In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language

by Joel M. Hoffman

Book Overview

Decodes the long history of Hebrew and its influential place as the ancestor of many modern written languages

Hebrew as a language is just over 3,000 years old, and the story of its alphabet is unique among the languages of the world. Hebrew set the stage for almost every modern alphabet, and was arguably the first written language simple enough for everyone, not just scribes, to learn, making it possible to make a written record...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814736548
• ISBN13: 9780814736548
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: New York University Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 2.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

"Let's Start at the Very Beginning"

Hoffman, Joel. "In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language", NYU Press, 2006. "Let's Start at the Very Beginning" Amos Lassen Having lived in Israel for many years I speak Hebrew as fluently as I do English which is my mother tongue. I love the English language and I am by profession an English instructor. However, when I speak Hebrew I feel something magical knowing that I am speaking a language that has been spoken for thousands of years. It is a beautiful and rich language and since 1948 with the creation of the State of Israel, it is alive and vibrant. Joel Hoffman does a wonderful job of looking at the evolution of Hebrew gives us the story of the alphabet and shows us the uniqueness of Hebrew and its place among the other languages of the world. Many of us do not realize that Hebrew at over 3,000 years old set the stage for almost every modern alphabet and was probably the first written language that was accessible to everyone and this made it possible for us to have a written history which we could all read. In fact, written language is assumed to have always been there but this is just not true. We actually began to have a written language only 3500 years before the advent of the Common Era (or for my Christian friend, the birth of Christ). Hoffman shows that almost every modern written language comes either directly or indirectly from Hebrew and if we study Hebrew, we can learn a lot about the way we use language today. There is so much interesting and fascinating information here that the book is read quickly and entertains throughout. Hoffman is both scholarly and readable and his writing style is lively. Writing language shows the ability of a culture or civilization to reflect both upon itself and the world that it is part of. Hebrew brought the system of vowels to the language and writing moved to literacy and speech and communication began in earnest. Hoffman is a linguist by profession so he has the tools with which to undertake a project of this kind and he does so admirably. What I would love to have is an expanded version of the book so that I could have a complete discussion of the language. I read several dissenting reviews of the book and I found them surprisingly petty in their critical observations. One "student" (as is written to be the author of a review) claims that the work is marred "by a bombasticism that is typical of generative linguistics writing to general audiences". What could be more bombastic than the above statement? In fact, I went running to the dictionary to make sure I understood the definition of bombastic and tried to truly understand what "student" was trying to say because I saw nothing of the kind. The very same reviewer takes issue with Hoffman's discussion of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet that comply to the English YHWH. Hoffman presents his theory which is the accepted theory of the Jewish religion that these letters are never to be pronounced. There is no argument here

Possibly the most exiting book I've read in a decade.

In The Beginning - A short History of the Hebrew Language by Joel M. Hoffman is possibly the most exiting book I've read in a decade. Hoffman's writing style is chipper and friendly; I never thought I'd be grinning widely while reading a book on linguistic theory. But it's more than that. In The Beginning is almost a coming of age novel, not just of the Hebrew language but of the whole of human speech. I'm sure it's often underestimated what the Hebrew language has done for mankind, but Hoffman explains and reveals with so much obvious fun that any reader with even the most modest interest in language feels quickened and finally informed. The ability to read and write equals the ability to preserve data and complex thought. It equals the ability of a culture to form a reflective continuum the way the universe forms time. But written text used to be nothing more than a string of vague consonantal hints towards spoken words. Esoteric knowledge was always a key without which the text could not be unlocked, and writing was merely an extension of the oral tradition. All of this changed with the incredible invention of the Hebrews to use symbols for vowels. When this art became established reading and writing became available to the masses, and it competes with the printing press for the predicate of most important invention that lead to modern civilization. Hoffman tells the story with as much feel for flair as for clarity, and In The Beginning treads confidently and with a continuous sense of awe upon the stage of evolution. It lists the unknowns without shame or the idle consolation of conjecture, and revitalizes petrified certainties into wells of alternatives. After a brief introductory chapter Hoffman reviews the 'Rules of the Game,' which is a general essay on the 'Three Theories of the World,' namely 1) The Dumb-Luck Theory-- everything happens by chance and that's it then; 2) The God-Theory-- everything happens because of God and that's it then; and 3) The Science Theory--there is un underlying order to the universe that we humans can understand. The language in which the Bible was written is a formidable phenomenon and every serious student of the Bible should at least be acquainted with some of the achievements of this language. The Bible is by no means just another book in a bookstore, but a bright bolt of light that caused the bookstore!

Vowels do make a difference

This is a most interesting and enlightening treatise, written with scholarly authoritativeness. The author covers his subject most thoroughly and eloquently, even, as the title claims, it is a "short" history. However, his claim that Hebrew formed the original basis for ancient Greek and Latin would have been better served if he had provided more compelling evidence and documentation for this very startling assertion. The similarity of Aleph-Bet and Alpha-Beta isn't entirely convincing. Yet, in all fairness, the author does make many other revelatory and absorbing points throught his book which certainly seem incontrovertible based on his scholastic background.

Fascinating and fun to read!

"In the Beginning" is chock full of fascinating information about Hebrew and its history. The book grabs your attention from the first page and covers the invention of the alphabet, ancient Hebrew, the Hebrew of the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest copy of the Hebrew Bible (only 1,000 years old!), Modern Hebrew, and everything in between, all in manner that's readable and scholarly at the same time. Hoffman's style is fun and engaging. One reviewer wrote that the book "reads like an adventure novel," and I couldn't agree more. This book will not teach you Hebrew (and you don't have to know any Hebrew to understand it), but it is quickly becoming the de facto standard book *about* Hebrew. I highly recommend "In the Beginning" for anyone interested in ancient languages, history, Hebrew, or the Bible.

A great read for both a linguist and a casual learner!

Dr. Joel Hoffman's book "In the Beginning" is an excellent introduction into the study of the centuries-long history of Hebrew and its grammar. Hoffman manages to pack a lot of information into a very concise book and his writing style makes it a real pleasure to read. But what distinguishes this book from most books on the history of Hebrew is that it is written by a professional linguist from the perspective of contemporary linguistic theory, which does not equate language with its writing system, or label languages as "primitive" or "complex". Hoffman analyzes (admittedly sparse) information about the state of the Hebrew language in the last three millennia as a linguist would analyze any other language (living or dead). Hoffman does not pretend to have the final word on the subject. Instead, his book provides an excellent "Beginning" for a linguistically sophisticated study of the diachronic adventures of the Hebrew language. Anyone interested in Hebrew should read this book.