It may be assumed, therefore, that the period in which the use of Hebrew was limited to literature and liturgy only began about the third century C.
However, in spite of this classical standing of the Tiberian pronunciation, the Sephardi communities, some of which, particularly those of Spain and North Africa, may have used the Babylonian pronunciation during a certain period, finally adopted the Palestinian pronunciation.
Egypt has the largest number of speakers and the Arabian Peninsula is where the language originated.