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 prima facie evidence is for record of contracts, land deeds, etc., in every city-with-its-suburbs.

(8) Negatively there is no reason to suppose an interruption in the system of scribal officers and judges between the Egyptian brick-making and the six thousand officers and judges of David, or between Phineas and Eli.

(9) Positively the Kenite scribes of Jabez (1 Chron. 2:5) and the simple fact that a chance captive from Succoth could write out a list of names and some one at least of the rudest 300 survivals of Gideon's 32,000 primitive warriors in those frontier times could read it, point in the same direction. Most obvious of all however are the references to the staff of the muster-master, marshal or scribe, and the governors, in Deborah's song, for the document is old and both the offices referred to are by nature and probably name (write, inscribe) scribal.