Hebrew ess

A female Israelite; a Jewe . He'brew Language and Literature. The Hebrew is one of the oldest and most remarkable of known languages, and is of especial interest to us, as being that in which the Old Testament Scriptures were originally written. It belongs to the so-called Can a an it ish branch, or chief division of the Semitic family of languages, the other branches being the Aramaic and Arabian. It is a matter of dispute whether the H. language, as found in the earliest books of the Old Testament, is the dialect which Abraham brought with him into Canaan, or whether it is the common tongue of the Can a an it ish nations, which Abraham only adopted from them, and which was afterwards developed to greater fulne under the peculiar moral and political influences to which his posterity were exposed. There is every reason to believe, however, that Abraham, on his entrance into Canaan, found the language then prevailing among the different tribes inhabiting that country to be in, at least, dialectical affinity with his own. For a long time, down to very recently, H. was universally regarded as the original language of the human race, coeval with its beginning; and that traces of it were discoverable in all subsequent tongues. The origin and progre of the Hebrew language, until it became the language of Scripture, in the time of Moses, it is impo ible to determine. According to some, the vernacular dialect of Abraham himself was Aramaic, and became gradually changed by the influx of Egyptian and Arabic words, to the time of Moses. From the time of Moses down to the Captivity, a period of a you sand years, notwithstanding the existence of some isolated, but important archaisms, as in the form of the pronoun, ., it underwent but little change. So far is this the case, that it has been used as an argument against the received antiquity of the Pent a teuch. The causes, however, are to be sought in the isolated and stationary character of the Hebrews themselves, and the genius of the language, as little susceptible of change. In even the earliest canonical books of this period, the language appears in a state of mature development, with precision of syntactical arrangement and great regularity of formation. One of the most remarkable features in the later language of this period is the difference which distinguishes the diction of poetry from that of prose. The language of simple narration and history limits itself to the forms nece ary to common purposes; the poets, on the other hand, made use of universal words and flexions, and harmonic arrangement of thoughts, as seen in the parallelism of members in a single verse, and in the strophic order of longer periods. The rhetorical language of the prophets moves in a more free rhythm of thought, and in longer sentences than the poets, but, in other respects, especially in its palmy state, falls in very much with it. The decline and corruption of the Hebrew language dates from the Babylonish captivity. From the time of the A yrians, the Aramaic made great inroads upon the Hebrew; and after the power of the Israeli tes had been broken by long wars and captivity, the Aramaic, owing to the influence of foreign authority and foreign colonists, spread rapidly. After their return from the Captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah took care that the Hebrew, in its ancient form, should be made more familiar to the people; and they both wrote in Hebrew. Among the more strict Jews, the Hebrew was still retained, although within narrow limits, as appears from Daniel and the Maccabees. Still the progre of the Aramaic was not to be repre ed; and if the ancient language was occasionally imitated, there was always a considerable admixture of the fa eign idiom. From the second century on, the Hebrew was known only to the learned, while the Aramaic became the vernacular of the country. Yet, after it ceased to be the language of the people, it did not become unknown to them, as it was read in the Bible in the synagogue, and also frequently made use of by the learned among them to communicate information to those of their own faith. The earliest known character in the Hebrew writing bears a very strong resemblance to the Samaritan, both being evidently derived from the Phœnician. During the Babylonish captivity, they received from the Chaldees the square character in conimon use, and in the time of Ezra the old Hebrew MSS. were copied in Chaldee characters. The origin of the vowel points is usually a igned to the 7th cent. of our era, and arose from the efforts made by the learned Jews to preserve the pronunciation of their language, when it ceased to be a spoken tongue. The minute and complex system which we now po e was gradually developed, from a few indispensable signs, to its present elaboratene . There are three kinds of Hebrew alphabets now in use, -the square , or A yrian, that commonly used in print; the rabbinical , or med iæval, that used chiefly in commentaries and notes; and the cursive , which is employed in writing. There are no capital letters, and the writing is from right to left. The alphabet consists of twenty letters, or consonants, the vowels being expre ed by marks above or below the letters. Five letters have a separate final form. The accents and marks of punctuation are very numerous. The Hebrew is deficient in grammatical technicalities, especially in moods and tenses of the verb, and, consequently, also somewhat in precision; but in euphony, simplicity, brevity, variety of signification, and power of poetical expre ion, it is hardly excelled by any tongue. The Hebrew literature is of considerable antiquity, and has claimed a high degree of attention on account of its connection with our religion. With the Hebrews, as with every other people, poetry was cultivated before prose; and in the songs of Moses and Deborah we have the earliest specimens of poetry. The Jews were preeminently a musical people. Everything calculated to excite the multitude was expre ed in song; and young men and maidens emulated each other in beautiful odes at their festive gatherings. The art of poetry was taught in the schools, and their religious exercises, and worship was always conducted with singing and instrumental performances. Hebrew poetry is remarkable for its wealth of imagery, not only in the way of illustration, but also of metaphor, substituting the image for the object to be described. There is also a great desire for the symbolic, giving to abstract ideas a concrete form, and investing even inanimate objects with thoughts, feelings, and speech. Hebrew poetry is sententious, each stanza or couplet being complete in itself; so that they would admit of increase or diminution, or of a different arrangement, without destroying the unity of the whole. The poetry of the Hebrews formed so much the groundwork of their higher thinking, that it gave coloring to their historical writings, and affected their philosophical speculations. Hence arose those anthropomorph is me which to us are frequently so offensive, but which naturally connect themselves with the religious views of the Hebrews. One peculiarity of their poetry is paral lelism, or the regularly placing beside each other symmetrically constructed propositions. The symmetry, however, is not so much external as ideal, being the same thought repeated several times in other words, or apprehended antithetically from opposite sides. All at tempts to discover rhyme or metre in ancient Hebrew poetry have failed; but this may probably arise from our ignorance of the ancient pronunciation. Lyric poetry probably prevailed under David, to whom are ascribed numerous examples of song and elegy. Strong religious feelings distinguish the spirit and subject of these poems. On the other hand, Solomon, if he was the author of the writings which bear his name, inclined to a philosophic and even worldly spirit, very remote from the Jewish character. After the division of the kingdom, religion and literature alone preserved a residde of national vigor, and the prophets now became the in struct ors and comforters of this morally and politically degraded people. Before the unfortunate period of the Babylonish captivity, under the kings lived Jonah, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. During the captivity flourished Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zephaniah; and after the return, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. That much must have been lost from the treasures of Hebrew literature, which was very rich, particularly in the age of Solomon, is evident from pa ages in the Old Testament itself. Of many of the works of the prophets, particularly those known as the minor prophets, we evidently po e only fragments. The period immediately after the return from the Babylonish captivity was of the highest importance to Hebrew literature. Learned men werd appointed to make collections of the ancient writings, and the sacred Scriptures were authenticated, and arranged into a canon. When Judea was a province, under the succe ors of the Maced on i an hero, Greek refinement, science, and philosophy spread among the Jews, and a number of errors crept into their religion, and led to the formation of different sects among them; as the Pharisees, Sadducees, E enes, . The Greek language became common in Judea, and the Septuagint was used in the synagogues. During this period, and under the Romans, their literature made great progre , from the influence of the great succesв sive schools, the most famous of which was that of the great Hillel, president of the Sanhedrim. The philo The American Dictionary and Cyclopedia HEBR sophical book of Ben Sirach, and the first book of the Maccabees, are the products of the earlier part of this period; and a number of the other apocryphal writings, whose date is unknown, may probably be referred to the same time. The simultaneous literary activity of the Jews in Africa is evinced by their numerous contributions to Hellenistic poetry and history (Jason, Alexander, Poly his tar, Ezekiel, .), and especially to Platonic philosophy, (Aristobulus, Philo, .) The Roman conquest, and the persecutions which naturally followed exerted a very pernicious influence upon literature. After the desolation of Jerusalem, various other places in Palestine became distinguished for their schools of religious science, principally under the lead of the presidents of the Sanhedrim. The work of collecting, elucidating, systematizing, and further developing the decisions of the oral law, was also carried on; and these were finally converted into a written code, or compendium of teachings ( Mishna ), by the patriarch Jehudah the Holy, and his school, during the mild reign of the An to nines. To these were added the partly supplementary, partly explanatory works, Tosefta, Mekhilta, Safra, and Sifre. These works became the basis of religious study in the subsequent three centuries, in Palestine, as well as in Babylonia, where various flourishing schools existed. After new persecutions by the Christian emperors, which destroyed the schools (353) and the patriarchate (429) of Palestine, and by the Persian kings in the latter part of the 5th century, which destroyed the schools of Babylonia, - the results of these studies were collected, though in chaotic disorder, in the two Gemaras or Talmuds ( q . v.), - the Palestinian and Babylonian; other extant products of the time were various ethical treatises; historical, legendary, and cosmogonal writings; stories, prayers, . The Chaldee, often with an admixture of Hebrew, was now generally used in literary works, while the people used the various languages of the countries in which they lived. Under Mohammedan rule, particularly under the later caliphs, who favored science, the Jews enjoyed comparatively mild treatment, and their schools revived, particularly in Babylon. Numerous works, historical and ethical, were composed; the critical notes of the Masora, and the Targum of Jerusalem elaborated; Talmud i cal compendiums written: and medical, astronomical, and linguistic studies pursued. Scientific and literary pursuits also flourished among the Jews in Africa, who, with slight interruptions, enjoyed peace under the Saracenic princes. The Arabic was the language generally used by scholars. In the feudal states of Europe, the Jews generally enjoyed but few privileges, and were frequently subjected to the most cruel persecutions. In Spain, however, under the Moorish princes, they enjoyed civil rights, and nearly to the same extent under the Christian kings; and here they made great progre in literature and science. The most distinguished man of this time was Moses Maim on ides, renowned as a phi losopher, as well as a writer on law. Since that time the Jews have advanced with the surrounding nations, and have produced a number of distinguished men in almost every department of literature and science. He'brews, (Epistle to the.) ( Script .) One of the canonical books of the New Testament, the object of which was to prove to the Jews, from their own Scriptures, the divinity, humanity, atonement, and interce ion of Christ, particularly his preeminence over Moses and the angels of God; to demonstrate the superiority of the gospel to the law, and the real object and design of the Mosaic institution; to fortify the minds of the Hebrew converts against apostasy under persecution, and to engage them to a deportment becoming their Christian profe ion. In this view, the epistle furnishes a key to the Old Testament Scriptures, and is invaluable as a clear elucidation and an inspired, unanswerable demonstration of the doctrine of the great atoning Sacrifice as set forth in the Old Testament institutions. The name of the writer of this epistle is nowhere mentioned. The majority of critics, however, refer it to the apostle Paul. It is also believed to have been written in Greek, at Rome, in about A. D. 63. Hebrician, ( he -brish'an,) n. A Hebraist; one learned in the Hebrew language. Hebrid'ean, Hebridian, n. ( Geog .) A native or inhabitant of the He brides. -a. Relating or pertaining to the He brides. He brides, (hebri-des,) or WESTERN ISLANDS. [Lat. Ebudes Insula.] A cluster of rugged and mountainous islands, on the W. coast of Scotland, in the Atlantic, extending about 180 m. in length, with an average width of 10 to 13 m. from the Butt of Lewis on the N., to the small isle of Sana, on the coast of Cantire. The various tracts or clusters of rocks, thus detached from the mainland, number in all over 300, of which 86 are inhabited. Lat. 55° 35 to 58° 34 N., Lon. 5° to 8o W. Area . 2,750 sq.m. The principal of these islands are Lewis, Harris, N. Uist, S. Uist, Beubecula, Skye. Eig, Muck, Coll, Mull, Lismore, Staff a, Iona, Scalpa, and Colon say. Manuf . Kelp, whisky, and cotton stufis. The ancient Gaelic is stili spoken in these islands, and it is certain that they were ruled by their own Pictish princes until the 8th century, from which time they were, during four ensning centuries, the haunts of pirates who infested the neighboring mainland. By the gradual consolidation of the royal power, they were, though long lawle and turbulent, gradually brought under control, and the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, in 1748, finally overthrew the influence of the independent chieftains. Pop . 118,500. He'brides, (New,) a group of islands in the S. Pacific, discovered by Quiros, in 1506. Capt. Cook, who surveyed most of them in 1773, gave them their name, as being the most W. of the islands of the Pacific. They IMG:content-0548.png:[blocks in formation] 1481 extend N.W. and S.E. over 375 m., from Lat. 13° to 20° Heck'er, in Illinois , a post-village of Monroe co. S., and Lon. 166° to 170° E. Area , 4,200 sq. m. The soil Heckle ( hekl ), n. and v. a. See HACKLE. in the valleys is fertile, but the islands are mostly moun- Heck's herville, in Pennsylvania , a post-village of tainous, and some have active volcanoes. Aurora, one Schuylkill co., about 6 m. W. of Pottsville. They were made a British coaling-station in 1880, prac-ampton co., about 55 m. N. of Philadelphia. of the most fertile, disappeared in 1871, leaving no trace. Heck'town, in Pennsylvania , a post-village of North tically an annexation to that kingdom. Pop . 130,000, mostly Papuans. Hebron, ( Anc . Geng . ,) a town of Palestine, in the tribe of Judah, built, according to Scripture, "seven years nally Kirjath-arba ( Judges i. 10), was a well-known before Zoan in Egypt" ( Num . xiii. 22), and called origi- Mamre, which is in Hebron," в. с. 1917 ( Gen. xiii. 18). town when Abraham "came and dwelt in the plain of xxiii. 2), and of her sepulchre in the cave of Machpe- It was the scene of the death of Sarah, в. с. 1859 ( Gen. lah, purchased by Abraham, of Ephron the Hittite, for 400 shekels of silver (Gen. xxiii, 3-20). Hebron was the souls that were therein," в. с. 1450 ( Josh . x. 36, 37), taken by Joshua, who "destroyed it utterly, and all and bestowed its fields and neighboring villages upon Caleb, "because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel," в. с. 1444 ( Josh . xiv. 13-15), but gave the town to the Levites for a city of refuge, в. с. 1443 ( Josh . xxi. 13). David established his government here, в. с. 1047, and ruled here "seven years and six months" (2) Sam, v. 5). Hebron, rebuilt after the Captivity, в. с. 536, was seized by the Edomites, from whom it was wrested by Judas Maccabæus, в. с. 163-160. It was burned by an officer of Vespas i an soon after the capture of Jeru- tury by the Crusaders, from whom it reverted to the salem, Sept. 8, 70, and was taken early in the 12th cen- Hebron, in Connecticut , a post-town and twp. of Toll and Moslems in 1187. Hebron, in Georgia , a post-village of Washington co., co., 20 m. S.E. of Hartford. Pop . (1897) about 1,100. about 20 miles S.E. of Milledgeville. Hebron, in Illinois , a post-township of McHenry co., Hebron, in Indiana , a post-town of Porter co., about 14 about 60 miles N. W. of Chicago. m. S.W. of Val para i so. Pop . (1897) about 750. Hebron, in Iowa , a post-village of Adair co., about 45 m. S.W. of Des Moines. Hebron, in Kentucky , a post-town of Boone co. Hebron, in Maine , a post-township of Oxford co., about Hebron, in Minnesota , a village of Nicollet co., on the 40 m. N.W. of Portland. Pop . (1897) about 620. Minnesota river, about 14 m. S.W. of St. Peter. Hebron, in New Hampshire , a post-town of Grafton co., Hebron, in N. Y. , a post-town and township of Wash- about 30 m. N.N.W. of Concord. Pop . (1890) 245. Hebron, in Ohio , a post-village of Licking co., about ington co., 54 m. N.N.E. of Albany. Pop . (1897) 2,140. Hebron, in Pennsylvania , a post-township of Potter co., 27 m. E. of Columbus. about 6 miles N. of Coudersport. Hebron, in South Carolina , a P. O. of Spartan burg co. Hebron, in West Virginia , a post-office of Pleasants co. Hebron, in Wisconsin , a post-township of Jefferson co. Hebronville, in Ma . , a post-village of Bristol co. Hec'ate. ( Myth .) A godde , not mentioned in Homer, but by later writers spoken of as a daughter of Perses (the Far-shooter), applied to Phœbus, Apollo, and Helios and Asteria. Her name is the feminine form of Hecatos (the Sun). In the Homeric Hymn, she aids Demeter (Ceres) in her search for Perse phone (Proser pine); in other versions of the myth she remained with the latter in the nether world. Statues were set up to her in market-places, and especially at cro -roads. In works of art she is represented sometimes as a single being, sometimes as a three-headed monster. Fig . 1259. - MOUNT HECLA, (ICELAND.) view from the summit is very desolate and wild. "Fantastic groups of hills, craters, and lava, leading the eye to distant snow-covered jokuls; the mist rising from a waterfall; lakes embosomed amid bare, bleak mountains; an awful and profound slumber; lowering clouds; marks all around of the furious action of the most destructive of the elements, give to the region a character of desolation scarcely to be paralleled." There are nearly fifty recorded eruptions of this volcano, the one of 1783 being the most terrible; the matter then thrown out filled up mountain-glens 600 feet deep, as well as many lakes and river-courses. In the eruption of 1845-6, a Hecla (or HECKLY) Works, in N. York , a post-village stream of lava from the large crater was 50 feet deep and 1 mile wide; stones of enormous size were also ejected, and the ashes borne as far as the Orkney Isles. Hec'tare, n. [Fr., from Gr. hekaton , hundred, and Lat. of Oneida co., about 105 m. W. by N. of Albany. area.] A French land-measure = 100 sq. metres=11,960 Hectic, Hectical, a. [Gr. hektikos-hezis. habit yards 2,471 acres. of body, from echo , hezõ , to have.] Habitual; constitutional; pertaining to hectic; as, a hectic fever. - Affected with hectic disease or fever. Hec'a to lite, n. [Gr. hekata , the moon.] ( Min .) Moon- Hecatomb, (heka-tööm,) n. [Gr. hekatombe , from heka -n. stone, a variety of OLIGOCLASE, q. v. ton , a hundred, and bous , an ox.] ( Antiq . ) A sumptuous sacrifice of a hundred beasts of the same kind, at a or magnificent sacrifice, -originally consisting of the Pythagoras is said to have sacrificed a hecatomb of a hundred altars, by a hundred priests or sacrificers. hundred oxen to the Muses, in joy and gratitude for his having discovered the demonstration of the 47th proposi- tion of the first book of Euclid. Although a true heca- tomb consisted of a hundred oxen, yet, in the time of Homer, the word had lost its real etymological meaning; Iliad , an allusion is made to a hecatomb of twelve oxen; it merely meant a great public sacrifice. Thus, in the -In modern language, any public sacrifice of a large to another of oxen and rams; and to another of fifty. Hecatom ped on, n. [Gr. ekatompedos .] ( Arch .) A number of victims. Hecaton's tylon, n. [Gr. hekaton , hundred, and stylos , temple one hundred feet in length. (R.) pillar.] ( Arch .) A temple with a hundred pillars. Heck, n. [A.S. häca ; Scot. hack ; Swed. häck , a manger. (Prov. Eng.) - In some parts of England, a latticed A kind of lobby, divided from the fireplace of old houses. door; also, the latch of such door. - A rack or crib for cattle, ., to feed at.-A contrivance of lattice-work for catching fish. - An English archaism for the bend or sinuous turn of a river. ( Weaving .) An apparatus through which the threads of warps pa from the bobbins to the warping-mill, and by means of which they are separated into sets for the heddles. Half-heck, the lower half of a door. (Prov. Eng.) - frame , the frame-work which holds the heck in warping. Heck'er, FRIED RICH, B. 1811, was one of the principal Heck -board, the board laid in a cart's bottom. - Heck- leaders in the Badish insurrection of '48, and member during the late Civil War. D. 1881. of the provisional govt., afterwards colonel in the U. S. A. ( Med .) A protracted or habitual fever, but generally applied to that intermittent fever which usually occurs in the latter stages of consumption. It is commonly characterized by morning and evening paroxysms, with intermediate remi ions; but the evening paroxysm is usually the most marked. Towards evening, as the prevailed during the day becomes changed, the eyes paroxysm comes on, the listle , languid manner which brighten, the conversation becomes animated, and the cheeks a ume a beautiful flush. This may continue for five or six hours, when the manner and appearance patient utterly prostrate. Day after day the sad story of the patient become entirely changed, the hectic flush pa es away, and a chill spreads over the entire frame, followed by a profuse perspiration, which leaves the is repeated, the patient is gradually reduced in body and strength, and at length dies exhausted. See CON "No hectic student scares the gentle maid." - Taylor. Hectically, adv . Habitually; constitutionally; in Hec'togram, Hec'togrammo, n.