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Archaic Biblical Hebrew is a now extinct language used in Biblical times from the 10th to the 6th century BCE, corresponding to the Monarchic Period until the Babylonian Exile. Also called Old Hebrew or Paleo-Hebrew. Although it is not spoken in pure form today, it is studied to better understand biblical writings.

Archaic Inscriptions

The oldest known artifacts of Archaic Biblical Hebrew are the Gezer Calendar, various biblical accounts from the Jewish Bible, Tanakh, including the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5) and, the Shebna.

History

Archaic Biblical Hebrew was mainly used by the ancient Tribes of Israel. It evolved and changed due to nearby influence by neighboring civilizations mainly from Mesopotamia, Canaan and ancient Palestine. It dramatically changed from its original form after the Babylonian Exile from the blending of Old Hebrew and the Babylonian language.

Spelling

Archaic Biblical Hebrew has a dialect and script of the Canaanite language and, contains only consonants while, any vowels are implied.

References

• Hebrew 101. Retrieved March 29, 2009, from 101 Languages Web site: http://www.101languages.net/hebrew/history.html