Excerpt:
"While Damascus Aramaic was becoming a standard language in Syria and upper Mesopotamia, the situation in what is now Lebanon, Jordan and Israel remained one of a series of dialects none of which was able, through conquest or prestige, to become a linguistic standard.
We have only fragments of most of the various Canaanite dialects, of the period 1000-500 BCE such as those of Samaria, Galilee, Coastal Plain, Ammon, Moab or Edom. However, it would seem that they were mutually intelligible[16]. Two dialects, from opposite ends of the Canaanite spectrum, have left major literary remains. In the extreme north, on the Lebanese coast, was Phoenician[17] and its North African Carthaginian offshoot Punic, have left inscriptions[18] dating from 10th-1st centuries BCE and 9th C BCE to 2nd CE respectively. This tended to be a rapidly developing language very open to foreign influences as we would expect for a language of a sea-faring people. In the extreme South we have the literary dialect of Jerusalem i.e. Biblical Hebrew.
Before we leave the other languages, we could point out one of the many benefits to the understanding of Hebrew gained through the comparative study of Semitic languages. As I said before, the Semitic languages are closely related. For example â??A survey of the first 100 Phoenician words in the dictionary shows that 82 percent have the same meaning in Hebrew. Between Ugaritic[19] and Hebrew the figure is about 79 percent.â?? Thus it not infrequently occurs that a root or word may be common in say Aramaic, while it may occur only once or twice in Hebrew. A knowledge of Aramaic may then lead to an understanding of the Hebrew word. Thus the root YHB occurs only in the imperative of the basic stem of the verb (qal or paâ??al) sometimes in the same context as the normal Hebrew root NTN meaning â??to giveâ??. In Aramaic, the root YHB is routinely used meaning â??to giveâ?? and it is clear that the meaning in Hebrew is the same."
I really find understanding how the ancient peoples' used their languages fascinating for understanding the archeological evidence that's been found.
Discussion Topic
History of Hebrew Language
Posted on 06/12/08, 05:30 pm
http://www.adath-shalom.ca/history...
This site has a lot of info about the history of ancient Hebrew.
This site has a lot of info about the history of ancient Hebrew.
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Reply #1 06/12/08 5:32pm
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Reply #2 10/24/09 11:03pm
I believe the following link has been referenced before, posting it due to the relevance to the above subject... http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/
God bless!
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The mission of this group is to provide a place to learn about ancient places and their history.Biblical studies may accompany archaeological discussions as they pertain to the Bible. Please refrain from any negativity as this should be place of positive reinforcement of our love for our Lord, Jesus Christ! May we all become God's ambassadors and embrace our differences through love and understanding. Thank you!
