Editing Hebrew language (section)

{{Short description|Northwest Semitic language}}
{{Redirect|Hebrew|the revived version of the language as it is spoken in Israel|Modern Hebrew|the Biblical people|Hebrews|other uses|Hebrew (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
<!-- Clarify the nature of the modern language as separate from Hebrew proper and only about 100 years old -->
{{Infobox language
| name             = Hebrew
| nativename       = {{Script/Hebrew|עִבְרִית}}, {{transliteration|he|Ivrit}}
| pronunciation    = [[Modern Hebrew|Modern]]: {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ivˈʁit]}}}}{{refn|group=note|[[Sephardi Hebrew|Sephardi]]: {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ʕivˈɾit]}}}}; [[Judeo-Iraqi Arabic|Iraqi]]: {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ʕibˈriːθ]}}}}; [[Yemenite Hebrew|Yemenite]]: {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ʕivˈriːθ]}}}}; [[Ashkenazi Hebrew language|Ashkenazi]]: {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ivˈʀis]}}}} or {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ivˈris]}}}}, strict pronunciation {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ʔivˈris]}}}} or {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ʔivˈʀis]}}}}.}}<br/>[[Tiberian vocalization|Tiberian]]: {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ʕivˈriθ]}}}}<br/>[[Biblical Hebrew|Biblical]]: {{IPA|{{nowrap|[ʕibˈrit]}}}}
| states           = [[Israel]]
| region           = [[Southern Levant]]
| speakers         = 20 million{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
| extinct          = [[Mishnaic Hebrew]] extinct as a [[first language|spoken language]] by the 5th century CE, surviving as a [[liturgical language]] along with [[Biblical Hebrew]] for [[Judaism]]<ref name=ASB>Sáenz-Badillos (1993)</ref><ref>H. S. Nyberg 1952. ''Hebreisk Grammatik''. s. 2. Reprinted in Sweden by Universitetstryckeriet, Uppsala, 2006.</ref>
| revived          = [[Revival of the Hebrew language|Revived in the late 19th century CE]]. {{sigfig|9|1}} million speakers of [[Modern Hebrew]], of which 5 million are native speakers and 3.3 million are second language speakers (2018)<ref name=eth>{{Cite web | url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/heb | title=Hebrew | website=Ethnologue | access-date=4 April 2018 | archive-date=14 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514202425/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/heb | url-status=live }}</ref>
| ref              = e19
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3             = [[West Semitic languages|West]]
| fam4             = [[Central Semitic languages|Central]]
| fam5             = [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest]]
| fam6             = [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]]
| fam7             = [[Canaanite languages#South Canaan|South]]
| ancestor         = [[Biblical Hebrew]]
| ancestor2        = [[Mishnaic Hebrew]]
| ancestor3        = [[Medieval Hebrew]]
| stand1           = [[Modern Hebrew|Modern]]
| stand2           = [[Samaritan Hebrew|Samaritan]]
| script           = [[Hebrew alphabet]]<br />[[Hebrew Braille]]<br />[[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]] ([[Archaic Biblical Hebrew]])<br />[[Imperial Aramaic script]] ([[Late Biblical Hebrew]]) <br />[[Samaritan script]] ([[Samaritan Pentateuch|Samaritan Biblical Hebrew]])
| nation           = [[Israel]] (as [[Modern Hebrew]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Basic Law: Israel – the Nation State of the Jewish People |url=https://knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/BasicLawNationState.pdf |website=The Knesset |publisher=The State of Israel |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410191721/http://knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basiclawnationstate.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| agency           = [[Academy of the Hebrew Language]]<br />{{Script/Hebrew|האקדמיה ללשון העברית}} ({{transliteration|he|ha-akademyah la-lashon ha-ʿivrit}})
| dia1             = [[Israelian Hebrew|Israelian]] {{Extinct}}
| iso1             = he
| iso2             = heb
| iso2b            = 
| iso2t            = 
| iso3             = 
| iso3comment      = 
| lc1              = heb
| ld1              = [[Modern Hebrew]]
| lc2              = hbo
| ld2              = [[Biblical Hebrew|Classical Hebrew]] (liturgical)
| lc3              = smp
| ld3              = [[Samaritan Hebrew]] (liturgical)
| lc4              = obm
| ld4              = [[Moabite language|Moabite]] (extinct)
| lc5              = xdm
| ld5              = [[Edomite language|Edomite]] (extinct)
| iso6             = 
| lingua           = 12-AAB-a
| image            = 1 QIsa example of damage col 12-13.jpg
| imagesize        = 
| imagecaption     = Portion of the [[Isaiah Scroll]], a second-century BCE manuscript of the [[Hebrew Bible|Biblical]] [[Book of Isaiah]] and one of the best-preserved of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]
| imageheader      = 
| map              = 
| mapcaption       = 
| map2             = 
| mapcaption2      = 
| notice           = IPA
| sign             = [[Signed Hebrew]] (oral Hebrew accompanied by sign)<ref>{{cite book|first1=Irit|last1=Meir|first2=Wendy|last2=Sandler|year=2013|title=A Language in Space: The Story of Israeli Sign Language}}</ref>
| glotto           = hebr1246
| glottoname       = 
| glottorefname    = Hebrewic
| minority         = {{plainlist|
[[Poland]]<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=http://www.efnil.org/documents/conference-publications/dublin-2009/16-Dublin-Pisarek-Mother.pdf |title=The relationship between official and minority languages in Poland |last=Pisarek |first=Walery |publisher=European Federation of National Institutions for Language |access-date=7 November 2017 |archive-date=14 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214104352/http://www.efnil.org/documents/conference-publications/dublin-2009/16-Dublin-Pisarek-Mother.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[South Africa]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title=Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 1: Founding Provisions {{!}} South African Government|url=https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|access-date=2020-08-29|website=www.gov.za|archive-date=18 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518042037/https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Turkey]]{{refn|<ref name=Yağmur2001>{{Citation |last=Yağmur |first=Kutlay |title=Turkish and other languages in Turkey |date=2001 |url=https://research.tilburguniversity.edu/en/publications/turkish-and-other-languages-in-turkey |work=The Other Languages of Europe |pages=407–427 |editor-last=Extra |editor-first=G. |access-date=2023-10-06 |place=Clevedon |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-85359-510-3 |editor2-last=Gorter |editor2-first=D. |quote="Mother tongue" education is mostly limited to Turkish teaching in Turkey. No other language can be taught as a mother tongue other than Armenian, Greek, and Hebrew, as agreed in the Lausanne Treaty [...] Like Jews and Greeks, Armenians enjoy the privilege of an officially recognized minority status. [...] No language other than Turkish can be taught at schools or at cultural centers. Only Armenian, Greek, and Hebrew are exceptions to this constitutional rule. |archive-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020210255/https://research.tilburguniversity.edu/en/publications/turkish-and-other-languages-in-turkey |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Zetler2014>{{cite journal|first=Reyhan|last=Zetler|url=https://www.sagw.ch/fileadmin/redaktion_judaistik/dokumente/Judaistik/2014/III.%20R.%20Zetler%20-%20Bulletin%20SGJF%20Nr.%2023%20%282014%29.pdf|title=Turkish Jews between 1923 and 1933 – What Did the Turkish Policy between 1923 and 1933 Mean for the Turkish Jews?|journal=Bulletin der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Judaistische Forschung|issue=23|oclc=865002828|page=26|year=2014|access-date=12 October 2023|archive-date=15 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015161403/https://www.sagw.ch/fileadmin/redaktion_judaistik/dokumente/Judaistik/2014/III.%20R.%20Zetler%20-%20Bulletin%20SGJF%20Nr.%2023%20(2014).pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Toktaş2006>{{Cite journal |last=Toktaş |first=Şule |date=2006 |title=EU enlargement conditions and minority protection : a reflection on Turkey's non-Muslim minorities |url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/42732 |journal=East European Quarterly |language=en |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=489–519 |issn=0012-8449 |quote-page=514 |quote=This implies that Turkey grants educational right in minority languages only to the recognized minorities covered by the Lausanne who are the Armenians, Greeks and the Jews. |access-date=12 October 2023 |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011082909/https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/42732 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Bayır2013>{{Cite book |last=Bayır |first=Derya |title=Minorities and nationalism in Turkish law |date=2013 |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4094-7254-4 |series=Cultural Diversity and Law |location=Farnham |url=https://www.academia.edu/37557239 |pages=89–90 |quote=Oran farther points out that the rights set out for the four categories are stated to be the ‘fundamental law’ of the land, so that no legislation or official action shall conflict or interfere with these stipulations or prevail over them (article 37). [...] According to the Turkish state, only Greek, Armenian and Jewish non-Muslims were granted minority protection by the Lausanne Treaty. [...] Except for non-Muslim populations - that is, Greeks, Jews and Armenians - none of the other minority groups’ language rights have been ''de jure'' protected by the legal system in Turkey. |access-date=12 October 2023 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014083317/https://www.academia.edu/37557239/DERYA_BAYIR_MINORITIES_AND_NATIONALISM_IN_TURKISH_LAW |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=HRWLanguageRights>{{cite book |title = Questions and Answers: Freedom of Expression and Language Rights in Turkey |publisher = Human Rights Watch |date = April 2002 |location = New York |url = https://www.hrw.org/news/2002/04/19/qa-freedom-expression-and-language-rights-turkey |quote = The Turkish government accepts the language rights of the Jewish, Greek and Armenian minorities as being guaranteed by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. |access-date = 12 October 2023 |archive-date = 20 October 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231020130644/https://www.hrw.org/news/2002/04/19/qa-freedom-expression-and-language-rights-turkey |url-status = live }}</ref>}}}}
}}
[[File:המילה עברית בכתב ובכתב העברי הקדום.jpg|thumb|The word ''Ivrit'' ("Hebrew") written in the modern Hebrew [[Writing system|script]] (top) and in the [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]] (bottom)]]

'''Hebrew''' ({{Text|[[Hebrew alphabet]]: {{Script/Hebrew|עִבְרִית}}, {{transliteration|he|[[romanization of Hebrew|ʿĪvrīt]]}}, {{IPA|he|{{nowrap|ʔivˈʁit}}|pron|he-Ivrit-2.ogg}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|he|{{nowrap|ʕivˈrit}}||Ivrit3.ogg}}}}; {{Text|[[Samaritan script]]: {{Lang|he|{{Script/Samaritan|ࠏࠨࠁࠬࠓࠪࠉࠕ}}|rtl=yes}}}} ''ʿÎbrit'') is a [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic language]] within the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic language family]]. A regional dialect of the [[Canaanite languages]], it was natively spoken by the [[Israelites]] and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the [[Sacred language|liturgical language]] of [[Judaism]] (since the [[Second Temple period]]) and [[Samaritanism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chomsky |first=William |title=Hebrew: The Eternal Language |publisher=The Jewish Publication Society of America |year=1957 |location=Philadelphia |pages=1–13 |language=en}}</ref> The language was [[Revival of the Hebrew language|revived as a spoken language]] in the 19th century, and is the only successful large-scale example of [[Language revitalization|linguistic revival]]. It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with the other being [[Aramaic]], still spoken today.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grenoble|first1=Leonore A.|last2=Whaley|first2=Lindsay J.|title=Saving Languages: An Introduction to Language Revitalization|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-0-521-01652-0|page=63|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vavj5-hdDgQC&pg=PA63|quote=Hebrew is cited by Paulston et al. (1993:276) as 'the only true example of language revival.'|access-date=28 March 2017|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408152859/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vavj5-hdDgQC&pg=PA63|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Fesperman|first1=Dan|title=Once 'dead' language brings Israel to life Hebrew: After 1,700 years, a revived language becomes a common thread knitting together a nation of immigrants with little in common except religion|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/04/26/once-dead-language-brings-israel-to-life-hebrew-after-1700-years-a-revived-language-becomes-a-common-thread-knitting-together-a-nation-of-immigrants-with-little-in-common-except-religion/|access-date=28 March 2017|work=The Baltimore Sun|agency=Sun Foreign Staff|date=26 April 1998|archive-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329141226/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-04-26/news/1998116050_1_read-hebrew-hebrew-and-arabic-german|url-status=live}}</ref>

The earliest examples of written [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]] date back to the 10th century BCE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.physorg.com/news182101034.html |title=Most ancient Hebrew biblical inscription deciphered |publisher=Physorg.com |date=7 January 2010 |access-date=25 April 2013 |archive-date=27 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127105129/http://www.physorg.com/news182101034.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Nearly all of the [[Hebrew Bible]] is written in [[Biblical Hebrew]], with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the [[Babylonian captivity]]. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as ''[[Lashon Hakodesh]]'' ({{lang|he|rtl=yes|לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶש}}, {{Literal translation|the holy tongue|the tongue [of] holiness}}) since ancient times. The language was not referred to by the name ''Hebrew'' in the [[Bible]], but as ''Yehudit'' ({{Translation|'[[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Judean]]'}}) or ''Səpaṯ Kəna'an'' ({{Translation|"the language of [[Canaan]]"}}).<ref name=ASB/>{{refn|Later Hellenistic writers such as [[Josephus]] and the [[Gospel of John]] used the term ''Hebraisti'' to refer to both Hebrew and [[Aramaic]].<ref name=ASB/>|group="note"}} [[Gittin|Mishnah Gittin 9:8]] refers to the language as ''Ivrit'', meaning Hebrew; however, [[Megillah (Talmud)|Mishnah Megillah]] refers to the language as ''Ashurit'', meaning [[Assyria]]n, which is derived from the name of [[Ktav Ashuri|the alphabet used]], in contrast to ''Ivrit'', meaning the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet.<ref>Hoffman, Joel M. In the Beginning : A Short History of the Hebrew Language. New York, New York University Press, 2006, p. 169.</ref>

Hebrew ceased to be a regular spoken language sometime between 200 and 400 CE, as it declined in the aftermath of the unsuccessful [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], which was carried out against the [[Roman Empire]] by the Jews of [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]].<ref>Sáenz-Badillos (1993), p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EZCgpaTgLm0C&pg=PA171 171] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408152903/https://books.google.com/books?id=EZCgpaTgLm0C&pg=PA171 |date=8 April 2023 }}</ref><ref name=OxfordDictionaryChristianChurch />{{refn|name="Sáenz-BadillosRH"|Sáenz-Badillos, Ángel (1993): "There is general agreement that two main periods of RH (Rabbinical Hebrew) can be distinguished. The first, which lasted until the close of the Tannaitic era (around 200 CE), is characterized by RH as a spoken language gradually developing into a literary medium in which the Mishnah, Tosefta, ''baraitot'' and Tannaitic ''midrashim'' would be composed. The second stage begins with the ''[[Amoraim]]'' and sees RH being replaced by Aramaic as the spoken vernacular, surviving only as a literary language. Then it continued to be used in later rabbinic writings until the tenth century in, for example, the Hebrew portions of the two Talmuds and in midrashic and haggadic literature."<ref name=ASB170>Sáenz-Badillos (1993), p. 170–171</ref>|group="note"}} Aramaic and, to a lesser extent, [[Greek language|Greek]] were already in use as international languages, especially among societal elites and immigrants.<ref>"If you couldn't speak Greek by say the time of early Christianity you couldn't get a job. You wouldn't get a good job. A professional job. You had to know Greek in addition to your own language. And so you were getting to a point where Jews... the Jewish community in, say, Egypt and large cities like Alexandria didn't know Hebrew anymore, they only knew Greek. And so you need a Greek version in the synagogue." – Josheph Blankinsopp, Professor of Biblical Studies University of Notre Dame in A&E's ''Who Wrote the Bible''</ref> Hebrew survived into the [[Middle Ages|medieval period]] as the language of [[Jewish liturgy]], [[rabbinic literature]], intra-Jewish commerce, and [[Jewish literature#Poetry|Jewish poetic literature]]. The first dated book printed in Hebrew was published by [[Abraham Garton]] in [[Reggio Calabria|Reggio]] ([[Calabria]], Italy) in 1475.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/abraham-ben-isaac-ben-garton |website=Encyclopedia.com |title=Abraham Ben Isaac Ben Garton|access-date=27 October 2022|archive-date=27 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027042028/https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/abraham-ben-isaac-ben-garton|url-status=live}}</ref> With the rise of [[Zionism]] in the 19th century, the Hebrew language [[Revival of the Hebrew language|experienced a full-scale revival]] as a spoken and literary language. The creation of a modern version of the ancient language was led by [[Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]]. [[Modern Hebrew]] (''Ivrit'') became the main language of the [[Yishuv]] in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and subsequently the [[official language]] of the [[Israel|State of Israel]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2018-08-14 |title=Arabic Downgraded in Israel |url=https://www.languagemagazine.com/2018/08/14/arabic-downgraded-in-israel/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Language Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Holmes |first1=Oliver |last2=Balousha |first2=Hazem |date=2018-07-19 |title='One more racist law': reactions as Israel axes Arabic as official language |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/19/one-more-racist-law-reactions-as-israel-axes-arabic-as-official-language |access-date=2024-08-05 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Estimates of worldwide usage include five million speakers in 1998,<ref name=eth/> and over nine million people in 2013.<ref name=bhol>{{cite web |title= 'Kometz Aleph&nbsp;– Au': How many Hebrew speakers are there in the world? |agency= Nachman Gur for Behadrey Haredim |url= http://www.bhol.co.il/article_en.aspx?id=52405 |access-date=2 November 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131104025104/http://www.bhol.co.il/article_en.aspx?id=52405 |archive-date=4 November 2013 |url-status= dead}}</ref> After Israel, the [[United States]] has the largest Hebrew-speaking population, with approximately 220,000 fluent speakers (see [[Israeli Americans]] and [[American Jews|Jewish Americans]]).<ref name=2009survey>{{Citation|url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/ancestry_language_spoken_at_home.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225193634/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/ancestry_language_spoken_at_home.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 December 2007 |title=Table 53. Languages Spoken at Home by Language: 2009 |work=The 2012 Statistical Abstract |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=27 December 2011}}</ref> Pre-revival forms of Hebrew are used for prayer or study in Jewish and Samaritan communities around the world today; the latter group utilizes the [[Samaritan Hebrew|Samaritan dialect]] as their liturgical tongue. As a non-[[first language]], it is studied mostly by non-Israeli Jews and students in Israel, by [[Archaeology of Israel|archaeologists]] and [[Linguistics|linguists]] specializing in the [[Middle East]] and [[History of the Middle East|its civilizations]], and by theologians in [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Seminary|seminaries]].