Although Israel was a small nation in comparison to many of her neighbors, the people of Israel enjoyed a much higher literacy rate. In fact, it is probably correct to describe ancient Israel as “literate,” something that could not be said for the populations of Egypt or Mesopotamia. Why was this the case? The simple answer is that the writing systems of Egypt and Mesopotamia were cumbersome, complex, and much more difficult to learn. This made them the provenance of an elite few, mainly scribes. As an example, an Egyptian scribe was......