What Does Hebrew Mean?

Hebrew is an Afro-Asiatic Semitic language spoken by the Jewish people. It is one of the oldest living languages in the world and more than 7 million people speak Hebrew. The Bible was written in Hebrew.

In the Scriptures, the name Hebrew applied to the Israelites only by a person who is a foreigner or by the Israelites when they speak of themselves to an outsider.

As far as meaning and origin of the word 'Hebrew' is concerned, three different views are observed.

According to some people, the name is derived from Eber, who was the ancestor of Abraham. Hebrews are the sons of Eber.

Another group relates the word to a Hebrew root-word meaning 'the man who passed over.' And hence it is regarded as 'the man who passed over the Euphrates'.

A third derivation of the word is that it came from the word 'abhar', meaning 'to pass over' or 'passer through' in contrast to a person who is a settler in the land.

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