Hebrew language

The Hebrew language is a Northwest Semitic language that belongs to the Afroasiatic language family. The Israelites and their descendants, the Judeans and the Samaritans, are thought to have spoken it at some point in history, and it is considered to be one of their languages. Because it has been the primary liturgical language of Judaism (from the Second Temple era) and Samaritanism throughout history, it has remained virtually unchanged. As the sole living language from the ancient civilization of Canaan, Hebrew is the most effective example of a dead language that has been successfully resurrected in the modern era.

After the failed Bar Kokhba insurrection against the Roman Empire, which was carried out by Jews from Judaea against the Roman Empire between 200 and 400 CE, Hebrew became a less frequently used language. This decline occurred between 200 and 400 CE. It was already common for Aramaic and, to a lesser degree, Greek to be spoken as international languages, particularly among society elites and immigrants. Hebrew continued to be used in Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature, intra-Jewish trade, and Jewish lyrical writing far into the mediaeval period. Because of Zionism's ascendancy in the 19th century, the Hebrew language underwent a comprehensive revival as a spoken and literary language, which led to it becoming the primary language of the Yishuv (Jewish community in Palestine) and later the lingua franca of the State of Israel, which was granted official recognition. A study published in Ethnologue found that five million individuals globally spoke Hebrew in 1998; by 2013, the figure had increased to almost nine million speakers worldwide. In terms of Hebrew speakers, the United States is second only to Israel in terms of population size, with roughly 220,000 native speakers proficient in Hebrew.

In today's world, modern Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, while pre-revival forms of Hebrew are still used for prayer and study in Jewish and Samaritan communities around the world, with the latter group employing the Samaritan dialect as their liturgical tongue. Modern Hebrew is the main language of the State of Israel. As a second language, Hebrew is mostly studied by non-Israeli Jews and students in Israel, as well as by archaeologists and linguists who specialise in the Middle East and its civilizations, as well as by theologians at Christian seminaries and universities.