understanding we may accept the genealogy of alphabets as given by Gesenius, and exhibited in
the accompanying table. The old Semitic alphabets may he divided into two principal classes:
•The Phoenician as it exists in the inscriptions in Cyprus, Malta, Carpentras, and the coins of
Phoenicia and her colonies. From it are derived the Samaritan and the Greek character.
•The Hebrew-Chaldee character; to which belong the Hebrew square character; the which has some
traces of a cursive hand; the Estrangelo, or ancient Syriac; and the ancient Arabic or Cufic. It was
probably about the first or second century after Christ that the square character assumed its present
form; though in a question involved in so much uncertainty it is impossible to pronounce with
great positiveness. The alphabet .—The oldest evidence on the subject of the Hebrew alphabet is
derived from the alphabetical psalms and poems: Psal 25,34,37,111,112,119,145; (Proverbs
31:10-31; Lamentations 1:1-4) From these we ascertain that the number of the letters was
twenty-two, as at present. The Arabic alphabet originally consisted of the same number. It has
been argued by many that the alphabet of the Phoenicians at first consisted of only sixteen letters.
The legend, as told by Pliny (vii. 56), is as follows; Cadmus brought with him into Greece sixteen
letters; at the time of the Trojan war Palamedes added four others, theta, epsilon, phi, chi, and
Simonides of Melos four more dzeta, eta, psi, omega. Divisions of words.—Hebrew was originally
written, like most ancient languages, without any divisions between the words. The same is the
case with the Phoenician inscriptions, The various readings in the LXX. show that, at the version
was made, in the Hebrew MSS. which the translators used the words were written in a continuous
series. The modern synagogue rolls and the MSS. of the Samaritan Pentateuch have no vowel-points,
but the words are divided, and the Samaritan in this respect differs hut little from the Hebrew.
Writing materials, etc.—The oldest documents which contain the writing of a Semitic race are
probably the bricks of Nineveh and Babylon, on which are impressed the cuneiform Syrian
inscriptions. There is, however, no evidence that they were ever used by the Hebrews. It is highly
probable that the ancient as well as the most common material which the Hebrews used for writing
was dressed skin in some form or other. We know that the dressing of skins was practiced by the
Hebrews, (Exodus 25:5; Leviticus 13:48) and they may have acquired the knowledge of the art
from the Egyptians, among whom if had attained great perfection, the leather-cutters constituting
one of the principal subdivisions of the third caste. Perhaps the Hebrews may have borrowed
among their either acquirements, the use of papyrus from the Egyptians, but of this we have no
positive evidence. In the Bible the only allusions to the use of papyrus are in (2 John 1:12) where
chartes (Authorized Version “paper”) occurs, which refers especially to papyrus paper, and 3
Macc. 4:20, where charteria is found in the same sense. Herodotus, after telling us that the Ionians
learned the art of writing from the Phoenicians, adds that they called their books skins, because
they made use of sheep-skins and goat-skins when short of paper. Parchment was used for the
MSS. of the Pentateuch in the time of Josephus, and the membranae of (2 Timothy 4:13) were
skins of parchment. It was one of the provisions in the Talmud that the law should be written on
the skins of clean animals, tame or wild, or even of clean birds. The skins when written upon were
formed into rolls (megilloth). (Psalms 40:7) comp. Isai 34:4; Jere 36:14; Ezek 2:9; Zech 5:1 They
were rolled upon one or two sticks and fastened with a thread, the ends of which were sealed.
(Isaiah 29:11; Daniel 12:4; Revelation 5:1) etc. The rolls were generally written on one side only,
except in (Ezekiel 2:9; Revelation 5:1) They were divided into columns (Authorized Version
“leaves,”) (Jeremiah 36:23) the upper margin was to be not less than three fingers broad, the lower
not less than four; and a space of two fingers breadth was to be left between every two columns.
frankie
(Frankie)
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