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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Hebrew as a holy language

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  • From: "Sarah J. Blake" <sarah AT growingstrong.org>
  • To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Hebrew as a holy language
  • Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 03:58:14 -0400

For what it is worth, whether Jim's reasoning stands up to critical linguistic inquiry or not, this is not the first time I have encountered it. In non-scholarly literature, it is a quite popular assumption. It is worth asking where this assumption comes from (at least in my opinion). From a theological perspective, I am curious about how this kind of idea develops and takes root in an entire people. From a linguistic perspective, it does beg a few questions. What is the origin of the Hebrew language? What is the history of the movement of the Hebrew people among other peoples; and how did they maintain and change Hebrew language as they interacted with other peoples? Did they also speak additional languages during this time? If so, what percentage of the population was likely to speak additional languages, and how many and which languages did they likely speak?

In the United States, people tend to think very narrowly about language at times... In teaching laypeople, it would not be surprising to me to find that people assumed that the Hebrews were monolingual. After all, most anglo-Americans are monolingual except for whatever languages they are required to study in order to meet some high school requirement. In other parts of the world, it is not unusual to encounter people who naturally speak five or six languages and do so fluently. I have met people who speak as many as nine. This gives me pause when considering issues of language in the biblical world. There are many arguments over the question of what language this or that biblical figure spoke--Jesus is the most often argued about. Why not more than one language? These were not unintelligent people; and they lived in an environment where more than one language and likely more than one dialect were spoken.

Just some food for thought... Not too scholarly at 4:00 AM; but this is how I generate my plans for later study...

Sarah J. Blake
Personal email: sjblake AT growingstrong.org
http://www.growingstrong.org

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