What are the chances that someone like Jesus could read and write?
There´s a book named “Jesus Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee” by Chris Keith.
I haven´t read the book and all that I have heard is that he thinks that Jesus was not trained in reading and writing, the way scribes in Palestine were.
We have hints. Jesus’ brother James was apparently known for his piety, so much so that according to Josephus when he was murdered it outraged people who were clearly not Jesus followers. Can we extrapolate from this that perhaps Jesus’ family was particularly pious and observant? If we consider Jesus as typical of his age and station it is very unlikely he could read and write. But I can imagine him as a savant or a prodigy who perhaps had some overwhelming spiritual experience. If he really thought he was the Messiah he arrived at the realization somehow.
The base rate illiteracy for the time/place/socioeconomic class is a compelling probabilistic argument against, especially assuming that typically learning to read is effortful and necessitates some formal training. That said, hyperlexic children pose an interesting counterexample to the effortful and formal training portions of the hypothesis. Spontaneous reading ability emerges, early (like age 3-4). They don’t solve the probabilistic issue, though, as they are a very small portion of the population, and to my knowledge they have only been studied in modern, literate societies.
Robert said
[O]ur best estimates to judge the level of literacy in the ancient world in general or Galilee in particular, are very low, anywhere from 1% to 10%.
These estimates come from William Harris and Catherine Hetzer, correct?
For me, I’m not sure literacy is quite all that important … but I do wonder how reliable this estimate is. I haven’t read this work, but my general understanding is that Harris based his estimate on criteria he thought would need to be in place for literacy to be high, and then estimated literacy according to how that criteria was satisfied.
What is the strongest piece of evidence for the 1-10% estimate?
Also, weren’t there something like 500 different hands involved in the composing of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I’m trying to wrap my head around how there could be a 1% literacy rate among First Century Jews, but like a 90% composition rate among the Essences.
Stephen
Jesus’ brother James was apparently known for his piety, so much so that according to Josephus when he was murdered it outraged people who were clearly not Jesus followers.
Steefen
When Jesus’ brother James was murdered, he was not an advisor to the Jesus’ followers in the Jerusalem church?
Robert said
I don’t have any expertise in this area, but I would not assume that all scribes at Qumran were able to compose material. I do believe that the heavy use of matres lectionis in the Dead Sea Scrolls does indicate that Hebrew was a spoken language there and I think it is reasonable to presume that most there were among the upper classes.
I have no expertise (to say the least!) about Qumran either.
The “500 hands” number comes from this NY Times article: ** you do not have permission to see this link **
What the little I’ve read, I thought the Essences were communal in nature, took something akin to a vow of poverty, and had existed for several generations. Is there a reason you think they were mostly among the upper classes? Asking sincerely, as I have no idea.
Do you happen to know what the best piece of evidence that Harris and Hezser have for their estimates?
Again, I don’t think it’s all that important, but I do wonder if these estimates should really be given any weight.
Robert said
…I think it is reasonable to presume that most there were among the upper classes.
Does the archaeological or literary record tell us how the Qumran community supported itself economically/materially? I find the ability of these types of movements/communities to fund themselves fascinating…
Robert said
Their ‘poverty’ pertained to owning everything in common, not a lack of ownership.
Yeah, I totally get that.
But, my curiosity on the poverty issue is more directed to the multi-generational nature of this sect. It’s one thing to have wealth and take a vow of “poverty” and then communally for a lifetime. It’s quite another to do this over multiple generations while maintaining wealth. Even if the Essenes did descend from the Zadokites, that would have happened more than two centuries prior to the Jewish War. Is there a really strong reason to believe that Essenes in the First Century were demonstrably different in wealth any a typical Judean or Galilean from the same period?
Separately, there are all kinds of little clues in the NT indicating a broader literacy than 3% or whatever. Just one example is the written notice of the charge against Jesus (“King of the Jews”) from Mark 15:26. Mark’s Greek states that it was in the form of an inscription (ἐπιγραφὴ) and was written (ἐπιγεγραμμένη). It’s an odd detail to include if the overwhelmingly vast majority of the population (like 97%) was illiterate. And this is just one example among several which involve the Judean and/or Galilean population using written text.
I guess I keep coming back to the same thought on this: Do we really have any strong evidence that illiteracy was so prevalent in the region during this period? Do you know the strongest piece of evidence Harris and Hezser use?
Robert said
Scholarly activity requires a certain amount of wealth and leisure, which is part of my presumption that the Qumranites were largely made up of educated elites.
Okay, but we can see the circular nature of this argument:
One assumes reading and writing was limited to those of wealth.
Since the Qumranians read and wrote; therefore they were wealthy.
I think it’s important to re-examine the underlying premise that only the wealthy could read and write. Do we have any strong evidence for this?
Look at it from this perspective. Why would hand to mouth day laborers need to learn to read much less write? Where would they learn? If they don’t work every day they don’t eat. When would they have time for school? Our literacy skews our perspective. The vast majority of human beings in all times and all places did not know how to read or write. Jesus’ upbringing would have been the norm, not ours. We’re the outliers.
Stephen
Jesus’ brother James was apparently known for his piety, so much so that according to Josephus when he was murdered it outraged people who were clearly not Jesus followers.
Steefen
When Jesus’ brother James was murdered, he was not an advisor to the Jesus’ followers in the Jerusalem church?
Steefen my friend I’m not entirely sure what you’re asking me here. My question is, assuming the passage in Josephus is original, how famous would you have to be for Josephus to have heard of you? I used to follow Prof Ehrman with his twenty folks in a room thing but maybe Jesus had a wider following? Certainly not the wildly exaggerated accounts in the gospels of course but a following beyond the immediate disciples. How successful was he in Galilee before he went to Jerusalem? Did he leave behind some sort of Galilean Jesus movement? Surely there would have been a community of ex-pat Galileans in Jerusalem to provide support for Jesus’ disciples and their fellow travelers. One implication of Josephus’ account of James’ murder is that James might have been well known outside the Jesus movement. So how famous would you have to be for Josephus to have heard of you?
Robert said
Wealth in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Qumran Community (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah), 2002, by Catherine Murphy, runs for around $330.
I expect a book report by next Tuesday.
Excellent, thanks! I may need to ask for an extension – physical book, and even were it ordered today, it doesn’t deliver until July 9.
vergari said
I have no expertise (to say the least!) about Qumran either.
The “500 hands” number comes from this NY Times article: ** you do not have permission to see this link **
What the little I’ve read, I thought the Essences were communal in nature, took something akin to a vow of poverty, and had existed for several generations. Is there a reason you think they were mostly among the upper classes? Asking sincerely, as I have no idea.
Do you happen to know what the best piece of evidence that Harris and Hezser have for their estimates?
Again, I don’t think it’s all that important, but I do wonder if these estimates should really be given any weight.
The scrolls were written at many different times and in different places. I don’t know that anyone claims that 90% of the community at Qumran was literate, do they?
vergari said
Robert said
[O]ur best estimates to judge the level of literacy in the ancient world in general or Galilee in particular, are very low, anywhere from 1% to 10%.
These estimates come from William Harris and Catherine Hetzer, correct?
For me, I’m not sure literacy is quite all that important … but I do wonder how reliable this estimate is. I haven’t read this work, but my general understanding is that Harris based his estimate on criteria he thought would need to be in place for literacy to be high, and then estimated literacy according to how that criteria was satisfied.
What is the strongest piece of evidence for the 1-10% estimate?
Also, weren’t there something like 500 different hands involved in the composing of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I’m trying to wrap my head around how there could be a 1% literacy rate among First Century Jews, but like a 90% composition rate among the Essences.
Experts in the field usually says that it takes a long argument. If you’re interested, you should definitely read their work. His argument is not 1-10% but 10-15% at the best of times, allowing this is not an estimate to be considered *precise*.
Coimbra1982 said
The scrolls were written at many different times and in different places. I don’t know that anyone claims that 90% of the community at Qumran was literate, do they?
I don’t know how anyone can claim that any percentage of the Qumranian were literate, which is kinda my point. We get modern day scholars asserting 3% literacy, based on metrics no one can seem to explain.
Meanwhile, actual First Century Jews from the period that we actually know about were pumping out written texts like nobody’s business.
I liken this to Bart’s claim that crucified First Century Jews would not have been buried and had their bones placed into ossuaries, in the face actual physical, archaeological evidence of a crucified First Century Jew having been buried and his bones placed into an ossuary. At some point the scholarly theory has to face tangible evidence.
If 97% of a First Century Jews living in Palestine were illiterate, what kind of sense does it make that 500 different hands are found within the Dead Sea Scrolls?
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Robert