learn from it that they believed in the existence of one Supreme Being, the
immortality of the soul, judgement after death, and the resurrection of the
body. It shows, too, a high state of literary activity in Egypt in the time of
Moses. It refers to extensive libraries then existing. That of Ramessium, in
Thebes, e.g., built by Rameses II., contained 20,000 books.
When the Hebrews entered Canaan it is evident that the art of writing was
known to the original inhabitants, as appears, e.g., from the name of the
city Debir having been at first Kirjath-sepher, i.e., the “city of the book,”
or the “book town” (Joshua 10:38; 15:15; Judges 1:11).
The first mention of letter-writing is in the time of David (2 Samuel 11:14,
15). Letters are afterwards frequently spoken of (1 Kings 21:8, 9, 11; 2
Kings 10:1, 3, 6, 7; 19:14; 2 Chronicles 21:12-15; 30:1, 6-9, etc.).