Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. – Joshua 18:4

Today's Scripture Reading (April 9, 2025): Joshua 18

I admit that I love to read. In fact, I am a bit of a throwback. I prefer reading to seeing a video or listening to audio, although I admit that I do both of those things. Lately, I have established a bit of a bedtime ritual. First, I read something. It is usually a piece of fiction. I have several authors that are a bit of a guilty pleasure. I like to read thrillers, action, or science fiction. After I have read for a while, I usually listen to something. Usually, it is something either historical or political in nature. Among some of my most listened-to podcasts are The Rest is History, The Rest is Classified, Empire, and The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart. But I think I still prefer to read. 

Literacy rates have long been a symbol of a civilization's technological advancement, although that might be changing. As technology increased, so did the need to read, which probably makes sense as they passed knowledge down from generation to generation. We needed to understand what had been done before to build on that knowledge, and the easiest way to do that was to read. However, there was a marked difference in reading ability between the different classes. The overall literacy rate was around 80% in the pre-civil war South. However, among the slaves of the South, the literacy rate is estimated to have been between 10 to 20%. That meant that if you were white, you could likely read. But if you were a black enslaved person, reading was not a skill necessary for societal or personal survival.

Joshua instructs the men from the various tribes to go and survey the land, then return and "write a description." The behavior makes so much sense to us that we don't even question it. But a generation earlier, these men had been enslaved. Some scholars have remarked that the Hebrew people's literacy level must have been high. But that doesn't make sense. Not really. There was no reason for Egypt to educate their slaves. 

Moses likely knew how to read. He had grown up in the palace and shared an education with the nation's princes. Maybe a few others were educated enough to read. But it is not likely that many were literate. But that didn't mean that it was something that couldn't be taught. 

As the leaders of the various tribes were groomed for leadership, it seems likely that reading and writing were on the agenda. Those who were literate began to teach at least some people the magic of writing, so as they came into the land, these men could write down what they saw, and a record was maintained that could be passed down to the next generation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Joshua 19