Review by Choice Review
Building on his previous scholarship, How the Bible Became a Book (CH, Dec'04, 42-2173) and The Finger of the Scribe (2019), and on recent studies of wider ancient Near Eastern scribal practices such as Karel Van Der Toom's Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible (CH, Sep'07, 45-0240), Schniedewind (Univ. of California) explores the roles scribes played in ancient Israel and the guild-like nature of this vocation. Drawing on both archaeological and textual evidence, he traces the development of various scribal "communities of practice" from the Iron Age to the Persian era. He examines elite literature produced by priests and prophets but also mundane scribal practices related to mercantile activity; he also explores questions such as how widespread literacy was and whether there were women scribes. His concluding remarks reflect on scribal practices in the the Dead Sea Scrolls. Not everyone will agree with Schniedewind's construal of the often fragmentary and enigmatic evidence, but his overarching claim that Biblical texts were produced and preserved within scribal groups embedded in wider communities who came to view these texts as sacred scripture is an important corrective to the tendency to impose contemporary notions of lone authorship onto these ancient texts. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. --Joel S. Kaminsky, Smith College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"If we want to understand" the origins of the Hebrew bible, then "we need to think about... where scribes really worked," according to this insightful and enjoyable study. Biblical historian Schniedewind (Finger of the Scribe) argues that notions of individual authorship (e.g., Solomon wrote the Proverbs) are wrongheaded, and that even recent scholarly theories about collective authorship by scribal communities have been overly aggrandizing. Instead, he presents a more down-to-earth vision of scribal community authorship that emphasizes a universal truth: "Scribes were not venerable wise men hanging out with their books. Everyone needs to 'pay the rent' and scribes were no exception." In the eighth century BCE, when the Hebrew Bible was written, all scribes labored under an apprenticeship system in which one master would have multiple apprentices. Schniedewind demonstrates how these relationships--half professional, half familial--are woven into the Bible's stories (the prophets Elija and Elisa, for example, have something like a master-apprentice relationship). He also evocatively portrays the doting brotherly relationship between scribes (in one government missive, a scribe tacked on "I am always, utterly yours!" as a personal message to the scribe on the receiving end). Schniedewind's erudite but still conversational prose brings admirable clarity to ancient breadcrumb trails of evidence. It's an enlightening deep dive into the social world in which the Bible was written. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Schniedewind (biblical studies, Univ. of California, Los Angeles; The Finger of Scribe) gives readers a glimpse into the lives and training of the members of ancient scribal communities who wrote the Bible. He argues that while Moses, David, Solomon, and various Jewish prophets are traditionally credited with authoring the early books of the Bible, the concept of individual authorship was developed in a later era by ancient Greeks. His deep historical research and scholarship make clear that ancient scribal communities are responsible for the Biblical texts known today. The book's immersion in the history and culture of ancient Israel and Judah paints a picture of the lives of ancient scribes, and that's supplemented by illustrative drawings, diagrams, and maps. Schniedewind notes that these scribes were akin to apprentices--not unlike those in medieval guilds--who specialized in the preservation and transmission of texts. He painstakingly traces the evolution of scribal communities from their roots in Egypt to their end with the Babylonian invasions and destruction of Jerusalem. VERDICT This illuminating book aptly examines who really wrote the Bible and is accessible for both scholars and general readers.--Gail Eubanks
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