{"id":71362,"date":"2020-03-08T14:14:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T12:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=71362"},"modified":"2020-03-08T14:14:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-08T12:14:40","slug":"literate-yet-oral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/literate-yet-oral\/","title":{"rendered":"Literate, Yet Oral\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"71362","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64758,"related_cahpter":"432","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Each mode of communication exists for a different purpose\r\n","content":"

This is the second piece of a three-part series that probes the relationship between written and oral societies, based on the Book of Jeremiah.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our previous piece<\/span><\/a>, we discussed the apparent discrepancy between the archaeology finds of ‘Izbet Sartah, which indicated that Biblical Israel was a literate society, and our reading of Jeremiah chapter 26, which indicated that it was an oral society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics, wrote an article “<\/span>The Future of Written Culture: Envisioning Language in the New Millennium<\/span><\/a>” showing that no discrepancy exists. She writes there “To speak of a society having a written culture is not at all the same thing as saying that some members of that society are literate. The difference lies in the ways in which literacy functions in the life of the community.”<\/span><\/p>\n

To understand the function of literacy in Jeremiah’s society, we will examine oral and written communication in Jeremiah chapter 32. The chapter begins with Jeremiah\u2019s imprisonment in the courtyard of the king, and King Zedekiah ORALLY INFORMING him that his imprisonment is due to the prophecies which he SAID. Jeremiah TELLS the guards of the courtyard a new prophecy concerning the arrival of his uncle. As predicted, his uncle arrives and ORALLY REQUESTS Jeremiah to buy his field. We see that speech was the dominant mode of communication in Jeremiah’s time period.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in the continuation of the chapter, we see that written communication also had a role in Jeremiah’s society. Jeremiah WRITES a deed to make the transaction. The deed had two WRITTEN parts to it – the sealed and the open. The open part allowed people to READ the transaction without breaking the seal. Jeremiah hands over the deed in the presence of witnesses who SIGNED their signature on the document. The chapter ends with words of comfort, describing the time when God will return the Jewish People to their homeland, and many WRITTEN transactions to buy land will take place.<\/span><\/p>\n

We see that Jeremiah’s society was literate, yet it remained an oral society. Writing was the mode of communication when speech was insufficient. While routine communication was conducted orally, testimonies, messages for future generations, and ideas which needed extreme clarity were written down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parenthetically, these two methods of communication are also found in Deuteronomy 6:4-8, the section known as the first paragraph of the <\/span>Sh’ma<\/span><\/i>. The section has an oral communication component: “HEAR, O Israel”, the imperative to MEMORIZE and SPEAK the words of the Torah, and to teach them to our children through CONSTANT REPETITION.\u00a0 The section also contains commandments (which are symbolic by nature) based on the written word: THE WORDS of the Torah should be adorned upon our arms and between our eyes, and to WRITE these words upon our doorposts.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the final part of the series, as a commentary to Jeremiah chapter 45, we will discuss a change which occurred to the Biblical society in regards to their usage of the written word.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image by Ben Schachter, courtesy of the artist.<\/span><\/p>\n

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