Premise: Sumur (Biblical Hebrew: [collective noun denoting the city inhabitants]; Egyptian: "Smr"; Akkadian: "Sumuru"; Assyrian: "Simirra") was a Phoenician city in what is now Syria. Zemar was a major trade center. The city has also been referred to in English publications as Simyra, Ṣimirra, Ṣumra, Sumura Ṣimura, Zemar, and Zimyra.
Hypothesis: The spread of the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean extended literacy beyond a narrow caste of hierarchical priests.