A History of Hebrew Part 5: Old Hebrew and Phoenician

This is a segment of a much larger video production that I am working on and am looking for feedback (positive and negative) on the layout and content.

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While Prideaux noted that the Old Hebrew alphabet was the same as the Samaritan alphabet, he also pointed out that it is identical to the Phoenician alphabet. When we compare the letters of these three alphabets, we can see this similarity.

The 1831 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana also makes this connection between the Phoenician, Samaritan and Hebrew alphabets. "[the Hebrews] written characters were the same as the Phoenician, to which the letters of the Samaritan manuscripts approach the nearest." --Encyclopedia Americana, Hebrew Language and Literature, Pub. 1831, Page 212

The Phonecians were a Canaanite people who lived north of the land of Israel centered around the Biblical cities of Sidon and Tyre, in modern day Lebanon, between the 16th and 3rd Century BC. These three peoples, the Phoenicians, Samaritans and Hebrews, are Shemites, descendents of Noah's son Shem. Not only do they all share the same ethnic heritage but, they all share the same alphabet.

It was also evident that they all shared the same language as the "Foreign Quarterly Review" wrote in its 1838 publication; "The learned world had almost universally allowed that the Phoenician language was, with few exceptions, identical with the Hebrew" --The Foreign quarterly review, Phoenician Inscriptions, Pub. 1838, Page 446

While the origins of the Old Hebrew alphabet was widely accepted, this theory was based on a limited amount of evidence as the "Foreign quarterly review" points out; "What is left [of Phoenician] consists of a few inscriptions and coins" --The Foreign quarterly review, Phoenician Inscriptions, Pub. 1838, page 445

However, In the latter half of the 19th century and into the 21st century, many new discoveries were made that would cement this theory in place.

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Credits

Narrator: Jeff A. Benner

Graphics: Jeff A. Benner

Footooge: Nova


Photos: Elie Plus

Category:

Education

[peteliuz79]

Awesome Middle-eastern music! Who is the artist? I love the biblical Hebrew culture! Going back to Avraham's tent :)

[ancienthebreworg]

@peteliuz79 The artist is Callen Clark.

[MightyZarkon]

Making a scientific argument using the bible flood story of Noah that is supposed to explain where races come from is asinine. For one, the flood story is not semitic or Hebrew or Jewish. Moses, as you may recall, was a Pharaoh. Jews /Hyksos invaded Egypt around 1800 BC and were kicked out in around 1200 BC, much too early for the Flood(~9620BC). The Hyksos became Israel with a new identity only after stealing Egypts wealth, secrets, and knowledge. Before that they were just average barbarians.

[albertsneijMD]

very good production

[MrViTopol]

@ancienthebreworg there was no 'halakhah' in Egypt 'bondage''... hence your 'explanations' fail. beside. there was no 'Exodus'. where would the crowds 'lead' by 'Moses' escape to? when Canaan was a Egyptian colony at that time, with egyptian military garrisons stationed there... myths shouldn't be presented as history. it's not healthy...

[MrViTopol]

@reality00000 It's supressed cuz so many so called 'scientists'' made very lucrative careers on ''greek'' / ''roman'' pseudo history, and they'll never allow anybody to rock the boat that feeds them...

[MrViTopol]

@reality00000 It's supressed cuz so many so called 'scientists'' made very lucrative careers on ''greek'' / ''roman'' pseudo history, and they'll never allow anybody to rock the boat that feeds them...

[VictorLepanto]

@ 2:07: You show ,what I assume, must be a Phoenician coin. I am fascinated by the flower image on this coin. It resembles the traditional cross of the St. Thomas Christians of India. Their Greco-form cross has flowering buds on its three upper arms.

[shadyev992]

The north Africans are not BLACK they do have lighter complextion than those in west Africa and east Africa is also a bit darker than the northerns Africans but lighter than the west Africans.

[sbz666283]

@reality00000 not before noah lol. A group of people can't exist before the father was alive. pheonicans isnt a dirty word its just alot of posers claim them or deny them outright. cause people try to link them to living people and a race that was wiped out making things not quite right.