Hebrew

Semitic : closely allied to Aramaic and Phœnician . It is an extinct dialect spoken by the ancient Jews of Palestine, and preserved to us in their sacred writings known as the Old Testament Scriptures. The old Hebrew character, as found on coins, ., has much resemblance to Phœnician. The Biblical alphabet, called Square Hebrew, has been traced by some to the captivity at Babylon, B.C. 603-536, but is regarded by others as much more recent. The Rabbinic characters are of a more cursive form, and the modern Jews of Germany and Poland used running hands of somewhat differing forms. For Later Hebrew , see Talmudic , and for Modern Hebrew , see Jewey . Lexicons by Fürst; Gesenius: Grammar, Lex.; Thesaurus, . He brides, New , see Mallicollo .