LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
By the HEBREw LANGUAGE is usually meant the language in which the books of the Old Testament are written. For the sake of distinction, the speech of post-biblical times may be called new or late Hebrew. The expression Hebrew language is not found in the Old Testament. In its place we have 'speech of Canaan' (Is. xix. IS) and '.Jews' language' (IL Kings xviii. 26, 2S; Neh. xiii. 24), corresponding to the general use of the term Jew (i.e. Judean) for the entire nation in the later books. This 'language of Canaan' be longs to the northern branch of the Semitic family of languages. It is practically identical with the Pheenician, the Moabitie, and the other Canaanitish tongues. It was probably developed among the Hebrew clans at the time of the con quest of Palestine—possibly earlier during the nomadic period. Slight traces of dialects appear in the Old Testament (cf. Jud. xii. 5. 6), hut it is not probable that within the small compass of Palestine many dialects existed. In writing this language the alphabet employed was the Pheeni cian. and this was still used for official purposes (e.g. on coins) nearly down to the Christian Era.
After the Exile, however, a modified script, pro duced at Palmyra and known as the square or 'Assyrian script (`Assyrian' bring used in the sense of Syrian), gradually displaced the older Phouician meters. For the grammatical structure and general characteristics of the Hebrew language, see the article SEMITIC LAN GUAGES.
A grammatieal treatment of the Hebrew first commenced after the language (-eased to lie spoken by the people. The vocalization :Ind accentuation of the text originated in the sixth and seventh centuries after the flow of Christ. (See .,11AsonA.) The Jews made the first attempt at a system of grammar about the dawn of the tenth century, after the example of the Arabians, mud originally el. en in the Arabic language. Rabbis Saadia Gann (Saadia lien Joseph, died 942), Jehuda (e.1030), Jonah (Ibn ,rana•h, c.1030),
Abraham ben Ezra (died 1167). and David Kim chi ((lied 1235) were the first grammarians. The dictionary of the last was long considered the best. The founder of the study of Hebrew among Christians was Johann Reuchlin (died 1522), who, however, like the grammarians of the next age. Buxtorf and others, strictly adhered to Jew ish tradition and method. A new era began when the study of other members of the Semitic family of languages, Syriac, Arabic. and Ethiopic, en larged field of view. Albert Schultens (died 1750 ) and Nikolaus Wilhelm SchrWler ((lied 1798) are noteworthy in this work. The development of .:1ssyriological research during the nineteenth cen tury has added much to our knowledge of the rela tion of .11ebrow to the other Semitic dialects. Wilhelm (iesenius (died 1842) was by far the greatest of llebraists up to his time. Ills Ilebraisehe Grammatik (Halle, 1S13; 27th ed. IT Leipzig, 1902; 'several English t Tans lat ions, including one by the Americans 31itchell and Price, 2(1 ed. from the 25th German edition, Boston, 1S94), Thesaurus Liname Hebrairm (Leipzig, 1S29-42), and .shorter Ilebriiisches and chabliiischcs Ilandi•iirterbuch (2 vols., Leipzig, 1s'10-12; 13th ed. by Buhl. 1899: English transla tions by Tregelles, Robinson. and others) were not only better than any previously produced, lint are still those in most general use. Since (lose nius noteworthy grammars have been written by Ewald (Leipzig, 1827), Olshausen (Brunswick, 18611, Stade (Leipzig. IS79), and fiTmig 1qS1-97), and dictionaries by Ftirst (Leipzig, 1s37-40). and Siegfried and Stade (Leipzig, IS73). The grammatical and lexicographical re searches of Lagarde (died 1891) and Barth de serve special mention. A Ilebrew-English dic tionary by Francis Brown and others. giving the results of the latest scholarship and research, is in course of publication (Boston. lgfll sqq.).