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Hebrew

(עִבְרִית) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world. It is one of the official languages of Israel, along with Arabic. Hebrew is also spoken as a mother tongue by the Samaritans. It is studied mostly by Jews as a foreign language and also students of Judaism and Israel, archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations, by theologians, and in Christian seminaries.

 

 

The modern word "Hebrew" is derived from the word "ivri" which in turn may be based upon the root "`avar" (עבר) meaning "to cross over". In the Bible "Hebrew" is called Yehudith (יהודית) because Judah (Yehuda) was the surviving kingdom at the time of the quotation, late 8th century (Is 36, 2 Kings 18).

 

The core of the Tanakh is written in Classical Hebrew, and much of its present form is specifically the dialect of Biblical Hebrew that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, around the time of the Babylonian exile. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Leshon HaKodesh (לשון הקודש), "The Holy Language", since ancient times.

 

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Please feel free to add your Hebrew language websites here, remember to return a link to remain listed... Thanks.

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