Let's Learn - Scribe vs Recorder... 1 Kings 4

1 Kings 4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 

First Kings, chapter 4 describes Solomon's 'officials'; the cabinet of his administration.   Just as Trump (like him or not) has surrounded himself with men and women to help him accomplish his agenda, so Solomon did the same thing, some 3000 years ago   Lets look at the office of 'scribe' versus the office of 'recorder', as detailed in verse three.

Scribe

What is a 'scribe'?   Someone who keeps a detailed account of conversations.   At work or at church, a scribe is someone who keeps the meeting minutes.   A good scribe would be someone who could take shorthand, to be able capture every single word that everyone said.  My mom was a legal secretary; when I was little, I remember seeing what amounted to hieroglyphics, in her steno pads.   They were meaningless to me, but they were a word-for-word transcription of a dictated memorandum, or meeting she had with the lawyer.   The modern-day version of a scribe could be called a stenographer, or the fancy shmancy word for it is amanuenses.
To dig a little deeper, the Hebrew word for scribe is caphar ( סָפַר).  The Hebrew word caphar begins with the letter Samech(remember, Hebrew reads right to left).   So, although caphar is transliterated with a 'c', it starts with the 's' sound.   The ancient, pictorial form of the letter Samech, was a thorn, and carried the meaning to 'grab' or 'protect'.   Thereby, we come to understand that a caphar , 'grabs and protects', words.

Recorder

What's difference between a scribe and a 'recorder'?   Interestingly, the word for recorder rhymes with the word for scribe, in Hebrew.   It is zakar ( זָכַר ), and it carries the meaning to remember, or to memorialize.   Here is my own commentary on what a recorder is, as opposed to a scribe; a recorder s a historian.   A historian, weaves a narrative, providing background, and 'connecting the dots', so-to-speak, between seemingly unrelated events.   Where a scribe would be a very technical profession, a recorder would be more academic.   A recorder would have to see the 'big-picture', and be able to relate it in a comprehensive way.

So What?

So there were two separate offices of scribe and recorder in Solomon's administration.   Each had their own distinct role, but why should we care?   Well for one, that we have a Bible at all, owes to the fact that down through the ages, God appointed scribes and recorders to capture His word in an orderly, accurate fashion.

Psalm 45:1 says, [KJV]  To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
That term, 'ready writer' is the word caphar in Hebrew.

In the New Testament, Matthew was a government employed, tax collector.   He would have had transcription skills.   And Luke, as a physician would also likely have received that type of training.

All that to say, this is just more evidence that God superintended the writing and the transmission of His word in the Bible, and you can trust it.

Personal Application

How can we apply this to our lives?   We can be diligent to write things down.   Keep good notes in meetings at work...  It'll help us to remember our TODOs.   Also, take some time and reflect on the details, to try to assemble a comprehensive picture of where we were, where we are, and where we're going.   As God's people, we ought to try to remember what went well to give God the glory.   As well, we ought to reflect on our failures, so we don't make the same mistakes again.

God bless...