What makes Hebrew different from all other languages? The most important feature that sets Hebrew apart is the fact that Hebrew is NOT a language that is based on agreement, like all other languages. Hebrew is a CONCEPTUAL language.

In the English language, for example, words do not have an inherent meaning. The meaning of a word in English is determined by agreement only. So if we say the word CAT, the word itself does not have meaning, except the meaning we assign to it by agreement. When children learn the language, they learn many word-agreements and are therefore able to speak and communicate with others who know the same words. This is the nature of all agreement-based languages, and it causes these languages to change over time as new word-agreements find their way into the accepted spoken form of the language. To better understand this phenomenon, compare 15th century English with modern American, British, Australian or India's English. English is clearly influenced and changed by the passage of time and by the cultural experience of the people who use it.

Hebrew, as a conceptual language, operates on a different principal altogether. A quick study of how words are formed in Hebrew reveals a stunning resemblance between the structure of the language, where its letters combine to form words with an inherent meaning; and the structure of the physical universe, where atoms combine into molecules to form various substances.

In the material world, each atom expresses an inherent unique property. When a combination of several atoms occurs, it becomes a molecule, which is the smallest expression of a particular material. Each of the Hebrew letters, in exactly the same way, expresses a concept. When put together in combinations with other letters (typically sets of three letters) they form the equivalent of a molecule: a Hebrew root. And from this root many words spring out, all carrying within them the three letters of the root and some of the original meaning of the concept of the root. In our example of the CAT, the Hebrew word to describe this animal sounds phonetically as "KAT-UL". Katul is derived from the three-letter root [chet, tav, lamed] or phonetically K.T.L., that means, "to wrap around". Clearly those who are familiar with cats know that one of their favorite positions is to "wrap around themselves" in some corner and sleep. The word KAT-UL therefore, is a precise description of one of the most visible characteristics of the cat. Interestingly enough, the root K.T.L is also the source of the Hebrew word "KI-TUL" [chet, yod, tav, vav, lamed] which means "a diaper". Since a diaper is usually wrapped around the baby, it is logical that it will be derived from the same K.T.L. root. In English, of course, both words are based on mere agreement and there is no connection between a diaper and a cat.

Now, another quick look at the KAT-UL will reveal the KAT part of it to be none other than our familiar CAT. The same Hebrew "KAT" appears in the French CHAT, the Polish COTA, the Spanish GATO and in other languages as well. Think also about the word "KUDDLE" in English, describing exactly the meaning of the Hebrew root K.T.L. (or K.D.L. where similar sounds as 'T' & 'D' are interchangeable). Does this mean that English (and maybe all other languages) are just forms of "confused Hebrew"? Could Hebrew be the language mentioned in the story of the tower of Babel? (Genesis 11:1 "The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words" and Genesis 11:7 "Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language") Well, we will try to answer this question and others in forthcoming articles.