The Entensive History of the
Hebrew language
The Hebrew language is an ancient one,with a rich history, and a powerful background. The name Hebrew derives from Eber, the son of Shem, which means ever. The foundation of Hebrew is such that it is timeless, and as the world changes, it is absolute.
The Hebrew alphabet was originally written pictographically (see Proto-Canaanite Pictographs). Ketav Ivri, the early aramaic version of Hebrew, was used used until the Babylonian Exile at the end of the 6th century BC and was almost exactly the Phoenician Alphabet aside from the added semantic meaning in this specific usage.
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Ketav Ahurit is the Hebrew used today. It was adopted by the Jews after the Babylonian exile and was deemed Leshon HaKodesh, or The Holy Language. Rashi style, Ladino and Yiddish all evolved during the Middle Ages. They are used for transliteration and commentaries. Rashi style, in honor Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, is used to write commentaries on scripts. Ladino and Yiddish are Judeo-Spanish and Judeo-German Hebrew commentary styles, respectively.
The modern Hebrew used today was popularized by a man by the name of Eliezar (familiar?) Ben Yehuda, who advocated the use of Hebrew at home in school. Hebrew, itself has gone through 4 periods.
Biblical -> Mishnaic -> Medieval -> Modern.
Biblical Hebrew is very different from now, and was used during Jesus' lifetime.
-S.E. DANQUAH
(Letters to left, 'Lost' in Hebrew)