HEBREW
LITERATURE
by: Shara May M. Anacay
BSE - English
ETYMOLOGY
Hebrew comes from Middle
English word “EBREU” which
comes from the Old French
derived from the Latin word
“HEBRAEUS”
WHO ARE THE
HEBREWS?
Hebrews were
ancestors of Samaritan
and Jew.
Jews were the
descendants of the
Hebrews.
Hebrews claim to be the
descendants of Biblical
Patriarch, Abraham.
WHAT COUNTRY DO THEY
LIVE?
Hebrews live in the Ancient Middle East.
Around 1, 400 BC, they settled in
Canaan(formerly known as Israel), the
country of the Eastern coast Mediterranean
Sea, the territory of modern Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, and Syria.
Hebrew is a member of the Canaanite
group of Semitic languages.
WHAT DID THEIR
BUILDING LOOK LIKE?
Hebrews – lived in tents.
- wealthier people live in the
houses built in of sand dried mud
bricks, the roof of the house was flat.
The church of the Hebrew was
called Jerusalem Temple (the
1st temple was built by King
Solomon)
It was covered with gold (Jerusalem
Temple)
WHAT DID THEY
EAT?
Hebrew food was similar to the food of
other Mediterranean people.
They ate homemade bread that the lady
of the house would bake in the big clay
(the yard, lentils, cheese, olives, and fresh
fruits)
Meat and fish were also available.
The popular drink was wine.
WHAT DID THEY
WEAR?
Hebrews wear fringes(edge
of garment) and tekhelet
ribbon.
Tekhelet was translated in
the King James Version
(KJV) to mean blue,
however, it means violet in
Hebrew, not blue.
It looks like a Tyrian purple.
HEBREW
LITERATURE
It consists of ancient, medieval and
modern writings in the Hebrew
language.
It is one of the primary forms of
Jewish Literature.
It was produced in many different parts
of the world throughout the medieval
and modern eras.
ANCIENT HEBREW
LITERATURE
Literature in Hebrew begins with the Oral
Literature of the Leshon Hakodesh or the
“Holy Language”.
The most important work of Ancient
Hebrew is the Hebrew Bible named
Tanakh.
Mishna – primary rabbinic codification of
laws as derived from the torah. It was
written in Mishnaic Hebrew.
MEDIEVAL HEBREW
LITERATURE
During the medieval period, the majority of
Jewish and Hebrew was composed in
Islamic North Africa, Spain, Palestine,
and Middle East.
Many works of medieval philosophical
literature such as Maimonides Guide to
the Perplexed and the Kuzari, as well as
many works of fiction, were written in
Judeo-Arabic.
MEDIEVAL HEBREW
LITERATURE
One work of fiction which was
written in Hebrew was the “Fox
Fables” by Berechiah ben
Natronai ha-Nakdan, Hebrew
fables which resemble Aesop’s
fable.
MEDIEVAL HEBREW
LITERATURE
Much medieval Jewish poetry was
written in Hebrew, including the
liturgical Piyyutim in Palestine in the
7th and 8th centuries by Yose ben
Yose, Yanai, and Eleazar Kalir.
This litturgy was compiled in book from
as “the siddur” by rabbis including
Amram Gaon and Saadia Gaon.
MODERN HEBREW
LITERATURE
Inaddition to writing traditional
rabbinic literature in Hebrew,
MODERN Jews developed new
forms of fiction, poetry, and
essay writing which are called
“Modern Hebrew Literature”.
18 TH CENTURY
“La-Yesharim Tehillah”
- it is an allegorical drama
- 1st product of modern Hebrew
Literature.
- it was written by Moses
Hayyim Luzatto
18 TH CENTURY
Moses Mendelsshon’s translation of the
Hebrew Bible into German inspired
interest in the Hebrew language that led to
the founding of a quarterly review written
in Hebrew.
“Shire Tif’eret” and “Mosiade”
- poems made by Nephtali Hirz and
Wessely .
19 TH CENTURY
In the 19th century Galicia poets,
scholars, and popular writers who
contributed to the discrimination of
Hebrew and to the emancipation
of the Jews of Galicia.
19 TH CENTURY
Joseph Perl
- writer and educator
- In 1819, he published Revealer of
Secrets, the 1st Hebrew novel.
Nachman Krochmal
- a philosopher, theologian, and
historian.
19 TH CENTURY
Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport
- a rabbi, poet, and biographer.
Isaac Erter
- a satirical poet, whose collection
of essays, “Ha-Tzofet le-Bet Yisrael, is
one of the purest works of modern
Hebrew Literature.
19 TH CENTURY
Meir Halevy Letteris
- a lyric poet.
Julius Barasch
- a notable Jewish author in
Romania.
20TH CENTURY
Hayim Nahman Bialik
- one of the pioneers of modern
Hebrew poets.
Yitzhaq Shami
- novelist, Palestinian Jewish native of
Hebron
2004 – he was recognized by Palestinian
Academic Society as one of the important
Palestinian writers.
20 TH CENTURY
Leah Goldberg
- prolific writer and
pioneer of Israel
Children’s Literature.
CONTEMPORARY
HEBREW LITERATURE
My Michael and Black box
- novels by Amos Oz
The Lover and Mr. Mani
- by A.B Yehoshua
Anton Shammas
- Israel author who published
the Hebrew novel “Arabesque”
REFERENCES:
www.slideshare.net
www.hebrewisraeliteculture.com
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
www.omniglot.com
www.wikepedia.org
www.ancient.eu
www.theisraelbible.com
Thank you for
watching!
