Hebrew: The Eternal Language

by William Chomsky

Hardback with dust jacket. 1958 second printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language

321 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1957

About the author

William Chomsky (born Ze'ev Chomsky) was an American scholar of the Hebrew language. He was born in the Russian Empire and settled in the United States in 1913.

From 1924 until 1969, he was a member of the faculty at the Jewish teacher-training institution Gratz College, becoming faculty president in 1932. In 1955, he also began teaching courses at Dropsie College, with which he was affiliated until 1977. He was the father of Noam Chomsky.

Reviews

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Noam Chomsky lies on the therapist's couch, this book is why.

While I never knew what an "eternal language" might be, or how Hebrew was one, this is a really enjoyable book. William Chomsky was capable of being enormously, tediously technical - see his translation and reworking of Kimhi's Hebrew Grammar (Mikhlol) but he dropped the pretensions for this very pleasant and informative book, which has the added benefit of often being very accurate. Almost no area of Hebrew is left introduced and unexplored, with copious examples, and all is told in the form of a very interesting tale. I believe that even the novice can benefit from this book.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a scholarly and comprehensive review of the development of the Hebrew language in its oral and written form. It recounts this history from pre-Canaanite days to the founding of the State of Israel, tracing its development from Biblical to Mishnaic Hebrew, loan words from other mostly Near Eastern languages to its reemergence as a vibrant spoken language. Although the book is now more than 60 years old, it still contains a font of useful information. Despite its breadth, I have a number of minor criticisms:
1. It positions the Bible as a historical document, which it was never meant to be.
2. As a purist, Chomsky makes no distinction between the letters bet and vet in his transliterations. This can be annoying to the modern speaker.
3. No mention is made of the Aleppo Codex, one of the oldest extant editions of the Bible. Little mention is made of the Dead Sea Scrolls in confirming the accuracy of the received Scriptures.
4. Not enough credit is given to Eliezer ben Yehuda in reviving the Hebrew language. Nor is there any mention of Itamar Ben-Avi, Eliezer’s son, who grew up to be the first native Hebrew speaker.
5. The final chapters become a bit preachy in positioning an outsized roll for Diaspora Jewry in the continued use of Hebrew. The book was written in the first year of the establishment of the new State. Chomsky could then not foresee the diminished role of the Diaspora as almost a non-entity in the use of Hebrew.

[Adam Aptowitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a tremendous book. It helps in understanding the Bible, the history of the Jewish people (and by extension world history). And finally gives insight to the survival of the Jewish people in the current era. Wonderful.

[samuel stolper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hebrew is so epic. So is linguistics.