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History of literature by era |
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Ancient (corpora) |
Early medieval |
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Ancient Hebrew writings are texts written in Biblical Hebrew using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
The earliest known precursor to Hebrew, an inscription in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, is the Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription (11th–10th century BCE),[1] if it can be considered Hebrew at that early a stage.
By far the most varied, extensive, and historically significant body of literature written in Biblical Hebrew is the Hebrew scriptures (commonly referred to as the Tanakh), but certain other works have survived as well. Before the Aramaic-derived Hebrew alphabet was adopted circa the 5th century BCE, the Phoenician-derived Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was used for writing, and a derivative of the script still survives to this day in the form of the Samaritan script.