Although no Hebrew letters are preserved of the time before David, it might be supposed that the form might liave been derived from Egypt. We have pap- 3'ri containing copies by Eg^'ptian scribes of the kings of the Rameses family about the 13th century B.C., of letters of their own correspondence. These show a regular epistolary style, the conventionalism of wliich at once removes us from all ideas of Shemitic literature. There is an air of the monuments about it that strikes us in tlie descriptive character of certain of the formu- 1 IS. Some letters, from a superior to an inferior, com- mence in the manner shown in the following example : "The chief librarian Amen-em-an, of tlie royal white house, says to the scribe Penta-ur, Wliereas, this let- ter is brought to you, saying — communication." A usual ending of such letters is, "Do thou consider this." Some begin with the word " Communication." The fuller form also seems to be an abbreviation. An inferior scribe, addressing his superior, thus begins : " The scribe Penta-ur salutes his lord, the chief libra- rian, Amen-em-an, of the royal Avhite house. This comes to inform my lord. Again I salute my lord. Whereus I have executed all the commissions imposed upon me by my lord, well and truly, completely and thoroughly [.'] I have done no wrong. Again I sa- lute my lord." He ends, "Behold, this message is to
inform my lord." A more easj' style is seen in a let' ter of a son to his father, which begins, "The scriba Amen-mesu salutes [his] father, captain of bowmen, Bek-en-ptah," and ends "Farewell." A military of- ficer writing to another, and a scribe writing to a mili- tary officer, appear to begin with a prayer for the king before the formula "Communication." A royal or government letter is a mere written decree, without any formal introduction, and ending with an injunc- tion to obey it. The contents of these letters are al- ways addresses to. the persons written to, the writer using the first person singular. The subject-matter is various, and perhaps gives us a better idea of the lite- rary abilit}' of the Egj'ptians, and their lively national character, than any other of their compositions (see Goodwin on the "//ora^jc Papyri " m. the C'tmlrldgz Essays, 1855, p. 22G sq.). Indeed in Egypt everything of importance was committed to writing (Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. ii, 176, abridgm.), and the monuments con- stantly depict scrilies taking an inventory or check of all Sorts of operations. See Egypt.
Ancient Egyptian giving an account to two scribes of tlu' stock on the estate.
Before fip. 1 is the satchel, nntl above fisr. 2 the box for holcline writinc im- plements and papyri. They are writing on boards : in their left hands are the ink-stands with black and red ink.
In the books of Scripture written after the return from Babylon, mention is made of letters of the ene- mies of the Jews to the kings of Persia, and of the kings to these persons, the Jews, or their oflScers, some of which are given. These are in an official style, with a greeting, and sometimes an address. The let- ter to Artaxerxes contains the form, "Be it known unto the king," "Be it known now unto the king" (Ezra iv, 11-lG) ; and his answer thus begins, " Peace [or " welfare"], and so forth" (17-22), the expres- sion "and so forth" occurring elsewhere in such a manner that it seems to be used bj- the transcriber for brevitj''s sake (10, 11 ; vii, 12). It must, there- fore, not be compared to the common modern Ara- bic formula of commencement, "After the [usual] salutations." The letter of the opponents of the Jews to Darius (Hystaspis) tlius begins: "Unto Darius the king, all peace. Be it known unto tlie king (v, 6-17)." The letter of Artaxerxes (Longimanus) to Ezra is a written decree, and not an ordinary letter, save in form (vii, 11, 26). Nehemiah asked for, and was granted, letters from the same king to the governors and the keeper of the king's forest (Neh. ii, 7, 9). When he was rebuilding Jerusalem, Sanballat sent him "an open letter" by his servant, repeating an invented ru- mor of the Jews' intention to rebel (vi, 5, 7) : no doubt it was left not sealed purposely, either in order that the rumor should be so spread as if by accident, or to show disrespect. At this time many letters passed be- tween the noliles of Judah and Tobiah, and letter-writ- ing seems to have been common (17 ; see also 19). In Esther we read of exactly the same custom as tliat spoken of in the case of Jezebel's letter, the authority
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EPISTLES
ot writings with the king's name and seal, even if not written i)y liim. It is related that Ahasuerns "took his signet from his hand and gave it unto Hanian," wlio causiMl letters to he written containing a mandate : "In tlie name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's signet" (Esth. iii, 10, 12, 13). In like manner, the same authoritj' was given to Esther and iMordecai, and it is remarked, " For the writing wiiieh is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's signet, maj' not be reversed" (viii, 7, 8). The intinence of Perskm, and yet more, perhaps, that of Greek civilization, led to the more frequent use of letters as a means of intercourse. Whatever douhts may he entertained as to the genuineness of the epis- tles tiiemselves, their occurrence in 1 Mace, xi, 30 ; xii, G, 20; xv, 1, 16; 2 Mace, xi, 16, 34, indicates that they were recognised as having altogether superseded the older plan of messages orally delivered. See Letteii.