Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a
The word Ivrit ("Hebrew") written in the modern Hebrew script (top) and in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet (bottom)
Portion of the Isaiah Scroll, a second-century BCE manuscript of the Biblical Book of Isaiah and one of the best-preserved of the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Shebna Inscription, from the tomb of a royal steward found in Siloam, dates to the 7th century BCE.
A silver matchbox holder with inscription in Hebrew
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the so
Hebrew 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…
Tel Megiddo, the ruins of a Canaanite and later Israelite city
The Yavne-Yam ostracon, a Paleo-Hebrew inscription documenting administration in Judah
Hasmonean coin of Antigonus II Mattathias, depicting the Temple menorah
View of the Masada fortress overlooking the Dead Sea, which is the location of a 1st-century Roman siege