ABSTRACT
The Hebrew Bible is often thought of as a single book, but in fact it is an anthology of many books covering a variety of different genres: historical narrative, legal instructions, poetry, proverbs, myth, prophecy, letters, and more. Archaic Biblical Hebrew is the language of some of the poetic texts appearing in the Bible, most famously the Song of the Sea and the Song of Deborah. Standard Biblical Hebrew is based on the dialect that was spoken in the Kingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusalem, but there is good evidence that other dialects of Hebrew existed in other parts of biblical Israel. Biblical Hebrew is widely studied around the world in traditional Jewish and Christian schools and seminaries, as well as in secular university settings by large numbers of students of all ages. The importance of the Hebrew Bible within multiple faith groups ensures the continued relevance of this ancient variety of the Hebrew language.
