Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language.

It is one
of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew
by non-Jews.

Ancient Hebrew literature

Beyond comparison, the most important such work is the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh).

 The Hebrew Bible (also Hebrew Scriptures, Latin Biblia Hebraica) is a term referring to
the texts of the Jewish Bible (Hebrew: Tanakh) composed in Biblical Hebrew and
Biblical Aramaic.

The term is an attempt to provide specificity with respect to contents, while avoiding allusion to
any particular interpretative tradition or theological school of thought.
  The Mishna, compiled around 200 CE, is the primary rabbinic codification of laws as
derived from the Torah. (The Torah is the first of three parts of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the
founding religious document of Judaism,and is divided into five books, whose names in English
are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy,). It was written in Mishnaic
Hebrew, but the major commentary on it, the Gemara, was largely written in Aramaic.
Many works of classical midrash were written in Hebrew.

Medieval Hebrew literature

Many works of medieval rabbinic literature were written in Hebrew, including:

 Torah commentaries by Abraham ibn Ezra, Rashi and others;

 codifications of Jewish law, such as Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, the Arba'ah Turim,
 and the Shulchan Aruch;( The Shulchan Aruch ,known in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is
a codification, or written manual, of halacha (Jewish law), authored and published by Rabbi
Yosef Karo in the 16th century.)
 and works of Musar literature (didactic ethical literature) such as Bahya ibn Paquda's
Chovot ha-Levavot (The Duties of the Heart).

Many works of medieval philosophical literature such as the Guide to the Perplexed and
The Kuzari, as well as many works of fiction, were written in Judeo-Arabic. One work of
fiction which was written in Hebrew was the "Fox Fables" by Berechiah ben Natronai ha-
Nakdan, Hebrew fables which resemble Aesop's fables.( Aesop's Fables or Aesopica refers
to a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller who lived in ancient Greece.
His fables are some of the most well known in the world. The fables remain a popular choice for
moral education of children today.)

Much medieval Jewish poetry was written in Hebrew, including liturgical piyyutim(A piyyut or
piyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious
services ). These poems were added to the Hebrew-language liturgy. This liturgy was compiled in
book form as "the siddur" by rabbis including Amram Gaon and Saadia Gaon.

Later Spanish, Provencal, and Italian poets wrote both religious and secular poems; particularly
prominent poets were Solomon ibn Gabirol and Yehuda Halevi.

Modern Hebrew literature

In addition to writing traditional rabbinic literature in Hebrew, modern Jews developed new
forms of fiction, poetry, and essay-writing, which are typically called "Modern Hebrew
Literature."

Eighteenth Century

Moses Hayyim Luzzatto's allegorical drama "La-Yesharim Tehillah" (1743) may be regarded as
the first product of modern Hebrew literature. It has been referred to as "a poem that in its classic
perfection of style is second only to the Bible.” Luzzatto's pupil in Amsterdam, David Franco
Mendes ,in his imitations of Jean Racine ("Gemul 'Atalyah") and of Metastasio ("Yehudit"),
continued his master's work, though his works are not as respected as were Luzzatto's.

In the eighteenth century, the Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment) movement worked to achieve
political emancipation for Jews in Europe. Moses Mendelssohn's translation of the Hebrew Bible
into German inspired interest in the Hebrew language that led to the founding of a quarterly
review written in Hebrew.

Nineteenth Century

In nineteenth-century Galicia, poets, scholars, and popular writers who contributed to the
dissemination of Hebrew and to the emancipation of the Jews of Galicia included:

 Nachman Krochmal (1785–1840), a philosopher, theologian, and historian.

 Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (1790–1867), a rabbi, poet, and biographer
 Isaac Erter (1792–1841), a satirical poet whose collection of essays, "Ha-Tzofeh le-Bet
Yisrael," is one of the purest works of modern Hebrew literature, attacking Hasidic
superstitions and prejudices in a vigorous and classical style.
 Meir Halevy Letteris (1800–1871), a lyric poet also known for his adaption of Goethe's
Faust into Hebrew.

In Amsterdam, a circle of Hebrew-language literary artists emerged in the nineteenth century,

including the poet Samuel Molder (1789–1862).

Prague(is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic )became an active center for the Haskalah
in the nineteenth century, and the best known among the Haskalah writers there was Jehudah
Loeb Jeiteles (1773–1838), author of witty epigrams ("Bene ha-Ne'urim") and of works directed
against Hasidism and against superstition.

In Hungary, Hebrew-language authors included Solomon Lewison of Moor (1789–1822),

author of "Melitzat Yeshurun"; Gabriel Südfeld, a poet who was the father of Max Nordau; and
the poet Simon Bacher.[6] A notable Jewish author in Romania during the nineteenth century was
the physician and writer Julius Barasch.[7]

Italian Jews of the nineteenth-century who wrote in Hebrew included:

 S. Reggio (1784–1854),
 Joseph Almanzi, Hayyim Salomon,
 Samuel Vita Lolli (1788–1843).
 Rachel Morpurgo (1790–1860), who was one of the only female writers in the Haskalah
movement, and whose poems have been described as characterized by "religious piety
and a mystic faith in Israel's future."
 Samuel David Luzzatto (1800–65), The best known Italian writer,was the first modern
writer to introduce religious romanticism into Hebrew and to attack northern rationalism
in the name of religious and national feeling.
 Prominent Hebrew writers in the Russian empire in the nineteenth century
included:

 the poet and mathematician Jacob Eichenbaum (1796–1861)

 the Haskalah leader Isaac Baer Levinsohn
 Kalman Schulman (1826–1900), who introduced the romantic form into Hebrew
 the romantic poet Micah Joseph Lebensohn (1828–52)
 the Lithuanian author Mordecai Aaron Ginzburg, known as "the father of prose"
 Lithuanian poet Abraham Baer Lebensohn, known as the "father of poetry," whose
poems "Shire Sefat Kodesh" were extraordinarily successful.
 Abraham Mapu (1808–67), the creator of the Hebrew novel, whose historical romance
"Ahabat Tziyyon" exercised an important influence on the development of Hebrew.

The poet Judah Leib Gordon, also known as "Leon Gordon" (1831–1892), was a well-known
satirical poet who has been characterized as "an implacable enemy of the Rabbis."

Twentieth Century

As Zionist settlement in Palestine intensified at the start of the twentieth century, Hebrew
became the shared language of the various Jewish immigrant communities. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
in particular worked to adapt Hebrew to the needs of the modern world, turning to Hebrew
sources from all periods to develop a language that went beyond the sacred and was capable of
articulating the modern experience.

Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poets and came
to be recognized as Israel's national poet. Bialik contributed significantly to the revival of the
Hebrew language, which before his days existed primarily as an ancient, scholarly tongue. His
influence is felt deeply in all modern Hebrew literature. Bialik, like other great literary figures
from the early part of the 20th century such as Ahad Ha-Am and Tchernichovsky, spent his last
years in Tel Aviv, exerting a great influence on younger Hebrew writers.

The foundations of modern Israeli writing were laid by a group of literary pioneers from the
Second Aliyah including Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Moshe Smilansky, Yosef Haim Brenner,
David Shimoni and Jacob Fichman. In contrast, Yitzhaq Shami, was a native of Palestine, and
he holds a unique place in Hebrew literature, since his work is also recognized as Palestinian
literature.

Contemporary Hebrew literature

Contemporary Israeli authors whose works have been translated into other languages and
attained international recognition are:

 Ephraim Kishon,
 Yaakov Shabtai,
 A. B. Yehoshua,
  Amos Oz,
 Irit Linur,
 Etgar Keret
 Yehoshua Sobol.

Today thousands of new books are published in Hebrew each year, both translations from other
languages and original works by Israeli authors.

12 most influential masterpieces...additional info lang sa post ni prosperina

girl :)))))

 The Bible – Holy Book of Roman Catholics (or Christians), considered to be the world’s
best selling book of all time.
 Qur’an(or Koran) – Holy Book of Moslems (or Arabs)
 ‘Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey’ – legends and mythology (Greek) classics by Homer
 Divina Comedia (Divine Comedy) – by Dante Alighieri, about God, heaven, hell, faith, etc.
in the Italian perspective
 Book of the Suns – China’s guide to wisdom and faith, by Confucius
 Book of the Dead – Egypt’s mythology or theology book
 Mahabharata - classic literature about the history of India’s faith
 One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) – stories about the early Arab or Persian
society
 El Cid Campeador – about Spain’s legendary folk hero, history of Spain, characteristics of
the Spanish people
 Canterbury Tales- by Geoffrey Chaucer, about England’s people and their faith
 Song of Roland – about the golden age of Christianity in France
 Uncle Tom’s Cabin- US’ classic novel about slavery, spreading the ideals of freedom and
democracy all throughout the world