Religiosity can paint a picture of an extreme, super spirituality among biblical scribes.
As such, the “idea” of a scribe is often without their practical, secular heritage…. especially when considered prophetically. This shouldn’t be.
First, scribal callings are best understood for their administrative dimensions – the glue that binds protocols, processes, order, record keeping, and historical preservation into the kind of SCHOLARLY PACKAGE that has ensured the legacy of our faith for hundreds of generations.
The work of PROFESSIONAL scribes is a discipline at its core, not just a spiritual gift in its administrative, instructional and creative capacities.
Secular Scribal Work
Secondly, the most basic secular work of the scribe can be traced back to basic recording and record keeping in the finance (agriculture, trade and commerce) and genealogical realm (lineage, governance, and culture). We can not only identify this is the Scriptures through historical evidence, but we see it in the livelihood of the Nation of Israel as well as the first organized congregation led by Moses.
For the Nation of Israel to be a NATION, every administrative, instructional and creative aspect of that nation had to be put in place. It was SCRIBES who led that initiative… mostly unseen and unheard as threads weaving artifacts, histories and unbelievable guardianship that transcends even into our generation. Only THE BEST OF ADMINISTRATION AND ADVANCED UNDERSTANDING could pull that off.
Secondly, the art of COPYING was intrinsic to scribal legacy. The art of copying was a profession in the scribal realm. Copyists, as they were called, were tasked with expertly making handwritten, exact copies of the Torah.
Remember copy machines, fax machines, scanners, etc.? While we have advanced technologies today that carry copying out with ease, it was the biblical scribe that served God this way at the foundations of the congregation. Their task was technical (secular) but also spiritual (a sacred art, point of worship and practice). (Check out, “5 Ways We Will See Prophetic Scribes Impact Culture”)
Scribes Did More Than Write
The dedicated scribes were SPIRITUAL and filled with the Spirit for their particular impartation (Numbers 11). They would have also been equipped in in “scribe schools” to master their specific assignments.
This included paper making, ink making, textile making to dress the Torah, the art of calligraphy, the skill of reading engraving, etc. just to prepare a single Torah Scroll. They were dedicated to their rituals which were required in Moses’s day and immersive in their craft, and the art of historical preservation.
They had Halakha or the laws of safrut to govern their charge. These laws made them living COPY MACHINES within their PROFESSION and within the congregation.
Prophetic scribes were among the first to bridge MINISTRY AND MARKETPLACE in this respect. Their skills were so honored and treasured, that they were often enslaved to serve foreign kings. Think Joseph, Daniel and his friends.
But when it came to Torah, they honored it ABOVE ALL ELSE. They understood not only the power of a copyist, but also the power of translation as the times changed.
Even in translating Torah, the core function of the copyist was prevalent. It wasn’t an opportunity to interpret SCRIPTURE but one focused solely on PRESERVATION. This should mean something to us as prophetic scribes (of a different kind) today.
A Healthy View of Translation, Interpretation
Much of what we are discussing I teach in my book, “The Scribal Anointing: Scribes Instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
It is important to know that the scribes of the bible within their profession as copyists – from Genesis to Revelation, were concerned FIRST with preservation of the Torah. To the best of their ability, their first priority was preserving the original texts as much as possible by creating copies of copies in a deliberate, repetitious manner. (Check out, “Part I: How To Choose A Bible”)
The goal is to preserve WORD FOR WORD productions of the Scriptures! While there would be translations to break LANGUAGE BARRIERS, they understood the importance of this part. You see, a true translation will simply seek to translate language NOT re-interpret Scripture.
Were their interpretations of the Scripture? Yes, of course. But those interpretations WERE NOT replacements for the written Torah. This is the part that we must remember as prophetic people as we continue to see the lines blur between “translations, paraphrase bibles and outright commentaries.”
The Biblical scribe had the freedom to interpret the Scripture it in line with their beliefs for that time. Many of those interpretations, convos, regulations, etc. became a part of a collection of Jewish writings we know as the Talmud, Midrash, and Mishna.
These were extra-biblical sources and writings. We can equate our commentaries, paraphrase bibles, theological papers, devotionals, etc. as kinda-sorta a glimpse into those types today. We can see TRANSLATIONS that follow the pattern of copyists as our attempt to preserve the copy of the copies in our own languages. (Check out, “Part II: How To Choose A Bible)
The point: We need to recognize what a TRANSLATION is in our faith versus all the other content we mislabel as a translation.
Becoming Teachable, Holding Respect
My point is this: The BIBLICAL COPYIST would not have been focused on the collection of Jewish writings or the extra-biblical texts in their profession. Their focus would be on preserving the COPY OF THE COPY OF THE COPY, ETC.
In other words, they would be fixed on being THE COPY MACHINE of the foundational text.
This ALSO does not other books, compilations, commentaries, etc. are not important, needed or valuable. They are! It means that in the midst of all the other things we value, that we will not discount or dismiss the original text. We will respect it.
Scribes, our priority is partaking in and remembering the legacy of Biblical scribes. Our very identity was born here.
Let us enjoy the fruit of the Scriptures, our scribal legacy and respect the PRESENT-DAY LEGACY to preserve the text. Choose whatever bible that best fits where you are!
But let us be educated in understanding the NEED for legitimate translations that do their best to preserve the work of the copyists.
LET US RESPECT THE ROLE OF PRESENT-DAY COPYISTS WHO UNDERSTAND THIS CALLINGS AT A LEVEL THAT MANY NEVER WILL. THEY HAVE A PRECIOUS PLACE IN OUR ACADEMIC & HISTORICAL CIRCLES WHERE THEY ARE OFTEN “MISUNDERSTOOD” BY THOSE WHO SHOULD APPRECIATE THE PROFESSIONAL WORK THAT HAS GIVEN US OUR SPIRITUAL HERITAGE.
