Evidence of Diversity in Pre-Exilic Judahite Hebrew

A common assumption in modern scholarship has been that non-standard language usage in the biblical texts can only be explained as evidencing either pre-exilic northern or post-exilic southern Hebrew. This article argues that pre-exilic Judahite Hebrew was much more complex than merely being identical with standard biblical Hebrew. The argument discusses general socio-linguistic considerations, pre-exilic inscriptions, biblical texts (especially focusing on the work of G. A. Rendsburg), and mishnaic Hebrew.