HOW TO WRITE A RECORD
The Bible is a selective written record – but before we can look at what was written, we have to look at how it was written, which brings us to the history of writing.
From the very first, sharing information and experiences was an integral part of being human: from how to hunt an animal, to which grains are safe to collect and eat, to the latest must-see internet video, humans wanted to record and share information and experiences. Writing, in its various forms through the millenia, gave us the tools to do exactly that.
Interestingly, the Bible doesn't tell us about the invention of writing, which is foundational to its very existence. In Genesis 4 we're told who invented animal farming, who the first musician was, who the first metalworker was, even that Cain's son Enoch built the first city – but not a word about writing, even though Adam apparently invented poetry when he saw Eve for the very first time!
The development of writing, and especially alphabetical writing, is crucial to the history and development, and use, of the Bible. Just imagine if you had to memorise a thousand picture-like characters to read the Book!
And as the story unfolds, we see how the God who spoke everything into existence also guided us to record His communication to us. His people, unsurprisingly, played quite a big part in the story.
Before the alphabet
Humans communicated and created records of information long before the advent of the writing in the late 4th millenium BC. I've often looked at ancient rock art depicting humans hunting an animal, and wondered: were they celebrating a successful hunt, or did they record which hunter had to be where, for the group to bring down a big chunk of food? Boasting or strategic record? We don't know, but it's worth thinking about!
We are indeed learning lots about our distant ancestors from the art they left behind: what they hunted, what they ate, their view of the stars – but obviously we could go only so far using pictures.
Between a rock and an alphabet
Eventually these early works of art developed into a more cohesive form of communication (writing).Language was there from the very first, writing took a little longer (click here for a short note on the development of language). But when it started we went a bit wild: systems of writing were developed independently at least four times:
¤ in the Ancient Middle East (cuneiform and hieroglyphics),
¤ in Ancient China, later also adopted and adapted into Japanese script, and
¤ in Meso-America (ancient Middle America); more than 15 distinct systems, including Mayan and Aztec scripts.
In this study we will focus on developments in the ancient Middle East, and how it prepared the way for the recording of the Bible.
Sumerian cuneiform came first, with the oldest known inscription dating from around 3500 BC. Cuneiform means "wedge-shaped," because people wrote it using a reed stylus cut to make wedge-shaped marks (from the Latin word "cuneus"z) on clay tablets.
It used between 600 and 1,000 characters to spell words by dividing them up into syllables, and was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era.
Somewhat later the Egyptians independently developed hieroglyphics, a totally different system, which employed characters in the form of pictures, with the oldest decipherable sentence dating from 2700 BC.
Those individual signs, called hieroglyphs, could be read either as pictures, or as symbols for objects, or as symbols for sounds – no wonder deciphering it was (and still is) so difficult for Egyptologists!
The alphabet arrives
In contrast to writing, the alphabet was developed only once, in the second millenium BC, and all known alphabets derive from that original script.
Known as the Proto-Sinaitic script, that first alphabetic script appeared in lower Egypt and the southern Sinai desert (at today's Serabit el-Khadim, where the Egyptians mined copper and sapphire) in about 1800 BC, and was used until approximately 1500 BC.
It was a very clever development: somebody simplified some hieroglyphic letters into about 30 simpler symbols, each representing a consonant sound. It was simple to learn, highly adaptable, and easy to use. Best of all, it could be learned relatively easy by a broader segment of the population, in a very real sense bringing writing and reading to everyday people.
About 4 centuries later, this first script evolved into proto-Hebrew and the Proto-Canaanite script, which by 1400 BC had developed into a proper alphabet with 22 characters, each representing a consonant.
Around 1050 BC the Phoenicians appeared on the scene and quickly adapted the Proto-Canaanite alphabet into their own version. They were seafaring traders with extensive trading networks, and took their alphabet all over the Mediterranean, where it became the direct ancestor of most modern alphabets.
The simplicity and efficiency of the Phoenician alphabet made it highly adaptable, and it was soon adopted by neighbouring cultures:
¤ The Greeks, encountering the Phoenician alphabet around the 8th century BC, modified it to include vowels, creating the first true alphabet as we understand it today. The Greek alphabet itself then became the foundation for several scripts, including the Latin alphabet, which would eventually become the most widely used script in the world, forming the basis for most of the languages in the Western world.
¤ In the Middle East, the Phoenician alphabet evolved into the Aramaic alphabet, which became the default language of the region during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and finally into the modern Arabic alphabet and script.
¤ In the 9th century AD the Greek alphabet also influenced the development of the Cyrillic alphabet. Created by Saints Cyril and Methodius for the Slavic peoples, the Cyrillic script adapted elements of the Greek alphabet to suit the sounds of Slavic languages. Today, Cyrillic is used by many languages in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The Emergence of Ancient Hebrew
Proto-Hebrew developed from the Proto-Sinaitic script and evolved further into Paleo-Hebrew. During the Babylonian captivity, under the influence of Aramaic, it was standardised and evolved into the square script known today.
¤ The earliest known inscriptions date back to an ancient Hebrew curse tablet dated to around 1400 BC.
¤ Another inscription from the 10th century BC was an agricultural calendar.
¤ Archaeologists even found an inscription of the alphabet itself, which was used in the 10th century BC to teach people to write.
A classic "whodunnit"
Having said all this, the big question is: who invented the alphabet?As we've said, the Bible doesn't tell us, but we have a few good clues from archaeology:
¤ The inscriptions in the Sinai peninsula have been dated to 1800 BC, and two earlier inscriptions were later discovered in lower Egypt. This indicates that the script was invented in Egypt, and made its way rather quickly to the southern Sinai. The earliest alphabetical script in Canaan (Palestine) dates from 1400 BC.
¤ After 1500 BC, the proto-Sinaitic script stops appearing in Egypt and Sinai, and suddenly appears in Canaan.
¤ Whoever invented the script adapted hieroglyphic characters for alphabetic writing - and specifically for writing a Semitic language. It is clear that the inventors were native Semitic speakers, which gave them the ability and the desire to create a Semitic alphabet. They translated hieroglyphics into Semitic words, and then assigned the starting sound of each of those words to the adapted symbol. (If you want more technical details, click here for the extended text at the end of this study unit.)
It was a fantastic idea, executed brilliantly!
But, to answer the question, only one group of people ticks all the boxes: the Israelite slaves in Egypt:
¤ They were exposed to hieroglyphics, and spoke western Semitic.
¤ Once they were pressed into slavery they needed some form of communication to record orders and progress among themselves, but
¤ it had to be a lot faster to execute than hieroglyphics, and
¤ easy to learn.
¤ The Egyptians used the Israelite slaves for mining copper and sapphire at today's Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai peninsula.
¤ They were in Egypt and the Sinai mines until about 1500 BC, when the exodus to Canaan took place, and about a generation later the script pops up in Canaan.
¤ In fact, most of the inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadim comes from inside the mines where the Israelite slaves toiled away, and includes such mundane things as "give to...bushels of..." and graffiti about their terrible circumstances – and a powerful statement on the wall of one of the mine's caves: "God is eternal".
The most striking aspect of the development of the alphabet is its timing: When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, they had an alphabet for Moses to record the laws given by God, and that alphabet was (or could have been) understood by most of them!
Everything was finally ready for the record of God's dealings with humanity to be compiled in an accessible and understandable format.
Clay to paper
Writing materials developed in tandem with writing. Pictures on rocks were obviously limited in their use – people had to go to the record, instead of taking it with them. To have any wider value, the material used had to be something less static.¤ Clay:
The story of proper writing materials began around 3500 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, when the Sumerians developed cuneiform, which was inscribed on clay tablets. These tablets were made from wet clay and shaped into flat, rectangular pieces. While the clay was still soft, scribes used a stylus made from reeds, to press wedge-shaped marks into the surface. Once inscribed, the tablets were dried in the sun or baked in kilns to harden them, preserving the records.
Although it wasn't really portable, the durability of these tablets has allowed many of them to survive to the present day, offering invaluable insights into ancient Near Eastern civilizations.
¤ Papyrus:
Around 3000 BC, in the Nile Delta region, the Egyptians invented a new writing material, papyrus, made from the stems of the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), which grew abundantly along the Nile River. The stems were cut into thin strips, soaked in water, and then layered horizontally and vertically. The layers were pressed together and dried under pressure (or hammered) and the surface finally polished with a smooth stone or shell, to create a smooth, flexible sheet suitable for writing. The Egyptians wrote on papyrus using reed brushes or pens dipped in ink made from soot and plant resins.
Papyrus was lightweight and portable, making it easier to store and transport than clay tablets. The sheets could also be joined together to create rollable scrolls, which enabled the creation of more extensive documents. The Library of Alexandria, one of the most famous libraries of the ancient world, housed a vast collection of papyrus scrolls.
Its use spread throughout the Mediterranean region, particularly during the period of Greek and Roman influence. But it had limitations, especially its susceptibility to decay in humid conditions, which ultimately contributed to its eventual decline in use.
¤ Parchment and vellum (2nd century BC – AD 1500):
As the Roman Empire expanded, the demand for more durable writing materials led to the development of parchment and vellum. Parchment is made from animal skins, typically those of sheep, goats, or cows, that have been cleaned, stretched, and scraped to create a smooth surface for writing. Vellum, a finer version of parchment, is made from the skins of young animals, such as calves or lambs.
Parchment and vellum first gained prominence in Pergamon (modern-day Turkey) around the 2nd century BC. The shift from papyrus to parchment was partly due to the difficulty in obtaining papyrus outside Egypt and partly due to the superior durability of parchment, which could be folded into codices (precursors to modern books) and stored more easily. Prepared properly, parchment was, and still is, an incredibly durable writing surface. A good parchment is soft and thin and folds easily. Under correct storage conditions, it can last for hundreds, even thousands of years.
The use of parchment spread across the Roman Empire and became the primary writing material in Europe during the Middle Ages. Monks in monasteries painstakingly copied religious texts, classical works, and legal documents onto parchment and vellum, preserving much of the knowledge of the ancient world. The shift to parchment also facilitated the development of illuminated manuscripts, richly decorated texts that combined writing with intricate illustrations.
¤ Paper (c. 2nd century BC – present): The final major development in writing materials was the invention of paper, which originated in China during the Han Dynasty around the 2nd century BC. According to tradition, Cai Lun, a court official, is credited with refining the paper-making process in AD 105. Early Chinese paper was made from a mixture of mulberry bark, hemp, and other plant fibers that were soaked, beaten into a pulp, and then spread onto a flat screen to dry.
Paper quickly proved to be a versatile and cost-effective material, and its use spread throughout China and neighboring regions. By the 7th century, paper had reached Korea and Japan, and by the 8th century, it had been introduced to the Islamic world via the Silk Road. The first paper mills in the Islamic world were established in Baghdad around AD794, facilitating the spread of paper throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and eventually Europe.
Paper became the dominant writing material in Europe by the 14th century, thanks to the establishment of paper mills in Spain and Italy.
The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century further accelerated the spread of paper, as books and pamphlets could be produced quickly and in large quantities. Paper remained the primary writing material into the modern era and continues to be widely used today, despite the advent of digital communication.
Finally computers arrived on the scene, and with it came digital records. Will it supplant books and paper? I doubt: you only have to migrate to a new computer once to realise that moving digital records are not as easy as it seems, and it is a day of mourning when you lose your smartphone with all the records on it! Besides, there is something to handling a book that no digital device can offer.
Page, scroll, book
Writing materials dictated the development of compound documents. Initially every document was a separate sheet, but that eventually changed as it became necessary to combine what belonged together.Clay tablets couldn't be joined together, so a long document could span several loose tablets, which had to be kept together somehow. With the advent of papyrus things changed: by joining sheets together into a scroll, lengthy documents could be composed. Parchment and vellum continued the scroll format, but it could survive a lot longer in varied environments.
A significant shift occured in the Roman era, with the development of the codex (plural codices): loose papyrus sheets were compiled into a book with a hard front and back and then bound together. Soon parchment was cut into sheets and made into codices as well.
The earliest known codices date back to the second and third centuries AD, and evidence indicates that early Christians were among the first to adopt this new format, quite enthusiastically. The codex had a lot of advantages: the ability to write on both sides of the page, easier navigation, and the capacity to compile extensive works - a complete bible would have been impractical on a scroll, but not for a codex. It was also a countercultural statement from Christians, distinguishing Christian texts from the dominant scroll format.
Slowly everybody moved to codices, but creating it was still a laborious process, which meant that book ownership was rare. Eventually people started using paper for codices, and finally Gutenburg's invention of the printing press brought books, and the Bible, to everybody's shelves, and smartphones put it literally into our pockets.
In summary
And so humanity moved from rocks to clay to computers, from pictures to symbols to the alphabet, creating records for posterity on a variety of materials and in a variety of formats. Noticably, God's people were often at the forefront of developments, enthusiastic early adopters of anything that could assist in recording and spreading God's Word to their world.
We sometimes forget how much we owe to our ancestors, generally, but especially our ancestors in the faith. Next time you swipe to your Bible app, remember those who worked hard through the centuries to make all of this possible!