A unique history of the Hebrew language from biblical times to the modern Jewish state
This book explores the extraordinary hold that Hebrew has had on Jews and Christians?? who have invested it with a symbolic power far beyond that of any other language in history. Preserved by the Jews across two millennia?? Hebrew endured long after it ceased to be a mother tongue?? resulting in one of the most intense textual cultures ever known. It was a bridge to Greek and Arab science. It unlocked the biblical sources for Jerome and the Reformation. Kabbalists and humanists sought philosophical truth in it?? and Colonial Americans used it to shape their own Israelite political identity. Today?? it is the first language of millions of Israelis.
The Story of Hebrew takes readers from the opening verses of Genesis--which seemingly describe the creation of Hebrew itself--to the reincarnation of Hebrew as the everyday language of the Jewish state. Lewis Glinert explains the uses and