statues and ordinances in Israel.” Nehemiah 8:4 gives further evidence of Ezra reading and teaching the Law of Moses.