An Oldie, But a Goodie

If you’ve never heard of copywork (the practice of copying respected works of literature in your own hand) before, it might sound like some kind of new-fangled practice, but that couldn’t be further from the truth!  Copywork was being practiced in Old Testament times by the Israelites (the kings in particular) and in Ancient Egypt as a vital part of the training of Egyptian scribes.

Our family recently watched a documentary series on DVD entitled Ancient Lives, which followed the daily lives of the tomb-makers that resided near the Valley of the Kings.  Fascinating viewing, but one of the things it really drove home for me was the use of copywork in the training of scribes.  To be a scribe in Ancient Egypt was to have a fairly good social standing.  Most Egyptians were illiterate, so scribes were employed to write letters, decorate tombs, copy religions and legal texts, and so on.

During a scribe’s training he would copy religious documents, legal texts, satirical works, and literature that was considered ‘classic’ at the time.  He would copy these works again and again and again over the course of his intensive four-year training period before being declared a scribe. Thankfully, we have a much larger array of literature to draw our copywork selections from than the Egyptians did!

Yes, copywork does have a long and illustrious history, proving that the method works!  The hieroglyphics found in the pyramids and tombs of the Ancient Egyptians were written by the hands of those trained in their art through copywork.  Just imagine the fruit that Christian copywork, faithfully practiced can bear in your own children!   Let’s dedicate that fruit to the Lord and let the work of our hands in printing and handwriting be used to glorify His name.