185-613: Solomon's Temple , also known as the First Temple ( Hebrew : בֵּית-הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן , romanized : Bēṯ ham-Mīqdāš hā-Rīšōn , lit. 'First House of the Sanctum';), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE . Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible , in which it
370-662: A Roman triumph , with soldiers carrying spoils from the Temple, including the temple menorah . According to an inscription on the Colosseum , Emperor Vespasian built the Colosseum with war spoils in 79–possibly from the spoils of the Second Temple. The sects of Judaism that had their base in the Temple dwindled in importance, including the priesthood and the Sadducees . The Temple was on
555-411: A lily " and turned outward "about an hand breadth"; or about four inches. It was placed on the backs of twelve oxen , standing with their faces outward. The Book of Kings states that it contains 2000 baths (90 cubic meters), while Chronicles (2 Chr. 4:5–6) states it can hold up to 3000 baths (136 cubic meters) and states that its purpose was to afford opportunity for the purification by immersion of
740-477: A 9th century BCE temple at Motza , a secondary administrative site in the Kingdom of Judah , implies that there must have been a central temple in the kingdom’s capital. Fabio Porzia and Corinne Bonnet , reflecting on the archaeological parallels between the way Solomon's temple is described and comparable examples of similar temples from around the ancient Near East, demur and conclude that "a gap [...] exists between
925-674: A Hebrew form. Medieval Hebrew added 6421 words to (Modern) Hebrew. The approximate number of new lexical items in Israeli is 17,000 (cf. 14,762 in Even-Shoshan 1970 [...]). With the inclusion of foreign and technical terms [...], the total number of Israeli words, including words of biblical, rabbinic and medieval descent, is more than 60,000. In Israel, Modern Hebrew is currently taught in institutions called Ulpanim (singular: Ulpan). There are government-owned, as well as private, Ulpanim offering online courses and face-to-face programs. Modern Hebrew
1110-515: A belief that the Second Temple will be replaced by a future Third Temple in Jerusalem. In 1871, a hewn stone measuring 60 cm × 90 cm (24 in × 35 in) and engraved with Greek uncials was discovered near a court on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and identified by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau as being the Temple Warning inscription . The stone inscription outlined
1295-583: A century ago, was fluent enough in this idiom to be able to follow the Mishna Berurah without any trouble." Hebrew has been revived several times as a literary language, most significantly by the Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement of early and mid-19th-century Germany. In the early 19th century, a form of spoken Hebrew had emerged in the markets of Jerusalem between Jews of different linguistic backgrounds to communicate for commercial purposes. This Hebrew dialect
1480-649: A corollary Hebrew ceased to function as a spoken language around the same time. Moshe Zvi Segal , Joseph Klausner and Ben Yehuda are notable exceptions to this view. During the latter half of the 20th century, accumulating archaeological evidence and especially linguistic analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls has disproven that view. The Dead Sea Scrolls, uncovered in 1946–1948 near Qumran revealed ancient Jewish texts overwhelmingly in Hebrew, not Aramaic. The Qumran scrolls indicate that Hebrew texts were readily understandable to
1665-578: A decree from Cyrus the Great ( Ezra 1:1 – 4 , 2 Chronicles 36:22 – 23 ), construction started at the original site of the altar of Solomon's Temple. These events represent the final section in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible. The original core of the book of Nehemiah, the first-person memoir, may have been combined with the core of the Book of Ezra around 400 BCE. Further editing probably continued into
1850-562: A distinct style of philosophical Hebrew. This is used in the translations made by the Ibn Tibbon family. (Original Jewish philosophical works were usually written in Arabic. ) Another important influence was Maimonides , who developed a simple style based on Mishnaic Hebrew for use in his law code, the Mishneh Torah . Subsequent rabbinic literature is written in a blend between this style and
2035-451: A dream that God has heard his prayer, and God will continue to hear the prayers of the people of Israel if they adopt the four ways in which they could move God to action: humility, prayer, seeking his face, and turning from wicked ways. Conversely, if they turn aside and forsake God's commandments and worship other gods, then God will abandon the temple: "this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight". According to
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#17328839613942220-471: A foreign power. The Book of Haggai includes a prediction that the glory of the Second Temple would be greater than that of the first. While the Temple may well have been consecrated in 516, construction and expansion may have continued as late as 500 BCE. Some of the original artifacts from the Temple of Solomon are not mentioned in the sources after its destruction in 586 BCE, and are presumed lost. The Second Temple lacked various holy articles, including
2405-579: A gradually accepted movement. It was not, however, until the 1904–1914 Second Aliyah that Hebrew had caught real momentum in Ottoman Palestine with the more highly organized enterprises set forth by the new group of immigrants. When the British Mandate of Palestine recognized Hebrew as one of the country's three official languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew, in 1922), its new formal status contributed to its diffusion. A constructed modern language with
2590-463: A literary language down through the Byzantine period from the 4th century CE. The exact roles of Aramaic and Hebrew remain hotly debated. A trilingual scenario has been proposed for the land of Israel. Hebrew functioned as the local mother tongue with powerful ties to Israel's history, origins and golden age and as the language of Israel's religion; Aramaic functioned as the international language with
2775-426: A massive expansion of the Temple Mount temenos . For example, the Temple Mount complex initially measured 7 hectares (17 acres) in size, but Herod expanded it to 14.4 hectares (36 acres) and so doubled its area. Herod's work on the Temple is generally dated from 20/19 BCE until 12/11 or 10 BCE. Writer Bieke Mahieu dates the work on the Temple enclosures from 25 BCE and that on the Temple building in 19 BCE, and situates
2960-722: A modern version of the ancient language was led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda . Modern Hebrew ( Ivrit ) became the main language of the Yishuv in Palestine , and subsequently the official language of the State of Israel . Estimates of worldwide usage include five million speakers in 1998, and over nine million people in 2013. After Israel, the United States has the largest Hebrew-speaking population, with approximately 220,000 fluent speakers (see Israeli Americans and Jewish Americans ). Modern Hebrew
3145-535: A set of dialects evolving out of Late Biblical Hebrew and into Mishnaic Hebrew, thus including elements from both but remaining distinct from either. By the start of the Byzantine Period in the 4th century CE, Classical Hebrew ceased as a regularly spoken language, roughly a century after the publication of the Mishnah, apparently declining since the aftermath of the catastrophic Bar Kokhba revolt around 135 CE. In
3330-620: A similar episode related to the destruction of the city, according to which Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai , during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, requested of Vespasian that he spare the westernmost gates of the city ( Hebrew : פילי מערבאה ) that lead to Lydda ( Lod ). When the city was eventually taken, the Arab auxiliaries who had fought alongside the Romans under their general, Fanjar, also spared that westernmost wall from destruction. Jewish eschatology includes
3515-652: A spoken language, it continued to be used as a lingua franca among scholars and Jews traveling in foreign countries. After the 2nd century CE when the Roman Empire exiled most of the Jewish population of Jerusalem following the Bar Kokhba revolt , they adapted to the societies in which they found themselves, yet letters, contracts, commerce, science, philosophy, medicine, poetry and laws continued to be written mostly in Hebrew, which adapted by borrowing and inventing terms. After
3700-559: A spot on the Mount described by Josephus, "where one of the priests to stand and to give notice, by sound of trumpet, in the afternoon of the approach, and on the following evening of the close, of every seventh day " closely resembling what the Talmud says. After 1967, archaeologists found that the wall extended all the way around the Temple Mount and is part of the city wall near the Lions' Gate . Thus,
3885-440: A strong religious impulse, and therefore one of their first concerns was to restore their ancient house of worship by rebuilding their destroyed Temple. On the invitation of Zerubbabel , the governor, who showed them a remarkable example of liberality by contributing personally 1,000 golden darics , besides other gifts, the people poured their gifts into the sacred treasury with great enthusiasm. First they erected and dedicated
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#17328839613944070-469: A temple had existed on the Temple Mount by the time of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (587 BCE), but the identity of its builder and its construction date are strongly debated. Because of the religious and political sensitivities involved, no archaeological excavations and only limited surface surveys of the Temple Mount have been conducted since Charles Warren 's expedition of 1867–70. As of today, there
4255-517: A trench was dug around the mountain, and huge stone blocks were laid. Some of these weighed well over 100 tons, the largest measuring 44.6 by 11 by 16.5 feet (13.6 m × 3.4 m × 5.0 m) and weighing approximately 567–628 tons. The Court of the Gentiles was primarily a bazaar , with vendors selling souvenirs, sacrificial animals, food. Currency was also exchanged, with Roman currency exchanged for Tyrian money, as also mentioned in
4440-451: A tripartite building, consisting of three units; the ulam (porch), the heikal (sanctuary), and the debir (the Holy of Holies ). It is also categorized as being a straight-axis temple, meaning that there is a straight line from the entrance to the innermost shrine. The ulam , or porch, featured two bronze pillars Jachin and Boaz . It is unclear from the biblical descriptions whether the porch
4625-468: A truly Semitic vocabulary and written appearance, although often European in phonology , was to take its place among the current languages of the nations. While many saw his work as fanciful or even blasphemous (because Hebrew was the holy language of the Torah and therefore some thought that it should not be used to discuss everyday matters), many soon understood the need for a common language amongst Jews of
4810-549: A vernacular in Judea until it was displaced by Aramaic, probably in the 3rd century CE. Certain Sadducee , Pharisee , Scribe , Hermit, Zealot and Priest classes maintained an insistence on Hebrew, and all Jews maintained their identity with Hebrew songs and simple quotations from Hebrew texts. While there is no doubt that at a certain point, Hebrew was displaced as the everyday spoken language of most Jews, and that its chief successor in
4995-511: Is 8198, of which some 2000 are hapax legomena (the number of Biblical Hebrew roots, on which many of these words are based, is 2099). The number of attested Rabbinic Hebrew words is less than 20,000, of which (i) 7879 are Rabbinic par excellence, i.e. they did not appear in the Old Testament (the number of new Rabbinic Hebrew roots is 805); (ii) around 6000 are a subset of Biblical Hebrew; and (iii) several thousand are Aramaic words which can have
5180-477: Is believed to be based on the Semitic root ʕ-b-r ( ע־ב־ר ), meaning "beyond", "other side", "across"; interpretations of the term "Hebrew" generally render its meaning as roughly "from the other side [of the river/desert]"—i.e., an exonym for the inhabitants of the land of Israel and Judah , perhaps from the perspective of Mesopotamia , Phoenicia or Transjordan (with the river referred to being perhaps
5365-527: Is completed in Bul , the eighth month of Solomon's eleventh year, thus taking about seven years. The Hebrew Bible records that the Tyrians played a leading role in the construction of the Temple. The Second Book of Samuel mentions how David and Hiram forged an alliance. This friendship continues after Solomon succeeds David, and the two refer to each other as brothers. A literary account of how Hiram helps Solomon build
5550-578: Is derived from Old French Ebrau , via Latin from the Ancient Greek Ἑβραῖος ( hebraîos ) and Aramaic 'ibrāy , all ultimately derived from Biblical Hebrew Ivri ( עברי ), one of several names for the Israelite ( Jewish and Samaritan ) people ( Hebrews ). It is traditionally understood to be an adjective based on the name of Abraham 's ancestor, Eber , mentioned in Genesis 10:21 . The name
5735-602: Is derived from the name of the alphabet used , in contrast to Ivrit , meaning the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet . Hebrew ceased to be a regular spoken language sometime between 200 and 400 CE, as it declined in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Bar Kokhba revolt , which was carried out against the Roman Empire by the Jews of Judaea . Aramaic and, to a lesser extent, Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among societal elites and immigrants. Hebrew survived into
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5920-802: Is described in the Hebrew Bible: a shrine model from the early half of the 10th century BCE in Khirbet Qeiyafa ; and the Tel Motza temple , dated to the 9th century BCE and located in the neighbourhood of Motza within West Jerusalem . The biblical description of Solomon's Temple has also been observed to share similarities with several Syro-Hittite temples of the same period discovered in modern-day Syria and Turkey , such as those in Ain Dara and Tell Tayinat . Following Jewish return from exile, Solomon's Temple
6105-563: Is fighting to stop businesses from using only English signs to market their services. In 2012, a Knesset bill for the preservation of the Hebrew language was proposed, which includes the stipulation that all signage in Israel must first and foremost be in Hebrew, as with all speeches by Israeli officials abroad. The bill's author, MK Akram Hasson , stated that the bill was proposed as a response to Hebrew "losing its prestige" and children incorporating more English words into their vocabulary. Hebrew
6290-477: Is in accordance with how Phoenician temples looked; others have described the structure as temple in antis . In 2011, three small portable shrines were discovered in Khirbet Qeiyafa , an archaeological site 30 km (20 mi) from Jerusalem dated to 1025–975 BCE, a range that includes the biblical date for the reigns of David and Solomon. The smaller shrines are boxes shaped with different decorations showing impressive architectonic and decorative styles. One of
6475-471: Is no solid archaeological evidence for the existence of Solomon's Temple, and the building is not mentioned in surviving extra-biblical accounts, save for perhaps a single fragmented ostracon that mentions a " house of Yahweh " without any further specification. Artifacts previously believed to prove the existence of Solomon's Temple—an ivory pomegranate and a ninth century BCE stone tablet —are now highly contested as to their authenticity. Moreover, starting in
6660-411: Is no text on this object. In July 2008, Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa that he claimed may be the earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating from around 3,000 years ago. Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai Mazar said that the inscription was "proto-Canaanite" but cautioned that "[t]he differentiation between the scripts, and between
6845-570: Is one of several languages for which the constitution of South Africa calls to be respected in their use for religious purposes. Also, Hebrew is an official national minority language in Poland , since 6 January 2005. Hamas has made Hebrew a compulsory language taught in schools in the Gaza Strip. Second Temple The Second Temple ( Hebrew : בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי Bēṯ hamMīqdāš hašŠēnī , transl. 'Second House of
7030-571: Is that the Ark was originally conceived as Yahweh's footstool, above which he was invisibly enthroned. Biblical scholar Francesca Stavrakopoulou states that Yahweh was physically enthroned above the Ark as a cult statue and it was only following the Exile that Yahweh was conceived as unseen and the prohibition on carved images was added to the Ten Commandments. On the other hand, some biblical scholars believe
7215-728: Is the official language of the State of Israel, while pre-revival forms of Hebrew are used for prayer or study in Jewish and Samaritan communities around the world today; the latter group utilizes the Samaritan dialect as their liturgical tongue. As a non- first language , it is studied mostly by non-Israeli Jews and students in Israel, by archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations , and by theologians in Christian seminaries . The modern English word "Hebrew"
7400-826: Is the famous Moabite Stone , written in the Moabite dialect; the Siloam inscription , found near Jerusalem , is an early example of Hebrew. Less ancient samples of Archaic Hebrew include the ostraca found near Lachish , which describe events preceding the final capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian captivity of 586 BCE. In its widest sense, Biblical Hebrew refers to the spoken language of ancient Israel flourishing between c. 1000 BCE and c. 400 CE . It comprises several evolving and overlapping dialects. The phases of Classical Hebrew are often named after important literary works associated with them. Sometimes
7585-405: Is the primary official language of the State of Israel. As of 2013 , there are about 9 million Hebrew speakers worldwide, of whom 7 million speak it fluently. Currently, 90% of Israeli Jews are proficient in Hebrew, and 70% are highly proficient. Some 60% of Israeli Arabs are also proficient in Hebrew, and 30% report having a higher proficiency in Hebrew than in Arabic. In total, about 53% of
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7770-481: Is used to pronounce the Hebrew Bible; however, properly it should be distinguished from the historical Biblical Hebrew of the 6th century BCE, whose original pronunciation must be reconstructed. Tiberian Hebrew incorporates the scholarship of the Masoretes (from masoret meaning "tradition"), who added vowel points and grammar points to the Hebrew letters to preserve much earlier features of Hebrew, for use in chanting
7955-494: Is widely accepted to be part of Herod's work; however, recent archaeological finds in the Western Wall tunnels suggest that it was built in the first century during the reign of Agripas, as opposed to the 1st century BCE. The accounts of the temptation of Christ in the gospels of Matthew and Luke both suggest that the Second Temple had one or more ' pinnacles ': Then he [ Satan ] brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on
8140-630: The Chayei Adam in Hebrew, as opposed to Yiddish , as a guide to Halacha for the " average 17-year-old" (Ibid. Introduction 1). Similarly, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan 's purpose in writing the Mishnah Berurah was to "produce a work that could be studied daily so that Jews might know the proper procedures to follow minute by minute". The work was nevertheless written in Talmudic Hebrew and Aramaic, since, "the ordinary Jew [of Eastern Europe] of
8325-584: The Waqf is extremely controversial. On September 25, 2007, Yuval Baruch , archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a quarry compound that may have provided King Herod with the stones to build his Temple on the Temple Mount . Coins, pottery and an iron stake found proved the date of the quarrying to be about 19 BCE. Archaeologist Ehud Netzer confirmed that
8510-505: The Altar of burnt-offering (2 Chr. 15:8), the Brazen Sea laver (4:2–5, 10) and ten other lavers (1 Kings 7:38, 39). A brazen altar stood before the Temple (2 Kings 16:14), its dimensions 20 cubits square and 10 cubits high (2 Chr. 4:1). The Great Court surrounded the whole Temple (2 Chr. 4:9). It was here that people assembled to worship. (Jeremiah 19:14; 26:2). According to the Hebrew Bible ,
8695-708: The Ark of the Covenant containing the Tablets of Stone , before which were placed the pot of manna and Aaron's rod , the Urim and Thummim (divination objects contained in the Hoshen ), the holy oil and the sacred fire. The Second Temple also included many of the original vessels of gold that had been taken by the Babylonians but restored by Cyrus the Great . No detailed description of
8880-740: The Babylonian Talmud , the Temple lacked the Shekhinah (the dwelling or settling divine presence of God) and the Ruach HaKodesh (holy spirit) present in the First Temple. Following the conquest of Judea by Alexander the Great , it became part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt until 200 BCE, when the Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great of Syria defeated Pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes at
9065-531: The Battle of Paneion . In 167 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He also, according to Josephus , "compelled Jews to dissolve the laws of the country, to keep their infants un- circumcised , and to sacrifice swine's flesh upon the altar; against which they all opposed themselves, and the most approved among them were put to death." Following the Maccabean Revolt against
9250-457: The Euphrates , Jordan or Litani ; or maybe the northern Arabian Desert between Babylonia and Canaan ). Compare the word Habiru or cognate Assyrian ebru , of identical meaning. One of the earliest references to the language's name as " Ivrit " is found in the prologue to the Book of Sirach , from the 2nd century BCE. The Hebrew Bible does not use the term "Hebrew" in reference to
9435-406: The Gospel of Matthew . (See the Hebrew Gospel hypothesis or Language of Jesus for more details on Hebrew and Aramaic in the gospels.) The term "Mishnaic Hebrew" generally refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the Talmud , excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects organize into Mishnaic Hebrew (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which
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#17328839613949620-449: The Hellenistic era . Based on the biblical account, after the return from Babylonian captivity, arrangements were immediately made to reorganize the desolated Yehud Province after the demise of the Kingdom of Judah seventy years earlier. The body of pilgrims, forming a band of 42,360, having completed the long and dreary journey of some four months, from the banks of the Euphrates to Jerusalem, were animated in all their proceedings by
9805-422: The Herodian city of Jerusalem , and Yigael Shiloh in 1978–1982, in the city of David " have proven that the roofs of the Second Temple had no dome . In this, they support Josephus' description of the Second Temple. Jews from distant parts of the Roman Empire would arrive by boat at the port of Jaffa , where they would join a caravan for the three-day trek to the Holy City and would then find lodgings in one of
9990-472: The Holy of Holies of the Temple. 1 Kings 8:10–66 and 2 Chronicles 6:1–42 recount the events of the temple's dedication. When the priests emerged from the holy of holies after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled with an overpowering cloud that interrupted the dedication ceremony, "for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord [such that] the priests could not stand to minister" (1 Kings 8:10–11; 2 Chronicles 5:13, 14). Solomon interpreted
10175-422: The Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period ) and Samaritanism . The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival . It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with
10360-433: The Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE) and the emergence of the Hasmonean kingdom , the Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE). The nationalist significance of Hebrew manifested in various ways throughout this period. Michael Owen Wise notes that "Beginning with the time of the Hasmonean revolt [...] Hebrew came to the fore in an expression akin to modern nationalism. A form of classical Hebrew
10545-432: The Mishnah had for long been used for proposing possible designs for the Temple up to 70 CE. The discovery of the Temple Scroll as part of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 20th century provided another possible source. Lawrence Schiffman states that after studying Josephus and the Temple Scroll, he found Josephus to be historically more reliable than the Temple Scroll. Reconstruction of the temple under Herod began with
10730-422: The Second Aliyah , it replaced a score of languages spoken by Jews at that time. Those languages were Jewish dialects of local languages, including Judaeo-Spanish (also called "Judezmo" and "Ladino"), Yiddish , Judeo-Arabic and Bukhori (Tajiki), or local languages spoken in the Jewish diaspora such as Russian , Persian and Arabic . The major result of the literary work of the Hebrew intellectuals along
10915-422: The Three Pilgrimage Festivals : Passover , Shavuot , and Sukkot . Construction on the Second Temple began in the aftermath of the Persian conquest of Babylon ; the Second Temple's predecessor, known as Solomon's Temple , had been destroyed alongside the Kingdom of Judah as a whole by the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem around 587 BCE. After the Neo-Babylonian Empire was annexed by the Achaemenid Empire ,
11100-420: The high priest of Judaea . Her younger son Aristobulus II was determined to have the throne, and as soon as she died he seized the throne. Hyrcanus, who was next in the succession, agreed to be content with being high priest. Antipater , the governor of Idumæa, encouraged Hyrcanus not to give up his throne. Eventually, Hyrcanus fled to Aretas III , king of the Nabateans , and returned with an army to take back
11285-399: The literary and liturgical language into everyday spoken language . However, his brand of Hebrew followed norms that had been replaced in Eastern Europe by different grammar and style, in the writings of people like Ahad Ha'am and others. His organizational efforts and involvement with the establishment of schools and the writing of textbooks pushed the vernacularization activity into
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#173288396139411470-408: The medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy , rabbinic literature , intra-Jewish commerce, and Jewish poetic literature . The first dated book printed in Hebrew was published by Abraham Garton in Reggio ( Calabria , Italy) in 1475. With the rise of Zionism in the 19th century, the Hebrew language experienced a full-scale revival as a spoken and literary language. The creation of
11655-404: The northern Kingdom of Israel , advanced on Jerusalem, broke down a portion of the wall, and carried away the treasures of the Temple and the palace ( 2 Kings 14:13–14 ). Later, when Ahaz of Judah was threatened by defeat at the hands of Rezin of Aram-Damascus and Pekah of Israel, he turned to king Tiglath-Pileser IV for help. To persuade him, he "took the silver and gold that was found in
11840-414: The paradox that God who lives in the heavens cannot really be contained within a single building. The dedication was concluded with musical celebration and sacrifices said to have included "twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep". These sacrifices were offered outside the temple, in "the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord", because the altar inside
12025-408: The "Molten or Brazen Sea" ( ים מוצק "cast metal sea") was a large basin in the Temple for ablution of the priests. It is described in 1 Kings 7:23–26 and 2 Chronicles 4:2–5 . According to the Bible, it stood in the south-eastern corner of the inner court. It was five cubits high, ten cubits in diameter from brim to brim, and thirty cubits in circumference. The brim was "like the calyx of
12210-415: The 10th century BCE, although the biblical description is undoubtedly excessive. These views are shared by the archaeologist Amihai Mazar , who underlines how the description of the Temple in the Bible, albeit exaggerated, is substantially in line with the architectural descriptions already present in the Levant in the second millennium BCE. Yosef Garfinkel and Madeleine Mumcuoglu argue that the discovery of
12395-454: The 1980s in the USSR , Hebrew studies reappeared due to people struggling for permission to go to Israel ( refuseniks ). Several of the teachers were imprisoned, e.g. Yosef Begun , Ephraim Kholmyansky , Yevgeny Korostyshevsky and others responsible for a Hebrew learning network connecting many cities of the USSR. Standard Hebrew, as developed by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, was based on Mishnaic spelling and Sephardi Hebrew pronunciation. However,
12580-472: The 1980s, biblical minimalists have doubted King Solomon's connection to the temple, sometimes describing him as little more than a hill country chieftain. On the other hand, William G. Dever argues that the biblical description of the Temple itself shows profound similarities with other temples of the time ( Phoenician , Assyrian and Philistine ), suggesting that this cult structure was actually built by Solomon (whom he sees as an actual king of Israel) in
12765-424: The 1980s, skeptical approaches to the biblical text as well as the archaeological record led some scholars to doubt whether there was any Temple in Jerusalem constructed as early as the 10th century BCE. Some scholars have suggested that the original structure built by Solomon was relatively modest, and was later rebuilt on a larger scale. No direct evidence for the existence of Solomon's Temple has been found. Due to
12950-535: The 19th century was a lexical modernization of Hebrew. New words and expressions were adapted as neologisms from the large corpus of Hebrew writings since the Hebrew Bible, or borrowed from Arabic (mainly by Ben-Yehuda) and older Aramaic and Latin. Many new words were either borrowed from or coined after European languages, especially English, Russian, German, and French. Modern Hebrew became an official language in British-ruled Palestine in 1921 (along with English and Arabic), and then in 1948 became an official language of
13135-418: The 8th century and "was retroactively attributed to the great ruler of the 10th century." An ostracon (excavated prior to 1981), sometimes referred to as the House of Yahweh ostracon , was discovered at Tel Arad , dated to the 6th century BCE, which mentions a temple that could be the Temple in Jerusalem. This has been challenged by Fabio Porzia and Corinne Bonnet who wrote that the context and location of
13320-746: The Aramaized Rabbinic Hebrew of the Talmud. Hebrew persevered through the ages as the main language for written purposes by all Jewish communities around the world for a large range of uses—not only liturgy, but also poetry, philosophy, science and medicine, commerce, daily correspondence and contracts. There have been many deviations from this generalization such as Bar Kokhba 's letters to his lieutenants, which were mostly in Aramaic, and Maimonides' writings, which were mostly in Arabic; but overall, Hebrew did not cease to be used for such purposes. For example,
13505-459: The Ark used to be, and the High Priest put his censer on it on Yom Kippur . The fifth order, or division, of the Mishnah, known as Kodashim , provides detailed descriptions and discussions of the religious laws connected with Temple service including the sacrifices , the Temple and its furnishings, as well as the priests who carried out the duties and ceremonies of its service. Tractates of
13690-668: The British Mandate who at the turn of the 20th century were arriving in large numbers from diverse countries and speaking different languages. A Committee of the Hebrew Language was established. After the establishment of Israel, it became the Academy of the Hebrew Language . The results of Ben-Yehuda's lexicographical work were published in a dictionary ( The Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew , Ben-Yehuda Dictionary ). The seeds of Ben-Yehuda's work fell on fertile ground, and by
13875-501: The Empire, claims the burning of the Temple was the impulsive act of a Roman soldier, despite Titus's orders to preserve it, whereas later Christian sources, traced to Tacitus , suggest that Titus himself authorized the destruction, a view currently favored by modern scholars, though the debate persists. The Arch of Titus , which was built in Rome to commemorate Titus's victory in Judea, depicts
14060-468: The Great conquered Babylon, he allowed the Jewish people to return from captivity. In time, a local version of Aramaic came to be spoken in Israel alongside Hebrew. By the beginning of the Common Era , Aramaic was the primary colloquial language of Samarian , Babylonian and Galileean Jews, and western and intellectual Jews spoke Greek , but a form of so-called Rabbinic Hebrew continued to be used as
14245-473: The Great of the Achaemenid Empire in 559 BCE made the re-establishment of the city of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple possible. Some rudimentary ritual sacrifice had continued at the site of the first temple following its destruction. According to the closing verses of the second book of Chronicles and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah , when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem following
14430-400: The Great , who allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple, died, and was succeeded by his son Cambyses . On his death, the "false Smerdis ", an impostor, occupied the throne for some seven or eight months, and then Darius became king (522 BCE). In the second year of his rule the work of rebuilding the temple was resumed and carried forward to its completion, under
14615-588: The Hebrew Bible. The Masoretes inherited a biblical text whose letters were considered too sacred to be altered, so their markings were in the form of pointing in and around the letters. The Syriac alphabet , precursor to the Arabic alphabet , also developed vowel pointing systems around this time. The Aleppo Codex , a Hebrew Bible with the Masoretic pointing, was written in the 10th century, likely in Tiberias, and survives into
14800-529: The Holy Place overlaid with gold; also, a veil of tekhelet (blue), purple , and crimson and fine linen . It had no windows and was considered the dwelling-place of the "name" of God. The Holy of Holies was prepared to receive and house the Ark; and when the Temple was dedicated, the Ark, containing the original tablets of the Ten Commandments , was placed beneath the cherubim. Chambers were built around
14985-498: The Holy of Holies was heavily restricted; the High Priest of Israel was the only authority permitted to enter the sanctuary, and only did so on Yom Kippur , carrying the blood of a sacrificial lamb and burning incense . In addition to serving as a religious building for worship, the First Temple also functioned as a place of assembly for the Israelites . The First Temple's destruction and
15170-563: The Holy of Holies. The walls of the sanctuary were lined with cedar, on which were carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers that were overlaid with gold ( 1 Kings 6:29–30 ). Chains of gold further marked it off from the Holy of Holies. The floor of the Temple was of fir overlaid with gold. The doorposts, of olivewood, supported folding doors of fir. The doors of the Holy of Holies were of olivewood. On both sets of doors were carved cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, all being overlaid with gold ( 1 Kings 6:15 et seq.) This main building
15355-454: The Israeli population speaks Hebrew as a native language, while most of the rest speak it fluently. In 2013 Hebrew was the native language of 49% of Israelis over the age of 20, with Russian , Arabic , French , English , Yiddish and Ladino being the native tongues of most of the rest. Some 26% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 12% of Arabs reported speaking Hebrew poorly or not at all. Steps have been taken to keep Hebrew
15540-471: The Middle East was the closely related Aramaic language, then Greek , scholarly opinions on the exact dating of that shift have changed very much. In the first half of the 20th century, most scholars followed Abraham Geiger and Gustaf Dalman in thinking that Aramaic became a spoken language in the land of Israel as early as the beginning of Israel's Hellenistic period in the 4th century BCE, and that as
15725-692: The New Testament account of Jesus and the Money Changers , when Jerusalem was packed with Jewish pilgrims who had come for Passover, perhaps numbering 300,000 to 400,000. Above the Huldah Gates , on top the Temple walls, was the Royal Stoa , a large basilica praised by Josephus as "more worthy of mention than any other [structure] under the sun"; its main part was a lengthy Hall of Columns which includes 162 columns, structured in four rows. The Royal Stoa
15910-500: The Persian king Cyrus the Great issued the so-called Edict of Cyrus , which is described in the Hebrew Bible as having authorized and encouraged the return to Zion —a biblical event in which the Jewish people returned to the former Kingdom of Judah, which the Persians had recently restructured as the self-governing Jewish province of Yehud Medinata . The completion of the Second Temple at
16095-632: The Sanctum' ) was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem , in use between c. 516 BCE and its destruction in 70 CE. In its last phase it was enhanced by Herod the Great , the result being later called Herod's Temple . Defining the Second Temple period , it stood as a pivotal symbol of Jewish identity and was central to Second Temple Judaism ; it was the chief place of worship, ritual sacrifice ( korban ), and communal gathering for Jews . As such, it attracted Jewish pilgrims from distant lands during
16280-622: The Seleucid empire, the Second Temple was rededicated and became the religious pillar of the Jewish Hasmonean Kingdom , as well as culturally associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah . There is some evidence from archaeology that further changes to the structure of the Temple and its surroundings were made during the Hasmonean rule. Salome Alexandra , the queen of the Hasmonean Kingdom appointed her elder son Hyrcanus II as
16465-523: The Table of Showbread and the golden altar of incense , with golden censers . Traditional rabbinic literature states that the Second Temple stood for 420 years, and, based on the 2nd-century work Seder Olam Rabbah , placed construction in 356 BCE (3824 AM ), 164 years later than academic estimates, and destruction in 68 CE (3828 AM ). According to the Mishnah , the " Foundation Stone " stood where
16650-605: The Talmud, the Gemara , generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in two forms of Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amoraic Hebrew, which occasionally appears in the text of the Gemara, particularly in the Jerusalem Talmud and the classical aggadah midrashes . Hebrew was always regarded as the language of Israel's religion, history and national pride, and after it faded as
16835-455: The Talmud, various regional literary dialects of Medieval Hebrew evolved. The most important is Tiberian Hebrew or Masoretic Hebrew, a local dialect of Tiberias in Galilee that became the standard for vocalizing the Hebrew Bible and thus still influences all other regional dialects of Hebrew. This Tiberian Hebrew from the 7th to 10th century CE is sometimes called "Biblical Hebrew" because it
17020-400: The Temple is given in 1 Kings (chapters 5–9) and 2 Chronicles (chapters 2–7). Hiram agrees to Solomon's request to supply him with cedar and cypress trees for the construction of the Temple. He tells Solomon that he will send the trees by sea: "I will make them into rafts to go by the sea to the place that you indicate. I will have them broken up there for you to take away." In return for
17205-578: The Temple on the southern, western and northern sides ( 1 Kings 6:5–10 ). These formed a part of the building and were used for storage. They were probably one story high at first; two more may have been added later. According to the Bible, two courts surrounded the Temple. The Inner Court (1 Kings 6:36), or Court of the Priests (2 Chr. 4:9), was separated from the space beyond by a wall of three courses of hewn stone, surmounted by cedar beams (1 Kings 6:36). It contained
17390-422: The Temple was a wooden pole, rather than a statue. Although originally a symbol of the goddess, the asherah is argued to have been adopted as a symbol of Yahweh. According to Richard Lowery, Yahweh and Asherah headed a pantheon of other Judean gods that were worshipped at the temple. The temple had chariots of the sun ( 2 Kings 23:11 ) and Ezekiel describes a vision of temple worshipers facing east and bowing to
17575-426: The Temple was destroyed on Tisha B'Av , the 9th day of Av (Hebrew calendar), the same date of the destruction of the Second Temple . Rabbinic sources state that the First Temple stood for 410 years and, based on the 2nd-century work Seder Olam Rabbah , place construction in 832 BCE and destruction in 422 BCE (3338 AM ), 165 years later than secular estimates . The Jewish historian Josephus says; "the temple
17760-552: The Temple's architecture is given in the Hebrew Bible, save that it was sixty cubits in both width and height, and was constructed with stone and lumber. In the Second Temple, the Holy of Holies ( Kodesh Hakodashim ) was separated by curtains rather than a wall as in the First Temple. Still, as in the Tabernacle , the Second Temple included the Menorah (golden lamp) for the Hekhal ,
17945-480: The ability to speak the language and attempted to promote its use. According to the Jerusalem Talmud , Megillah 1:9: "Rebbi Jonathan from Bet Guvrrin said, four languages are appropriate that the world should use them, and they are these: The Foreign Language (Greek) for song, Latin for war, Syriac for elegies, Hebrew for speech. Some are saying, also Assyrian (Hebrew script) for writing." The later section of
18130-470: The above phases of spoken Classical Hebrew are simplified into "Biblical Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 10th century BCE to 2nd century BCE and extant in certain Dead Sea Scrolls) and "Mishnaic Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE and extant in certain other Dead Sea Scrolls). However, today most Hebrew linguists classify Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew as
18315-403: The altar of God on the exact spot where it had formerly stood, and they then cleared away the charred heaps of debris that occupied the site of the old temple; and in the second month of the second year (535 BCE), amid great public excitement and rejoicing, the foundations of the Second Temple were laid. A wide interest was felt in this great movement, although it was regarded with mixed feelings by
18500-582: The ancient world's largest religious sanctuary. In 70 CE, at the height of the First Jewish–Roman War , the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman siege of Jerusalem , marking a cataclysmic and transformative point in Jewish history . The loss of the Second Temple prompted the development of Rabbinic Judaism , which remains the mainstream form of Jewish religious practices globally. The accession of Cyrus
18685-455: The average Jew, and that the language had evolved since Biblical times as spoken languages do. Recent scholarship recognizes that reports of Jews speaking in Aramaic indicate a multilingual society, not necessarily the primary language spoken. Alongside Aramaic, Hebrew co-existed within Israel as a spoken language. Most scholars now date the demise of Hebrew as a spoken language to the end of the Roman period , or about 200 CE. It continued on as
18870-535: The beginning of the 20th century, Hebrew was well on its way to becoming the main language of the Jewish population of both Ottoman and British Palestine. At the time, members of the Old Yishuv and a very few Hasidic sects, most notably those under the auspices of Satmar , refused to speak Hebrew and spoke only Yiddish. In the Soviet Union, the use of Hebrew, along with other Jewish cultural and religious activities,
19055-416: The biblical accounts which place the temple in the 10th century and the historical considerations which tend towards the 8th and 7th centuries." They suggest that Solomon's temple corresponds more with the 8th-7th century temple architectural models associated with Aram or Assyria than with anything associated with temple architecture from the 10th century. They suggest that the first temple most likely dates to
19240-429: The biblical narrative, Solomon's Temple was plundered several times. In the fifth year of Rehoboam 's reign (commonly dated to 926 BCE), Egyptian pharaoh Shishak (positively identified with Shoshenq I ) took away treasures of the Temple and the king's house, as well as shields of gold that Solomon had made; Rehoboam replaced them with brass ones ( 1 Kings 14:25 ; 2 Chronicles 12:1–12 ). A century later, Jehoash, king of
19425-571: The bodies of the priests. The fact that it was a washbasin that was too large to enter from above lends to the idea that water would likely have flowed from it down into a subcontainer beneath. The water was originally supplied by the Gibeonites but was afterwards brought by a conduit from Solomon's Pools . The molten sea was made of brass or bronze that which Solomon had taken from the captured cities of Hadadezer ben Rehob , king of Zobah ( 1 Chronicles 18:8 ). Ahaz later removed this laver from
19610-562: The city in whose proximity it was found) is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that, through the Greeks and Etruscans , later became the Latin alphabet of ancient Rome . The Gezer calendar is written without any vowels , and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places in which later Hebrew spelling requires them. Numerous older tablets have been found in
19795-401: The city in 63 BCE. The priests continued with the religious practices inside the Temple during the siege. The temple was not looted or harmed by the Romans. Pompey himself, perhaps inadvertently, went into the Holy of Holies and the next day ordered the priests to repurify the Temple and resume the religious practices. The writings of Flavius Josephus and the information in tractate Middot of
19980-485: The city walls in 587/6 BCE. The city finally fell to his army in July 586/5 BCE. A month later, Nebuzaradan , commander of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, was sent to burn and demolish the city. According to the Bible, "he set fire to the Temple of Yahweh , the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem" ( 2 Kings 25:9 ). Everything worth plundering was then removed and taken to Babylon ( 2 Kings 25:13–17 ). Jewish tradition holds that
20165-424: The cloud as "[proof] that his pious work was accepted": "The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever." The allusion is to Leviticus 16:2 : The Lord said to Moses : Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy seat that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in
20350-453: The cloud upon the mercy seat. The Pulpit Commentary notes that "Solomon had thus every warrant for connecting a theophany with the thick dark cloud". Solomon then led the whole assembly of Israel in prayer , noting that the construction on the temple represented a fulfilment of God's promise to David , dedicating the temple as a place of prayer and reconciliation for the people of Israel and for foreigners living in Israel, and highlighting
20535-596: The composition of 1 Maccabees in archaizing Hebrew, Hasmonean coinage under John Hyrcanus (134-104 BCE), and coins from both the Great Revolt and Bar Kokhba Revolt featuring exclusively Hebrew and Palaeo-Hebrew script inscriptions. This deliberate use of Hebrew and Paleo-Hebrew script in official contexts, despite limited literacy, served as a symbol of Jewish nationalism and political independence. The Christian New Testament contains some Semitic place names and quotes. The language of such Semitic glosses (and in general
20720-441: The cult objects of the sun and Asherah were taken out of the temple and the practice of sacred prostitution, and the worship of Baal and the hosts of heaven were stopped. A korban was a kosher animal sacrifice, such as a bull , sheep , goat , or a dove that underwent shechita (Jewish ritual slaughter). Sacrifices could also consist of grain , meal , wine , or incense . Offerings were often cooked and most of it eaten by
20905-466: The date of its construction and the identity of its builder. The Hebrew Bible, specifically within the Book of Kings , includes a detailed narrative about the construction's ordering by Solomon, the penultimate ruler of the United Kingdom of Israel . It further credits Solomon as the placer of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies , a windowless inner sanctum within the structure. Entry into
21090-534: The dedication of both in November 18 BCE. Religious worship and temple rituals continued during the construction process. The old temple built by Zerubbabel was replaced by a magnificent edifice. Herod's Temple was one of the larger construction projects of the 1st century BCE. Josephus records that Herod was interested in perpetuating his name through building projects, that his construction programs were extensive and paid for by heavy taxes, but that his masterpiece
21275-563: The dialects of Classical Hebrew that functioned as a living language in the land of Israel. A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halachic Midrashim ( Sifra , Sifre , Mekhilta etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the Tosefta . The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere;
21460-513: The earliest speakers of Modern Hebrew had Yiddish as their native language and often introduced calques from Yiddish and phono-semantic matchings of international words. Despite using Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation as its primary basis, modern Israeli Hebrew has adapted to Ashkenazi Hebrew phonology in some respects, mainly the following: The vocabulary of Israeli Hebrew is much larger than that of earlier periods. According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann : The number of attested Biblical Hebrew words
21645-518: The early 6th century BCE, the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered the ancient Kingdom of Judah , destroying much of Jerusalem and exiling its population far to the east in Babylon . During the Babylonian captivity , many Israelites learned Aramaic, the closely related Semitic language of their captors. Thus, for a significant period, the Jewish elite became influenced by Aramaic. After Cyrus
21830-401: The excavators, Israeli archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel , suggested that the style and the decoration of these cultic objects are very similar to the biblical description of some features of Solomon's Temple. Archeologists categorize the biblical description of Solomon's Temple as a langbau building. That is, a rectangular building that is longer than it is wide. It is furthermore classified as
22015-546: The extreme religious and political sensitivity of the site, no recent archaeological excavations have been conducted on the Temple Mount. Nineteenth and early-twentieth century excavations around the Temple Mount did not identify "even a trace" of the complex. The House of Yahweh ostracon , dated to the 6th century BCE, may refer to the First Temple. Two 21st century findings from the Israelite period in present-day Israel have been found bearing resemblance to Solomon's Temple as it
22200-436: The finding of what he claims to be the oldest known Hebrew inscription, a curse tablet found at Mount Ebal , dated from around 3200 years ago. The presence of the Hebrew name of god , Yahweh, as three letters, Yod-Heh-Vav (YHV), according to the author and his team meant that the tablet is Hebrew and not Canaanite. However, practically all professional archeologists and epigraphers apart from Stripling's team claim that there
22385-703: The first Middle East printing press, in Safed (modern Israel), produced a small number of books in Hebrew in 1577, which were then sold to the nearby Jewish world. This meant not only that well-educated Jews in all parts of the world could correspond in a mutually intelligible language, and that books and legal documents published or written in any part of the world could be read by Jews in all other parts, but that an educated Jew could travel and converse with Jews in distant places, just as priests and other educated Christians could converse in Latin. For example, Rabbi Avraham Danzig wrote
22570-425: The five candlesticks on each side of the altar. The candle–tongs, basins, snuffers, firepans, and even the hinges of the doors were also gold. The Holy of Holies , also called the "Inner House", was 20 cubits in length, breadth, and height. The usual explanation for the discrepancy between its height and the 30-cubit height of the temple is that its floor was elevated, like the cella of other ancient temples. It
22755-406: The generic term for these passages is Baraitot . The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew. About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew fell into disuse as a spoken language. By the third century CE, sages could no longer identify the Hebrew names of many plants mentioned in the Mishnah. Only a few sages, primarily in the southern regions, retained
22940-487: The holy tongue ' or ' the tongue [of] holiness ' ) since ancient times. The language was not referred to by the name Hebrew in the Bible , but as Yehudit ( transl. ' Judean ' ) or Səpaṯ Kəna'an ( transl. "the language of Canaan " ). Mishnah Gittin 9:8 refers to the language as Ivrit , meaning Hebrew; however, Mishnah Megillah refers to the language as Ashurit , meaning Assyrian , which
23125-451: The house of Yahweh, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the King of Assyria" ( 2 Kings 16:8 ). At another critical juncture, Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors and doorsteps of the temple he himself had overlaid, and gave it to king Sennacherib ( 2 Kings 18:15–16 ). 2 Kings 12:1–17 and 2 Chronicles 24:1–14 recount that King Joash and the priests of
23310-459: The inscription. Herod himself was a converted Idumean (or Edomite) and was unlikely to exclude himself or his descendants. Another ancient inscription , partially preserved on a stone discovered below the southwest corner of the Herodian Mount, contains the words "to the place of trumpeting". The stone's shape suggests that it was part of a parapet, and it has been interpreted as belonging to
23495-625: The language of the Hebrew people; its later historiography, in the Book of Kings , refers to it as יְהוּדִית Yehudit " Judahite (language)". Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of languages . Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages. Hebrew was the spoken language in the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the period from about 1200 to 586 BCE. Epigraphic evidence from this period confirms
23680-458: The language spoken by Jews in scenes from the New Testament) is often referred to as "Hebrew" in the text, although this term is often re-interpreted as referring to Aramaic instead and is rendered accordingly in recent translations. Nonetheless, these glosses can be interpreted as Hebrew as well. It has been argued that Hebrew, rather than Aramaic or Koine Greek, lay behind the composition of
23865-464: The language. The revival of the Hebrew language as a mother tongue was initiated in the late 19th century by the efforts of Ben-Yehuda. He joined the Jewish national movement and in 1881 immigrated to Palestine , then a part of the Ottoman Empire . Motivated by the surrounding ideals of renovation and rejection of the diaspora " shtetl " lifestyle, Ben-Yehuda set out to develop tools for making
24050-494: The languages themselves in that period, remains unclear", and suggested that calling the text Hebrew might be going too far. The Gezer calendar also dates back to the 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic period , the traditional time of the reign of David and Solomon . Classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew , the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar (named after
24235-424: The lumber, Solomon sends him wheat and oil. Solomon also brings over a skilled craftsman from Tyre, also called Hiram (or Huram-abi), who oversees the construction of the Temple. Stonemasons from Gebal ( Byblos ) cut stones for the Temple. After the Temple and palace (taking an additional 13 years) is completed, Solomon hands over twenty cities in the northwestern Galilee near Tyre as a repayment to Hiram. Hiram
24420-551: The many hotels or hostelries. Then they changed some of their money from the profane standard Greek and Roman currency for Jewish and Tyrian money , the latter two considered religious. In 66 CE, the Jewish population rebelled against the Roman Empire. Four years later, on the Hebrew calendrical date of Tisha B'Av , either 4 August 70 or 30 August 70, Roman legions under Titus retook and destroyed much of Jerusalem and Herod's Temple . Josephus, while an apologist for
24605-720: The newly declared State of Israel . Hebrew is the most widely spoken language in Israel today. In the Modern Period, from the 19th century onward, the literary Hebrew tradition revived as the spoken language of modern Israel, called variously Israeli Hebrew , Modern Israeli Hebrew , Modern Hebrew , New Hebrew , Israeli Standard Hebrew , Standard Hebrew and so on. Israeli Hebrew exhibits some features of Sephardic Hebrew from its local Jerusalemite tradition but adapts it with numerous neologisms, borrowed terms (often technical) from European languages and adopted terms (often colloquial) from Arabic. The literary and narrative use of Hebrew
24790-548: The offeror, with parts given to the Kohen priests and small parts burned on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem . Only in special cases was all of the offering given only to God, such as in the case of the scapegoat . Under Josiah, sacrifices were centralized at Solomon's temple and other places of sacrifice were abolished. The temple became a major slaughtering center and a major part of Jerusalem's economy. Most scholars today agree that
24975-419: The order deal with the sacrifices of animals, birds, and meal offerings , the laws of bringing a sacrifice, such as the sin offering and the guilt offering , and the laws of misappropriation of sacred property. In addition, the order contains a description of the Second Temple ( tractate Middot ), and a description and rules about the daily sacrifice service in the Temple ( tractate Tamid ). According to
25160-528: The other being Aramaic , still spoken today. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew , with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity . For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Lashon Hakodesh ( לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶש , lit. '
25345-529: The oxen and placed it on a stone pavement ( 2 Kings 16:17 ). It was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire ( 2 Kings 25:13 ). Also outside the temple were 10 lavers, each of which held "forty baths" (1 Kings 7:38), resting on portable holders made of bronze, provided with wheels, and ornamented with figures of lions, cherubim , and palm-trees. The author of the books of the Kings describes their minute details with great interest (1 Kings 7:27–37). Josephus reported that
25530-549: The partition which surrounds the Temple precincts. Anyone caught [violating] will be held accountable for his ensuing death." Today, the stone is preserved in Istanbul's Museum of Antiquities . In 1935 a fragment of another similar Temple warning inscription was found. The word "foreigner" has an ambiguous meaning. Some scholars believe it referred to all gentiles, regardless of ritual purity status or religion. Others argue that it referred to unconverted Gentiles since Herod wrote
25715-432: The pillars supported a roof over the porch. The porch led to the heikal , main chamber, or sanctuary. It measured 40 cubits in length, 20 cubits in width, and 30 cubits in height and contained a candelabrum, a table and a gold-covered altar used for offerings. In the sanctuary, loaves of Showbread were left as an offering to God. At the far end of the sanctuary there was a wooden door, guarded by two cherubim, leading to
25900-499: The pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here." The Greek word used is πτερύγιον ( pterugion ), which literally means a tower, rampart, or pinnacle. According to Strong's Concordance , it can mean little wing, or by extension anything like a wing such as a battlement or parapet. The archaeologist Benjamin Mazar thought it referred to
26085-630: The present day. It is perhaps the most important Hebrew manuscript in existence. During the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain , important work was done by grammarians in explaining the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew; much of this was based on the work of the grammarians of Classical Arabic . Important Hebrew grammarians were Judah ben David Hayyuj , Jonah ibn Janah , Abraham ibn Ezra and later (in Provence ), David Kimhi . A great deal of poetry
26270-562: The primary language of use, and to prevent large-scale incorporation of English words into the Hebrew vocabulary. The Academy of the Hebrew Language of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem currently invents about 2,000 new Hebrew words each year for modern words by finding an original Hebrew word that captures the meaning, as an alternative to incorporating more English words into Hebrew vocabulary. The Haifa municipality has banned officials from using English words in official documents, and
26455-407: The prohibition extended to those who were not of the Jewish nation to proceed beyond the soreg separating the larger Court of the Gentiles and the inner courts. The inscription read in seven lines: ΜΗΟΕΝΑΑΛΛΟΓΕΝΗΕΙΣΠΟ ΡΕΥΕΣΟΑΙΕΝΤΟΣΤΟΥΠΕ ΡΙΤΟΙΕΡΟΝΤΡΥΦΑΚΤΟΥΚΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΒΟΛΟΥΟΣΔΑΝΛΗ ΦΘΗΕΑΥΤΩΙΑΙΤΙΟΣΕΣ ΤΑΙΔΙΑΤΟΕΞΑΚΟΛΟΥ ΘΕΙΝΘΑΝΑΤΟΝ Translation: "Let no foreigner enter within the parapet and
26640-451: The region was Old Aramaic . Hebrew was extinct as a colloquial language by late antiquity , but it continued to be used as a literary language, especially in Spain, as the language of commerce between Jews of different native languages, and as the liturgical language of Judaism, evolving various dialects of literary Medieval Hebrew , until its revival as a spoken language in the late 19th century. In May 2023, Scott Stripling published
26825-431: The region with similar scripts written in other Semitic languages, for example, Proto-Sinaitic . It is believed that the original shapes of the script go back to Egyptian hieroglyphs , though the phonetic values are instead inspired by the acrophonic principle. The common ancestor of Hebrew and Phoenician is called Canaanite , and was the first to use a Semitic alphabet distinct from that of Egyptian. One ancient document
27010-555: The reign of Herod the Great , hence the alternative eponymous name for the structure. Herod's transformation efforts resulted in a grand and imposing structure and courtyard, including the large edifices and façades shown in modern models, such as the Holyland Model of Jerusalem in the Israel Museum . The Temple Mount , where both Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple stood, was also significantly expanded, doubling in size to become
27195-459: The remaining part of the Temple Mount is not only the Western Wall . Currently, Robinson's Arch (named after American Edward Robinson ) remains as the beginning of an arch that spanned the gap between the top of the platform and the higher ground farther away. Visitors and pilgrims also entered through the still-extant, but now plugged, gates on the southern side that led through colonnades to
27380-552: The rest of the Middle East; and eventually Greek functioned as another international language with the eastern areas of the Roman Empire. William Schniedewind argues that after waning in the Persian period, the religious importance of Hebrew grew in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and cites epigraphical evidence that Hebrew survived as a vernacular language – though both its grammar and its writing system had been substantially influenced by Aramaic. According to another summary, Greek
27565-505: The site of what today is the Dome of the Rock . The gates led close to what is now al-Aqsa Mosque , built much later. Although Jews continued to inhabit the destroyed city, Emperor Hadrian established a new Roman colonia called Aelia Capitolina . At the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, many of the Jewish communities were massacred. Jews were banned from entering Jerusalem. A Roman temple
27750-730: The southeast corner of the Temple overlooking the Kidron Valley . According to Josephus, there were ten entrances into the inner courts, four on the south, four on the north, one on the east and one leading east to west from the Court of Women to the court of the Israelites, named the Nicanor Gate. According to Josephus, Herod the Great erected a golden eagle over the great gate of the Temple. Joachim Bouflet [ fr ] states that "the teams of archaeologists Nahman Avigad in 1969–1980 in
27935-485: The southern villages of Judea." In other words, "in terms of dialect geography, at the time of the tannaim Palestine could be divided into the Aramaic-speaking regions of Galilee and Samaria and a smaller area, Judaea, in which Rabbinic Hebrew was used among the descendants of returning exiles." In addition, it has been surmised that Koine Greek was the primary vehicle of communication in coastal cities and among
28120-480: The spectators. The Samaritans wanted to help with this work but Zerubbabel and the elders declined such cooperation, feeling that the Jews must build the Temple unaided. Immediately evil reports were spread regarding the Jews. According to Ezra 4:5 , the Samaritans sought to "frustrate their purpose" and sent messengers to Ecbatana and Susa, with the result that the work was suspended. Seven years later, Cyrus
28305-468: The spoken language of the Russian Jews, should be treated as their only national language, while Hebrew was to be treated as a foreign language. Hebrew books and periodicals ceased to be published and were seized from the libraries, although liturgical texts were still published until the 1930s. Despite numerous protests, a policy of suppression of the teaching of Hebrew operated from the 1930s on. Later in
28490-461: The stimulus of the earnest counsels and admonitions of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah . It was ready for consecration in the spring of 516 BCE, more than twenty years after the return from captivity. The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar , in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, amid great rejoicings on the part of all the people, although it was evident that the Jews were no longer an independent people, but were subject to
28675-530: The story of the Ark was written independently and then incorporated into the main biblical narrative just before the exile into Babylon . Biblical scholar Thomas Römer speculates that the Ark may have contained statues of Yahweh and Asherah, and that it could have remained in Kiriath Jearim for much longer, possibly until shortly before the Babylonian conquest. During the Deuteronomic reform of King Josiah ,
28860-466: The subsequent Babylonian captivity were both events that were seen as a fulfillment of biblical prophecies and thus affected Judaic religious beliefs , precipitating the Israelites' transition from either polytheism or monolatrism (as seen in Yahwism ) to firm Jewish monotheism . Previously, many scholars accepted the biblical narrative of the First Temple's construction by Solomon as authentic. During
29045-465: The sun ( Ezekiel 8:16 ). Some Bible scholars, such as Margaret Barker , say that these solar elements indicate a solar cult . They may reflect an earlier Jebusite worship of Zedek or possibly a solarized Yahwism. According to the Tanakh, the Temple housed the Ark of the Covenant . It says the Ark contained the Ten Commandments and was moved from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem by David before being moved into Solomon's temple. A common view among scholars
29230-416: The temple mentioned is not known. Hebrew language Hebrew ( Hebrew alphabet : עִבְרִית , ʿĪvrīt , pronounced [ ʔivˈʁit ] or [ ʕivˈrit ] ; Samaritan script : ࠏࠨࠁࠬࠓࠪࠉࠕ ʿÎbrit ) is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family . A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages , it was natively spoken by
29415-467: The temple organised a restoration programme funded from popular donations. The temple was restored to its original condition and further reinforced. According to the Bible, the Temple was plundered by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire when the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem during the brief reign of Jehoiachin c. 598 BCE ( 2 Kings 24:13 ). A decade later, Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem and after 30 months finally breached
29600-411: The temple was a house for the temple prostitutes ( 2 Kings 23:7 ) who performed sacred prostitution at the temple. It is unclear whether the prostitutes included both male and female or just male prostitutes. According to the majority of biblical scholars, Asherah was Yahweh's consort, and she was worshipped alongside Yahweh. This is disputed by a significant minority, who maintain that the asherah in
29785-416: The temple, despite its extensive dimensions, was not big enough for the offerings being made that day. The celebration lasted eight days and was attended by "very great assembly [gathered] from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt ". The subsequent feast of Tabernacles extended the whole celebration to 14 days, before the people were "sent away to their homes". After the dedication, Solomon hears in
29970-512: The throne. He defeated Aristobulus and besieged Jerusalem. The Roman general Pompey , who was in Syria fighting against the Armenians in the Third Mithridatic War , sent his lieutenant to investigate the conflict in Judaea. Both Hyrcanus and Aristobulus appealed to him for support. Pompey was not diligent in making a decision about this, which caused Aristobulus to march off. He was pursued by Pompey and surrendered but his followers closed Jerusalem to Pompey's forces. The Romans besieged and took
30155-420: The time of the Persian king Darius I signified a period of renewed Jewish hope and religious revival. According to biblical sources, the Second Temple was originally a relatively modest structure built under the authority of the Persian-appointed Jewish governor Zerubbabel , the grandson of Jeconiah , the penultimate king of Judah . In the 1st century BCE, the Second Temple was refurbished and expanded under
30340-429: The top of the platform. The Southern wall was designed as a grand entrance. Recent archaeological digs have found numerous mikvehs (ritual baths) for the ritual purification of the worshipers, and a grand stairway leading to one of the now blocked entrances. Inside the walls, the platform was supported by a series of vaulted archways, now called Solomon's Stables , which still exist. Their current renovation by
30525-421: The trees sent as rafts were sent to the city of Joppa on the Mediterranean coast, and in return for the lumber supplied, Solomon, in addition to the wheat and oil, sent wine to Hiram. 1 Kings 8:1–9 and 2 Chronicles 5:2–10 record that in the seventh month of the year, at the feast of Tabernacles , the priests and the Levites brought the Ark of the Covenant from the City of David and placed it inside
30710-580: The upper class of Jerusalem , while Aramaic was prevalent in the lower class of Jerusalem, but not in the surrounding countryside. After the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century CE, Judaeans were forced to disperse. Many relocated to Galilee, so most remaining native speakers of Hebrew at that last stage would have been found in the north. Many scholars have pointed out that Hebrew continued to be used alongside Aramaic during Second Temple times, not only for religious purposes but also for nationalistic reasons, especially during revolts such as
30895-486: The vessels in the Temple were composed of orichalcum covered in gold in Antiquities of the Jews . During the United Monarchy the Temple was dedicated to Yahweh , the God of Israel. From the reign of King Manasseh of Judah until King Josiah , Baal and " the host of heaven " were also worshipped there. Until the reforms of Josiah, there was also a statue for the goddess Asherah ( 2 Kings 23:6 ) and priestesses wove ritual textiles for her ( 2 Kings 23:7 ). Next to
31080-413: The widely accepted view that the earlier layers of biblical literature reflect the language used in these kingdoms. Furthermore, the content of Hebrew inscriptions suggests that the written texts closely mirror the spoken language of that time. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a spoken vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile when the predominant international language in
31265-421: Was a spoken language , and Amoraic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a literary language . The earlier section of the Talmud is the Mishnah that was published around 200 CE, although many of the stories take place much earlier, and were written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls. Mishnaic Hebrew is considered to be one of
31450-466: Was a closed room, a roofed entranceway, or an open courtyard. Thus, it is not known whether the pillars were freestanding or structural elements built into the porch. If they were built into the porch, it could indicate that the design was influenced by similar temples in Syria or even Turkey, home to the ancient Hittite Empire . While most reconstructions of the Temple have the pillars freestanding, Yosef Garfinkel and Madeleine Mumcuoglu finds it likely that
31635-411: Was between the outer altar, where most sacrifices were performed, and inside at the far end was the entry to the Holy of Holies, originally containing the Ark of the Covenant. The main hekhal contained a number of sacred ritual objects including the seven-branched candlestick , a golden Altar of Incense , and the table of the showbread . According to 1 Kings 7:48 these tables were of gold, as were also
31820-745: Was burnt four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten days after it was built". Solomon's Temple was subsequently replaced with the Second Temple in 515 BCE, following Jewish return from exile . The description of Solomon's Temple given in I Kings and II Chronicles is remarkably detailed, but attempts to reconstruct it have met many difficulties. The description includes various technical terms that have lost their original meaning to time. Archaeological studies have provided ancient Near Eastern counterparts for architectural features, furnishings and decorative motifs. Contemporary Israeli archaeologist Finkelstein considered Solomon's Temple to be built according to Phoenician design, and its description
32005-404: Was commissioned by biblical king Solomon before being destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BCE. No remains of the destroyed temple have ever been found. Most modern scholars agree that the First Temple existed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by the time of the Babylonian siege, and there is significant debate among scholars over
32190-429: Was floored and wainscotted with cedar of Lebanon , and its walls and floor were overlaid with gold amounting to 600 talents or roughly 20 metric tons. It contained two cherubim of olivewood, each 10 cubits high and each having outspread wings of 10 cubits span, so that, since they stood side by side, the wings touched the wall on either side and met in the center of the room. There was a two-leaved door between it and
32375-421: Was not pleased with the gift, however, and asks "what are these towns that you have given me, my brother?". Hiram then calls them "the land of Cabul ", and the writer of 1 Kings 9 says they were called by this name "to this day". Hiram however remains on friendly terms with Solomon. The Second Book of Chronicles fills in some details of the construction not given in narrative brought in 1 Kings. It states that
32560-438: Was now a more significant written language than Aramaic within Judaea." This nationalist aspect was further emphasized during periods of conflict, as Hannah Cotton observing in her analysis of legal documents during the Jewish revolts against Rome that "Hebrew became the symbol of Jewish nationalism, of the independent Jewish State." The nationalist use of Hebrew is evidenced in several historical documents and artefacts, including
32745-440: Was originally a threshing floor David had purchased from Araunah the Jebusite ( 2 Samuel 24:18–25 ; 2 Chronicles 3:1 ). Schmid and Rupprecht are of the view that the site of the temple used to be a Jebusite shrine that Solomon chose in an attempt to unify the Jebusites and Israelites. According to 1 Kings , the foundation of the Temple is laid in Ziv , the second month of the fourth year of Solomon's reign and construction
32930-459: Was replaced with the Second Temple . Archeologist Israel Finkelstein writes that the exact location of the Temple is unknown. It is believed to have been situated upon the hill that forms the site of the Second Temple and present-day Temple Mount , where the Dome of the Rock is situated. According to the Bible, Solomon's Temple was built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where an angel of God had appeared to David ( 2 Chronicles 3:1 ). The site
33115-470: Was revived beginning with the Haskalah movement. The first secular periodical in Hebrew, Ha-Me'assef (The Gatherer), was published by maskilim in Königsberg (today's Kaliningrad ) from 1783 onwards. In the mid-19th century, publications of several Eastern European Hebrew-language newspapers (e.g. Hamagid , founded in Ełk in 1856) multiplied. Prominent poets were Hayim Nahman Bialik and Shaul Tchernichovsky ; there were also novels written in
33300-460: Was set up on the former site of Herod's Temple for the practice of Roman religion . Historical accounts relate that not only the Jewish Temple was destroyed, but also the entire Lower city of Jerusalem. Even so, according to Josephus, Titus did not totally raze the towers (such as the Tower of Phasael , now erroneously called the Tower of David ), keeping them as a memorial of the city's strength. The Midrash Rabba ( Eikha Rabba 1:32) recounts
33485-479: Was suppressed. Soviet authorities considered the use of Hebrew "reactionary" since it was associated with Zionism, and the teaching of Hebrew at primary and secondary schools was officially banned by the People's Commissariat for Education as early as 1919, as part of an overall agenda aiming to secularize education (the language itself did not cease to be studied at universities for historical and linguistic purposes ). The official ordinance stated that Yiddish, being
33670-518: Was the Temple of Jerusalem. Later, the sanctuary shekel was reinstituted to support the temple as the temple tax . Mt. Moriah had a plateau at the northern end, and steeply declined on the southern slope. It was Herod's plan that the entire mountain be turned into a giant square platform. The Temple Mount was originally intended to be 1,600 feet (490 m) wide by 900 feet (270 m) broad by 9 stories high, with walls up to 16 feet (4.9 m) thick, but had never been finished. To complete it,
33855-437: Was the language of government, Hebrew the language of prayer, study and religious texts, and Aramaic was the language of legal contracts and trade. There was also a geographic pattern: according to Bernard Spolsky , by the beginning of the Common Era, " Judeo-Aramaic was mainly used in Galilee in the north, Greek was concentrated in the former colonies and around governmental centers, and Hebrew monolingualism continued mainly in
34040-408: Was to a certain extent a pidgin . Near the end of that century the Jewish activist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda , owing to the ideology of the national revival ( שיבת ציון , Shivat Tziyon , later Zionism ), began reviving Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Eventually, as a result of the local movement he created, but more significantly as a result of the new groups of immigrants known under the name of
34225-570: Was written, by poets such as Dunash ben Labrat , Solomon ibn Gabirol , Judah ha-Levi , Moses ibn Ezra and Abraham ibn Ezra , in a "purified" Hebrew based on the work of these grammarians, and in Arabic quantitative or strophic meters. This literary Hebrew was later used by Italian Jewish poets. The need to express scientific and philosophical concepts from Classical Greek and Medieval Arabic motivated Medieval Hebrew to borrow terminology and grammar from these other languages, or to coin equivalent terms from existing Hebrew roots, giving rise to
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