Mishnaic Hebrew language
Encyclopedia
The term Mishnaic Hebrew refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the Talmud
, excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects can be further sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew (also called Tannaitic
Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic
Hebrew I), which was a spoken language
, and Amora
ic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a literary language
only.
The Mishnaic Hebrew language or Early Rabbinic Hebrew language is one direct ancient descendant of Biblical Hebrew as preserved by the Jews
after the Babylonian captivity, and definitively recorded by Jewish sages in writing the Mishnah
and other contemporary documents. It was not used by the Samaritan
s, who preserved their own dialect, Samaritan Hebrew
.
A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halachic
Midrash
im (Sifra
, Sifre
, Mechilta etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the Tosefta
. The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere; the generic term for these passages is Baraitot
. The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew.
and Tosefta
within the Talmud
and by the Dead Sea Scrolls, notably the Bar Kokhba Letters and the Copper Scroll
. Also called Tannaitic Hebrew or Early Rabbinic Hebrew.
The earlier section of the Talmud is the Mishnah
that was published around 200 CE
and was written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls
.
About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew began to fall into disuse as a spoken language. The later section of the Talmud, the Babylonian Gemara
, published around 500 AD, generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in Aramaic. (An earlier version of the Gemara
was published between 350-400 AD.) Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amora
ic Hebrew, which sometimes occurs in the text of the Gemara.
Mishnaic Hebrew developed under the profound influence of spoken Aramaic in all spheres of language, including phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary.
A new characteristic is that final /m/ is often replaced with final /n/ in the Mishna (see Bava Kama 1:4, "מועדין"), but only in agreement morphemes. Perhaps the final nasal consonant in these morphemes was not pronounced, and instead the vowel previous to it was nasalized. Alternatively, the agreement morphemes may have changed under the influence of Aramaic.
Also, some surviving manuscripts of the Mishna confuse guttural consonants, especially (א) (a glottal stop
) and 'ayin (ע) (a voiced pharyngeal fricative
). That could be a sign that they were pronounced the same in Mishnaic Hebrew.
. Some, but not all, are retained in Modern Hebrew
.
For the expression of possession, Mishnaic Hebrew mostly replaces the Biblical Hebrew status constructus
with analytic constructions involving של 'of'.
Missing in Mishnaic Hebrew is the conversive vav.
Past is expressed using the same form as in Modern Hebrew. For example (Pirkei Avoth
1:1): "משה קיבל תורה מסיני". ("Moses received the Torah from Sinai".)
Continuous past is expressed using + , unlike Biblical but like Modern Hebrew. For example (Pirkei Avoth 1:2): "הוא היה אומר" ("He often said".)
Present is expressed using the same form as in Modern Hebrew, i.e. using the participle (בינוני). For example (Pirkei Avoth 1:2): "על שלושה דברים העולם עומד". ("The world is sustained by three things", lit. "On three things the world is sustained")
Future can be expressed using עתיד + infinitive. For example (Pirkei Avoth 3:1): "ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון". However, unlike Modern Hebrew, but like contemporary Aramaic, the present active participle can also express the future. It mostly replaces the imperfect (prefixed) form in that function.
The imperfect (prefixed) form, which is used for the future in modern Hebrew, expresses an imperative (order), volition or similar meanings in Mishnaic Hebrew. For example, (Pirkei Avoth 1:3): "הוא היה אומר, אל תהיו כעבדים המשמשין את הרב" ("He would say, don't be like slaves serving the master...", lit. "...you will not be..."). In a sense, one could say that the form pertains to the future in Mishnaic Hebrew as well, but it invariably has a modal (imperative, volitional, etc.) aspect in the main clause.
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects can be further sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew (also called Tannaitic
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
Hebrew I), which was a spoken language
Spoken language
Spoken language is a form of human communication in which words derived from a large vocabulary together with a diverse variety of names are uttered through or with the mouth. All words are made up from a limited set of vowels and consonants. The spoken words they make are stringed into...
, and Amora
Amora
Amoraim , were renowned Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara...
ic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a literary language
Literary language
A literary language is a register of a language that is used in literary writing. This may also include liturgical writing. The difference between literary and non-literary forms is more marked in some languages than in others...
only.
The Mishnaic Hebrew language or Early Rabbinic Hebrew language is one direct ancient descendant of Biblical Hebrew as preserved by the Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
after the Babylonian captivity, and definitively recorded by Jewish sages in writing the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and other contemporary documents. It was not used by the Samaritan
Samaritan
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
s, who preserved their own dialect, Samaritan Hebrew
Samaritan Hebrew language
Samaritan Hebrew , is a reading tradition for Biblical Hebrew as used by the Samaritans for reading the Samaritan Pentateuch. Its pronunciation is highly similar to that of Samaritan Arabic, used by the Samaritans in prayer.-Orthography:...
.
A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halachic
Midrash halakha
Midrash halakha was the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study that expounded upon the traditionally received 613 Mitzvot by identifying their sources in the Tanakh , and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws' authenticity. Midrash more generally also refers to the...
Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
im (Sifra
Sifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
, Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
, Mechilta etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
. The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere; the generic term for these passages is Baraitot
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
. The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew.
Historical occurrence
This dialect is primarily found from the 1st to the 4th century AD, corresponding to the Roman Period after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and represented by the bulk of the MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
within the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and by the Dead Sea Scrolls, notably the Bar Kokhba Letters and the Copper Scroll
Copper Scroll
The Copper Scroll is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Cave 3 near Khirbet Qumran, but differs significantly from the others. Whereas the other scrolls are written on parchment or papyrus, this scroll is written on metal: copper mixed with about 1 percent tin...
. Also called Tannaitic Hebrew or Early Rabbinic Hebrew.
The earlier section of the Talmud is the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
that was published around 200 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
and was written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
.
About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew began to fall into disuse as a spoken language. The later section of the Talmud, the Babylonian Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
, published around 500 AD, generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in Aramaic. (An earlier version of the Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
was published between 350-400 AD.) Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amora
Amora
Amoraim , were renowned Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara...
ic Hebrew, which sometimes occurs in the text of the Gemara.
Mishnaic Hebrew developed under the profound influence of spoken Aramaic in all spheres of language, including phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary.
Phonetics
Many of the characteristic features of Mishnaic Hebrew pronunciation may well have been found already in the period of Late Biblical Hebrew. A notable characteristic distinguishing it from Biblical Hebrew of the classical period is the spirantization of post-vocalic stops (b, g, d, p, t, k), which it has in common with Aramaic.A new characteristic is that final /m/ is often replaced with final /n/ in the Mishna (see Bava Kama 1:4, "מועדין"), but only in agreement morphemes. Perhaps the final nasal consonant in these morphemes was not pronounced, and instead the vowel previous to it was nasalized. Alternatively, the agreement morphemes may have changed under the influence of Aramaic.
Also, some surviving manuscripts of the Mishna confuse guttural consonants, especially (א) (a glottal stop
Glottal stop
The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
) and 'ayin (ע) (a voiced pharyngeal fricative
Voiced pharyngeal fricative
The voiced pharyngeal approximant or fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents it is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is ?\....
). That could be a sign that they were pronounced the same in Mishnaic Hebrew.
Grammar
The grammar of Mishnaic Hebrew displays various changes from Biblical Hebrew, of which some appear already in the Hebrew of the Dead Sea ScrollsDead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
. Some, but not all, are retained in Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew , also known as Israeli Hebrew or Modern Israeli Hebrew, is the language spoken in Israel and in some Jewish communities worldwide, from the early 20th century to the present....
.
For the expression of possession, Mishnaic Hebrew mostly replaces the Biblical Hebrew status constructus
Status constructus
The construct state or status constructus is a noun form occurring in Afro-Asiatic languages. It is particularly common in Semitic languages , Berber languages, and in the extinct Egyptian language...
with analytic constructions involving של 'of'.
Missing in Mishnaic Hebrew is the conversive vav.
Past is expressed using the same form as in Modern Hebrew. For example (Pirkei Avoth
Pirkei Avoth
Pirkei Avot , which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. Because of its contents, it is also called Ethics of the Fathers. The teachings of Pirkei Avot appear in the Mishnaic tractate of Avot,...
1:1): "משה קיבל תורה מסיני". ("Moses received the Torah from Sinai".)
Continuous past is expressed using
Present is expressed using the same form as in Modern Hebrew, i.e. using the participle (בינוני). For example (Pirkei Avoth 1:2): "על שלושה דברים העולם עומד". ("The world is sustained by three things", lit. "On three things the world is sustained")
Future can be expressed using עתיד + infinitive. For example (Pirkei Avoth 3:1): "ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון". However, unlike Modern Hebrew, but like contemporary Aramaic, the present active participle can also express the future. It mostly replaces the imperfect (prefixed) form in that function.
The imperfect (prefixed) form, which is used for the future in modern Hebrew, expresses an imperative (order), volition or similar meanings in Mishnaic Hebrew. For example, (Pirkei Avoth 1:3): "הוא היה אומר, אל תהיו כעבדים המשמשין את הרב" ("He would say, don't be like slaves serving the master...", lit. "...you will not be..."). In a sense, one could say that the form pertains to the future in Mishnaic Hebrew as well, but it invariably has a modal (imperative, volitional, etc.) aspect in the main clause.
See also
- Tiberian Hebrew language (liturgical)
- Yemenite Hebrew languageYemenite Hebrew languageYemenite Hebrew , also referred to as Temani Hebrew , is the pronunciation system for Biblical and liturgical Hebrew traditionally used by Yemenite Jews. Yemenite Jews brought their language to Israel through immigration. Their first organized immigration to the region began in 1882.It is believed...
(liturgical)- Sanaani Hebrew language (liturgical)
- Sephardi Hebrew languageSephardi Hebrew languageSephardi Hebrew is the pronunciation system for Biblical Hebrew favored for liturgical use by Sephardi Jewish practice...
(liturgical) - Ashkenazi Hebrew language (liturgical)
- Mizrahi Hebrew languageMizrahi Hebrew languageMizrahi Hebrew or Oriental Hebrew refers to any of the pronunciation systems for Biblical Hebrew used liturgically by Mizrahi Jews, that is, Jews originating in Arab countries or further east, and with a background of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or other languages of the Middle East and Asia...
(liturgical) - Modern Hebrew language (State of Israel)
External links
- History of the Ancient and Modern Hebrew Language, David Steinberg
- Short History of the Hebrew Language, Chaim RabinChaim Menachem RabinChaim Menachem Rabin was an Israeli professor of Hebrew and Semitic languages.Chaim Rabin was born in Giessen, Germany, 22 November 1915, the son of Israel and Martel Rabin. He studied first at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1933-1934. He then studied in England, at the School of Oriental...
Further reading
- Bar-Asher, Moshe, Mishnaic Hebrew: An Introductory Survey, Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 115-151.
- Kutscher, E.Y. A Short History of the Hebrew Language, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Leiden: E.J.Brill, 1982 pp. 115–146.
- Pérez Fernández, Miguel, An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew (trans. John Elwolde), Leiden: E.J. Brill 1997.
- Sáenz-Badillos, Angel, A History of the Hebrew Language (ISBN 0-521-55634-1) (trans. John Elwolde), Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1993.