Ancient Hebrew writings

      This is a part of Hebrew literature
This article is concerned with Hebrew-language texts written in the period from the beginning of Hebrew writing to the Middle Ages. Hebrew, classified as a Canaanite language along with Phoenician, began developing as an independent language around 1050 BCE, though there are earlier attested mentions of Israel in text. The earliest known inscription in Hebrew is the Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription (11th — 10th century BCE), if it can indeed be considered Hebrew at that early a stage. By far the most varied, extensive and historically significant body of literature written in Ancient Hebrew is the canon of the Hebrew Bible (commonly referred to as the "Tanakh" by Jews, the "Old Testament" by Christians), but certain other works have survived as well. It is not unusual for ancient narratives, poetry and rules to have been transmitted orally for several generations before being committed to writing.

The language variety in which the Masoretic biblical text is written, is known as Biblical Hebrew. Varieties of Hebrew were spoken not only by the ancient Israelites but also in adjacent kingdoms east and south of the Jordan River, where distinct non-Israelite dialects existed, now extinct: Ammonite, Moabite and Edomite. After the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been deported from their homeland following the Assyrian conquest in approximately 721 BC, an equivalent linguistic shift occurred. In the Second Temple period since the Babylonian exile, beginning in the 5th century BCE, the two known remnants of the twelve Israelite tribes came to be referred to as Jews and Samaritans (see Samaritan Hebrew).

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