Hebrew - (Hebrew עִבְרִית - "Hebrew language") - a group of related languages \u200b\u200bof the Semitic branch of the Afrasian, or Semitic-Hamitic, family of languages \u200b\u200bthat developed from biblical or classical Hebrewalso called hebrew .
Hebraic linguists distinguish between the following periods in the development of Hebrew:
- Classical hebrew
- Biblical hebrew
- Golden Age of Hebrew (1200 BC -500 BC)
- Silver Age of Hebrew (500 BC –60 BC) - numerous borrowings from the Aramaic language are introduced
- Mishnaic Hebrew - influenced by Greek and Farsi
- Modern Hebrew is a language artificially recreated at the end of the 19th - beginning of the Jewish settlers in Palestine. It is currently one of the official languages \u200b\u200bof the State of Israel.
Alphabet
Letter (Inscription at the end of the word) - Name - Sound
Features of writing
For Hebrew (as well as for Arabic, Aramaic and some other ancient Semitic languages), the following writing features are characteristic:
- Texts are written from right to left ("backwards" in comparison with European languages);
- In classical Hebrew, only consonants are conveyed by letters, vowels are guessed by the reader. In modern practice, several systems of prompts are used - vowels, which help the reader to recover the missing vowel sounds.
The following vowel systems exist:
- Full vowel - all vowels are marked with special signs - vowels - above, below or to the side of the letter. Full vocalization is used in the texts of the Bible, some verses and children's books.
- Inconsistent letter - vowels are not used, but some letters are added to indicate vowels. This is the main style of modern Hebrew.
- Partial vowel is a hybrid of the two previous styles: additional letters for vowels, and where this is not enough, also vowel. It is used in difficult places where it is necessary to clarify the reading of a word or in texts designed for readers who do not speak Hebrew well enough, for example, in textbooks.
Literature
- "Essays on the History of Hebrew", Professor Chaim Rabin
- Several lessons of modern Hebrew for Russian speakers
- Hebrew alphabet, rules of reading and vocalizations
In contact with
Hebrew is the first Jewish language spoken in ancient Israel.
During the 1st millennium BC. e. was in both oral and written use, subsequently leaving oral use.
The main monument of the Hebrew language is the Hebrew Holy Scripture (Tanakh, Old Testament), besides it, there are few epigraphic texts and fragments of the Book of Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirakhov.
Classification
Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of the northwestern branch of the Semitic languages.
The same group includes: modern Hebrew, Phoenician and a number of minor languages \u200b\u200bof Trans-Jordan: Moabite, Ammonite and Edomite, as well as the substratum language of the Amarn letters from Canaan and Phenicia of the 2nd millennium BC. e. All of them, except for Hebrew, are extinct.
Linguogeography
The area of \u200b\u200bdistribution of the Hebrew language as a whole corresponds to the modern borders of the State of Israel, including but excluding the coastal strip from to modern and north of modern, as well as most.
In addition, it was used in the Trans-Jordan region and in the southwestern part of modern Syria.
In this area, it was distributed until the fall in 722 BC. e. and where it persisted as the language of intragroup communication.
After the return of the Jews from captivity around 500 BC. e. the Hebrew language was preserved in Judea for several centuries, gradually giving way to Western Aramaic dialects.
Dialects
In the language of epigraphic monuments, Israeli (northern) and Jewish (southern) dialects are distinguished.
Writing
The alphabet of the Hebrew language was the Paleo-Hebrew script, which is very close to the Phoenician, the oldest alphabetic writing in the world.
Paleo-Hebrew writing was used until the last centuries of the 1st millennium BC. e., when the so-called. "Square" or "Assyrian" script, already used by this time for the Aramaic languages. It is this letter that is now known as the Hebrew letter.
In fact, the Paleo-Hebrew letter has been preserved in a slightly modified form among the Samaritans, who use this so-called. Samaritan writing exclusively for sacred purposes.
In this article, examples are transmitted in traditional semitological phonological transcription.
Linguistic characteristics
Phonetics and Phonology
The Hebrew language is characterized by the presence of 23 consonant phonemes.
Non-emphatic explosive phonemes / p, t, k, b, d, g / had slot allophones, the use of which in some positions already indicated their transformation into independent phonemes.
The simple lateral ŝ IPA [ɬ] was still preserved. Compared to the presemite state, interdental consonants, one of the lateral consonants (emphatic) and uvular ones, have disappeared.
Vocalism is represented by 7 full phonemes / å, a, ä, e, i, o, u / and 4 reduced ones (ə, ă, ĕ, ŏ), the phonological status of which is not entirely clear.
The stress was phonologically relevant, although in most cases it fell on the last syllable.
Grammar
Unlike the ancient Semitic languages \u200b\u200bof Mesopotamia, nouns in Hebrew do not change endings in declension, however, in Hebrew, it is customary to distinguish three cases: nominative, genitive and accusative.
Case is determined by prepositions, word order in a sentence and other syntactic connections.
Distinguish between masculine and feminine nouns, which can be singular, plural and dual.
The Hebrew verb has a developed system of tenses, aspects that determine the length of a situation in time, and types of action (German Aktionsart).
An aspect of a verb can have an imperfect (traditionally called "imperfect") or perfect ("perfect") form.
The type of action determines the voice, transitivity, recurrence, etc., and is carried out using verb forms called "breeds" or "binyans".
A perfect verb describes an action from the outside, considering it as a whole. The action expressed by the perfect can be both in the past and in the future or present.
An imperfect denotes an action in the course of its execution, the speaker sees the situation as continuing, and himself - within it. An imperfect can also mean action in the present, in the past and in the future.
In the course of the development of the language, the perfect began to be used only to indicate an action in the past, and the imperfect - in the future.
Hebrew narrative text consists of strings of simple sentences connected by "and".
The chains are interrupted by dialogues or descriptions, followed by a chain of consecutive actions.
For the formation of chains, the verb form, called "inverted imperfect", is used: joining the conjunction "and" to the verb turns the perfect aspect of the verb into the imperfect one, and vice versa, which explains the name.
Hebrew poetry uses rhythmic metering and parallelism: a line of poetry consists of two overlapping hemistichs:
Come to your senses, kings! Learn, judges of the earth! (Psalm 2:10)
Biblical poetry is usually free from rhyme. Like classical Russian poetry, Hebrew poetry already resorts to the use of archaic forms to give a special, solemn sound to poetic speech.
Research by linguists has led to the conclusion that languages \u200b\u200bare grouped together. The Hebrew language is part of the Semitic group and is its foundation. According to legends, it is considered sacred, since:
- it was on it that God spoke with his prophet Moses;
- 10 commandments were written in this language on stone tablets;
- in this language (and also partly in its related Aramaic) the Holy Scriptures were written, in many countries referred to as the Old Testament or Tanakh.
The origin of ancient Hebrew
The New Encyclopedia Britannica 1985 (p. 567, volume 22) states that the oldest records in major languages \u200b\u200bdate from the 2nd millennium or at the latest 3 millennia BC. Other scientific sources also show that ancient languages \u200b\u200bwere even more complex than today's (Science Illustrated, 1948). Specialists in oriental languages, tracing the point of their origin, also came to the conclusion that it was the land of Shinar mentioned in the Bible that became the starting point of the emergence of these language groups.
Misconception: "All languages \u200b\u200bare derived from Hebrew." This is not true, since the Bible itself (in Genesis 11) clearly shows that many different languages \u200b\u200bmiraculously appeared in ancient Babylon, but before that time people spoke the same language - later used by Abraham and his descendants. For this reason, it is called Hebrew, although many groups of people spoke it.
Accessible Hebrew Source
The earliest source of information in Hebrew is the Bible. The beginning of its writing dates back to the time of Moses and the exit of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery - the end of the 16th century BC. e. Although many tablets have been found in this language, it is difficult to assert their earlier origin. Like other ancient languages, Hebrew is complete and contains an alphabet, grammar rules and a rich vocabulary that allows you to express the full range of human feelings and describe the world around you.
Similarities and differences
The main similarity of ancient Hebrew with other languages \u200b\u200bis the ability to exchange thoughts and feelings, but the methods of exchange, the alphabet, spelling of symbols, the construction of phrases and much more are significantly different:
- Hebrew is "laconic": there are only 22 letters in it, there are no vowels in the spelling of words, the way of transmitting thoughts is extremely simple and short. At the same time, emotionality and beauty are not lost due to the variety and strength of verbs.
- The pronunciation of sounds is also different (guttural "r", several variants of pronunciation of the letters "x" and "g").
- Imagery: instead of the word "shore" in the Hebrew language, for example, the expression "lip of the sea" is used, instead of "anger" - "wide nostrils". It is not possible to make a literal translation from such a language.
Influence of time?
It is a fact that all languages \u200b\u200bchange over time, but not all to the same extent. As far as Hebrew is concerned, there has been little change since Moses wrote the Torah and other parts of the Scriptures for about 1,500 years. Therefore, we can talk about the high "stability" of this language. And the life of the Jews then revolved around the Scriptures, so this language was the basis of their communication. In 1982, it was concluded that the grammar and vocabulary of the last books of the Bible is almost the same as the first ("International Standard Encyclopedia of the Bible" edited by J. Bromley).
There are few ancient non-biblical texts: the Gezer calendar, the Samaritan potsherds, the Siloam inscription, the ostracons from Lachish, the Mishnah, the non-religious scrolls from Qumran (the Dead Sea scrolls) and some others. Today, interest in ancient Hebrew is very high and its research has brought and will bring many interesting discoveries related to the most ancient cultures.
Translated from Hebrew Leshon Ha-Kodesh - The Holy Tongue (or secret, hidden). He is "holy" for the Jews - because figurative, unlike Yiddish and Hebrew. But many Jews simply read it like an alphabet, do not know figurative meanings, because only men are allowed to decipher the text, and only after 40 years; they call it, i.e. knowledge of encrypted wisdom.
Lasenkodesh letter form
The form of writing lashenkoydesh differs from other languages \u200b\u200bused by white peoples, yellow, red, black, differs in that descriptive forms have other, not terrestrial form of display... The outline of each letter of the lashenkoydesh is associated with the prototype of the stellar structures that the ancestors of the ancient Jews observed in their ancestral home (on the Land of Eden and the Land of Nod).
* Ie since they lived in a different star system, then their constellations were different. Because the descriptive form of our initial letters is also associated with certain constellations, for example, the constellation Cassiopeia - the letters turned out W, M, ∑, З... The starry sky rotates, and, as it were, the descriptive form changes. We connect the Ursa Major constellation with segments and a drawing is obtained, in the same way they connect their constellations and letters are obtained.
Each Lasenkoydesh letter had 22 meanings - 1 numerical and 21 figurative (secret, symbolic, special, divine, elementary, etc.). Also, certain letters played the role of mathematical signs: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The combination of writing letters gave three meanings:
1. Simple - for the uninitiated (or as they said: "for the profane").
2. Symbolic or figurative - for the initiated (or as they called it: "for the adepts").
3. Secret - for specially dedicated (they were called: "rabbis", "rabbis", "masters", "rakhdanits", etc.). Those. it was a group of special initiates who knew the information, but were not given it to the two lower levels. Their favorite phrase during the Roman Empire was: "What is due to Jupiter is not due to a bull".
The writing of the text took place from right to left.
There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, each letter having its own special status: 3 letters were considered basic, 7 double (i.e. in everyday life they were read both soft and hard, or have a regular and final form), and 12 simple letters.
As a rule, lashenkoydesh ("Hebrew alphabet") was written in a circle, which was divided into 12 parts (these are simple letters), inscribed in it (double letters), and in the center of the star - a triangle (basic letters).
* The zodiacal and their other systems (the same kabbalistic) - they were remade for ours, i.e. when they arrived at Midgrad, they brought their systems in line with the knowledge that the peoples of Midgard-earth had. Therefore, now in the meanings of their letters of the constellation, which can be seen from Midgard. Whoever they communicated with, they took knowledge from each nation for themselves. And if they fought with some people, then first of all they destroyed libraries, and left everything they needed for themselves.
Lashenkoydesh images
Even in ulpans ... when studying Kabbalah, they give only three meanings: numerical, mysterious and figurative. There are 10 values \u200b\u200blisted here.
1. Aleph (main). Numerical value - 1. Mysterious value - man. Kabbalistic meaning is a fulcrum. Energy value is the energy of life. The symbolic meaning is will. Of particular importance is the crown. Divine meaning is dominion over oneself. Intellectual value is flesh wasting. The material value is cunning, greed. The heavenly meaning is the Sun.
2. Beth (double). Numerical value - 2. Mysterious meaning - human mouth. The kabbalistic meaning is battering ram. Energy value - the energy of other entities (vampiric energy). The symbolic meaning is knowledge. Divine meaning is thought. Intellectual value is science. Substantial meaning - arrogance, envy. The celestial meaning is the Moon. Of particular importance is wisdom. A special and mysterious meaning is the house.
* The form of this letter became especially mysterious after perestroika 1991.
3. Gimel (double). Numerical value - 3. Mysterious meaning - taking hand. The kabalistic meaning is masculine strength. Energy value - the energy of the cosmos (or the energy of the ether). The symbolic meaning is an action. Understanding is of particular importance. Divine meaning is tenderness. Intellectual meaning is the need for pleasure. The material value is voluptuousness. Heavenly meaning - Earth (planet).
4. Dalet (double). Numerical value - 4. Mysterious meaning - chest. The kabalistic meaning is feminine power. Energy value is the energy of the Soul (or psychic energy). The symbolic value is implementation. Mercy is of particular importance. Divine meaning is wisdom. Intellectual value is power. The material meaning is pride. The celestial meaning is Jupiter. A particularly mysterious meaning is fire.
5. Ghe (in Hebrew "Ge"). The numerical value is 5. The mysterious meaning is breathing. Kabbalistic meaning is a line without beginning and end, i.e. a circle. Energy value is the strength of reproduction. The symbolic meaning is inspiration. Of particular importance is intimidation or justice, i.e. or one or the other. Divine meaning - mystical dreams. The intellectual value is the desire for relaxation. The celestial meaning is Mercury. The real meaning is laziness (i.e. laziness). The hidden meaning is the unification of the eternal masculine and eternal feminine principles. The action is multiplication (i.e. the letter also serves as a sign).
6. Wow (a favorite word of today's youth, i.e. they learn the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet). Numerical value - 6. Mysterious meaning - eye, ear. The kabalistic meaning is fear. Energy value is intuition. The symbolic meaning is a test. Of particular importance is beauty, harmony. The intellectual value is freedom. The material value is gluttony. The heavenly meaning is Virgo. A particularly mysterious meaning is the Universal God. Divine meaning - Soul hunger. Arithmetic operation is division.
7. Zayn... Numerical value - 7. The secret meaning is an arrow. Kabbalistic meaning - Devilish Principle. Energy value - guardian angel. The symbolic meaning is victory. Of particular importance is the winner. Divine meaning is triumph. Intellectual meaning is the desire for victory. The material value is greatness, anger. Heavenly meaning - Sagittarius. Particularly mysterious meaning - Spirits of certain forms of life. The elementary meaning is property.
8. Heth... The numerical value is 8. The secret meaning is the field. Kabbalistic meaning - Maternal power (or the Power of Life. In the gray, the gene pool is transmitted through the mother, therefore, the maternal power). Energy value - the energy of Destiny or the energy of Karma. The symbolic meaning is balance. Of particular importance is glory, eternity. Divine meaning is justice. Intellectual meaning is the bait of repulsion (that is, as if to call upon a repulsive force). Material meaning is a promise, a threat. Heavenly meaning - Libra. Especially mysterious meaning is world harmony. The mathematical action is addition.
9. Teth... Numerical value - 9. Secret meaning - roof (ie roof). Kabbalistic meaning is world balance. Energy value is the power of the mind. The symbolic meaning is prudence. Of particular importance is the foundation of origin. Divine meaning is caution. The material meaning is fear. The heavenly meaning is Neptune. Intellectual value is wisdom. Particularly mysterious meaning is the Patron Spirit.
* Now it is clear where the expression came from: “ Tete-a-tete"? Those. as it were, prudence against prudence, reason against reason, wisdom against wisdom, the Spirit-patron against the Spirit-patron.
10. Iodine... Numerical value - 10. The mysterious value is the index finger. Kabbalistic meaning is God, being and non-being. Energy value is the energy of creation. The symbolic meaning is luck. Of particular importance is kingdom, realization, being. Divine meaning - Faith, the potential manifestation of eternity. Intellectual value is education in the higher sciences. Heavenly meaning - Capricorn. The material value is courage, cruelty. The hidden meaning is divine thought and divine science. An especially mysterious meaning is order. The mathematical action is subtraction.
11. Cafe (double). The numerical value is 20. The mysterious meaning is a hand squeezing. Kabbalistic meaning - ghost, Spirit. Energy value - black hole. The symbolic meaning is strength. Of particular importance is the spread of power, strength, as well as connection. Divine meaning is power. Intellectual value is work (in the sense - gesheft). The heavenly meaning is Leo. A particularly mysterious meaning is human strength.
12. Lamed... Numerical value - 30. Mysterious meaning - unclenching hand. The kabalistic meaning is courage. Energy value - the energy of 3 angels. The symbolic meaning is a violent death. Of particular importance is the spread of the power of knowledge. The divine meaning is patience. Intellectual value is morality. A special and mysterious meaning is the Spiritual sacrifice (atoning sacrifice). The heavenly meaning is Uranus. Substantial value - experience, safety. The hidden meaning is power.
13. Meme (main). Numerical value - 40. Mysterious meaning - woman (hence the "ma'am" in English. Just like "prodigy" - everyone thinks the German word, and this is in Yiddish: wunder - "miracle", Kind - "child", i.e. e., the miracle child). The kabalistic meaning is femininity. Energy value is the power of development. The symbolic meaning is the transformation of a person. Law is of particular importance. Divine meaning is hope. The intellectual meaning is love. The material meaning is destruction. Heavenly meaning - Saturn. Particularly mysterious meaning is death and rebirth.
14. Nun... The numerical value is 50. The mysterious meaning is the fruit. The kabalistic meaning is absolute. Energy value is the power of knowledge. The symbolic meaning is humanity. The power of knowledge is of particular importance. The divine meaning is moderation. The intellectual meaning is movement. The material value is mobility. The heavenly meaning is Aquarius. Particularly mysterious meaning is the harmony of combinations.
15. Samekh... Numerical value - 60. Mysterious meaning - snake. The kabalistic meaning is progress. Energy value is the power of creativity. The symbolic meaning is rock. Of particular importance is forward movement. Divine meaning is secret science (secret - that is, secret, hidden). Intellectual value is eloquence. The material value is rock. The hidden meaning is strength, power, aggression. The heavenly meaning is Mars. A particularly mysterious meaning is the magic serpent (Moshe's rod).
16. Ayin... Numerical value - 70. Mysterious meaning - material connection. Kabbalistic meaning - mystery Energetic meaning - magical power.
17. Pe... Concept - oral transmission of knowledge. The meaning of the name of the letter is mouth. The shape is a head in profile with an open mouth. Number - 80. Space - Mercury. Time is Thursday. Man is the left ear. Quality is power. Archetype - Aaron. The channel is from Geburah to Hod.
18. Tsadi... The concept is the faith of the righteous. The meaning of the letter's name is righteous; side, side; hunt. Number - 90. Space - Aquarius. Time is a month shevat. Man is the upper part of the stomach. Quality is taste. Archetype - Asir. The channel is from Geburah to Tipheret.
19. Coffee... The concept is the paradox of holiness, the alienation of the transcendental divine life force by the material sphere. The meaning of the letter's name is a monkey; surround; touch; power. Number - 100. Space - Pisces. Time is the month of adar. Man is a spleen. Quality is laughter. Archetype - Naphtali. The channel is from Binah to Hesed. Omnipresence is the redemption of fallen sparks.
20. Rash... Concept - the ability to begin the process of correcting the eish (materiality) of the Universe. The meaning of the name of the letter is head, beginning; poor man. Form - nape seen in profile. Number - 200. Space - Saturn. Time is Friday. Man is the left nostril. The gift is serenity. The archetype is Joseph. The channel is from Tipheret to Yesod.
21. Shin... The concept is the mutability of all things, swaying like a flame, from the eternal and unchanging Source. The meaning of the letter's name is a tooth; year; change; serenity; sleep; learn; two; acute. Form - three strokes Wow rise like tongues of flame from a common starting point. The number is 300. Space is the sky. Time is summer. Man is a head. Quality is love manifested as fire. Archetype - Mashiach Ben Yosef. The channel is from Hochma to Binah.
22. Tav... A concept is an imprint that belief in the omnipresence of God leaves on a person; superconscious experience. The meaning of the name of the letter is a sign; imprint; code. The form is the Dalet stroke, as if putting a seal on top of the Nun stroke. Number - 400. Space - Jupiter. Time is Saturday. Man is a mouth. Quality is a grace. Archetype - David. The channel is from Yesod to Malchut.
ANCIENT HEBREW LANGUAGE, a language spoken in ancient Palestine. Until about the 2nd century, it was in both oral and written use, then it was used as a written language of the Jews of the Middle Ages and Modern Times. The artificially revived form of the Hebrew language is Hebrew. The Hebrew language is recorded in epigraphic monuments (from the end of the 10th century BC) and in a set of texts that formed the canon of the Old Testament by the 3rd century BC. The Hebrew language of the last centuries BC and the first centuries of our era is reflected in the early rabbinic literature (the so-called Mishnait Hebrew language).
Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite subgroup of the Semitic languages. In the language of epigraphic monuments, Israeli (northern) and Jewish (southern) dialects are distinguished; in the Old Testament, the geographical variability of the language is not traced. The linguistic specificity of archaic poetry (for example, the Song of Deborah in the 5th chapter of the Book of Judges) and later prose monuments (the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, etc.) is determined by the time of creation of these monuments and their genre characteristics.
In the consonantism of the Hebrew language, there are 23 phonemes (the presemite interdental, emphatic lateral, uvular are lost; the non-emphatic lateral сохраняется is preserved). All consonants, except for guttural and r, can be doubled. Voiceless and voiced stop phonemes (p, t, k, b, d, g) have spirant variants with a tendency to turn them into independent phonemes. In vocalism there are 7 full-voiced phonemes (å, a, ä, e, i, o, u) and 4 reduced ones (ǝ, ă, å, a), the phonological status of the reduced vowels (in particular, the nature of the opposition "ǝ is a zero sound") is not entirely clear. The stress is phonologically significant (cf. bǻnu ‘in us‘ - bǻnú ‘they built’), although most word forms are stressed on the last syllable. The mobility of stress during inflection has led to the emergence of a complex system of vocal alternations.
In nominal morphology - the opposition of masculine gender (not marked) and feminine (with indicators -å, -Vt), singular and plural (masculine -im, feminine -ot). In some types of names, when the plural is formed, ablaut is observed (compare mäläk ‘king’ - plural målåkim). The dual exponent -ayim is appended to the bounding circle of tokens. Accidental relations are expressed analytically (the direct object is formed with the preposition? Et; affiliation - by the juxtaposition of the vertex and dependent names, sometimes with phonetic changes: dåbår ‘word’, dåbar dawid ‘word of David’). There is a -å ending with a directional meaning (yamm-å ‘towards the sea’). The definite article is ha-.
In verbal morphology - a reduced system of breeds (5 breeds), "internal" (apophonic) passive, suffixal (perfect) and prefixal (imperfect) conjugations, expressing the meanings of the past and future tense (compare kåtab 'he wrote' - yiktob 'he will write' ). The meaning of the present tense is expressed by the active participle (hu koteb 'he writes'). In the narrative text, combinations of perfect and imperfect forms with the conjunction wå / wa ‘and’ have the opposite meanings of these forms without this conjunction: compare wǝkåtab ‘he will write‘ (wǝ with perfect) - wayyiktob ‘he wrote‘ (wa with imperfect); the interpretation of this phenomenon remains controversial. There are moods: imperative (kǝtob 'write'), cohortative (only in the 1st person:? Äšmǝr-å 'yes I will save'), some verbs - jussiv (compare the imperfect уåkum 'he will get up' - jussiv уåkom 'let him will rise '). 2 infinitives - conjugate (kǝtob), absolute (kåtob).
The neutral word order is "subject + predicate" in the nominal sentence, "predicate + subject + (direct object)" in the verb. Dependent words follow vertex words.
In the vocabulary: Arameisms, borrowings from the Akkadian language, the ancient Egyptian language, the ancient Persian language, in the Mishnait monuments - Greekism and Latinism.
The epigraphic monuments of the Hebrew language are written in a Paleo-Hebrew script close to the Phoenician script (a consonant alphabet with limited use of the signs W, Y and H to convey vowels), which fell out of use in the last centuries BC and was replaced by the so-called square script (see Western Semitic script). In the middle of the 1st millennium AD, a system of diacritics was developed for the consistent transmission of vowel phonemes.
Lit .: Gesenius W., Kautzsch E. Gesenius' Hebrew grammar. Oxf. 1910. L., 1985, Joüon P., Muraoka T. A grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Roma, 1991-1993. Vol. 1-2.
Dictionaries: Brown F., Driver S. R., Briggs C. A. The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon. Boston, 1906. Peabody, 1996; Kohler L., Baumgartner W., Stamm J. J. The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament. Leiden a. o., 1994-2000. Vol. 1-5.