Hebrew

Hebrew, Semitic language in which the Old Testament was written, and official language of the modern nation of Israel. The earliest extant Hebrew writings date from at least the 11th century B.C. Now a sacred tongue and a common written language for religious Jews, Hebrew died out as a spoken language by the 3rd century B.C. but was revived as the language of the modern Jewish nation, largely owing to Eliezer Ben Jehudah, who compiled a Hebrew dictionary in the 19th century. Hebrew is written from right to left.