Bible Dictionaries
School

People's Dictionary of the Bible

School, Acts 19:9; Scholar, 1 Chronicles 25:8; School-master, R. V. "tutor." Galatians 3:24. Schools were established under the prophets to train young men to become expounders of Jewish law, and to fit them for the priestly and prophetical offices. 1 Samuel 19:18-24; 2 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 2:5; 2 Kings 2:7; 2 Kings 2:15. The office nearly answered to that of a governor or tutor, Galatians 4:2-3, who constantly attends his pupil, teaches him, and forms his manners. Maimonides thus describes a Jewish school: "The teacher sat at the head, and the pupils surrounded him as the crown the head, so that every one could see the teacher and hear his words. The teacher did not sit in a chair while the pupils sat on the ground, but all either sat on chairs or on the ground." The children read aloud to acquire fluency. The number of school-hours was limited, and during the heat of the summer was only four hours. The punishment employed was beating with a strap, never with a rod. The chief studies were their own language and literature; the chief school-book the Holy Scriptures.

Bibliography Information
Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'School'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​rpd/​s/school.html. 1893.