Which language is older, Hebrew or Arabic?

Like biological species, languages are tricky to define. The oldest language called Hebrew is certainly older than the oldest language called Arabic, though the oldest form of Arabic still intelligible to modern speakers (early Modern Standard Arabic) is probably older than Modern Hebrew. read more

Nonetheless, the relationship between Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, and Arabic is far closer than the relationship between (for example) such Indo-European languages as Welsh and Punjabi. Therefore, in terms of antiquity, the Semitic Languages have a far older written history, but the Indo-Europeans may have been speaking their language just as early. read more

Hebrew preceded Arabic as a written language, but that doesn't mean it is older because: 1-The Arabian peninsula has long been accepted as the original Semitic Urheimat by a majority of scholars, and since Hebrew and Arabic are both Semitic languages, Arabic may be older or more similar to the old language. read more