希伯来语(Hebrew language)
属闪米特语西北支，为犹太教的祭祀语言和现代以色列的国语。如阿拉米语（与它关系密切）一样，经考证的希伯来语历史近3,000年，最早完全证实的希伯来语阶段是圣经希伯来语：较早的部分（标准圣经希伯来语）溯自西元前500年以前，甚至包括较古老的诗经文字；较晚的部分（晚近圣经希伯来语）约形成於西元前500～西元前200年。後圣经希伯来语（又称密西拿希伯来语或拉比希伯来语）具有早期（希伯来语可能在某种程度上还算是一种国语时）及晚期（西元前200年之後，当阿拉米语成为南亚犹太人的日常用语时）的特色。6～7世纪象徵过渡到中古希伯来语的时期。希伯来语再度复兴为以色列国语与18世纪的哈斯卡拉运动和20世纪的犹太复国主义有密切关系。在以色列和国外讲现代以色列希伯来语的人数约有五百万人。其发音在整体上与德系犹太语和西班牙系犹太语有很大的差别（参阅Ashkenazi和Sephardi）。亦请参阅Hebrew alphabet。
English version：
Hebrew language
NW Semitic language that is both a sacred language of Judaism and a modern vernacular in the state of Israel. Like Aramaic, to which it is closely related, Hebrew has a documented history of nearly 3,000 years. The earliest fully attested stage of the language is Biblical Hebrew: the earlier parts (“Standard Biblical Hebrew”) date before 500 BC and include even older poetic passages; the later parts (“Late Biblical Hebrew”) were composed c. 500-200 BC. Post-Biblical Hebrew, variously termed Rabbinic or Mishnaic Hebrew (see Mishna), is characterized by an early period when Hebrew was still probably to some degree a vernacular, and a later period, after c. AD 200, when Aramaic became the everyday speech of Jews in South Asia. The 6th and 7th century marked a transition to Medieval Hebrew. The resurrection of Hebrew as a vernacular is closely linked with the 18th-century Haskala movement and 20th-century Zionism. Contemporary Israeli Hebrew is spoken by about 5 million people in Israel and abroad. Pronunciation represents on the whole a leveling of differences between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions (see Ashkenazi, Sephardi). See also Hebrew alphabet.