Hebrewlanguage

Hebrew language, or Ivrit, is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient Levant. It is the historical language of the Jewish people and one of the liturgical languages of Judaism.

Historically, Biblical Hebrew is attested from the 10th to the 6th centuries BCE; Mishnaic Hebrew developed in the early centuries CE. It gradually ceased to be a daily spoken language in many communities, remaining in use for study and liturgy.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hebrew was revived as a spoken language, led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and others, transforming it into a living language for daily communication and national life in what would become the State of Israel.

The writing system uses the Hebrew alphabet of 22 consonants. In printed texts, vowels are usually indicated by optional diacritics called niqqud; Modern Hebrew is typically written without niqqud, relying on readers to supply vowels. The script is written from right to left.

Today Hebrew has several forms, including Biblical, Rabbinic, and Modern Hebrew. Modern Hebrew has been shaped by communities with Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi heritage and is standardized by the Academy of the Hebrew Language. It is the official language of Israel.

Hebrew is spoken by millions in Israel and elsewhere among Jewish communities; it is used in education, media, government, literature, and digital communication. It continues to develop through loanwords and neologisms in science, technology, and culture.