** This response answers the question directly, provides helpful historical context information, gives a deeper understanding of God’s Word through definitions and explanations, and is genuinely kind in tone. **

Question: How could the Israelites learn and meditate the Word of God in a civilization where written scripture are supposed to be expensive?

Profile: Female, Europe, Under 19, New Christian

Answered by: Taylor Anaya, who has been a volunteer with us since December, 2022 (in addition to several years of prior service).

Answer: Hey there. A common assumption is that because materials for writing were expensive and literacy was not widespread, the majority of the Israelites would have been unfamiliar with the Word of God. However, the truth is more nuanced.

In the Ancient Near East, writing was indeed a specialized skill and written materials were not as readily available as they are today. Papyrus, parchment, and later paper were expensive to produce and were not widely available. This limitation, coupled with low literacy rates, meant that written Scriptures would have been challenging to distribute among the population. But this does not mean that the Israelites were ignorant of their faith and God’s laws.

Firstly, the transmission of religious and cultural knowledge in ancient societies often occurred through oral tradition. The stories, laws, and teachings of the Bible would have been recited, memorized, and passed down from generation to generation verbally. 

An example of this practice can be seen in Deuteronomy 6:6-9: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” This passage speaks to the expectation that these laws would be an integral part of daily life and conversation, not just read from a text.

Moreover, the Israelite religion was deeply communal. Worship was not just an individual matter, but a collective experience. Public readings of the Scriptures played a significant part in the life of the community. We see evidence of this in Nehemiah 8, where Ezra the scribe read aloud from the Book of the Law to the whole assembly of Israelites. 

Furthermore, the existence of synagogues from the post-Exilic period onward served as centers for learning and public Scripture reading. In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus Himself reads from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue. This highlights a well-established practice of public Scripture reading, meaning that even those who couldn’t read or afford written texts had access to the Word of God.

The priests and Levites played an important role in teaching the law to the people. Deuteronomy 33:10 says, “They will teach Jacob your laws, they will put incense before you,” indicating their role as teachers of God’s commandments. 

In terms of the Hebrew language, the term “Hagah,” often translated as “meditate,” is used in Joshua 1:8: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” The word “Hagah” carries a broad meaning, which includes to utter, speak, murmur, muse, and ponder. This further suggests that the meditation of the Scripture involved more than just silent reading; it could also involve recitation and discussion, which are accessible even in a society with limited literacy.

So, while the written Word may have been less accessible in terms of individual ownership of texts, the religious teachings of the Israelites were maintained through oral tradition, public readings, religious instruction, and the engraining of the Word in everyday life. In this way, they learned and meditated on the Word of God, regardless of the cost or availability of written texts.