Hebrew Language

Biblical References

Hebrew is the language in which most of the Old Testament was written, and it was the language spoken by the ancient Hebrews. The Old Testament does not call this language "Hebrew." Instead, it refers to it as "the Jews' language" (2 Kings 18:26; Nehemiah 13:24) or "the language of Canaan" (Isaiah 19:18).

The name "Hebrew" appears in the New Testament. The Gospel of John gives the Hebrew names of the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2), Gabbatha (John 19:13), and Golgotha (John 19:17). It also records that the title on the cross was "written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin" (John 19:20). Paul addressed the crowd in Jerusalem "in the Hebrew tongue" (Acts 21:40). The Book of Revelation gives Armageddon as a name "in the Hebrew tongue" (Revelation 16:16).

Background

Hebrew belongs to the Semitic language family and is closely related to other Canaanite languages, such as Phoenician and Moabite. It is written from right to left with an alphabet of 22 consonants and originally had no letters for vowels. The vowel points now found in the biblical text are generally understood to have been added by medieval Jewish scholars known as the Masoretes (Masoretic Text).

After the Babylonian exile, Aramaic came into wide use as the everyday language. Portions of Daniel and Ezra, as well as Jeremiah 10:11, are written in Aramaic. Hebrew nevertheless continued to be used as the language of worship and of the study of the Law, and many Hebrew documents are found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, Hebrew was revived as a spoken language, and it is now an official language of the State of Israel.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The New Testament was written in Greek. When quoting the Old Testament, the New Testament writers frequently used the Septuagint, a Greek translation. Nevertheless, Hebrew words such as amen, hallelujah, and hosanna were carried over untranslated, in their original sound, into the New Testament and the language of the church.

Interpretation and Issues

• "Hebrew" in the New Testament: Many scholars regard Gabbatha and Golgotha as Aramaic forms. Accordingly, some hold that the New Testament term "Hebrew" also encompasses the Aramaic spoken by Jews at that time.
• Original languages and translation: The Westminster Confession of Faith holds the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament to be the final authority and confesses that Scripture is to be translated into the common language of every nation. The Catholic Church long used the Vulgate as its official text but in the twentieth century began to encourage the study of the original-language texts.
• The name of God: The Hebrew Bible writes the name of God with four consonants, so its original pronunciation has not been reliably preserved. As a result, translations render it differently. Among Korean Bibles, the New Korean Revised Version renders it "Yeohowa" (Jehovah), the Korean Common Translation renders it "Yahweh," and the New Korean Standard Version generally renders it "the Lord."
• Later traditions: Some traditions claim that Hebrew was the sole original language at creation or the language of heaven, or interpret each letter as carrying a hidden numerical meaning. These claims, however, are not stated directly in the biblical text. Some have also cautioned against preaching methods that derive the meaning of a passage from word etymology alone.

In the Korean Church

In seminary programs, candidates for ministry usually study Hebrew along with Greek. It is also common for preachers to explain the meaning of Hebrew words in sermons, introducing them with phrases such as "in the original language." Hebrew expressions such as shalom, Immanuel, Ebenezer, and Jehovah-jireh are widely used in greetings, in hymn and worship song lyrics, and in church names.