The Origins of Hebrew

Watch the series here: • Excavating the History...
www.patheos.com/blogs/religio...
As the name suggests, the Hebrew Bible is written, mostly, in Hebrew. But what is the earliest history of this language? What language did the ancient Israelites speak? This episode examines the origins of Hebrew and its relationship with Canaanite dialects in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The episode will explore archaeological artifacts such as an inscription from Izbet Sarteh in Israel, which may be one of the earliest inscriptions of the Hebrew language.
Producer: Andrew M. Henry
Academic Consultant: Melissa Cradic
Writer: Shane M. Thompson

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Watch the series here!: kzbin.info/aero/PLRnXSS4SzUG66tF70EKGgzIV2B5-qnXmJ

[@littleandre4957]

@@theexile1155 you are not predestined ('Ezekiel' 18:20-32/rom. 6:16), the one who has an ear to hear let that one hear ('Mark' 4:9). HalleluYAH yes, not Hallelu-'Jesus'.

[@Raverraver9999]

God created the universe in the divine Hebrew language. When all the numerical values of Hebrew names of the elements/planets/etc are graphed against their properties - it consistently produces a straight line. By Prof Haim Shore. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKC6Xqx-n8aAjLs kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6eunYNtnaqiY7M kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIrPfJ5_pMappKM (hidden codes in the books of moses) kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3OUkJeApbNgb9U (hidden codes in the books of moses)

[@j0nnyism]

I wonder if the ancient Israelites would’ve felt quite so grateful to the Canaanites.

[@jesussaves1875]

Isaac was born 2000BC + about 191 yrs later Jacob moves to Egypt + 430 years to the Law (i.e. Pentateuch) so Moses wrote the law in approx. 1379/80 BC - if anything he was educated in Egypt and spent 40 years with the Midianites. The Papyrus Harris, dated to 1150BC (housed at the British Museum) was written in Egyptian - the style is not unlike Arabic - Just sayin' ! So Moses must have written in something similar - although I do remember a silver scroll that was found and the writing is paleo Hebrew dated to about 600BC (although probably much older, one cannot date a stable element with any accuracy - it contains verses from the book of Numbers) I suppose no one will ever know !!!

[@jesussaves1875]

@Infinite Flow You do know that Noah lived in Ur (Mesopotamia) right ? - that's where they found the stele

[@rachel_sj]

I can imagine a youth in an Ancient Levantine Scribal School bemoaning the fact that he’ll probably have to get a “stable job” inscribing economic transactions or court records when all he wants is to write literature and stories

[@TensileStrength]

The more things change the more they stay the same.

[@colleenforrest7936]

"The aphabet again? When are we going to write something important in this class?"

[@Archimedes616]

Years ago, I came across an account of a deciphered tablet from this area whose subject matter was a student writing home for more money.

[@lyrachrome6222]

...had he succeeded ,then we would need a chart and a horse to carry a novel...and yo had to be noble for being allowed to read...

[@MrAranton]

If you read the bible, it seems those who didn‘t cut it as scribes for economic transactions and court records ended up writing the fiction...

[@kevinwahl5610]

I wish you included Aramaic too with modern Arabic, Hebrew, Ge’ez because it’s still spoken today

[@squidy2902]

Good idea but i think it would delude the meaning of the video

[@kevinwahl5610]

@@curtiswilson859 nope, almost a million people speak it to this day in their day-to-day life. Look up Maaloula, Qaraqosh, Alqosh, or Södertälje

[@curtiswilson859]

@@kevinwahl5610 very nice, thanks for the clarification! I’d love an episode or two on this channel devoted to dead or dying languages and their relationship to liturgies that help keep them alive so long.

[@oaktree__]

@@curtiswilson859 No. Some dialects of Aramaic (for instance, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic) are only liturgical and preserved in writing (e.g., the Talmud; certain prayers), but some are still spoken languages today - Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is one.

[@Aj-zr8dz]

@@curtiswilson859 Also in southern Turkey is spoken the central mountain vernacular of Aramaic the Toroyo language while liturgical Syriac is used in the church and spoken by a few scholars, monks, priests etc

[@phdtobe]

What’s fascinating about language is how it can change significantly over time based on the accumulating of small changes, even from one generation to the next. For example, the narrator of this video, who appears to be at least 20-30 years younger than me, seems to pronounce “Isrealites” with only three syllables - “Iz-ruh-lites” - which is different from how I was taught as a youngster to pronounce it with 4 syllables 5+ decades ago - “Iz-ree-uhl-ites”. And this compression of the middle two syllables of “Israelites” into one syllable is something I’ve noticed a few other folks on KZbin of the same generation as this narrator do even though they pronounce the root of that word itself- “Israel” - with three syllables. Fascinating!

[@katethegoat7507]

I think the change could be of which syllables is stressed, instead of the amount of syllables

[@TurtleRocker12]

Regional accents and things. There are phrases that now have the opposite meaning they used to. Look in to "positive anymore". I know a few people who use it, and it is regional - but still sounds very strange to me. Changes or differences like that are common.

[@brujo_millonario]

Isn't it said like iz-rah-eh-lite?

[@phdtobe]

@@brujo_millonario If one normally pronounces “Israel” as “Iz-rah-el”, yes. But the typical English language speaker normally pronounces it “Iz-ree-uhl”, so the “ite” adds an additional syllable to that pronunciation.

[@thegreatgazoo2334]

I hear four syllables...

[@mariannehuston3814]

Brilliant presentations, thank you. Very helpful to know. Someone was presenting stages of the Old Testament writings through the lense of how languages in that region, changed and impacted the manuscrips that Ezra had to translate in modern Hebrew alphabet o 22 letters

[@thomashygum5310]

I have friend who studies akkadian. She once told me that there is some evidence that the Amarna letters may actually be written in a dialect of ancient caananite, as opposed to akkadian. They often feature a number of characteristics that would be unorthodox in akkadian as such. For example it is very common in the Amarna letters to find verbs in the middle of a sentence, whereas in "proper" akkadian verbs are always at the end of a sentence. Markers for person and number in verb conjugations are also often entirely wrong. As the hypothesis goes the ancient caananites would written out entire akkadian words in syllabic cuneiform, treating the syllables as if they were simply a giant logogram for a whole word and then adding native caananite conjugation markers at the end. This may sound far-fetched to modern ears but there is extensive evidence that akkadian can written like this using sumerian words. In fact there is a term "sumerogram" that refers to situations where akkadian speaking scribes chose to replace an akkadian word with a sumerian one in spelling.

[@ishmamahmed9306]

Cool, Canaanite Akkadograms !!

[@ivandiaz5791]

That makes perfect sense, like the widespread use of Sinitic characters across East Asia. The use of a character doesn't make a word or a text Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. You have to dig deeper and look at the text as a whole to figure out which it is.

[@thomashygum5310]

Exactly. It is seems counterintutive for many westerners, myself included, because we are not used to considering logograms, and the many peculiarities that languages that regularly use logograms have. It is worth mentioning here, because he skipped over it in the video, that Akkadian uses a lot of logograms in addition to its syllabic signs. In fact many signs can act both as logograms and as syllabograms depending on the context (which can be hard to figure out). The hittite language is very famous for doing this kind of thing too. The hittites adapted their cuneiform writing system from the akkadian one, which is in turn adapted from sumerian. In Akkadian it is almost always assumed that a literate person is literate in both sumerian and akkadian, and as such that it is perfectly fine to substitute a sumerian word in for an akkadian one, or even to create a rebus of sumerian and akkadian words. In hittite it is in turn assumed that the scribe will be literate in all three of sumerian, akkadian and hittite which means that scribes can go ham and create a mixture of all three languages in writing. It makes for a famously very difficult script to read. It strikes me that this may well be the case for a correspondence apparently written in akkadian, but exchanged between an egyptian speaker and a caananite speaker. They may well have had all sorts of common implied rules and shorthands that we cannot know about today unless more documentation of ancient caaninte comes to light.

[@IshtarLinqu]

Nupuqi Om-Re Khonectcis will guide you

[@nachtegaelw5389]

That’s really interesting! That reminds me of how modern Japanese incorporated Chinese characters in writing, but using their native grammar & adding particles/markers/verb endings to accomplish this

[@EladLerner]

The names of the Hebrew letters themselves, even in modern times, are still mostly actual Hebrew words from the original Proto-Sinaitic: Pe is "mouth", Ain is "eye", Vav is "hook" and so on.

[@GaviLazan]

Alef is definitely not bull though. I wonder how that got so far off.

[@robertrude3573]

Hebrew letters are also numbers

[@GaviLazan]

@@robertrude3573 not entirely. They can be used as numbers, but they aren't "numbers". Hebrew speakers don't say "I have yud bet apples"... At least not in daily life. But they are used as date and day markers (Yom - day - alef, or kaf vav of kislev).

[@EladLerner]

@@GaviLazan in the Bible Aleph IS a bull. Also, the word le'aleph (to train an animal) comes from the same root. he.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%A3

[@GaviLazan]

@@EladLerner I guess you're right, totally forgot about "שגר אלפיך" but even in the Bible the word שור is much more common. That wikitionary link seems to rely on the malbim's perush saying that that word meant specifically "bulls trained to plow". Very interesting.

[@Morariu94]

Your videos are amazing! This one completely blew my mind. I'll never look at the letter A the same way again.

[@aspektx]

Considering the importance of Aramaic in the short passages of Daniel, along with the Targum of 1st-2nd century CE, it would have been nice to learn about it. This was a really enjoyable video. Thank you.

[@RH-vr7cs]

In the Greek version of the Old Testament, Sam (Shem) have a son called Aram . In the Old testament the children of Sam ( Shem ) are : 1- Elam, 2- Asshur, 3- Arphaxad, 4- Lud, and 5- Aram The Classical Arabic name for the region is بلاد اَلشَّأم ("The land of Shem") eldest son of Noah. The name of بلاد اَلشَّأم in the ancient world was never called the land of Aram. In Assyrian annals it was called the land of Hittites, and earlier it was called The Land of Amorites. The only reference mentioned as the Land of Aram was in the Old Testament around 500 BC and after the fall of the Assyrian Empire. The Greek replaced the name of Aram with Suria, simply because by the time the Old Testament translation to Greek was completed, the Romans were ruling بلاد اَلشَّأم, and the Romans had established a province called Suria. The ancient Arameans never labeled themselves as Surians . Another interesting think is that Armenians had a king called Aram, and the Greeks called him Aram too. Despite that, they continues to call land of Aram as Suria. All Arameans have been Assyrianized, hence the Greeks called them Surians which is in English short for Assyrians الآشوريين Here are Greek and Roman historians equating the term Suria, Syria/Syrian with Assyria/Assyrian. Arabic and Hebrew languages are derived from Aramaic. It is said that 3500 years ago, Abraham spoke Aramaic but Ishmael spoke the Arabic.

[@Daniel1132Micah5]

Isn't Hebrew older than Aramaic, and some scholars argue was the original pre Babel language, or is that Talmudic Rabbinical propaganda?

[@johanobesusfatjohn5836]

I don't like to be a downer, but I feel the need to offer some constructive criticism. I think the structure of the video was confusing. You started with proto-Canaanite script, went to paleo-Hebrew, then jumped backwards to proto-Sinaitic. It would be much easier to follow if you started with the very beginning of the alphabet and went forward chronologically. You said nothing about the development of the square Hebrew script, or the separate evolution of Samaritan, which I think would be very relevant. Also, I think you ought to have made the distinction between script and language a bit clearer, and maybe talked just a bit more about language/dialect continua. Part of the problem may be that the video was too short for the topic. Perhaps if the topic were split, with one video, of around fifteen minutes, quickly going through the evolution of the alphabet up to paleo-Hebrew, and then another about the later development of the modern Hebrew script and divergence of the Hebrew language from common West Semitic. I must add that I enjoy this channel, even if I never comment. Usually your videos are very good. I just found this one surprisingly frustrating. I hope this comment doesn't come across as too negative.

[@LordJagd]

I think this video was a very poor introduction to a very complicated subject that is made even more complicated by anachronistic terminology. "Paleo-Hebrew" is just the Canaanite/Phoenician script adn the "square-script" is called Ashurit ("Assyrian") because they adopted it from Aramaic around the time of the exile. If you point to all the foreign influences on the Hebrew language (like there is for ANY language) then things become more clear. It's only when these details are ignored that things make no sense.

[@odinfredrikrustad7450]

Largely agreed, there were a lot of good nuggets of info, but in structure I was confused

[@qedqubit]

And then some ! i watched this video because Stan Tenen calls it a "construction language" , and i heard nothing about that ! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5SsgnWomdZ1gpo

[@epimetheus9053]

Proclaiming the Bible as history was his greatest leap of faith to begin with 😂 By the way that scripture looked eerily similar to linear writing

[@LordJagd]

@@epimetheus9053 It's funny because there's no problem with people suggesting that, for example, the Phoenician script influenced the Greek alphabet, but because Hebrew is supposed to be a "holy language/script" so much of the research on the subject is tangled in belief.

[@CO-dv6py]

More linguistics/ancient languages please!

[@toshiyukisuzuki7610]

Whoaaaah! You look exactly how Job looks in my mind, minus the prescription glasses. Goosebumps!!!!

[@theautoman22]

I wish more dating of the texts were included, always wondered why the scribes in Alexandria used Hebrew when by then Aramaic, Greek and Coptic were way more popular. My theory is Hebrew was used to make it appear that these writing were older then they really were, for example there's never been any writing about the exodus and Moses before the Septuagint.

[@theodoremacewko7757]

"tsar feodore IV": perhap cause a woman ? ( Alexandria the great )a christian who studied hebrew .

[@josephzammit8483]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqKymmuAi86Jm9U

[@MM-jf1me]

Very cool video! Thanks for sharing; I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to watching the earlier videos in this series.

[@alpha9526]

I always thought the letters and direction of writing varied over time because, if you stand next to or in front of someone that is writing that are doing it in a different direction and the letter orientation is different. The modern A is upside down from the origin and we write left to right, they write right to left.

[@peterblinn7946]

Intriguingly, though, the Akkadian and Ugaritic he mentions read left-to-right.

[@alaindubois1505]

Thanks for this introduction. I'm curious about the grammar and differences between Hebrew and Arabic etc. Even if don't know a Sinitic language, it would be good to compare word order, cognates and so on and examples of this.

[@juliamacdonald3767]

Very interesting and well done. Good imagery, good script, good pace.

[@losttribe3001]

As a former Mormon, the ethnolinguistic field is fascinating to me because for the Book of Mormon to be true, the native Americans would have to be speaking some sort of the Hebrew language. Yet, well studied linguistic academics know this to not be the case. And for any former Mormons playing the drinking game at home, B.H. Roberts noticed this problem back in the early 1900s. But I digress. Thanks for this video. It was a joy to learn a little more about the origins. Cheers.

[@sargecad3t]

I would be surprised to find Mormons playing a drinking game 🤣

[@varana]

@@sargecad3t They wrote "_former_" Mormons. :D

[@Aj-zr8dz]

I know there's some real questionable claims in Mormonism but there's a theory that Phoenicians may have once explored the Americas, might have influenced some cultures and the Phoenician language is mostly identical with Hebrew but there's no evidence any natives spoke the language.

[@losttribe3001]

@@Aj-zr8dz instead of “theory”, I prefer “hypothesis” because it’s a much better way to talk about the scientific method we use to gain knowledge...there are sorts of hypothesis like that, but those are just unjustified speculations. In fact, I’ve seen everything from ancient Egyptians to Irish monks to the Chinese visiting the Americas pre Columbus. But that’s not how academics work and a person needs evidence to back it up. For example, we know that the Norse Vikings visited the Americas; not because of the sagas, but because we have archeologically found a community in Newfoundland at L’Anse aux Meadows. It’s there that they found the footings of structures that matched with Viking homes, rivets used in Viking boats, and slag from the production of iron...which, is one reason we know the Book of Mormon to be full of crap. There are stories of great armies with swords and chariots...yet, there would be massive slag heaps found somewhere in the Americas for that to be true. It’s why the Book of Mormon is not taught at manor university as a historical record. Things suck as genetics, archeology, metallurgy, linguistics, and agriculture all disprove the BoM to be fiction and is why it can be seen as nothing but fiction. I left years and years ago, but if anyone really wants to get into the weeds, the CES Letter is a great place to start...unless if you’re a Mormon apologists. Then more power to you. You just have ignore soooooooooo much. So could the Phoenicians found themselves in the Americas...maybe...but until theirs better evidence, I don’t buy it.

[@Aj-zr8dz]

@@losttribe3001 I guess I was using the word "theory" loosely as indeed it was speculation without hard evidence. I've dealt with Mormons, know the history well, know all about shady joe Smith, enjoyed the south park episode etc I do think it's very possible the Phoenicians or a related group might have reached the Americas and might have spread the cults of human sacrifice but this is all speculation.

[@merrittanimation7721]

The origins of writing systems are always fascinating to me. Great video!

[@isabelnihte]

love your work! really interested in the evolution of Vodun through diasporas - any suggestions appreciated (or a video!)

[@bellariosofficial]

There are two really nice documentaries, although they are in Spanish, about the Ifa religion and Yoruba traditions inherited in Cuba, they're called Ikú Lobi Ocha (Roughly translates to Death births the Saint) and Aña, la Magia del Tambor (Aña is the religious drums, Batas, the magic of the drum). Ikú Lobi Ocha also speaks about the Palo Mayombe religion we inherited from Congo. There's also one called Los Misterios del Vudú, I'm not particularly fond of how some of the information is presented but they do show different traditions and rituals in Africa and throughout the diaspora.

[@banba317]

Your presentations are excellent; informative and enjoyable.

[@Robin-vn7bj]

This is so cool! I love learning about the ancient world, and the history of writing and the alphabet is so fascinating.

[@luyombojonathan7715]

Amazing content !!! How did the KZbin algorithms guess that I would like such content ?

[@mikeeasley6670]

This is really interesting. I have often wondered where the symbols that make up letters came from. What is the study of this called? Specifically the writing part? I'm curious how the method of writing(pressing clay vs. carving vs, whatever else) affected the way scripts developed. Totally novice, but my curiosity is sparked.

[@scottythetrex5197]

This was absolutely fascinating. Thank you!

[@flastable9842]

Thank you fir your series. You’re doing amazing amazing job allowing the rest of us to learn new things.

[@TheLostAge]

This has quickly become one of my favorite channels, amazing work!

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@ra8682ra]

@@ReligionForBreakfast Hebrew is a recent language, like all Semitic. The Hamito branch is the origin/daddy!

[@littleandre4957]

@@ReligionForBreakfast Thank/Praise Yah. What is called "Phoenician Hebrew" (because of the area) according to Historians is the oldest language on earth though.

[@benlinley1522]

Why do you europeans lie and distort simple truths! Hebrew is a North East African language point blank! That is so clear! The middle east huh! G.O.politics! So where is the middle west? The middle north and the middle south? You creat these terms to confuse the masses, Israel is a north east African country! The children of Israel are north east African people, and Hebrew is a north east African Language Facts!

[@yoavmend1909]

@@benlinley1522 proof?

[@q09876543]

I just added my name to your channel. What I found interesting, is that Syria is also where the Younger Dryas occured. It may be that the usage of Genesis 1, which depicts an ice age, can be a description of said Younger Dryas.

[@vjara94]

I watched a documentary about the development of the alphabet and it was truly amazing and informative, history can be very interesting and actually fun when done properly

[@gregm766]

A couple of months ago, NOVA had an excellent episode on this topic.

[@gregm766]

@@Nah_Bohdi Baa

[@webbess1]

Is it available somewhere on the Internet?

[@beachmasterX]

@@webbess1 I'm sure it is pbs.org

[@gregm766]

@@webbess1 I am not sure. There take was slightly different in as they were talking about the archaeology of finding a sorta of Rosetta stone that should the early Hebrew/Cainite alphabet and their translation in hieroglyphics. They then should how the letters evolved from the ancient Hebrew/Cainite into our current alphabet.

[@IshtarLinqu]

Nupuqi Om-Re Khonectics will guide you

[@architeuthis3476]

It wasn't mentioned in this video, but I'm impressed with how similar modern Hebrew cursive is to older Semitic alphabets!

[@TheJake3]

I remember cursive Hebrew in school. What a nightmare... Lol Honestly, I believe that cursive writing in any language was used simply to save time writing.

[@earlystrings1]

This sheds an interesting light on the story of Moses called to the mountain to receive the law written on stone tablets, since this would have happened long before evidence for written Hebrew or possibly a distinct Hebrew language. An obvious explanation is that this detail of the story is a later interpolation by literate Hebrews of post exilic times. But if one believes that the Moses stories are ultimately based on an historical person who was brought up in the Egyptian royal court mileu in the 14th or 13th century BC, the writing system he and the Hebrews would have been familiar with would have been hieroglyphics. The story suggests that the law was of such central importance that it could have only been written in the monumental writing system of the Egyptian kings, on the preferred medium of stone.

[@sac7404]

Indeed. In rabbinic judaism this topic is discussed as "on which alphabet were the tablets written?". There were different opinions on the subject on the Talmud. An interesting thing is that judaic exegesis claims that the tablets were engraved trough all the material, and the rounded letters had a central piece of stone floating as a miracle. But ... in modern hebrew script these rounded letters are for example samech, while in proto hebrew the rounded ones were other letters.

[@lewisb3483]

To associate God's law & commandments given to Moses had to have been written in writing system of Egyptians kings suggest you don't comprehend how much more superior God was, & is, to the Egyptians & all other kingdoms that has ever existed- till this day. God nor Moses didn't think so highly of the Egyptians ways & when He called them out of bondage He's intent was to have a peculiar people unto Himself, not a people to mimic the very people who enslaved them.

[@STho205]

Lewis may be going down a strong opinion that might not work, unless the G-d of Moses, I Am altered all the minds ofl the assembled masses of recently liberated Israel to understand the holy writings of Hebrew, or at least the Levites. That would go against the notion of free will on a societal scale....which would have kept the Israelites from descending into civil war just a few weeks later or fashioning the golden calf. Lewis makes a point which is encapsulated in the golden calf. An attempt by the newly liberated children of Jacob to revert to Egyptian unholy ways. Instead they are instructed by Moses to stick only with the word of G-d, written himself with his mighty hand. No more paraded idols. So back to the decameron. If it was written by I Am, then it would need to make sense to The People and to Moses himself. Did the people hold to the written language of Jacob while in bandage? Was there one, as tradition holds that Moses wrote the 5 books from his intimate conversations with I Am. So did Moses learn the written language of I Am before he climbed the mount. Does I Am need a written language. In his life he would have been trained in the palace language of Pharoh. After he killed the architect and fled to Midian....did he pick up the commercial written language of the Midian shepards before he returned to Egypt to confront Pharoh? In either case, if the tablets are to be read by The People or at least by the Levite elders....it would have to be in a symbol language they already understood. Since Mises broke the tablets of I Am, then he had to transcribe them as replacements. Would Moses have transcribed them in a language know to his people, in an inspired symbolic writing of heaven or in a language of Midian? Interesting questions. Not important to adherence, piety or salvation,...but interesting musings.

[@joeymaximus8146]

@@lewisb3483 maybe you could try using words that aren't as combative. You don't know how the tablets were written. And at what point did God throw into a conversation that he wasn't fond of Egyptians? It's an opinion same as the person commenting.

[@solyluna4545]

Not to mention that the Laws are dictated twice (Ex. 30 and Ex. 34) since Moses broke the first set when seeing the Golden calf and went back to the mountains and... the two sets of Laws are different!! So did JHVH have writing difficulties, or short-term memory problems?

[@ericgoldstein4734]

I really enjoy your videos. A minor comment: The abecedary you show is upside down. It should be flipped for proper reading. I would love it if you expanded on this subject and went into more detail; it’s really fascinating.

[@Qba86]

I get the impression that literacy rates in pre-modern history of alphabet-using societies are often underestimated. This is especially true of the medieval period, but may also apply to earlier times. After all, an alphabet is relatively easy to learn, compared to some other writing systems. As long as you are able to use it with your native language, you can pick it up rather quickly.

[@Lank55]

I agree, and the author of the video alluded to it when he spoke of degrees of literacy. This is certainly true for ancient Akkadian written in cuneiform (or Sumerian, for that matter). The reality is that while in any given period the Akkadian (or Sumerian) written may have a full inventory of 600+ signs, when one reads the texts, the sign inventory is really made up of under a hundred. The rest were esoteric signs used by scribes trying to show off when writing literature or whatever (that last part I made up, but I am pretty sure that that's true for some periods). And on a final note re alphabets and their one-grapheme-per-phoneme (more or less) system vs. other systems, I am not sure that the former is necessarily easier than the latter. I know virtually nothing about Chinese, but it has a huge (as I understand it) sign inventory. But literacy in China is pretty high right now despite this. On the surface, it seems logical to think that with fewer signs (or letters or glyphs or graphemes or whatever), it should be easier to read. But the reality suggests that there's a lot more at play.

[@cycy2425]

My grandparents are considered uneducated because of no schooling past 3rd grade. Yet they could read the newspaper, do their housekeeping math and build thriving businesses. One g father owned a shoe factory the other a sales business where he had basic conversation skills in 7 languages to talk to customers. People usually know a lot more than others give them credit for. (Yes, ending with a preposition. That's the language now!)

[@jillpruett4772]

@@cycy2425 The whole 'rule' about not ending with a preposition is an example of applying Latin rules to a *Germanic* language (English) and is generally considered irrelevant as German has prepositions that are actually separate components of verbs (schlussen *an*, anschlussen, etc.)

[@macrosense]

There are some documentaries of illiteracy in Kentucky that made me re-evaluate how common it is for people to learn to read

[@michaelantosch9888]

That look at the Proto-Sinaitic script (which I had never heard of before) was intriguing. It's like the NATO phonetic alphabet in reverse (Alfa Bravo Charlie Delta). Using a picture of a longer word that starts with that sound as a visual shorthand for only that sound, as opposed to creating longer code words out of single existing letters...

[@phillipkeane1059]

This ancient "proto-Canaanite" alphabet was the basis of the Phoenician and Aramaic alphabets, too. The Aramaic alphabet was used across Persia and taken to ancient India, where it contributed to the development of the Indian alphabets via the ancient Brahmi script. There may have been a later influence of Aramaic on the development of the modern Korean script, too, since some Aramaic scripts were taken to Mongolia, forming the basis of the old Mongolian script. The letter M in Korean is a box shape like Hebrew.

[@shahidachoudhury6925]

Yes. I believe it too.

[@adamprice3466]

English is obviously indirectly derived from Hebrew

[@magister343]

I thought the Korean characters were supposed to be designed to represent the shape that the mouth forms when making those sounds?

[@ntmn8444]

This was all really fascinating. Truly, that part of the world has a very rich history and is worth looking into it. Thanks for this awesome video.

[@mnomadvfx]

It has an insane amount of history that will never be explored because of the political and religious problems surrounding the area.

[@starsINSPACE]

Can you imagine that in the past there were multilingual people who spoke multiple languages that nobody has heard now for generations...

[@ericktellez7632]

Mayan, Yucatec, nahuatl and other languages in mesoamerica

[@oaktree__]

@@ericktellez7632 Some people still speak those languages - there is an active effort to revitalize Nawat in El Salvador, for instance. The descendents of these ancient peoples are still here, living, today. Take care not to insinuate they're all dead or relics of the past.

[@aeulogyforsociety2375]

Love your videos! You are a great source for me and my imagination:) I'm an artist and musician and for some reason even thou I don't consider myself religious I am fascinated by it and it's history and it's ideas. I doubt you would need my bands type of music, is original but sounds like 90s grunge But if you ever want to use any of it in part or in whole you have my ...blessing:) anyway thank you for all your knowledge and work. Also like I said I'm an artist so if you ever need anything drawn or make for a video I'd be happy to do it at no cost just to show support:)

[@JasonScottWeisinger]

God, I'm such a nerd for enjoying this so much. Beautiful job! Can't wait to check out other videos

[@luisdizon2486]

One of the jokes I remember from doing a class on the history of Hebrew was how the ox that made up the original Aleph died and went belly up, and that's how we ended up with the Greek/Latin letter A. Good times.

[@adamprice3466]

Alef became "Alpha" in Greek then "A" in Latin

[@cordoba7]

I love this channel. Linguistics is a nice bonus!

[@bruisedhelmet8819]

Love learning about the long lost languages and how they born our modern ones. Cuneiform is still my favorite... seems the core start.

[@mnoliberal7335]

I appreciate your plain language approach to these topics. I wouldn't spend the time to take a semester long course explaining what you did in eleven minutes (and would forget most of that course, of course).

[@randellhillspeaks753]

I really enjoy your content thank you for your channel thank you for your hard work and God bless

[@halonothing1]

I just realized the tip of a yad looks just like the mouse pointer in Windows when it's over something you can click and turns into the hand with the finger. What an odd coincidence... or is it?

[@BaltimoresBerzerker]

@ 8:15 has a Carthaginian or Phoenician vibe. I would love a video on Etruscan, Basque, and the various European hieroglyphics etc. Ogham

[@lapislazulii141]

Ditto

[@daylan528]

Do you think you could do something on the Hussites sometime? I'm finding difficult to find decent information on them and their beliefs.

[@joshuatzonfortheslaughter]

Will you be doing an overview of the differences between Biblical and contemporary Hebrew?

[@justsomeguy898]

now every time I look at the letter A I think of an ox and it's so cute ;;

[@Aj-zr8dz]

ox, house, camel, door, window lol write your name in pictures

[@David-ex6hv]

It actually was originally meant to mean ship. The triangle represents the body of the ship and the vertical line that cuts through it represents the sails.

[@roflswamp6]

@@David-ex6hv yes as they were sea fairing people

[@dianheffernan3436]

The A is of axin,oxin one the helps with axels pulling a cart..farmers..with a ploy

[@roflswamp6]

@ABRAHAM i thought it was from celtic mixed with hebrew Arabic and a tiny bit if goth

[@queeniez1970]

This is so fascinating and cool -- thank you!

[@malechid.7381]

Have you heard about the curse tablet, written in a proto-Hebraic script found on Mount Ebal? It was just found a few months ago. So I was wondering how relevant it may be to the topic of this video.

[@WoodHughes]

Do you already have a video covering what language the Ten Commandments were probably written in? From my reading, it seems to be an early Phonecian language.

[@EzraB123]

I'm Jewish and I have a particular affection for this language. Every Jew on earth should make it a strong priority to learn. Aramaic and Hebrew are not mutually intelligible but it's pretty close. A Hebrew speaker can understand probably 50% of what's being said and vice versa.

[@EzraB123]

@Ai7A Because there are thousands upon thousands of Hebrew manuscripts, books, scrolls, cave carvings, tombs, place names, prayers, etc written in Hebrew, one of which is the most popular book in human history: The Bible. Hebrew never really died out either. The language was maintained as a religious language and was used in (and still is) synagogues. If you go to any Orthodox/Conservative service the vast majority of the service is in Hebrew, and Jewish prayers are almost exclusively said in Hebrew.

[@yakov95000]

@LEO&LAMB Lol are you stupid?Hebrew never actually died...

[@ElSauxy02]

אני לא יהודי, אבל אני אוהב עברית ❤️

[@jaredf6205]

@LEO&LAMBAdam and Eve is a fictional story so it doesn’t matter what language it says they spoke.

[@RaphaelKaufmann]

@LEO&LAMB Hebrew spoken 3.335 years ago is closer to modern Hebrew than Shakespeare's English is from modern English. That's why I understand your question, from an English speaking perspective.

[@yonatanyahav]

The use of Alphabetical writing in Canaan began around the 18th century BC, so it's quite logical that by the time the kingdom of Judea is formed, the literacy rates among the population is very high. They've had almost a 1000 years of practice by then. Second, I think that Amharic, the principal language spoken in Ethiopia, is also a Semitic language.

[@seamusjames458]

Yes: Amharic, Ge'ez and Tigrinya. For example, one of these South Semitic languages features yaman ('the right hand'), cognate to the -yamin in Hebrew Ben-yamin ('son of the right hand').

[@st.bernadetteparish2540]

This is so cool! I know *some* Hebrew, but not a lot, and this really helps fill out my sense of the language.

[@cameronstewart3600]

is this Canaanite language related to Minoan Linear A perhaps? I noticed a few of the symbols look like symbols on the Phaistos disc, and as I had read a theory that the Philistines in the bible may have been related to Early Greek peoples I wonder if there is a connection or if these symbols being used in both may have just been via cultural exchange (it seems likely to me that Minoans and Phoenicians would have traded in antiquity, if not outright being one and the same people referred to in different names)

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

I never realized nor had imagined "A" as an inverted Ox.

[@moniquefleming3738]

The hebrew letter Aleph, A is the Ox, means "oneness with God, Strong arm, authority or "name" of God" So when the isrealites made the Golden Calf in Exodus, they were not making a "cow or bull", they were making an Aleph representing God. God got angry over it because He commanded them to NEVER make a carved image to represent Him or any other pagan diety.

[@Griffologee]

Remember how easy it was to learn your ABCs? Thank the Phonecians.

[@dlevi67]

I think that's a phony explanation

[@jonnykhatru]

@@dlevi67 zing

[@ANDROLOMA]

@@dlevi67 Subtle wit.

[@chalinofalcone871]

"Although this was one of the least of the cultural effects of printing, it should serve to recall that one of the big factors in the Greek adoption of the letters of the phonetic alphabet was the prestige and currency of the number system of the Phoenician traders. The Romans got the Phoenician letters from the Greeks but retained a number system that was much more ancient." [Understanding Media: The Extension of Man, Marshall McLuhan, 1964, Ch. 11: Number]

[@ANDROLOMA]

@@chalinofalcone871 Hooked on phonics. How Phoenician.

[@stephanieyee9784]

This video was very interesting and informative. Thank you.

[@Draganism]

Hello. Thanks for more great content. Is there any religious significane to the ordering of the proto-Hebrew alphabet? It begins with a cow, a very well known early religious symbol, and then that sign, originally pointing downwards, is turned around, as though it is moving from the worship of natural laws to the worship of heaven. This is followed by a house. The Shekinah? In-dwelling? Then a human like figure, the original Adam? Followed by water, then the all seeing eye, all potentially religiously significant. It would make sense when it is appreciated, as you would know, that things like the ordering of the days of the week had religious signficance. Any literature on this? Please keep up this brilliant content.

[@zackmano]

There are some other great examples of English letters that still resemble the Phoenician style: "M" still looks like waves of water, "I" like an outstretched arm, "K" like an opened hand, etc. The more you know both letter systems, the more you see the similarities.

[@adamprice3466]

Hebrew - "Alef, Bet, Gimmel, Dalet" became Greek - "Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta" became Latin "A,B, C, D"

[@TheJake3]

Thank you sir. For someone from Israel, I never truly took the time to appreciate the historical gravity of the ancient times of my home land. This video is both very informative and fascinating at the same time. It gives me the urge to further explore my land's ancient history and culture. Therefore, I consider myself very lucky to have the privilege to do that as an Israeli citizen. שלום!

[@ts-wo6pp]

free palestine

[@eit2000]

@@ts-wo6pp from what

[@ts-wo6pp]

@@eit2000 the colonial project known as israel

[@ashiracohan9189]

@@ts-wo6pp cry arab

[@TheJake3]

@@ts-wo6pp Talk to your leadership.

[@olegkirovskii2720]

There's a thing I couldn't understand since I was a schoolboy: how is it possible that a sign ROTATES over time? Take road signs. No one tries to install them upside down. No one tries to write the letter A with its "horns" up. How was it possible back then?

[@144Donn]

The best line of the entire video was the punch line! :) Well done!

[@brunopereira6789]

Whenever I'm writing something, I love to remember that these letters ultimately come from the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and it's quite awesome

[@ohlangeni]

Hieroglyphics pre-date the establishment of the Kingdom of Egypt. The Writing system should be called Nile or Nile Valley or African or East African Writing system.

[@brunopereira6789]

@@ohlangeni I'd love to learn more about the ancient history of the hieroglyphs and how they came to be!

[@lshulman58]

Facinating. We rarely stop to wonder about the historical origin of writting.

[@mavenfeliciano1710]

I wonder about it all the time.

[@narakajohn7421]

FASCINATING!!!

[@juantrevino1919]

Thank you for the videos, I really enjoy watching them.

[@Y0S3F]

The wadi el hol inscription c. 1800 BCE, and the inscriptions at serabit al khadim also contain the Hebrew alphabet, and are earlier than izbet sartah.

[@stevenbollinger9776]

Good stuff! It seems the intermediary stage between hieroglyphs and alphabets lasted much longer than I had realized. It also turns out that I wasn't current on the newest discoveries of the oldest examples of proto-Canaanite.

[@HeatherSpoonheim]

Imagine if every day you woke up a year earlier, somewhere around the Mediterranean. If you already speak some modern languages, particularly Italian, Spanish, Arabic, maybe French - then you could slowly morph that into ancient languages, and watch the writing change as well.

[@verl0000]

Sounds fun

[@bluellamaslearnbeyondthele2456]

Masks are disgusting. Obey!

[@HeatherSpoonheim]

@@Bdfhvj I remember hearing about a piece of pottery that had 'recorded' someone speaking during the turning process. I doubt that to be true for several reasons - but I love the idea of it. It would be so cool to hear people speaking thousands of years ago.

[@pancakeofdestiny]

This is honestly a top tier story concept

[@nimblehuman]

That sounds like an epic journey to take! I got English, Urdu, Punjabi, Spanish, French and some Tagalog down, I'd be OK for at least a little while...🤔

[@dontroutman6699]

This is Don from Charlotte North Carolina USA. Thank you for this video. I am a long term student of the Hebrew language, I am very interested in the Israeli people, as I read and study Hebrew, learning to read and write and hopefully speak the current Hebrew language.

[@lumia_dayZ]

Shalom

[@bjornwiklander5738]

Could you do a video about how veganism or other similar new movements are religions and how the definition of religion changes/will change? If you agree that is. Veganism is well described by the 3 B's (thought that might not be enough to be called a religion): Belief: Environmental and ethical conscientousness on a global scale Behaviour: Obvious, restrictions around consuming animal-based products and working/engaging with its industry or being a hunter for example Belonging: Community of Veganism. There are for example dating sites just for vegans like there are for just christians or other religious groups. I am not well versed in religion studies in general so excuse me if I fundamentally misunderstood some concepts. I think the question of how the definition of religion has changed and will change is a very interesting and important one. When people discuss whether there will be religions in, say a thousand years, the question of how the definition of religion changes in a modern world might be the most important aspect of that.

[@jacobtahiliani6501]

I love this channel! Would love to see some history of Abrahamic religions in the US or even some deep dives into ones like Mormonism, 7th day, and Pentecostal like how they evolved and their historic artifacts!

[@danielcuevas5899]

The Hebrew alphabet is highly adaptable. Jews have used it to write in the language of the land they inhabit where ever might that be. Ladino in Spain, Yiddish in Germany, Judeo-Arabic in Arabia!

[@dlevi67]

Or Latin (and coincidentally modern Italian and Spanish - the words are literally the same in all three, plus or minus a couple of diacritics) in the sign at 9:57

[@ghanvedsingh8946]

Even the script of Hindi language which is called Devnagri seems to have developed from the Hebrew language too

[@michelleearl8063]

Yea since 1881

[@jonstfrancis]

@@ghanvedsingh8946 more likely from Aramaic though...

[@jonstfrancis]

@Somewhere No it didn't.

[@MonkeyWhoWouldBeKing]

i have a question about handwriting algorythms used in this context. is this a bespoke algorythm for dealing with text carved in stone or clay by people of, we have some reason to believe, middling literacy? cuase if it's a standard one recallabrated slightly we're taking the massive leap of faith that it is not significantly easier to have a constistant handwriting when using pen, ink, and paper, than it is when using whatever kind of stilus and clay...

[@brindlebucker4741]

Very interesting and packed with information. I didn't set out today to learn about Hebrew, but the algorithm tossed this video up on my home page and I decided to click on it, being something of a bibliophile and lover of etymology. I enjoyed, thank you!

[@immortal5383]

loving these! look forward to them every week.

[@kiga14]

There should be a clear distinction between the history of the Hebrew (spoken) language, and the history of the written script that is used to write Hebrew. The square script that we usually associate with Hebrew can also be used to write languages that are nothing like Hebrew, and indeed, it was used that way to write Yiddish and Ladino, for instance, which are more closely related to Medieval German and Spanish, respectively. Conversely, the Hebrew language was written using the Paleo-hebraic script for much of the first temple period, but the square script derives more from the Western form of the Aramaic script (e.g. Palmyra). But it can be written in other scripts as well, and you can easily find prayer books with glosses using our Roman alphabet for use in US synagogues, for instance. The script is not the language. And they have different histories.

[@readingforwisdom7037]

Such a rich video, I have needed to watch it numerous times to digest the wisdom. Masterful RFB

[@paulkoza8652]

You are one smart dude. And you have a boat load of common sense to boot. I appreciate your scholarly research as I find the origins of modern religious beliefs intriguing. Please keep these posts coming as you discover additional historic evidence that relates to modern religious theory.

[@mabroukatis]

Been to Searbit El Khadim, saw proto-sinaitic in several places. Read Petrie's notes and Beno Rothenberg there. Also talked with the Bedouins there and explored their deep connection with the place. There are movies waiting to be done on this place.

[@koppler84]

Why? Say more!

[@mabroukatis]

@@koppler84 Sounds like a cliche, but Bedouins there are living "The Bible". I'm native Egyptian and I still feel like Moses in dealing with them and exploring their culture. And, man, there's enough to right more books of the Bible and you won't miss a beat. As for languages, scripts and petroglyphs, enough to say that once you know your way in the desert routes, you'll see it everywhere and they tell the longest story ever told. Remember this is the middle east, cradle of everything and Sinai is the node that binds it.

[@Alex-fv2qs]

We still call the alphabet "abecedario" in spanish anf other romance languages

[@kasiapaucka9184]

In Polish we have two words: "abecadło" which is basically the name of alphabet in learning (just as im the video), and "alfabet" - literally the synonym of "alphabet".

[@somemaycallthisjunkmeicall133]

in Filipino we have “Alpabeto” and “Abesedaryo”

[@capybaraRed]

We don't actually, because we have the world ALFABETO. The abecedário is a tool which contains the alphabet for learning purposes, we have abecedários in primary school for example.

[@rathersane]

@@capybaraRed In English we call that “The a-b-c’s.”

[@Carewolf]

In old Norse it is called a Futhark, because the norse alphabet begins with F.U.

[@swingbelly]

Really enjoy your series presentations. Thought provoking and puzzle piece solving. Recently read/heard that some modern scholars are suggesting that the Hebrews were actually a tribe within the Canaanite family with their origin in the Levant. This assertion would then counter the Hebrew origin from Mesopotamia, as is asserted in the Torah/Old Testament. As the biblical assertion that the Hebrew slaves built the Egyptian pyramids has been debunct by recent archeology, could it not also be assumed that the Hebrew migration from Mesopotamia to the Canannite Levant, based on paleo-Canannite language similarities/origins is also be a literary fabrication? Interested in your thoughts regarding this proposal. Thanks again.

[@ef2718]

"As the biblical assertion that the Hebrew slaves built the Egyptian pyramids " *There is no such assertion in the Hebrew bible.* PS Ur is most likely todays Urfa on the Turkey-Syria border.

[@wallaroo1295]

@ 5:03 - Also the world's first known example of "lined paper" for writing! 😄 [Which makes me wonder about the origin of lined paper now... maybe it started this early.]

[@Maestro75]

Awesome video brother. Incredibly informative, and a wealth of knowledge. It was definitely a blessing. I pray you continue to be touched by our Lord God.

[@yousuf6382]

The words "Proto-Sinaitic" are original words in the Arabic language alpha= "head of cattle" referring to pets .. In Arabic "alyaf \ حيوان أليف" bet= house .. In Arabic "bayt or بيت" Gimel = camel.. In Arabic "jamal or جمل" Zayin = adornment ..In Arabic "zinah or الزينة" Heth=Wall .. In Arabic "hayit\ حائط or حيط" Teth= Wheel ..In Arabic "tuoq\طوق" Yod =hand .. In Arabic "yad\يد" Kaph = palm .. In Arabic "kaf\كف" Mem = Water .. In Arabic "ma\ماء" Nun = whale .. In Arabic "non\نون -حوت" Samekh = fish .. In Arabic "samak\سمك" Ayin = Eye .. In Arabic "Ayin\عين" Pe\Fa = Mouth ..In Arabic "fim-fa\فم- فاه" Saad = means "[he] hunt[ed]".. in Arabic صاد saad means "[he] hunted" Resh = head .. In Arabic "Ris\رأس" Shin\Sin =tooth ..In Arabic "sin\سن"

[@Pingwn]

Those were names in an ancient Semitic language, probably Canaanite language, and while most of those words are shared there not all of them - Nun is a word for a fish and probably it is a letter word for it as we know the ancient proto Sinaitic symbol was a snake, which is Nakhash. S’adi is probably derived from a word for plant as it's imagery suggest.

[@simongross3122]

Those words mean almost exactly the same things in Hebrew. Strange.

[@hashimalzarooni9179]

@@simongross3122 Its exact pronunciation of modern spoken Arabic, which means Arabic, is the same as all ancient peoples' spoke, not Hebrew. And in terms of word count, the Arabic language contains over 10 million words, while English comes in the second place with only 650 thousand words. Thus, the ancient language is not gone. Concluding the modern Arabic language is actually the ancient spoken language.

[@simongross3122]

@@hashimalzarooni9179 Thanks, that is interesting.

[@krishnar1182]

Was your line about thanking the peoples of the ancient near East a paraphrase of the line from the Epcot Spaceship Earth line “thank the Phoenicians”?

[@williamding2910]

@0:33, is Izbet Sartah (22 century BCE) the oldest Canaanite scripture authentic?

[@kakarroto007]

That was really interesting, as some things we see in everyday life are never given a second thought.

[@DerMessiasderSatire]

Extremely interesting and educative again. Keep it up, I love watching these!

[@israeldr26]

This KZbin channel is gold. Thanks for this and all of your videos.

[@ignossos]

There's a fascinating book partially about the origins of alphabets called The Alphabet Versus The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word And Image by Leonard Shlain. Highly recommend it for fans of this channel.

[@rxjnbxjljjrjbbxlzbjbnpdb8586]

1:48 Brudi nicht in Englisch

[@darthvader7450]

Literally was having breakfast and watching this. Great stuff!

[@judahdaneshtaol]

Why would "having breakfast" need the word "literally" before it?

[@ludovicodemolina]

@@judahdaneshtaol because he was literally having breakfast

[@judahdaneshtaol]

@@ludovicodemolina "He was having breakfast and watching this" - what does "literally" have to do with it?

[@maryellul6234]

Even the Maltese language is Semetic language. It is very similiar to arabic, but it is written in Roman alphabet. Best regards from Malta. God bless you all.

[@saladdays180s9]

Please note that the proto script A inverted is a bull, the Torus. It works both ways depending upon polarity.

[@jeroenvonk1898]

Thank you for your video and research, but I miss the findings at Jebel El Lawz in Saudi Arabia, where about 300 stones with old Hebrew writings on it were found. Since the eighties many people witnessed these stones being there, starting with American archeologist Ron Wyatt. They date back to 1400-1450 BC. I heard Saudi Arabia did research by themselves to these writings. Seems important to me.

[@ActiveAdvocate1]

This is so COOL. No really, it is, because I'm both a philosophy an English scholar, so it's super interesting to see all the potential links that can be drawn.

[@assaz9317]

I wonder what links could be drawn here, between linguistical history and philosophy. I'm genuinely interested.

[@Duiker36]

@@thevulture5750 Aren't you supposed to be making a Tower of Babel reference instead?

[@jonkomatsu8192]

As a sometimes student of Biblical Hebrew, I be diggin' this! Mahalo shalom! 🤙

[@barryblackwood6050]

Maholo🤙Shalom from an Australian. 😁

[@Gideon01]

I'm a native Hebrew speaker. What is 'mahalo'?

[@barryblackwood6050]

@@Gideon01 Mahalo is the Hawaiian greeting & farewell. Like Shalom. Love, well wishes & peace to you & yours. Hawaiians are a beautiful people in that nature. Shalom Mahalo. ❤️🙏

[@Gideon01]

@@barryblackwood6050 Oh, all right. I thought it was supposed to be something in Hebrew. I was only familiar with 'aloha'. Mahalo, then, and shalom u'vracha to you!

[@jonkomatsu8192]

@@Gideon01 Hawaiian for "Thank you." I was born and grew up there. 🤙

[@aleenashafaat2295]

Very informative and useful video. Thank you