From Proto-Sinaitic Script to Phoenician Language to Hebrew

Are Proto-Sinaitic script and Proto-Semitic language related? How do they develop into the Phoenician script?

Proto-Sinaitic script and Proto-Semitic language are related, but they are not the same thing—they operate in different linguistic domains:

• Proto-Semitic is a language: the hypothetical reconstructed ancestor of all Semitic languages, such as Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, and Akkadian.
• Proto-Sinaitic is a script: an early writing system developed to record language, specifically influenced by Egyptian hieroglyphs and used to write early Semitic languages.

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The Connection Between Proto-Sinaitic and Proto-Semitic

• Proto-Sinaitic script (c. 1800–1500 BCE) was likely developed by Semitic-speaking workers or settlers in the Sinai region, who were familiar with Egyptian hieroglyphs.
• These people spoke dialects descended from Proto-Semitic, so the writing system they created was used to represent Semitic sounds.
• Many of the Proto-Sinaitic symbols are acrophonic: a symbol represented a sound based on the first sound of the Semitic word for the pictured item. For example, a drawing of a house (from Semitic bayt) was used for the sound /b/.

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Evolution into Phoenician

The development of the Phoenician script from Proto-Sinaitic happened through intermediate stages:

1. Proto-Sinaitic (c. 1800–1500 BCE) – early pictographic script, limited in number of inscriptions, used acrophony.
2. Proto-Canaanite (c. 1500–1050 BCE) – transitional script, more standardized, used in Canaan (Levant).
3. Phoenician (c. 1050 BCE onward) – fully alphabetic, standardized 22-character script that influenced nearly all later alphabets, including Greek and Latin.

How did the Phoenician alphabet eventually evolve into Hebrew? Additionally, when did Hebrew become a fully developed, standardized language?

The Phoenician alphabet evolved into Paleo-Hebrew, the earliest script used to write the Hebrew language, around the 10th century BCE. This development marked a branching within the family of Canaanite scripts, where different Semitic peoples (like the Israelites and Moabites) began using slightly regionalized versions of the script to write their own languages.

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From Phoenician to Hebrew Script

1. Phoenician Alphabet (c. 1050 BCE):
   • Used across the Levant.
   • 22 letters, all consonants (an abjad).
   • Foundation for many scripts: Aramaic, Greek, Old Italic, and more.
2. Paleo-Hebrew Script (10th–6th century BCE):
   • A variant of the Phoenician script used by Israelites.
   • Used in inscriptions like the Siloam Inscription and Gezer Calendar.
   • Not radically different in form Phoenician.
3. Aramaic Influence and the Square Script:
   • After the Babylonian Exile (6th century BCE), Jews increasingly adopted the Aramaic script, the official script of the Persian Empire.
   • Over time, this evolved into the “Jewish square script”, what we now call modern Hebrew script.
   • This transition was largely complete by the 3rd century BCE, especially for religious and formal writing.

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Formalization of the Hebrew Language

• Spoken Hebrew existed as a dialect of Canaanite since around 1200 BCE.
• Biblical Hebrew was the literary and liturgical form used to write most of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), composed roughly between 1000–200 BCE.
• By the 2nd century CE, Hebrew had mostly ceased as a spoken vernacular, replaced by Aramaic and later other languages, but remained in religious, literary, and legal use.
• The Masoretes (c. 600–1000 CE) later formalized Hebrew with vowel markings (niqqud) to preserve pronunciation and scripture.

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Resources

Curated list of reliable resources (books, articles, and online references) that cover the major topics we discussed:

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🔤 1. Scripts and Writing Systems

Books:

• “The World’s Writing Systems” — edited by Peter T. Daniels and William Bright
  Comprehensive reference covering Proto-Sinaitic, Proto-Canaanite, Phoenician, Hebrew, and more.
• “Reading the Past: Ancient Writing from Cuneiform to the Alphabet” by J.T. Hooker
  Includes detailed images and explanations of early alphabetic scripts.

Online Resources:

• Ancient Scripts: Semitic
  Concise overview of Semitic scripts including Proto-Sinaitic and Proto-Canaanite.
• Omniglot: Phoenician & Hebrew Scripts
  Charts and info comparing historical scripts.

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🗣 2. Languages and Etymology

Books:

• “The Semitic Languages” by Robert Hetzron
  Covers the Proto-Semitic language and its descendants.
• “A History of the Hebrew Language” by Angel Sáenz-Badillos
  Excellent overview from Proto-Semitic to modern Hebrew.

Articles:

• “The Origin of the Hebrew Language” — The Jewish Virtual Library
• “Ivri and Hebrew: What’s in a Name?” — My Jewish Learning

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📜 3. Historical and Biblical Context

Books:

• “Who Wrote the Bible?” by Richard Elliott Friedman
  Explores the composition and authorship of the Torah.
• “The Bible Unearthed” by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman
  Archaeology and historical perspective on early Israel and Moses.

Online:

• Torah and Egyptian Hieroglyphs? – Biblical Archaeology Society
• The Masoretic Text – Jewish Encyclopedia

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🧱 4. Script Comparisons and Alphabet Charts

• Evolution of the Alphabet (Stanford University resource)
• Visual Evolution of Phoenician to Greek and Latin