Why are so many people asserting that 'ancient Hebrew' no longer exists?

Question

There is only one type of Hebrew, and it is spoken in Israel!

Answer 1

I suppose it depends on what you mean by Ancient Hebrew.

People speak Ancient Latin, but Latin scholars will admit that while people have spoken it and taught others to speak it, since the time they actually spoke Ancient Latin, they really have no real idea as to what it sounded like back when Latin was the language used in Ancient Rome.

Greek scholars admit the same, no one knows what Ancient Greek let alone what medieval Greek really sounded like, even though people have been speaking both Ancient and medieval Greek continuously.

With Classical Hebrew, just like Archaic Biblical Hebrew, no one really knows what they sounded like. Some may say that yes, Jews have used it in their temples for the past how ever many years, but Jewish Scholars also admit that they don't really know how it sounded. We have an idea of it, but no one really knows.

American English, English English, Scottish English, Cornish English, and all the other regional accents were recorded over 100 years go, with the invention of the phonograph and recording cylinders. Hardly anyone who speaks any form of English now sounds like what was spoken then, let alone 50 years ago. Hebrew is the same.

Yes, a modern version of Hebrew is spoken in Israel, but if someone was transferred from Israel 2000 years ago to the present, while they might be able to communicate immediately via the written word, it is unlikely that they would be able to speak until they sorted out the accents.

Answer 2

Sigh- those who seem to think they know something about bilical hebrew- start studying somemore! There are not two grammer forms- in fact there are more, there are abbreviations and concatenations used in biblical hebrew that are not found in modern hebrew! There are also more roots- modern hebrew only uses three letter roots, biblical hebrew has two letter and some (such as Rashi) claim there are even one letter roots!

For all that, the two are remarkably similar. Undoubtedly, accents differ, but a modern hebrew speaker could easily get along in an ancient hebrew setting- probably being taken as somebody from a different region with different accent and differing grammar.

And to the person citing aramaic- prior to the Babylonian exile hebrew was the daily language of the Jews in Israel- it was only after the return of the exiles from Babylon with Ezra and Nechemya that Aramaic became the daily language of the region (though even then it took a while for the transition since there were Jews that had never left Israel and did not know aramaic when the exiles first returned.) Through time, though, hebrew was the language used for prayer and reading the Torah in public (it was common practice to use a metargaman, a form of interpreter, that as the reader read in hebrew, he would translate it into aramaic for those listening- thus they would reasd- translate etc.

Answer 3

Yes, there is only one Hebrew. However, when people say modern Hebrew vs. Biblical Hebrew I like to explain that as the difference between modern English and Shakespearean English. They are both modern English but modern English has numerous words and quirks that did not exist 500 years ago.

True story: This girl learns how to speak Hebrew by exclusively learning from the Bible. She goes to Israel for the first time and starts speaking with a native Israeli. The Israeli tells her: "You talk like a prophetess!"

Answer 4

English is spoken today but there is another Old English that you or I could not understand without an extensive education.

They are related but different. That is the point. Ancient Hebrew is not spoken or written. Modern Hebrew is.

The largest difference is number of words in the vocabulary. Ancient Hebrew had 3,000 words only. This leads to imprecision and frequent use of double-nouns.

Answer 5

I would suggest you read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew#Modern_Hebrew that gives a reason for the differences. I remember when I had my Bar-Mitzvah at Touro Synagogue oh so many years ago I had to learn my Touro portion and read it in ancient Hebrew script that was different than the script used today in Modern Hebrew. There were differences in how to pronounce the soundings of words. I remember the cantor pointing these things out to me. I remember having to study long and hard for that moment in my life. Perhaps that is what these people mean or it could be these people are up to no good.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 6

You are wrong. The Hebrew that is spoken nowadays is different from the Aramaic that was spoken thousands of years ago. Also, the conversational Hebrew that is spoken in Israel is different from the Hebrew that is spoken for the prayers.

Answer 7

There are differences between modern day hebrew and "Ancient" Hebrew

few but many

cant name them but all languages have changed and evolve over time

Answer 8

Modern hebrew was reconstructed from the ancient language of classical hebrew used in holy texts by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda to further the cause of Zionism by giving the Jewish people a singular uniting language to represent their culture, heritage, and new found unity in the holy land.

Answer 9

wrong, some people still speak the ancient hebrew too, but modern hebrew is totally different than the ancient hebrew found in the Bible, but some ancient words are still used.

Answer 10

Does language matter to God? God looks at the heart and he made language. Languages still exist everywhere. There are many concerns in this world and we should put are passions on things above. Where the Lord is. God takes care of things below where we are. God sent his word to heal not only the Hebrew but every man. What are things of importance to God?

Do you know about God?
Do you study his word?
Do you pray?
Do you have a relationship with him?

Do not sweat the small stuff. God has bigger fish to fry!

Romans 11.