Hebraism

Hebraism is a lexical item, usage or trait characteristic of the Hebrew language. By successive extension it is often applied to the Jewish people, their faith, national ideology or culture.

Idiomatic Hebrew

Hebrew has many idiomatic terms that are not easily translatable to other languages, for example בארבע עיניים be'arba enayim, literally 'with four eyes,' means face to face without the presence of a third person, as in, 'The two men met with four eyes.' The expression לא דובים ולא יער lo dubim ve lo ya'ar is literally "neither bears nor forest" but means that something is completely false. The saying טמן את ידו בצלחת taman et yado batsalakhat "buried his hand in the dish" means that someone idles away his time."^[1]

Lexical items deriving from Hebrew

"Hebraism" may also refer to a lexical item with Hebrew etymology, i.e. that (ultimately) derives from Hebrew.^[2] For example, the English word stiff-necked, meaning "stubborn", is a calque of Greek σκληροτράχηλος, which is a calque of Hebrew קשה עורף qeshēh ʿōref "hard of neck; stubborn". Similar calques are the way of women (דרך נשים) "menstruation" and flowing with milk and honey (זבת חלב ודבש) "abundance".

Sometimes Hebraisms can be coined using non-Hebrew structure. For example, the Yiddish lexical item ישיבה בחור yeshive bokher, meaning "Yeshivah student", uses a Germanic structure but two Hebrew lexical items.^[3]^: 117

Distinctive language

Beyond simple etymology, both spoken and written Hebrew is marked by peculiar linguistic elements that distinguish its semitic roots. This hebraism includes word order, chiasmus, compound prepositions, and numerous other distinctive features.

Systematic Hebraisms

Finally, the word "hebraism" describes a quality, character, nature, or method of thought, or system of religion attributed to the Hebrew people. It is in this sense that Matthew Arnold (1869) contrasted Hebraism with Hellenism,^[4] identifying Thomas Carlyle as his age's embodiment of the former.^[5] Feldman's response to Arnold expands on this usage.^[6] Leo Strauss is also well-known for his metaphorical juxtaposition of Jerusalem and Athens in a similar light.^[7]^[8]^[9] Furthermore, Friedrich Nietzsche and Otto Weiniger thought in terms of similar dualities as well.

Notes

^ Bivin, David. "Hebrew Idioms in the Gospels," Jerusalem Perspective Online. Archived 2007-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Hebraism," Merriam-Webster online.
^ Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003), Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403917232 / ISBN 9781403938695 [1]
^ Arnold, Matthew. "Hebraism and Hellenism". From Culture and Anarchy: An Essay in Political and Social Criticism.
^ Cumming, Mark, ed. (2004). "Arnold, Matthew". The Carlyle Encyclopedia. Madison and Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780838637920.
^ Feldman, Louis H., "Hebraism and Hellenism reconsidered," Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, March 1994.
^ Strauss, Leo (December 26, 2011). "Jerusalem and Athens". Retrieved 19 February 2024.
^ Gordon, David (October 31, 2022). "DOES LEO STRAUSS CHOOSE JERUSALEM OR ATHENS?". Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
^ Reinsch II., Richard M. (April 7, 2019). "Between Rome and 'Jerusalem and Athens'". Russell Kirk Center. Retrieved 20 February 2024.