Literary Depictions of the Scribal Profession in the Story of Ahiqar and Jeremiah 36 by James D. Moore

Author:James D. Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2021-12-20T10:38:58.812000+00:00

4.2.3

Imparting Knowledge to a Student or Apprentice

Ahiq. A.1, 8–9

Ahiqar... who taught his son ... I have taught wisdom to him, and [I] ⸢g⸣[ave] good (things) [to him]

MT Jer 36:4

Jeremiah summoned Baruch, son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote all of the words of Yahweh (verbatim) from the mouth of Jeremiah.

Both stories depict the transfer of knowledge from one scribal student to another, who will eventually take the senior scribe’s place in the plot. It is noteworthy that the success of the senior scribe is not important here, but rather his motivations for choosing a pupil. In the Tale of Jeremiah and Baruch’s Scroll, Jeremiah successfully prepares Baruch to present a prophetic document, and despite Baruch’s failure to influence the courtiers, the two remain partners at the end of the tale. In the Story of Ahiqar, however, Ahiqar fails Nadin as a teacher. The reasons for Ahiqar’s failure are owed to his adherence to a number of self-destructive norms practiced by elite Akkadian writers that encourage Ahiqar to select a relative, rather than find a qualified student as does Jeremiah. Ahiqar attempts to train his student in the ways of a wise scribe, not realizing that Nadin contains a character flaw that contradicts Ahiqar’s instructions. This means that the tale does not critique Ahiqar for his efforts as a teacher, but for his social motivations and his choice of a student—that is, for his attempted nepotism. For this reason, the text propagates the content of his teachings though his legacy is lost. In the Tale of Jeremiah and Baruch’s Scroll, however, both Jeremiah’s teachings and legacy are maintained by Baruch. Jeremiah did not suffer Ahiqar’s fate since Jeremiah chose an advanced scribal apprentice who had already shown himself professionally capable (MT Jer 32:16–25).

Although the two tales share this literary motif, each points to a different social reality of the scribal profession. The Tale of Jeremiah and Baruch’s Scroll refers to a practical strategy undertaken by advanced students working with a scholar; the curriculum includes copying the teacher’s instructions. While this phenomenon is well known in cultures for which an extensive textual record survives, this is the only evidence in an early Hebrew source for this type of professional scribal transference. Baruch is learning the value of precisely crafted documents and the political value of using writing mediums, an investment which will later yield social returns when his scroll grants him access to the royal court. The word choice in the Story of Ahiqar, however, is curiously different. Unlike in the Tale of Jeremiah and Baruch’s Scroll, no practical strategies are referred to. Instead, Ahiqar claims to have made Nadin wise D-stem) and given him good things, which as discussed in chapter two, refers to social favors or privileges, which Ahiqar expects Nadin to reciprocate. In the tale, the social realities of imparting scribal knowledge allude to propriety, mannerism, and expectations of the advanced student who is an employee in the royal court. Ahiqar imparts to Nadin how the scribal profession must include,

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