Our culture is a text-based culture – a culture of the written word. Our culture could only be conceived if there is widespread literacy. Widespread literacy leads to widespread production of texts. According to Dr Ben Witherington III (Sacred Texts in an Oral Culture, Biblical Archaeology Review, 2017), “… it may be difficult for us, in a text-based culture, to conceive of and understand an oral culture…nevertheless, it is important that we try to understand oral culture, since all the cultures of the Bible were essentially oral cultures.”
The literacy rate in biblical cultures ranged from about five to twenty percent. Hence, there was a great appreciation for the spoken word, often referred to as the “living word”. Interestingly, Jesus said to his audiences, “Let those who have ears, listen.” He never said, “Let those who have eyes, read.”
In addition, no documents in the ancient world were intended for “silent” reading, and only a few were intended for private individuals to read. Dr Witherington believes ancient documents “…were composed with their aural and oral potential in mind. They were meant to be read when delivered at their destination.” For example, when one reads the opening verses of Ephesians, loaded as it is with aural devices (assonance, alliteration, rhythm and various rhetorical devices), it becomes perfectly clear that no one was ever meant to read this silently. It needed to be heard.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul confirmed that his letter was a circular. He stated, “after this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16). To the Thessalonians, Paul stressed, “I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers” (1 Thessalonians 5:27).
One must not forget that texts were rare because they were expensive to produce. Papyrus, on which texts were written were expensive. So was ink. Also, it was ultra-expensive to employ scribes. In order to reduce costs, there was no separation of words, sentences and paragraphs. Imagine reading a document with no punctuation and in upper caps. The only way to decipher such a collection of words was to sound them out loudly.
The Bible was not exempt from the literary challenges of the ancient cultures in which it was written. However, the writers were determined to document what they knew. To the writers the information was critical and needed to be recorded on durable material. At times the writers did their own writing. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul stated, “I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand…” (Colossians 4:18). Whereas, in his letter to the Romans, Paul’s amanuensis (secretary) identified himself as – “I, Tertius who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord” (Romans 16:22).
If the process of documenting was so arduous in the ancient world, then why did the writers find it necessary to pursue writing. Well, God instructed the Old Testament leaders to write. For instance, in Exodus, the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it…” (Exodus 17:14). Also, in the New Testament, writers believed God instructed them and they wrote. To the Thessalonians, Paul said, “… when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God…” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Biblical writers were not attempting to replace the oral message, they were actually attempting to solidify that message. As mentioned earlier, they even used rhetorical devices to retain the emotions of the oral message. Paul expected specific coworkers to read his letters. The reading ensured the retention of rhetorical effectiveness. In the Old Testament, as Ezra the priest “read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read…for all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:8-10).
In an oral culture religious words were believed to have power and an effect on people. Even in some oral cultures today, there is a distrust of written words. The spoken word is still seen as that which is alive – the living word. The Bible affirms the power in the word, but not because of the human life that is inherent in the reading of the material. Rather, it is because of divine life that is built-in to the oral or written word.
The writer to the Book of Hebrews, said it best – “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The same idea is conveyed in the Old Testament when the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah – “… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
4 comments:
Well done, Dr. Corbin. Not only did the oral/aural traditon lend itself to such literary devices to hold the listeners' attention but both frequency of delivery and accuracy of content were of paramount importance to preserve and maintain the accuracy and credibility of the content being shared. No wonder the children of Israel were always admonished to tell their children and let them tell their children and future generations about what God had done for them in the wilderness (and elsewhere). I smile when I think how crucial the oral tradition was that God even made a donkey talk to a prophet!! He might have to let a donkey either talk again or text or email some of these contemporary prophets!
Enlightening and informative. Well done. Helps us to understand and appreciate the lengths to which God (and those who obeyed Him) have gone to record, preserve and protect His Word. Let us cherish what we have, because of Who dictated it, and learn and obey...
Hi Dr. Corbin. I wonder if a culture like ours (Jamaica) is not caught between the written and oral cultures, or at least tilted towards the latter? At the grass-roots level, most of our people are still accustomed to aurality, relying on word of mouth and music to pass on their most cherished messages.
In fact, though many can read, they do find reading and writing a burden, even at the college level. Yet, formally speaking, we push the written word as essential for the passing of laws and legislation, the transaction of businesses, and yes, for education. Could this be one reason for some of the difficulties our people face with conforming to legislated standards, or even to the written text of the Bible? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thanks for your insights into the transmission of God's word. I led a study on the book of Ezra some time ago, and explained the same concept you so ably and explicitly laid out in your blog. I'll forward this article to my group to expand on what they already know.
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