ancient Hebrew
Tongue of Moses
Ancient Hebrew is the Semitic language of the Hebrew Bible, spoken by Israelites from roughly 1200 to 200 BCE.
It's distinct from modern Hebrew, which was revived as a spoken language in the late 19th century.
Scholars study ancient Hebrew to interpret biblical texts in their original form: The psalm's meaning is clearer in ancient Hebrew.
- phonemeMinimal distinctive sound unit
- root systemUnderground plant structure
- Dead Sea ScrollsAncient manuscripts from Judean caves
- Second Temple periodRebuilt sanctuary's five centuries
- TorahJudaism's core scripture
Tanakh · biblical text · Babylonian exile · divine names · epigraphy · Psalms · papyrus scrolls · verb conjugation · Song of Songs · Iron Age · stone inscriptions · tribal dialects · tetragrammaton · burning bush · temple priests · oral tradition · linguistic diffusion · Aramaic
- Hebrewaleph, bet, ayin, lamed, shin
- ancient languagesLatin, Greek, Sanskrit, Aramaic, Sumerian
- Hebrew BibleTanakh, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
- ancient inscriptionscuneiform tablets, stone tablets, stele, cuneiform, inscription
- QumranDead Sea Scrolls, Essenes, scrolls, biblical scrolls, scriptorium
- SamaritansSamaritans, Samaritan, Samaritanism, high priest, high priesthood
ancient Hebrewliving language
Language still naturally spoken
native tongue · everyday speech · mother tongue · colloquial language