LazyWiki - Hebrew

Language

Hebrew is a Semitic language and one of several Canaanite dialects alongside Phoenician, Ugaritic, and Moabite. Unlike English which is unintelligibly different after 12 centuries, Hebrew is remarkably stable. The Song of Deborah preserves the language's oldest form, and the style does differ between Job and Esther. Different dialects are preserved like Judges 12:4-6's Shibboleth/Sibboleth - Israelites east of the Jordan pronounced a strong "sh," while those in Canaan "s."

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 217-219)

Dialects, Blends

(Hebrew-Aramaic)
Mishnaic Hebrew
Yiddish (German-Hebrew)

Character

Hebrew and other early Semitic languages concentrate on observation over reflection, appearances over inward being or essence, and effects over series of causes. The vividness, conciseness, and simplicity make it difficult to translate. It's a pictorial language with frequent use of "behold," "he arose and went," "he opened his lips and spoke," etc.

How perfect for illustrating God's relationship with man!

Psalm 23 contains 55 words. ESV has 1 13 words. Hebrew is efficient!

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 220, Origin of the Bible class notes, March 29, 2023. Pink jaguar print composition book. Page 2)

Alphabet

Description

Written right to left. 22 consonants, signs for vowels were devised and added late in the language's history. The origin of the alphabet is unknown.

Vowels were simply understood by the reader like o ur blvd. and rd. After the Christian era and the Diaspora, Hebrew became a dead language and traditional pronunciation and understanding were becoming lost. Jewish scribes tried to permanently establish vowel sounds. First, mothers of reading (matres lectionis) were added before the Christian era to indicate long vowels, and they are seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Around the 5th century A.D., the Masoretes added vowel signs to indicate short vowels in at least 3 different systems of signs over space and time. The one used today is from Masoretic scribes in Tiberias. Vowels and half-vowels are indicated by dots or dashes above or bel ow the consonants.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 221-222)

History

The oldest examples of a Canaanite alphabet were preserved in the Ugaritic cuneiform alphabet of the 14th century B.C. The old style is called the Phoenician or paleo-Hebrew script and is the predecessor to Greek and Western alphabets.

The modern script is Aramaic or square script and became widespread after Israel's exile into Babylon (6th century B.C.) but did not entirely replace the old. Early Christian era coins and God's name in the Dead Sea Scrolls use the old.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 221)

Grammar

Some prepositions like (be- "in"; le- "to"; ke- "like") and the definite article ha- "the" and the conjunction wa- "and" are prefixed directly to the noun or verb they introduce. Suffixes are used for pronouns, either in the possessive or accusative relationship. The same word may simultaneously have a prefix and suffix.

There is no neuter gender. Usually abstract ideas or words indicating a group are feminine. Nouns are derived from roots and are formed in various ways, either by vowel modification or by adding prefixes or suffixes to the root. Compound nouns are not characteristic of Hebrew.

The plural is -im for masculine nouns and -oth for feminine nouns. Three original case endings for nominative, genitive, and accusative were lost over the evolution of the language. Instead, Hebrew resorts to indicators. Indirect objects are indicated by preposition le- "to"; direct objects by objective sign "eth"; the genitive relationship by putting the word before the genitive in the "construct state" or shortened form.

Adjectives are rare, and there are no comparative or superlative forms. Relationship is indicated by "from." Superlative is expressed by several different constructions.

Psalm 12:2's double heart is literally "a heart and a heart;" Deuteronomy 25:13's "two different weights" is "a stone and a stone;" 2 King 1 1:1's "the whole royal family" is "the seed of the kingdom." "Better than you" is "good from you." "The serpent was more subtle than any other beast" is "the serpent was subtle from every beast." Ecclesiastes 7:24's "very deep" is "deep deep." The best song is "song of songs." Isaiah 6:3's "holiest" is "holy holy holy."

Verbs are formed from a root consisting of three letters then a change of vowels or addition of prefixes or suffixes. The root consonants provide the semantic backbone and give stability of meaning not found in English. Vowels are quite flexible, giving considerable elasticity. Tenses are not precise; they are usually understood in context. Two tense formations are the perfect (completed action) and imperfect (incomplete action). Imperfect is ambiguous, representing the indicative mood (present, past, future) but also such moods as the imperative, optative, and jussive or cohortative. A distinctive perfect is the "prophetic perfect" where the perfect form represents a future event considered so sure that it is expressed as past. (Isaiah 5:13)

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 222-224)

Vocabulary

Most roots originally expressed some physical action or some natural object. "to decide" originally meant "to cut"; "to be true" meant "to be firmly fixed"; "to be right" meant "to be straight"; "to be honorable" meant "to be heavy." Abstract terms are alien, such as there being no word for "theology," "philosophy," or "religion." Intellectual or theological concepts are expressed in concrete terms. Sin is expressed like "to miss the mark" or "crooked" or "trespass" or "rebellion." Mind or intellect is expressed like "heart" or "kidneys." Emotion or compassion, "bow els" (Isaiah 63:15). "Horn" is strength or vigor, "bones" for self, "seed" for descendants. A mental quality is depicted by part of the body thought of as its most appropriate embodiment. Strength is represented by "arm" or "hand," anger by "nostril," displeasure by "falling face," acceptance by "shining face," thinking by "say."

The root for bless can also mean curse, greet, favor, or praise. Judgement is also used for justice, verdict, penalty, ordinance, duty, custom, or man ner. Strength or power can also mean army, virtue, worth, or courage.

Some Hebrew consonants stand for two different original consonants that have merged in the evolution of the language. Two words may look identical but can be traced back to two different roots. Consider English "bass" (fish) and "bass" (vocalist).

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 224-225)

Syntax

Relatively uncomplicated. Few subordinating conjunctions (if, when, because, etc) are used; sentences are usually coordinated by "and." All but 53 of Genesis 1:2-3:1's verses start with "and." There is no indirect discourse ("such and such said that"), rather parties speak for themselves.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 225-226)

Poetry

Assonance, alliteration, and acrostics can only be appreciated in the original Hebrew. Parallelism is evident even in translation. Four common cat egories of parallelism exist:

synonymous - a repeating style where parallel lines say the same thing in different words
antithetic - a contrasting style where contrary thoughts are expressed
completive - a completing parallel line filling out the thought of the first
climactic - an ascending parallel line picks up something from the first line and repeats it

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 226)

Fig ur es of Speech

Apple of his eye - Deuteronomy 32:10, Zechariah 2:8
Skin of my teeth - Job 19:20
To uncover the ear (to disclose, reveal)
To stiffen the neck (to be stubborn, rebellious)
To bend or incline the ear (to listen closely)

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 226-227)

Legacy

English contains amen, hall elujah, jubilee, and names like David, Jonathan/John, Miriam/Mary, Bethlehem, as well as fig ur es of speech like "mouth of the cave," "face of the earth," and "east of Eden."

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 227)

Archaeology

Until 1974, the oldest witnesses to Canaanite language were found in the Ugarit and Amarna records dating 14th & 15th centuries B.C. Also a few Canaanite words and expressions appeared in earlier Egyptian records. Between 1974-1976, nearly 1 7,000 tablets dating at least 2400 B.C. were dug up at Tell Mardikh in northern Syria written in a previously unknown Semitic dialect, possibly "Old Canaanite," progenitor to Hebrew. By 1977, another 1000 tablets were found, only about 100 inscriptions from Ebla were reported on.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 217-219)

Biblical Hebrew

The Bible is written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Hebrew is called "the language of Canaan" (Isaiah 19:18) or "the language of Judah" (Nehemiah 13:24).

Hebrew was viewed as the primitive language of humankind by colonial America ("the mother of all languages") and in the Middle Ages.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 217-218)

Hebrew is the holy language, Aramaic is a secondary holy language, and Arabic is an everyday language.

(Ancient Semitic - Ancient Semitic I: The Semitic Languages - A Brief Introduction - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c8HUM_u7RI)

Aramaic was a common language of Palestine during Jesus' day. New Testament names reflect Aramaic (Barth olomew, Bar-jonah, Barnabas), Greek (Andrew, Philip), Latin (Mark), as well as Hebrew. Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew were widely used. Latin was probably limited to military and governmental circles. Mishnaic Hebrew was also used, and Mishnaic Hebrew documents were found with the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Hebrew is referred to in John 5:2; 19:13, 1 7, 20; 20:16; Revelation 9:1 1; 16:16. The languages used for the inscription put on Jesus' cross were "Hebrew, Latin, and Greek" (John 19:19-20). Later, Paul was said to speak Hebrew (Acts 22:2; 26:14), and as a Pharisee was undoubtedly able to read Old Testament Hebrew.

The Greek word for Hebrew is sometimes translated as Aramaic and may be a general term for Semitic or for a blend of Hebrew-Aramaic.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 227-229)

People

In the Old Testament, Hebrew means the individual or people who used the Hebrew language.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Biblical Languages by Larry Walker. Page 218)

Abram is the first person in Scripture referred to as a Hebrew. (Genesis 14:13)

The Jews spoke Hebrew, but by the Persian period, Aramaic was the language of international trade due to the Jewish captivity, while Hebrew gradually became confined to the learned and the religious leaders. After the Babylonian exile, Aramaic influence pervaded the land of Palestine. Nehemiah complained that mixed children were unable to speak Hebrew (Nehemiah 13:24).