---
lang: en
type: Language
record_kind: entity-profile
title: Hebrew
description: Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language revived as a modern spoken tongue in the 20th century after millennia as a liturgical literary language. Israel’s standard is one of history’s most successful language revitalization projects.
llms_summary: "Hebrew. Language. Grammatical Typology SVO, Fusional, Root-and-pattern. L1 Native Speakers 5000000 (5M). Language Family Afro-Asiatic / Semitic / Northwest Semitic. Language Vitality Index 8/10 (National) scale. Number of Countries 1 countries. Standard Script Hebrew abjad. Total Speakers 9000000 (9M). UNESCO Risk Category Safe. Web Domain Share (%) 0.1 %. Writing System Complexity Level 3 (Abjad) level. Linguistics & Culture. Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language revived as a modern spoken tongue in the 20th century after millennia as a liturgical literary language. Israel’s standard is one of history’s most successful language revitalization projects.  canonical profile on Structured Pages"
canonical: "https://structuredpages.com/hebrew/"
og_image: "https://structuredpages.com/images/languages/hebrew/hebrew.webp"
primary_image: "https://structuredpages.com/images/languages/hebrew/hebrew.webp"
site: structured-pages
slug: hebrew
date_created: 2026-09-11
date_modified: 2026-09-11
license: All rights reserved
entities:
  -
    role: subject
    slug: hebrew
    name: Hebrew
    type: Language
    profile_url: "https://structuredpages.com/hebrew/index.md"
---
# Hebrew

Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language revived as a modern spoken tongue in the 20th century after millennia as a liturgical literary language. Israel’s standard is one of history’s most successful language revitalization projects.

*Last updated: 2026-09-11*

## Record

- **Title**: [Hebrew](https://structuredpages.com/hebrew/index.md)
- **Use case**: Linguistics & Culture
- **CTA**: [See if Structured Pages fits your catalog](mailto:chris62475@gmail.com?subject=Structured%20Pages%20Catalog%20Inquiry)
- **CTA note**: Email chris62475@gmail.com to talk it through. Live demos on structuredpages.com.

### Description

#### Historical Evolution

Biblical Hebrew gave way to Mishnaic and Medieval literary forms; by the early modern period Hebrew was primarily sacred and scholarly. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and the Zionist project engineered spoken revival, coining neologisms and establishing schools. Modern Israeli Hebrew absorbed influences from Yiddish, Arabic, and European languages.

#### Phonology

Modern Hebrew has five vowels; consonants include pharyngeal /ʕ/ and uvular /χ/ though these weaken in casual speech. Stress is typically penultimate or final. The alphabet is abjad: vowels marked optionally by niqqud in religious texts, rarely in everyday writing.

#### Syntax

Hebrew is primarily SVO in modern usage with prepositions. Verbs use root-and-pattern morphology with binyanim (verb stems) encoding voice and aktionsart. Gender and number agreement on verbs and adjectives is mandatory; definite article ha- is proclitic.

### Categories

- language
- semitic

### Attributes

| Property | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Grammatical Typology | SVO, Fusional, Root-and-pattern |
| L1 Native Speakers | 5000000 (5M) |
| Language Family | Afro-Asiatic / Semitic / Northwest Semitic |
| Language Vitality Index | 8/10 (National) scale |
| Number of Countries | 1 countries |
| Standard Script | Hebrew abjad |
| Total Speakers | 9000000 (9M) |
| UNESCO Risk Category | Safe |
| Web Domain Share (%) | 0.1 % |
| Writing System Complexity | Level 3 (Abjad) level |