1. Arabic: Spoken by over 400 million people, predominantly in the Middle East and North Africa. It's the liturgical language of Islam.
2. Hebrew: Revived as a modern language in the 20th century, it's spoken by over 9 million people, primarily in Israel. It's the liturgical language of Judaism.
3. Aramaic: Once widely spoken throughout the Middle East, it's now primarily spoken in a few villages in Syria and Iraq. It was the language of Jesus Christ and is used in some Jewish liturgical texts.
4. Amharic: The official language of Ethiopia, spoken by over 30 million people. It's a significant language in the Horn of Africa.
5. Tigrinya: Spoken by over 7 million people, primarily in Eritrea and Ethiopia. It's closely related to Amharic.
6. Syriac: A liturgical language of several Eastern Christian churches, it's closely related to Aramaic. It's still spoken in parts of the Middle East.
7. Akkadian: An extinct language, once spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. It's significant for its role in cuneiform writing and its influence on other Semitic languages.
Note: There are many other Semitic languages, including Maltese, Modern South Arabian languages, and several extinct languages.