Learn the differences between modern and biblical Hebrew
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Michael: What are the differences between Modern and Biblical Hebrew? |
| Katja: And why do these differences exist? |
| Michael: At HebrewPod101.com, we hear these kinds of questions often. The following situation is typical. SASHA LEE, a high school student, is trying to read a quote in one of her textbooks, but finds a word written in a way she has never seen before. She turns to her friend, and asks, |
| "Is this in Hebrew?" |
| SASHA LEE |
| האם זה בעברית? |
| SASHA LEE |
| האם זה בעברית? |
| HIGHSCHOOL-FRIENDF |
| כן, אבל זה בעברית המקראית. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| SASHA LEE |
| האם זה בעברית? |
| Michael: "Is this in Hebrew?" |
| HIGHSCHOOL-FRIENDF |
| כן, אבל זה בעברית המקראית. |
| Michael: "Yes, but it's in Classical Hebrew." |
| Michael: Perhaps Sasha was looking at the Classical Hebrew word for, "I." |
| Katja: אָנֹכי |
| Michael: This is not a word you would come across outside of ancient literary or religious texts, such as the Torah, or |
| Katja: .תורה |
| Michael: in "Modern Hebrew," or |
| Katja: עברית מודרנית, |
| Michael: this word has been replaced by the word, |
| Katja: אני, |
| Michael: which is the typical word for the first person singular, "I," used today. |
| Classical Hebrew differs so much from Modern Hebrew, that modern Hebrew users cannot easily read the Bible. |
| On the other hand, someone familiar only with Biblical Hebrew would have trouble communicating with contemporary native speakers. |
| Of course, modern Hebrew contains a lot of "vocabulary," or |
| Katja: ,אוצר מילים |
| Michael: that describes things that were unknown in ancient times, such as "electricity." |
| Katja: .חשמל |
| Michael: And "concrete," |
| Katja: ,בטון |
| Michael: a loanword that originates in French. |
| While many other languages underwent some similar changes, the reasons why Biblical Hebrew evolved into such a different language, lie in its "history," or |
| Katja: .היסטוריה |
| Michael: That's another question we hear sometimes at HebrewPod101.com: |
| Katja: Why is Biblical Hebrew so different from Modern Hebrew? |
| Michael: Biblical or Classical Hebrew was an "ancient language," or |
| Katja: שפה עתיקה |
| Michael: 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," |
| Katja: ,היסטוריה |
| Michael: "religion," |
| Katja: דת, |
| Michael: philosophy, |
| Katja: ,פילוסופיה |
| Michael: poetry, |
| Katja: ,שירה |
| Michael: and culture, |
| Katja: .תרבות |
| Michael: A portion of this literary record formed the basis for the Hebrew scriptures, or |
| Katja: תנ"ך |
| Michael: and also what came to be called the Bible. |
| Michael: 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, |
| Katja: אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֵּן־יְהוּדָה; |
| Michael: 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, |
| Katja: ,דקדוק |
| Michael: pronunciation, |
| Katja: ,הגיה |
| Michael: Vocabulary, |
| Katja: ,אוצר מילים |
| Michael: -- not a single aspect of the language went untouched by the transformation. And, like any other modern language, Hebrew continues to change. |
| Ok, that's all for this lesson. Thank you for listening and we'll see you next time. |
| Katja: להתראות! |
Comments
Hide