Marv Becker, age 13, of Columbus, Ohio, for his question:
WHEN WAS HEBREW FIRST SPOKEN?
The Hebrew language has probably been spoken since about 2000 B.C. Evidence of this has been found from inscriptions discovered on the coast of northern Syria. The inscriptions are in an alphabetic writing that scholars believe dates from the 1400s B.C.
Hebrew is one of the world's oldest living languages. The ancient Israelites who lived in Palestine in Biblical times spoke and wrote in Hebrew. The Bible itself is the greatest product of Hebrew literature.
The language is a branch of the Semitic languages. It resembles the language of the ancient Edomites, Moabites and Phoenicians. In sound, Hebrew lies about halfway between Arabic and Aramaic.
The first important period in the development of Hebrew came before the Jews were taken into exile in Babylonia in 587 B.C. Much of the Hebrew Bible was written during that time.
Some words and forms were borrowed from the Babylonian, Egyptian, Persian and Aramaic languages. Further developments took place after the exile, when the Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha were completed. During this period, Aramaic became the spoken language of the people and writers began using Aramaic words in literature.
The Talmudic period, from about 300 B.C. to A.D. 500, was a highly creative one. A vast collection of oral traditions and comments on the Bible was compiled as the Talmud. The Talmud became, next to the Bible, the most important authoritative source for traditional Judaism.
The Talmud is made up of the Mishnah, codified about in the A.D. 200s and the Gemara, completed about 500. The Mishnah is a digest of the religious and civil laws of the Jews in Palestine. Many words, especially technical terms, were borrowed from Greek and Latin. The Gemara discusses and comments on the Mishnah and related subjects.
As Jews started to leave Palestine and settle in Europe and Asia, they kept the Hebrew language alive through religious writings and prayers.
During the Middle Ages, Hebrew was greatly influenced by Arabic. Jewish scholars translated many scientific works from the Arabic and borrowed Arabic words and sentence structures during the Middle Ages. New adjectives and adverbs made it easier to express ideas in Hebrew.
The Jews in Spain enjoyed a golden age of literature from about 100 to 1300. Outstanding writers included the poets Judah Halevi and Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and the philosopher Moses Maimonides.
But much Hebrew literature was of a religious nature, written in an explanatory style. Toward the end of the 1700s, many Hebrew writers rebelled against this colorless style.
Hebrew may be spoken with an Ashkenazic (Germanic) accent or with a Sephardic (Spanish) one. The main differences occur in the pronunciation of certain vowels and in accenting words.
Many scholars consider Sephardic an older and more authentic pronunciation, and it is the pronunciation used in Israel today.