“In My Own Hand”: Grapho-Literacy and the Apostle Paul 47 Roman Judea and early Christianity have affirmed Harris’ estimate for these respective communities and, in the former case, suggested that 10% may be generous (41). Importantly, however, “literacy” is not a well-defined category but rather a spectrum (or spectrums), and thus it is perhaps more appropriate to speak of “literate competency(ies)”. One reason for this is that an individual could hold different literate competencies in different languages, much like individuals do today (42). Another reason is the presence of individuals that can be described as “semi-literates” (43). These are individuals who are literate enough to participate in the local economy or carry on their trade (44), but could not, for example, read a page of the Iliad if asked or write a personal letter. In a primarily agrarian society, it was simply (financially) impractical for parents to send a child through the various levels of pedagogy that would eventually allow him (or, more rarely, her) to cite Homer or compose writing. Not only would this lose a worker for the family, the child’s life likely would never present an opportunity for him (or her) to use that skill (45). A third reason to speak of “literate competencies” rather than strictly “literacy” or “illiteracy” is that the two aspects of a literate education — reading and writing — were neither equally taught nor learned. 2. Reading Versus Writing in the School Papyri Like moderns who consider reading and writing a unity, historians of ancient education have often failed to distinguish between reading (41) Jewish context: C. HEZSER, Jewish Literacy in Roman Palestine (TSAJ 81; Tübingen 2001) 496. Christian context: GAMBLE, Books and Readers, 5. (42) Consider especially the comments of GAMBLE, Books and Readers, 3: “A Christian in first-century Palestine might have been thoroughly literate in Aramaic, largely literate in Hebrew, semiliterate in Greek, and illiterate in Latin, while a Christian in Rome in the second century might have been literate in Latin and semiliterate in Greek but ignorant of Aramaic and Hebrew”. (43) On “semi-literates”, see HARRIS, Ancient Literacy, 5; H.C. YOUTIE, “Bradew" gravfwn: Between Literacy and Illiteracy”, GRBS 12.2 (1971) 239-261; v repr. in Scriptiunculae II (Amsterdam 1973). (44) Thus, “semi-literacy” is also known as “craftsman’s literacy” (HARRIS, Ancient Literacy, 7-8 and throughout) or “tradesman’s literacy” (J.P. MEIER, A Marginal Jew. Rethinking the Historical Jesus [New York 1991] I, 262). (45) M. BAR-ILAN, “Illiteracy in the Land of Israel in the First Centuries C.E.”, Essays in the Social Scientific Study of Judaism and Jewish Society (eds. S. FISHBANE – S. SCHOENFELD – A. GOLDSCHLAEGER) (New York 1992) II, 55; H.Y. GAMBLE, “Literacy and Book Culture”, DNTB, 645; HARRIS, Ancient Literacy, 30.