Difference between revisions of "Scribe"

<p> [[Judaism]] was a religious system which regulated the lives of its adherents in the minutest particulars. The necessary regulations were contained partly in a written Law, partly in a mass of oral tradition and authoritative precedents. Hence a class was needful who should make it their business to preserve and expound these. This class was the scribes. </p> <p> <b> 1. Functions. </b> -(a) Their primary function has just been indicated. It involved the making of accurate copies of the Scriptures, and the laborious memorizing of tradition. (b) In the synagogue a scribe acted as the expounder of [[Scripture]] to the people. (c) The scribe was a lawyer who had to decide all legal disputes. (d) To meet new cases for which there was no regulation written or oral, and no precedent to guide, he had to determine what the law should be. Hence the mass of traditions and precedents assumed overwhelming proportions. (e) The education of the young in schools was the charge of the scribe. As the Law was regulative of all human activities, the knowledge of the scribe was encyclopaedic. In his person were combined the offices now distributed among clergymen, doctors, lawyers, and teachers. </p> <p> <b> 2. Training. </b> -The period of training for such a profession was naturally long. When it was finished and he had been called to a particular post, the scribe was ordained, and received the title Rabbi (see Doctor). </p> <p> <b> 3. Schools. </b> -Scribes were divided into various schools. While doubtless the majority were Pharisees, the [[Sadducees]] had their scribes also (implied in &nbsp;Acts 23:9). Further, the [[Pharisee]] scribes were divided into two great schools, the followers of [[Hillel]] and of Shammai. It was only on points of detail, and on no fundamental principle, that they divided. On the whole, the school of [[Shammai]] was the more rigid. </p> <p> <b> 4. Influence. </b> -The influence of the scribes was naturally very great, and they were highly esteemed. After the fall of Jerusalem, they became more important than ever. [[Temple]] and priesthood disappeared. The synagogue became the sole centre of [[Jewish]] religious and national life, and the scribe the most important official (see under Pharisees). </p> <p> <b> 5. Relation to the early Church. </b> -In the early history of [[Christianity]] we have only three references to the scribes. (1) Gamaliel, a scribe and the teacher of St. Paul (&nbsp;Acts 22:3), on the occasion of the trial of St. Peter and his associates counselled toleration, and his advice was accepted (&nbsp;Acts 5:34 ff.). (2) When St. Paul was on his trial, the Pharisaic scribes repeated Gamaliel’s advice (&nbsp;Acts 23:9). (3) On the other hand, &nbsp;Acts 6:12 mentions scribes among those who proceeded against Stephen. Probably we should regard them as Sadducees. But in nearly all cases of [[Jews]] rising against Christians, especially outside Jerusalem, we may be sure that the scribes, the recognized leaders of the people, were the instigators. </p> <p> Literature.-articles ‘Scribe’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols), Dict. of Christ and the Gospels, Encyclopaedia Biblica, Jewish Encyclopedia; E Schürer, HJP[Note: JP History of the Jewish People (Eng. tr. of GJV).]II. i. [Edinburgh, 1885] 312 ff.; W. Bousset, Die [[Religion]] des Judentums im neutest. Zeitalter, Berlin, 1903, p. 139 ff.; W. O. E. Cesterley, The Books of the Apocrypha, their Origin, Teaching and Contents, London, 1914, p. 113 ff. </p> <p> W. D. Niven. </p>

<p> '''Scribe.''' There are two Hebrew words which mean "a writer," but one is usually translated in the A. V. by "officer," the other is rendered "scribe." The art of writing among the Hebrews may not have been in early times generally learned, and therefore a class of men would arise who earned their living by carrying on correspondence or conducting accounts. [[Sheva]] was the scribe of David. &nbsp;2 Samuel 20:25. The king's scribe recorded the edicts, and sometimes acted as treasurer. &nbsp;2 Kings 12:10. [[Scribes]] also officiated in the army. &nbsp;Jeremiah 52:25. Scribes in the New Testament were the copyists of the law, and were popularly regarded as the teachers or expounders of the law. Ezra was their leader and pattern. &nbsp;Ezra 7:6. But these learned expounders of the law took greater liberties with the text and made it void through their traditions. &nbsp;Mark 7:13. Some were members of the Sanhedrin. &nbsp;Matthew 26:3 (A. V. but omitted in R. V.); 21:15. Jesus reproved them repeatedly and in the most unmeasured terms. &nbsp;Matthew 23:1-33. They were his determined and wily foes. &nbsp;Luke 5:30; &nbsp;Luke 6:7; &nbsp;Luke 11:53. That there were exceptions is manifest, for Jesus speaks of scribes being sent of God, &nbsp;Matthew 23:34, and one of his parables relates to a scribe "instructed unto the kingdom of heaven." &nbsp;Matthew 13:52. The scribes and lawyers were one class. </p>

<p> SCRIBE, n. L. scriba, from scribo, to write formed probably on the root of grave, scrape, scrub. The first writing was probably engraving on wood or stone. </p> 1. In a general sense, a writer. Hence, 2. A notary a public writer. 3. In ecclesiastical meetings and associations in America, a secretary or clerk one who records the transactions of an ecclesiastical body. 4. In Scripture and the Jewish history, a clerk or secretary to the king. [[Seraiah]] was scribe to king David. <p> &nbsp;2 Samuel 8 . </p> 5. An officer who enrolled or kept the rolls of the army, and called over the names and reviewed them. &nbsp;2 Chronicles 24 . &nbsp;2 Kings 25 . 6. A writer and a doctor of the law a man of learning one skilled in the law one who read and explained the law to the people. &nbsp;Ezra 8 . <p> SCRIBE, To mark by a model or rule to mark so as to fit one piece to another a term used by carpenters and joiners. </p>

<p> '''(1):''' ''' (''' n.) One who writes; a draughtsman; a writer for another; especially, an offical or public writer; an amanuensis or secretary; a notary; a copyist. </p> <p> '''(2):''' ''' (''' v. i.) To make a mark. </p> <p> '''(3):''' ''' (''' v. t.) To cut (anything) in such a way as to fit closely to a somewhat irregular surface, as a baseboard to a floor which is out of level, a board to the curves of a molding, or the like; - so called because the workman marks, or scribe, with the compasses the line that he afterwards cuts. </p> <p> '''(4):''' ''' (''' v. t.) To write, engrave, or mark upon; to inscribe. </p> <p> '''(5):''' ''' (''' v. t.) To score or mark with compasses or a scribing iron. </p> <p> '''(6):''' ''' (''' n.) A writer and doctor of the law; one skilled in the law and traditions; one who read and explained the law to the people. </p>

&nbsp;Jeremiah 36:26&nbsp;1 Chronicles 24:6&nbsp;Esther 3:12&nbsp;Ezra 7:6&nbsp;Mark 2:16&nbsp;Luke 19:47&nbsp;Matthew 23:1[[Government]][[Sanhedrin]]Secretary

<p> This word has different significations in Scripture. </p> <p> 1. A clerk, or writer, or secretary, &nbsp;2 Samuel 8:17 . </p> <p> 2. A commissary, or muster-master of the army, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 26:11 , &nbsp;2 Kings 25:19 . </p> <p> 3. A man of learning, a doctor of the law, &nbsp;1 Chronicles 27:32 . </p>