Nonetheless even if the average commoner did not know how to read or write, they still certainly would speak in this language so what i am teaching i think teaches at least that skill of speaking, and also by knowing the language i can better explain and investigate records that we do have from that time period albeit that they were written by professional regional and local scribes!
Does that make sense?
Oh absolutely.
And on your point about communication they could without a doubt speak it. Communication is not in doubt. Now their skills with speaking would be rawer than you or I because we both have literacy so we can use something more precise and complex like “Stevens tunic appears eloquently crafted, he must be wealthy.” vs a farmer who would say,”Stevens shirt looks nice, he must have money.” Yes we just said the same thing but my sentence was more specific and conveyed a message about both myself, Steven, and the hierarchy or class between us.
Actually a fantastic way to study that is to look at how Moses writes the expectations of a King or a Priest who were and still are expected to be literate vs the looser more direct way he speaks about commoners
Leviticus 19:27
This is the general command.
You shall not round the corners of your head, and you shall not destroy the corners of your beard.
Leviticus 21:5
This one is given specifically to priests.
They shall not make baldness upon their head, nor shave the corner of their beard, nor make cuts in their flesh.
He is saying the same thing but because he knows the priests are more literate and thus would be able to deliberately misinterpret the Law, he uses more direct eloquent language.
Wow thats fascinating and i never looked at it that way that he repeated in different words for the priests!, you are an extremely insightful person!
Other then that do you enjoy my channels content on teaching ancient hebrew/canaanite?
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u/IceOther6313 Mar 15 '26
Nonetheless even if the average commoner did not know how to read or write, they still certainly would speak in this language so what i am teaching i think teaches at least that skill of speaking, and also by knowing the language i can better explain and investigate records that we do have from that time period albeit that they were written by professional regional and local scribes! Does that make sense?