Scribes Appointed by David
David, desiring to appoint his son king over all the people, called together their rulers in Jerusalem, along with the priests and Levites. Having first counted the Levites, he found them to be thirty-eight thousand, from thirty years old to fifty, out of whom he appointed twenty-four thousand as superintendents over the building of the Temple; and out of the same, six thousand to be judges of the people and scribes, four thousand as gatekeepers of the house of God, and as many for singers, to sing to the instruments that David had prepared, as we have said already.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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David was the exceptional biblical king who worked with—rather than competing for power with—the Levites. Josephus here describes David appointing Levites to be superintendents in the Temple and then also as judges and scribes, gatekeepers to the Temple, and singers. Wisdom, nobility, and intellect are qualities often attributed to both judges and scribes.
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You may also like
Scribes as Tax-Exempt Temple Administrators
Eleazar, Scribe and Martyr
2 Maccabees 6:18–23
Scribes Slain by Seleucids
Criticism of Scribes
Table and Bench, Qumran (Reconstruction)