Lexical Summary Yehudith: Judean, language of Judah Original Word: יְהוּדִית Strong's Exhaustive Concordance in the Jews' language Feminine of Yhuwdiy; the Jewish (used adverbially) language -- in the Jews' language. see HEBREW Yhuwdiy NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfem. of Yehudi Definition Jewish NASB Translation Judean (4), language of Judah (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. יְהוּדִית adjective, of a people, feminine of foregoing, but only as adverb in Jewish = in the Jewish language 2 Kings 18:26,28 = Isaiah 36:11,13 2Chronicles 32:18; Nehemiah 13:24. Topical Lexicon Meaning and Scope יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) denotes the common speech of the people of Judah—the everyday Hebrew of Jerusalem and its environs. In the Old Testament it functions as a marker of covenant identity, distinguishing the language of God’s people from the surrounding imperial tongues. Occurrences and Contexts • 2 Kings 18:26 – Judean officials beg the Assyrian spokesman: “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic… do not speak with us in Hebrew (Yehudit) within the hearing of the people on the wall.” Historical Setting during Hezekiah’s Reign When Sennacherib invaded Judah (circa 701 BC), Assyria’s envoys addressed the court in Aramaic, the diplomatic lingua franca. Yet they turned to Yehudit when they wished to demoralize the common soldiers. The episode highlights two truths: outsiders recognized a distinct Jewish language, and the people of Judah still understood it well enough for the enemy’s words to matter. God’s deliverance that followed (2 Kings 19) preserved both the city and its tongue. Nehemiah’s Reforms and Post-Exilic Identity A century and a half later, Nehemiah discovered that many covenant families no longer knew Yehudit. The drift toward foreign speech mirrored a drift from the Law. Nehemiah’s reaction—public reading of Scripture, covenant renewal, and decisive correction (Nehemiah 8–13)—shows that language preservation served spiritual reformation. Retaining Yehudit meant retaining access to the Torah and the worship it commanded. Language, Revelation, and Theological Implications 1. Comprehensibility: God chose to reveal Himself in the heart-language of His people (Deuteronomy 6:6–7). Prophetic Echoes and New Testament Parallels Pentecost reverses the tactic of the Rab-shakeh: instead of an enemy sowing fear in Yehudit, the Spirit proclaims good news in every tongue (Acts 2:6). The prophetic ideal glimpsed in Isaiah 54:13—“All your sons will be taught by the LORD”—finds fulfillment when the message of salvation becomes accessible to all peoples while still honoring its Hebrew roots. Lessons for Contemporary Ministry • Teach Scripture in the language people actually understand, following the pattern of Yehudit in ancient Judah. Forms and Transliterations יְהוּדִ֑ית יְהוּדִ֔ית יְהוּדִ֗ית יהודית yə·hū·ḏîṯ yehuDit yəhūḏîṯLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance 2 Kings 18:26 HEB: תְּדַבֵּ֤ר עִמָּ֙נוּ֙ יְהוּדִ֔ית בְּאָזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם NAS: [it]; and do not speak with us in Judean in the hearing KJV: [it]: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears INT: speak in Judean the hearing of the people 2 Kings 18:28 2 Chronicles 32:18 Nehemiah 13:24 Isaiah 36:11 Isaiah 36:13 6 Occurrences |
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