are fictional characters at best whose names and stories exist in the Bible for didactic purposes not history. Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Noah, Lot, David (Bet Dawood inscription being House of the god Dod making the discovery that said the former shaky), Solomon.etc. However, archaeology and historical records have yet to prove that any of the icons of the Old Testament existed at all. Identifying the oldest Hebrew text and language is hindered by a diverse set of complications.īiblical Tradition of the Old Testament - The Torahįor those who believe that the Torah is historically true, they are convinced that Moses lived in the latter part of the second millenium B.C. Further, the reason behind changing its name to "Palaeo-Hebrew" is neither scientific nor convincing. The "Hebrew language" (better called Canaanite since it was) existed well before then the oldest surviving Hebrew language texts were written down in the Phoenician script. Old Hebrew script is derived directly from Phoenician, and Chris contends that what is called Palaeo-Hebrew or Old Hebrew script did not split off from its Phoenician predecessor until the ninth century B.C. Is a text written in Hebrew script necessarily in the Hebrew language? And was the Hebrew language originally written in an alphabet that predates Hebrew script? Chris examined four contenders for the oldest Hebrew inscription – the Qeiyafa Ostracon, Gezer Calendar, Tel Zayit Abecedary and Izbet Zayit Abecedary – to explore the interplay between early Hebrew script and language. Is a text written in Hebrew script necessarily in the Hebrew language?Įpigraphy scholar, Semitic language specialist, and biblical scholar, Christopher of George Washington University asks a seemingly straightforward question: What is the oldest Hebrew inscription? His examination requires him to address the fundamental questions of epigraphy. He worked on expanding the Hebrew vocabulary so it could meet the demands of modern Israeli society and created the first modern Hebrew dictionary. Ben Yehuda campaigned to make Hebrew the language of instruction in Israeli schools. He had a dream to transform Hebrew into a modern language. He was born in Lithuania in 1858 and went to Palestine in 1881. the Jews spoke Aramaic, the lingua franca of the Levant, and Hebrew was strictly used for religion.Įliezer Ben Yehuda was the driving force behind the revival of the ancient language and its transformation into its modern form. This is so because in the first century A.D. Written Hebrew was used minimally in some few books.
Jews of the diaspora used Hebrew in religious services. The Sanhedrin relocated outside Jerusalem, and synagogues mushroomed, as much as possible, outside Jerusalem. The Jews were partially dispersed, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. See for yourself "Palaeo-Hebrew or Old Hebrew" below: Today, more than 9 million people speak Hebrew and call it their native tongue.Ībove is Biblical Phoenician which becameĬalled Palaeo-Hebrew alphabet in 1954, a blatant LIE. A hundred and fifty years ago, Hebrew was not a spoken language. Now it flourishes in the 21st century as an everyday language. Why do Phoenician and Hebrew sound similar?īackground of the Hebrew language since the fall of Jerusalem 70 A.D.Īfter more than three millennia, half of which it lay dormant, Hebrew went through an extraordinary story, unparalleled in history. Phoenician is the mother tongue of the Mediterranean, our first alphabet They were nothing more than Phoenician language and script. The article proves that there was nothing called Old Hebrew language or script (same for Samaritan).