E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Scribe (1 syl.),
in the New Testament, means a doctor of the law. Thus, in Matthew xxii. 35, we read, “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him, Which is the great commandment of the law?” Mark (xii. 28) says, “One of the scribes came and asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all?”
1
In the Old Testament the word is used more widely. Thus Seraiah is called the scribe (secretary) of David (2 Sam. viii. 17); in the Book of Chronicles “Jael the scribe” was an officer in the king’s army, who reviewed the troops and called over the muster-roll. Jonathan, Baruch, Gemariah, etc., who were princes, were called scribes. Ezra, however, called “a ready scribe in the law of Moses,” accords with the New Testament usage of the word.
