Sacred Scrolls or Sheep-Herder Scribbles? Debunking the Myth of the Bronze Age Goat Herders...

In the grand arena of internet debates, few phrases get thrown around with as much smugness as "the Bible was written by illiterate Bronze Age goat herders." It's the New Atheist equivalent of a mic drop—short, snappy, and completely wrong. If only the ancient scribes of Israel had the benefit of Twitter, they might have had a few choice words for their modern critics.

The So-Called "Goat Herders"

Let’s start with the obvious: Who exactly were these supposed illiterate herdsmen that skeptics love to mock? The truth is, ancient Israel was not just a scattered bunch of nomads wandering the desert with goats in tow. By the time much of the Old Testament was written, Israel had developed sophisticated cities, temples, and, importantly, a well-established literary tradition.

For starters, the Israelites lived in a region that was a hotbed of literary activity. Their neighbors, the Egyptians, had been writing intricate texts for over a thousand years. The Mesopotamians had already produced the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary masterpieces. The Phoenicians, close relatives of the Israelites, literally invented the alphabet that would later evolve into the scripts we use today. The idea that the Israelites, plopped right in the middle of this cultural and intellectual melting pot, remained illiterate is laughable.

The Hebrew Language: No Child’s Play

The skeptics might not know this, but Biblical Hebrew is no joke. It's an intricate, highly structured language with poetic devices, double meanings, and profound philosophical nuances. Anyone who has actually studied the Old Testament in its original language can attest to the sheer complexity of the writing. The Psalms alone contain some of the most sophisticated poetry in human history, using techniques like chiasmus, parallelism, and acrostics.

For example, the Book of Job, often regarded as one of the most profound literary achievements of the ancient world, weaves philosophical questions about suffering, justice, and divine sovereignty with unmatched poetic mastery. Try writing a book that combines epic poetry, courtroom drama, and divine speeches—all while making it rhyme in Hebrew.

Even setting aside the poetic elements, the legal codes in books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy contain an advanced understanding of law, ethics, and governance. These aren’t the ramblings of shepherds figuring out fire for the first time—they are the meticulously crafted legal, moral, and spiritual texts of a people deeply invested in intellectual and religious life.

Orality Doesn’t Mean Illiteracy

Ah, but what about the oral tradition? Even if we concede that some of the earliest Biblical stories were passed down orally before being written down, does that somehow make them primitive or unreliable? Absolutely not.

Oral transmission in ancient cultures wasn’t the “telephone game” skeptics make it out to be. It was a precise, disciplined art form, with trained storytellers and scribes ensuring that texts were preserved with astonishing accuracy. The fact that societies without printing presses relied on memorization doesn’t mean they were stupid—if anything, their memories put ours to shame. A well-trained Jewish scribe or rabbi could recite entire books of the Torah from memory, word for word.

Psychological and Theological Depth

One of the most baffling aspects of the "goat herder" argument is how it ignores the sheer depth of psychological insight found in Biblical texts. The Old Testament is not a collection of feel-good fairy tales; it is a raw, unfiltered portrayal of the human condition.

Look at King David, a deeply flawed yet complex figure whose psalms oscillate between ecstatic joy and the depths of despair. Or the prophet Jeremiah, who delivers some of the most haunting lamentations about suffering and exile. These aren’t simple morality plays—they’re sophisticated explorations of guilt, redemption, and the nature of justice.

Even the Book of Ecclesiastes, written thousands of years ago, reads like a modern existentialist treatise, questioning the meaning of life, the fleeting nature of pleasure, and the inevitability of death. If these texts were indeed written by "ignorant goat herders," then Nietzsche and Camus might have some competition.

Rational and Historical Perspective

Historically speaking, it is well-documented that scribes, priests, and scholars were responsible for recording and preserving sacred texts in the ancient world. The Israelites, like their neighbors, had dedicated scribal traditions. Figures such as Ezra in the Old Testament were explicitly described as scribes, responsible for copying and interpreting the Law.

Moreover, the Israelites had royal courts, temple archives, and complex governance systems—all of which required written documentation. Contracts, treaties, genealogies, and laws were meticulously recorded, proving that literacy was far from rare among the educated elite.

If we apply the same "illiterate herders" logic to other ancient cultures, we would have to dismiss the entire corpus of Greek philosophy, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Mesopotamian literature, simply because they came from pre-modern societies. Yet, no one goes around calling Plato an "olive plucker" or dismissing Homer as a "blind bard making stuff up."

Why the Double Standard?

So, why do some skeptics apply this dismissive rhetoric only to the Bible? Part of it is rhetorical laziness. It’s easier to attack a strawman than to engage with the actual complexity of ancient literature.

Another factor is cultural bias. Many modern skeptics operate under the assumption that ancient religious texts must be primitive, outdated, or irrational simply because they are old and religious. This bias ignores the reality that ancient peoples were just as intellectually curious, philosophically engaged, and artistically talented as we are today—if not more so.

Final Thoughts

Does this mean that the Bible is above critique? Not at all. Like any historical document, it should be examined, questioned, and interpreted with care. But dismissing it as the ramblings of "illiterate goat herders" is neither accurate nor intellectually honest.

Ancient Israelite scribes, priests, and poets were part of a rich and literate tradition that produced some of the most enduring and profound literature in human history. Whether one views the Bible as divine revelation or as a remarkable cultural artifact, it deserves to be treated with the same respect we afford to other ancient texts.

So, the next time someone smugly refers to "Bronze Age goat herders" as the authors of the Bible, feel free to remind them that these so-called shepherds had a better grasp of poetry, psychology, and philosophy than most of us today. And that, perhaps, is something worth reflecting on.