Is Biblical Hebrew a language
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2812871 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward Ullendorff (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1971 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 241-255 |
| Publication date | 1971-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0041-977X • E-ISSN: 1474-0699 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0041977x00129520 |
| OpenAlex | W2101414684 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 6 |
There is no need to explain what I mean by "Biblical Hebrew" (BH): I refer, of course, to the language of the major part of the Old Testament (OT) which is written in a Canaanite tongue clearly distinguished from the few chapters in Daniel and Ezra which are composed, or at any rate extant, in Aramaic. While we have no knowledge of the precise nature of the language spoken by the Hebrew immigrants into Canaan, it is likely that from a linguistic point of view the OT owes more to the vanquished Canaanites than to the conquering Hebrews. The latter are called'iḇrīmalready in the Patriarchal narratives (Gen. xiv, 13, xl, 15, etc.), but their language ('iḇrīṯ) is never as such mentioned in the OT. This may, of course, be owing to one of those purely fortuitous circumstances in the transmission of the ancient Hebrew vocabulary with which this paper is in part concerned. Whetheryәhūḏīṯ'Jewish' (2 Kings xviii, 26, Isa. xxxvi, 11, etc.),śәṗaṯ kәna'an'the language of Canaaan' (Isa. xix, 18), and'iḇrīṯ'Hebrew' (first attested in the prologue to Ben Sira) are wholly identical is-as I have endeavoured to show elsewhere-not fully established
Art · Biblical Hebrew · Biblical languages · Biblical studies · Extant taxon · Hebrew · Hebrew Bible · Judaism · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Old Testament · Theology · Vocabulary · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1979 - 2025 (47) |
| Highly cited | No |