In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language
Hoffman, Joel. In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language. New York: NYU Press, 2006.
Hoffman traces the history of the Hebrew language from its antiquity to modern times. This book filled in some gaps in my knowledge of the language especially as it pertains to the differences in spelling, grammar and pronunciation of Hebrew in its different stages of development. People who have studied biblical Hebrew will benefit from his chapters on the Masoretes since most students are familiar with the Tiberian tradition but most likely never heard of the Babylonian or Palestinian families. Hoffman walks the reader through what we can learn from the Dead Sea scrolls followed by a tour of the different dialects in the Hebrew Bible and post-biblical Hebrew. I especially appreciated his chapter on Modern Hebrew with the fascinating story of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda who brought Hebrew back to life. Some readers may find some portions of the book a bit tedious, especially his discussion on spelling. But people like me who can’t get enough of Hebrew will appreciate the balance between a popular treatment of the subject and his attention to the details of the language.
Rachel is weeping for her children
She refuses to be comforted by her children
Because they are gone“Jeremiah could not have known that he was right in writing down his thoughts to ensure their preservation. Along with Psalm 122 and the rest of the Jewish canon, they would later be translated into Greek, buried in caves in Qumran, translated into Latin, analyzed by medieval grammarians who sought (and failed) to preserve their ancient sounds, and preserved for the future in a codex kept in Leningrad, eventually to be used as the foundation for a modern spoken language of Hebrew” (Hoffman 2004: 212-3).
