Learn what the difference is between Biblical and Modern Hebrew
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| Hi everybody! Yana here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher where I’ll answer some of your most common Hebrew questions. |
| The question for this lesson is… |
| Just what is the difference between Biblical and Modern Hebrew? |
| Now, you may be attracted to Hebrew for any number of reasons. Perhaps you want to communicate with friends or family. Or maybe you're interested in studying the many religious and classical texts written in Hebrew. Depending on your reasons for learning Hebrew, you may end up learning one of two very different languages! |
| Biblical or Classical Hebrew was an ancient language that first emerged in the 10th century BC. Over the next few centuries, the ancient Hebrew people used it to communicate and to make a record of their history, religion, philosophy, poetry, and culture. A portion of this literary record formed the basis for Hebrew scriptures and also what came to be called the Bible. |
| During the Roman period, the language evolved beyond recognition and later fell out of use in daily life. But it lived on in religious contexts. |
| Hebrew experienced a revival in the late 19th century as part of the larger Zionist movement. Thanks to the efforts of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who prepared the first modern Hebrew dictionary, people started using Hebrew again to communicate with one another as they went about their lives. |
| But because of the influence of European languages, Hebrew changed. Grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary -- not a single aspect of the language went untouched by the transformation. And, like any other modern language, Hebrew continues to change. |
| So for example, |
| The word "I" or "me" in biblical Hebrew is |
| אָנֹכִי |
| This same word has changed in modern Hebrew to |
| אני |
| Besides this change in pronunciation, modern Hebrew got a lot of new words from languages like French and German. For example, the word "concrete" or |
| בטון |
| Came from French, while schnitzel, or |
| שניצל |
| Came from German. |
| And of course there are new words to describe things that did not exist in ancient times, like: |
| חשמל - Electricity |
| מחשב - Computer |
| מכונית - Car |
| טלפון - Telephone |
| At this point in history, someone familiar only with Biblical Hebrew would not be able to communicate very well with contemporary native speakers. At the same time, a modern Hebrew speaker can not easily read the Bible. |
| How was it? Pretty interesting right? |
| Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them! |
| lehitraot! |
Comments
HideWhat Hebrew learning question do you have?
Hi Charles Lott!
Your name can be translated to Hebrew as צ'ארלס לוט (/Charles Lot/). 😊
If you have any questions, please let us know.
תודה (Toda, "Thank you"),
Team HebrewPod101.com
Hi! GG,
תודה רבה (Toda Raba / Thank you very much) for reaching out to us from South Korea! 😁 We're thrilled to hear from you.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
תודה (Toda / Thank you),
Team HebrewPod101.com
Thank you so much! Toda Rava from South Korea😁
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your comment!
Please note that we don't offer translation services. However, with our PremiumPLUS subscription, you'll have one-on-one access to an experienced Hebrew teacher via messenger. They can answer your questions, help you improve your Hebrew, and guide you in pronouncing phrases correctly.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Ali
Team HebrewPod101.com
Hello Yana!
I was just hired for a small production play to portray King Herod. They might give me lines, so I was wondering if there was some way I could send/share a script with you to help me translate everything, how to speak and proper pronunciation, etc.? I realize this is a big ask, so I'm willing to pay for this type of service.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing back from you. Many blessings
Hi Estie,
Thank you for your comment!😄
Esther Salomé: אסתר סלומה
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
Hello,
What is my Hebrew name in the Hebrew aleph bet? In English/French, it is: Esther Salomé bat Lévana.
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for your comment!😄
Currently there doesn't seem to be a tool that does automatic especially for translating biblical hebrew to modern hebrew and vice versa but maybe trying generative AI might help.
Happy learning!
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
Is there a tool that can help translate between biblical and modern Hebrew?
Hi תֶָמָרָ,
Thank you for your comment!😄
I'm not sure which word came first or if they were initially related but it's an interesting view on the words!
Happy learning!
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
תודה תל!
So in Matthew 12:30 then, it would not be entirely inaccurate to interpret the word “scatters” as a foreshadowing of the Diaspora.
תפוצות = diaspora.
תְפוּצוֹת
מתפזר = disperse, scatter
σκορπιζει = scatters = מתפזרים
Hi תָמָרָ,
Thank you for your comment!😄
I'm sorry for the mistake, here is the correct one:
תפוצות:
ת.פ.צ - Taf, pei, tsadik
מתפזר:
פ.ז.ר - Pei, zain, resh.
Happy learning!
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
Hi תָמָרָ,
Thank you for your comment!😄
Mostly, yes!
Happy learning!
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
Wait! Is it "ת. פ. צ". Or ט ו פ? Your parentheses don’t match the letters.
Thanks Tal! Are they related at all semantically?
Hi Tamara Christine,
Thank you for your comment!😄
The root of the word "תפוצות" is "ת. פ. צ" (Tet, Vav, Pe), and the root of the word "מתפזר" is "פ. ז. ר" (Resh, Zayin, Pe,) thus their roots are different.
Happy learning!
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
Are מתפזר and תפוצות related words, or from the same shoresh?
Hi Viktoria,
Thank you for your comment!😄
Good question! The words used in our lessons are used words in current (modern) Hebrew so you shouldn't worry about it.
Happy learning!
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
Hi Caleb,
Thank you for your comment!😄
You would find a little material about biblical Hebrew here but modern Hebrew would help you a lot in order to be able to read biblical Hebrew since it's based on it.
Happy learning!
Yours,
Tal
Team Hebrewpod101.com
Very useful video lesson, however, I´m a bit confused...
... modern Hebrew is based on biblical Hebrew, but when reading biblical texts (there are some of them in the reading/writing section of the website), how will I know which words are still in use in modern Hebrew, because it probably doesn´t make much sense to learn oldfashioned or "dead" words?