It might be a close call, but Tiqwah and Etgar manage to daze Deli and reunite with Shem. Then Tiqwah starts scolding her teammate for leaving his alfon training device behind. But will alfons be enough to stop Deli from drowning them underground?
This episode is a transitional one to a pivotal action scene, which I look forward to seeing play out. But first let me give a little background on the alfon.An alfon is a communication device and weapon that acts like a phone, radio, hologram viewer and sonic weapon. It listens to the atmosphere for conversations, even scrambled ones like Bavel uses to corrupt the communications for all other languages. Then, with the help of its user, the alfon can convert what it hears into weaponized commands.
I’ll have more news to come in the upcoming days about “Milhamah” happenings. See you then!
After learning about Semitic languages in November, our journey through the Joüon and Muraoka book continues. This time we’re going specifically through the history of ancient Hebrew.
Biblical Hebrew is fairly consistent throughout the centuries. The Bible’s writers, from earliest to latest, differ most in vocabulary. Some of the syntax also evolves, though it’s not that significant. Morphology, or word formation, changed the least due to stable consonants.
However, Joüon and Muraoka point out that the following Mishnaic Hebrew era strays farther from the biblical style conventions. However, they speculate that some Mishnaic-era writers still wanted to write in the Bible’s older style and format.
And they say Mishnaic Hebrew started to form after most of the Tanakh (Old Testament) was finished. The Mishnaic era also covers the period of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jesus.
Joüon and Muraoka divide the biblical language into two eras: a “golden age” before the Babylonian exile and an era afterward. The authors acknowledge that some scholars think the entire Bible was basically written after the exile. But Joüon and Muraoka point out linguistic differences, such as the Bible’s later books spelling “Jerusalem” and “David” in a way earlier biblical books didn’t.
Hebrew’s relationship to ‘Milhamah’
The “Milhamah” webcomic doesn’t glean too much from this history. However, the character of ‘Aravah ‘Ivrit, whom I unveiled last week for Hebrew Language Day, embodies the language. Some of the details are in that post.
My art drew quite a few people from Facebook to this website. I even earned a Facebook like from the Academy of the Hebrew Language, which chiefly promotes the holiday in honor of Hebrew revivalist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. Their resources are a great help to my comic research, and I let them know that.
Just in time for Hebrew Language Day, “Milhamah” is previewing a new character for 2019. Meet ‘Aravah ‘Ivrit!
‘Aravah’s character is based on the shoresh root ‘ayin-bet-resh (עבר) and its permutations. While it may be awhile till she appears in the webcomic, here are six things to know about her character in “Milhamah: Fighting Words”:
1. ‘Aravah is the embodiment of the Hebrew language who is leading an independence movement against the Bavel Empire. Her goal is to break Bavel’s global dominance by “mixing up the tongues,” or scrambling its communications.
2. She works with the paramilitary Holy Tongue Society but isn’t part of it. She has ties to numerous other anti-Bavel associations, including an alliance with the guardians of the Arabic language. Hebrew and Arabic share similar shoresh roots: עבר and ערב.
3. She set up a headquarters in a western territory called ‘Ever that’s home to expanses of old Wild West desert-like wilderness. This explains why she is dressed as a cowgirl.
4. ‘Aravah is pregnant and way overdue for unknown reasons. As a result, she is often famished and rarely engages in combat. Her baby, however, is known to teleport out of the womb to fight the enemy.
5. Her personality switches between pleasant and hot-tempered. Her opponents underestimate her as a boorish fool — and learn to regret that.
6. ‘Aravah likes it hot. Her main weapon of choice is a flamethrower, and legend has it that she can summon holy fire from heaven.
As we await 2019, look forward to seeing ‘Aravah ‘Ivrit in upcoming episodes of “Milhamah”!
Need a quick gift idea? Several of my artistic designs are available for sale on the new Milhamah Redbubble store. The artwork can be applied to merchandise such as T-shirts, mugs, art prints, cellphone cases, greeting cards and much more. Many more designs will be posted in early 2019, so keep checking it out!
Meanwhile, “Milhamah: Fighting Words” Episode 10 is still on the way and will be here before Christmas—it just grew a little longer than expected. And then I have one more surprise in 2018…
Welcome to the treacherous homeland of Moledet in this new concept design!
On the other side of Bavel’s gate is the province that Deli governs. As a coastal city battered by the tides, Moledet’s economy exports water and manpower to its surrounding provinces.
Moledet’s inspiration comes from Hebrew words derived from the shoresh root ילד, which deals with birth. (Deli uses a shoresh with the same letters swapped around.)
This location is famous for its giant midwife toads, which are actually male frogs. These creatures are in charge of raising the city’s children and brainwashing them into the armies of tomorrow. The baby in this image is swaddled in an Akkadian robe and wields a classical blade on a Bavel flag.
The Bavel Empire enjoys fanatical support from Moledet’s populace, which hates outsiders due to vague historical grievances. The citizenry also acts like a cultic family and invests much of its resources toward reproducing — naturally and artificially — for the government’s glory. It’s certainly hostile territory for the Holy Tongue Society!
In the new year, look forward to seeing more of Moledet in future episodes of “Milhamah: Fighting Words.” The next webcomic, Episode 10, should be ready by next week.
Later this week I’ll also publicize the new “Milhamah” RedBubble online store. While it was too late to make anything specific to Hanukkah, there is enough merchandise over there to make a great Christmas or holiday gift. And I’ll add new designs throughout 2019!
Milhamah: Fighting Words
Feeling silenced by the world? Join the Holy Tongue Society’s linguistic warriors as they use ancient alphabet powers to fight speech stranglers, truth manglers and a rebuilt Tower of Babel. And get immersed in a story that prizes freedom, candor and fighting back against overwhelming odds.
This episode is a transitional one to a pivotal action scene, which I look forward to seeing play out. But first let me give a little background on the alfon.
An alfon is a communication device and weapon that acts like a phone, radio, hologram viewer and sonic weapon. It listens to the atmosphere for conversations, even scrambled ones like Bavel uses to corrupt the communications for all other languages. Then, with the help of its user, the alfon can convert what it hears into weaponized commands.
I’ll have more news to come in the upcoming days about “Milhamah” happenings. See you then! 
‘Aravah’s character is based on the shoresh root ‘ayin-bet-resh (עבר) and its permutations. While it may be awhile till she appears in the webcomic, here are six things to know about her character in “Milhamah: Fighting Words”:
1. ‘Aravah is the embodiment of the Hebrew language who is leading an independence movement against the Bavel Empire. Her goal is to break Bavel’s global dominance by “mixing up the tongues,” or scrambling its communications.
2. She works with the paramilitary Holy Tongue Society but isn’t part of it. She has ties to numerous other anti-Bavel associations, including an alliance with the guardians of the Arabic language. Hebrew and Arabic share similar shoresh roots: עבר and ערב.
3. She set up a headquarters in a western territory called ‘Ever that’s home to expanses of old Wild West desert-like wilderness. This explains why she is dressed as a cowgirl.
4. ‘Aravah is pregnant and way overdue for unknown reasons. As a result, she is often famished and rarely engages in combat. Her baby, however, is known to teleport out of the womb to fight the enemy.
5. Her personality switches between pleasant and hot-tempered. Her opponents underestimate her as a boorish fool — and learn to regret that.
6. ‘Aravah likes it hot. Her main weapon of choice is a flamethrower, and legend has it that she can summon holy fire from heaven.
As we await 2019, look forward to seeing ‘Aravah ‘Ivrit in upcoming episodes of “Milhamah”! 
You must be logged in to post a comment.