The characteristic of the 18th and 19th centuries is the endeavour, connected with the name of Moses Mendelssohn, to bring Judaism more into relation with external learning, and in using the Hebrew language to purify and develop it in accordance with the biblical standard. The result, while linguistically more uniform and pleasing, often lacks the spontaneity of medieval literature. It was Moses Mendelssohn's German translation of the Pentateuch (1780-1793) which marked the new spirit, while the views of his opponents belong to a bygone age. In fact the controversy of which he was the centre may fitly be compared with the earlier battles between the Maimonists and anti-Maimonists. One of the most remarkable writers of the new Hebrew was Mendelssohn's friend N. H. Wessely, of Hamburg (d. 1805), author of _Shire Tiphe'reth_, a long poem on the Exodus, _Dibhre Shalom_, a plea for liberalism, _Sepher ha-middoth_, on ethics, besides philological works and commentaries. A curious combination of new and old was Hayyim Azulai (d. 1807), a kabbalist, but also the author of _Shem ha-gedholim_, a valuable contribution to literary history. Entry: HEBREW