Reference: Education
Fausets
Chiefly in the law of God (Ex 12:26; 13:8,14; De 4:5,9-10; 6:2,7,20; 11:19,21; Ac 22:3; 2Ti 3:15). The Book of Proverbs inculcates on parents, as to their children, the duty of disciplinary instruction and training in the word of God. This was the ONE book of national education in the reformations undertaken by Jehoshaphat and Josiah (2Ch 17:7-9; 34:30). The priests' and Levites' duty especially was to teach the people (2Ch 15:3; Le 10:11; Mal 2:7; Ne 8:2,8-9,13; Jer 18:18).
The Mishna says that parents ought to teach their children some trade, and he who did not virtually taught his child to steal. The prophets, or special public authoritative teachers, were trained in schools or colleges (Am 7:14). "Writers," or musterers general, belonging to Zebulun, who enrolled recruits and wrote the names of those who went to war, are mentioned (Jg 5:14). "Scribes of the host" (Jer 52:25) appear in the Assyrian bas-reliefs, writing down the various persons or objects brought to them, so that there is less exaggeration than in the Egyptian representations of battle. Seraiah was David's scribe or secretary, and Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was "recorder" or writer of chronicles, historiographer (2Sa 8:16-17); Shebun was Hezekiah's scribe (2Ki 18:37).
The learned, according to the rabbis, were called "sons of the noble," and took precedence at table. Boys at five years of age, says the Mishna, were to begin reading Scripture, at ten they were to begin reading the Mishna, and at thirteen years of age they were subject to the whole law (Lu 2:46); at fifteen they entered study of the Gemara. The prophetic schools included females such as Huldah (2Ki 22:14). The position and duties of females among the Jews were much higher than among other Orientals (Pr 31:10-31; Lu 8:2-3; 10:38, etc.; Ac 13:50; 2Ti 1:5).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
and it shall come to pass that your sons shall say unto you, - What is this your service?
And thou shalt toll thy son, on that day, saying, - This is because, of that which Yahweh did for me, when he brought me forth out of Egypt.
And it shall be when thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, What is this? Then shalt thou say unto him: With strength of hand, did Yahweh bring us forth out of Egypt out of the house of slaves.
And may teach the sons of Israel, - all the statutes which Yahweh hath spoken unto them, by the mediation of Moses.
See! I have taught you statutes, and regulations, as Yahweh my God commanded me, - that ye should do so, in the midst of the land whereinto ye are entering to possess it.
Only take thou heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, so that thou forget not the things which thine own eyes have seen, and so that they go not out of thy heart, all the days of thy life, - but thou shalt make them known unto thy sons and unto thy son's sons: - What day thou didst stand before Yahweh thy God, in Horeb, when Yahweh said unto me, Gather unto me the people, that I may let them hear my words, - which they must learn that they may revere me all the days which they are living upon the soil, their children also, must they teach.
that thou mayest revere Yahweh thy God, so as to keep all his statutes and his commandments which I am commanding thee, thou and thy son and thy sons' son, all the days of thy life, - and that thy days may be prolonged.
and thou shalt impress them upon thy sons, and shalt speak of them, - when thou sittest in thy house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up;
When thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, - What mean the testimonies and the statutes and the regulations, which Yahweh our God commanded you?
and ye shall teach them unto your children by speaking of them, - when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up;
that your days may multiply, and the days of your children, upon rite soil which Yahweh sware unto your fathers, to give unto them, - like the days of the heavens upon the earth.
Out of Ephraim, came down they whose root was in Amalek, After thee, Benjamin, among thy tribes, - Out of Machir, had come down governors, And, out of Zebulun, such as bear aloft the staff of the marshal;
and, Joab, son of Zeruiah, was over the army, - and, Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was remembrancer. And, Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Abimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests, - and, Seraiah, was scribe;
Then came in Eliakim son of Hilkiah who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, unto Hezekiah, with rent clothes, - and they told him the words of Rab-shakeh.
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas keeper of the vestments, she having her dwelling in Jerusalem, in the new city, - and they spake unto her.
Now, many days, had Israel been, - without the faithful God, and without a teaching priest, and without the law;
And, in the third year of his reign, he sent to his rulers, even to Ben-hail and to Obadiah and to Zechariah, and to Nethanel, and to Micaiah, - that they were to teach throughout the cities of Judah; and, with them, Levites, Shemaiah and Nethaniah and Zebadiah and Asahel and Shemiramoth and Jehonathan, and Adonijah and Tobijah and Tob-adonijah, Levites, - and, with them, Elishama and Jehoram, priests; read more. and they taught throughout Judah, and, with them, was the book of the law of Yahweh, - so they went round throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.
And the king went up to the house of Yahweh - and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem - and the priests and the Levites, and all the people, from the great even unto the small, - and he read in their ears, all the words of the book of the covenant, which had been found in the house of Yahweh.
So then Ezra the priest brought the law, before the convocation of both men and women, and all that had understanding to hearken, - on the first day of the seventh month;
So they read in the book of the law of God, distinctly, - and, giving the sense, caused them to understand the reading. Then Nehemiah - he, was the governor - and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who were causing the people to understand, said unto all the people, To-day, is, holy, unto Yahweh your God, do not mourn, nor weep, - for, weeping, were all the people, when they heard the words of the law.
And, on the second day, were gathered together - the ancestral heads of all the people, the priests and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, - even to give attention unto the words of the law.
A virtuous woman, who can find? for, far beyond corals, is her worth. The heart of her husband, trusteth her, and, gain, he shall not lack: read more. She doeth him good and not evil, all the days of her life: She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands: She is like the ships of the merchant, from afar, she bringeth in her food; And she riseth, while yet it is night, and giveth food to her household, and a task to her maidens: She considereth a field, and procureth it, Out of the fruit of her hands, she planteth a vineyard: She girdeth, with strength her loins, and putteth vigour into her arms: She tasteth, whether, good, be her merchandise, and her lamp, goeth not out by night: Her hands, she putteth forth to the distaff, and, her palms, lay hold of the spindle: Her palm, she spreadeth out to the oppressed, and, her hands, she extendeth to the needy: She feareth not, for her household, because of the snow, for, all her household, are clothed with crimson: Coverlets, she maketh for herself, Of white linen and of purple, is her clothing: Known in the gates, is her husband, when he sitteth, with the elders of the land: Fine linen wraps, she maketh and selleth, and, girdles, doth she deliver to the trader: Strength and dignity, are her clothing, and she laugheth at the time to come: Her mouth, she openeth with wisdom, and, the instruction of kindness, is on her tongue: She looketh well to the goings of her household, and, the bread of idleness, will she not eat. Her children rise up, and call her happy! her husband, and he praiseth her: - Many daughters, have done virtuously, but, thou, excellest them all! Deceitful is loveliness and vain is beauty, The woman that revereth Yahweh, she, shall be praised: Give her of the fruit of her own hands, and let her own works, praise her in the gates.
Then said they, - Come ye and let us devise against Jeremiah devices, For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor, counsel, from the wise, Nor, the word from the prophet: Come and let as smite him with the tongue, And let us not give ear to any of his words!
and out of the city, took he one eunuch who was in charge over the men f war and seven men of them who used to watch the face of the king, who were found in the city, and the scribe of the prince of the host, who used to muster the people of the land, - and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city.
Then answered Amos, and said unto Amaziah, No prophet, was I, - nor the son of a prophet, was I, - but, a herdman, was I, and a preparer of sycamore fruit;
For, the lips of a priest, should keep knowledge, and, a deliverance, should men seek at his mouth, - for, the messenger of Yahweh of hosts, he is.
And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting amidst the teachers, - both hearkening unto them, and questioning them.
and certain women, who had been cured from evil spirits and infirmities, - Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone forth, and Joana, wife of Chuza steward of Herod, and Susanna, and many others, - who indeed were ministering unto them out of their possessions.
And, as they were journeying, he, entered into a certain village; and, a certain woman, named Martha, welcomed him into her house.
But, the Jews, urged on the devout women of the higher class, and the chief men of the city, and roused up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, - and thrust them out from their bounds.
I, am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but nurtured in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, - trained after the strictness of our ancestral law; being jealous for God just as, all ye, are this day;
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that, the things remaining undone, thou mightest completely set in order, and mightest establish, in every city, elders, as, I, with thee arranged: -
All they who are with me salute thee. Salute thou them who regard us with faithful affection. Favour, be with you all.
Hastings
In the importance which they attached to the education of the young, it may fairly be claimed that the Hebrews were facile princeps among the nations of antiquity. Indeed, if the ultimate aim of education be the formation of character, the Hebrew ideals and methods will bear comparison with the best even of modern times. In character Hebrew education was predominantly, one might almost say exclusively, religious and ethical. Its fundamental principle may be expressed in the familiar words: 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge' (Pr 1:7). Yet it recognized that conduct was the true test of character; in the words of Simeon, the son of Gamaliel, that 'not learning but doing is the chief thing.'
As to the educational attainments of the Hebrews before the conquest of Canaan, it is useless to speculate. On their settlement in Canaan, however, they were brought into contact with a civilization which for two thousand years or more had been under the influence of Babylonia and in a less degree of Egypt. The language of Babylonia, with its complicated system of wedge-writing, had for long been the medium of communication not only between the rulers of the petty states of Canaan and the great powers outside its borders, but even, as we now know from Sellin's discoveries at Taanach, between these rulers themselves. This implies the existence of some provision for instruction in reading and writing the difficult Babylonian script. Although in this early period such accomplishments were probably confined to a limited number of high officials and professional scribes, the incident in Gideon's experience, Jg 8:14 (where we must render with Revised Version margin 'wrote down'), warns us against unduly restricting the number of those able to read and write in the somewhat later period of the Judges. The more stable political conditions under the monarchy, and in particular the development of the administration and the growth of commerce under Solomon, must undoubtedly have furthered the spread of education among all classes.
Of schools and schoolmasters, however, there is no evidence till after the Exile, for the expression 'schools of the prophets' has no Scripture warrant. Only once, indeed, is the word 'school' to be found even in NT (Ac 19:9), and then only of the lecture-room of a Greek teacher in Ephesus. The explanation of this silence is found in the fact that the Hebrew child received his education in the home, with his parents as his only instructors. Although he grew up ignorant of much that 'every school-boy' knows to-day, he must not on that account be set down as uneducated. He had been instructed, first of all, in the truths of his ancestral religion (see De 6:20-25 and elsewhere); and in the ritual of the recurring festivals there was provided for him object-lessons in history and religion (Ex 12:26 f., Ex 13:8,14). In the traditions of his family and race
See Verses Found in Dictionary
and it shall come to pass that your sons shall say unto you, - What is this your service?
And thou shalt toll thy son, on that day, saying, - This is because, of that which Yahweh did for me, when he brought me forth out of Egypt.
And it shall be when thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, What is this? Then shalt thou say unto him: With strength of hand, did Yahweh bring us forth out of Egypt out of the house of slaves.
Hear, O Israel: Yahweh, is our God, - Yahweh alone.
When thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, - What mean the testimonies and the statutes and the regulations, which Yahweh our God commanded you? Then shalt thou say unto thy son, Servants, were we unto Pharaoh in Egypt, - and Yahweh brought us forth out of Egypt with a firm hand; read more. and Yahweh put forth signs and wonders great and sore upon Egypt upon Pharaoh and upon all his household before our eyes; but he brought us forth from thence, - that he might bring us in, to give unto us the land, which he sware unto our fathers. So then Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, to revere Yahweh our God, - for our good, all the days, to preserve us alive as at this day; and righteousness, shall it he to us, - when we take heed to do all this commandment, before Yahweh our God, as he commanded us.
and caught a young man, of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him, - so he wrote down for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.
this Ezra, came up out of Babylon, he, being a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh God of Israel had given, - and the king gave him, according to the hand of Yahweh his God upon him, all his request.
Then all the people gathered themselves together as one man, into the broad way that was before the water-gate, - and they spake unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded Israel.
The reverence of Yahweh, is the beginning of knowledge, Wisdom and correction, the foolish have despised.
And besides, from them, my son, be admonished, - Of making many books, there is no end, and, much study, is a weariness of the flesh.
And Jesus was going round throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the glad-message of the kingdom, - and curing every disease, and every infirmity, among the people.
And they journey into Capernaum. And, straightway, on the Sabbath, entering into the synagogue, he began teaching;
And, asking for a small tablet, he wrote, saying - John, is his name! and they marvelled all.
And it came to pass, on one of the days, that, he, was teaching, and there were sitting Pharisees and Teachers of the law, who had come out of every village of Galilee and Judaea and Jerusalem; and, the power of the Lord, was there, that he might heal.
But, when some were hardening themselves, and refusing to be persuaded, speaking evil of the Way before the throng, withdrawing from them, he separated the disciples; day by day, reasoning in the school of Tyrannus.
I, am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but nurtured in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, - trained after the strictness of our ancestral law; being jealous for God just as, all ye, are this day;
I, am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but nurtured in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, - trained after the strictness of our ancestral law; being jealous for God just as, all ye, are this day;
Smith
Education.
There is little trace among the Hebrews in earlier times of education in any other subjects than the law. The wisdom therefore and instruction, of which so much is said in the book of Proverbs, are to be understood chiefly of moral and religious discipline, imparted, according to the direction of the law, by the teaching and under the example of parents. (But Solomon himself wrote treatises on several scientific subjects, which must have been studied in those days.) In later times the prophecies and comments on them, as well as on the earlier Scriptures, together with other subjects, were studied. Parents were required to teach their children some trade. (Girls also went to schools, and women generally among the Jews were treated with greater equality to men than in any other ancient nation.) Previous to the captivity, the chief depositaries of learning were the schools or colleges, from which in most cases proceeded that succession of public teachers who at various times endeavored to reform the moral and religious conduct of both rulers and people. Besides the prophetical schools instruction was given by the priests in the temple and elsewhere. [See SCHOOLS]
See Schools