Ktav Ashuri (Hebrew:כְּתָב אַשּׁוּרִי,k'tav ashurí, lit. "Assyrian Writing") also(Ktav) Ashurit, is the traditionalHebrew language name of theHebrew alphabet, used to write both Hebrew andJewish Babylonian Aramaic. It is often referred to as (the)Square script. The names "Ashuri" (Assyrian) or "square script" are used to distinguish it from thePaleo-Hebrew script.
According toHalakha (Jewish religious law),tefillin (phylacteries) andmezuzot (door-post scripts) can only be written in Ashurit.[1]
Ktav Ashuri is the term used in theTalmud; themodern Hebrew term for the Hebrew alphabet is simplyאלפבית עברי "Alphabet Hebrew". Consequently, the termKtav Ashuri refers primarily to a traditional calligraphic form of the alphabet used in writing theTorah.[1] However, the termAshuri is often used in theBabylonian Talmud to refer to the contemporary "Hebrew alphabet", as opposed to the olderPaleo-Hebrew script.[2]
The Talmud gives two opinions for why the script is calledAshuri:
The name reflects the fact that the Hebrew alphabet used by Jews (as opposed to the Samaritans) was derived from theAramaic alphabet (Hebrew:אלפבית ארמי) used inAssyria andBabylonia andImperial Aramaic was a lingua franca of both states' empires, it thus refers to "theAramaic alphabet as used inJudaism",[5][6] and is sometimes referred to as the "Assyrian script."
The name contrasts with the nameLibonaa (orLiboni) given to theSamaritan alphabet, and by extension thePaleo-Hebrew alphabet. This name is most likely derived fromLubban, i.e. the script is called "Libanian" (ofLebanon), although it has also been suggested that the name is a corrupted form of "Neapolitan", i.e. ofNablus.[7]
Mention of theAshuri script first appears in rabbinic writings of theMishnaic and Talmudic periods, referring to the formal script used in certain Jewish ceremonial items, such assifrei Torah,tefillin,mezuzot, and theFive Megillot.[citation needed]
According to the Talmud,Ezra was the first to mandate that thesefer Torah be written in the Aramaic alphabet rather than in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet used formerly and permitted that theBook of Daniel be composed in Aramaic.[8] According to the Talmud, prior toEzra the Torah had been written in Paleo-Hebrew (Ktav Ivri), and Ezra switched it toKtav Ashuri. However, there is a dispute (in the Talmud) as to whether it was originally written inKtav Ashuri but switched to Paleo-Hebrew, and Ezra was switching it back to the originalKtav Ashuri; or that it was originally in written Paleo-Hebrew script and Ezra was the first to change it toKtav Ashuri. According to a third opinion, the Torah had always been written inKtav Ashuri.[9] TheSamaritans continue to write theirSamaritan Torah inKtav Ivri, now commonly called theSamaritan script.
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| Ktav Stam | ||
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