Learning Biblical Hebrew: Alphabet

[LamorakDesGalis]

Just a couple of questions (for now);
are sin and s(h)in different letters then, depending on where the dot is? And is the 'h' in s(h)in silent then?

Excellent observations and questions!

Originally sin and shin were the same letter, and some Hebrew grammars define them as the same. Most Hebrew grammars I am aware of separate them into two different letters.

And actually the "h" in shin is pronounced - it has an "sh" sound. I probably confuse folks with the s(h)in and should just correct it to shin.

Here are two words to compare:
"sar" which means prince: שַׂר, with a sin (dot to the left), and
"shalom" for peace: שָׁלֽוֹם
Notice its a shin with the dot to the right.

It seems also that Kaph (final letter) and Res are identical. No doubt their position in the word tells us which is which.

The major differences between the letters:
1) kaph extends a little below the "line" upon which the letters are written, while res "rests" on the line, and
2) kaph is more squared at the top while res is more rounded at the top.

Here is a comparison of the letters within words:

מֶלֶךְ

שַׂר
and here they are side by side, with a bigger font size:
רךְ



LDG

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

My experience with hebrew is such that I am a bit leary..........I have worked on learning before only to find that the doctrinal position of the teacher seem to alter the hebrew lesson.

In other word hebrew teachers with a christian faith seem to translate or interpret the original hebrew quite differently then a hebrew scholar of Jewish faith.

So if it is not to nosey are you Christian in faith and if so which sect of Christianity would you say you belong to........

Yes I am a Christian, and I am a member of a nondenominational Bible church. Not sure how much distinctions you have on different Christian denominations - to generalize, I would say our beliefs and practices are perhaps most similar to Southern Baptists.

As for learning classical Hebrew, feel free to join in here if you like. The letters, sounds/pronunciations (phonology), morphology (the way words are formed) and syntax are all a necessary foundation before any kind of extended translation or interpretation work. In formal coursework that means a year's worth of Hebrew (or two semesters). If you'd rather learn Hebrew elsewhere, I can point you to a list where you might feel more comfortable. Or on your own perhaps - later and in a different thread I will list a number of the Hebrew grammars that I have or known and used.


LDG

 

[Strong in Him]

Thanks for replying to my previous questions.

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I notice that Psalm 119 is split into sections and each begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The NIV says that these are -

Aleph
Beth
Gimel
Daleth
He
Waw
Zayin
Heth
Teth
Yodh
Kaph
Lamedh
Mem
Nun
Samekh
Ayin
Pe
Tsadhe
Qoph
Resh
Sin and shin (same Hebrew symbol, no dots given)
Taw

Some of the English names seem to have extra letters, mostly an 'h' at the end of the word. Is this an editorial thing, or are there different regional pronounciations or something? (Like accents in different parts of the country.)

 

[OzSpen]

LamorakDesGalis

Would you please be so kind as to give the pronunciation in English for the Hebrew alphabet?

Thanks,

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I notice that Psalm 119 is split into sections and each begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Good observation! Each section has 8 stanzas (or verses), and in Hebrew each stanza begins with the letter of that section. Its called an alphabet acrostic, and Psalm 119 is the most elaborate one in the Bible.

Some of the English names seem to have extra letters, mostly an 'h' at the end of the word. Is this an editorial thing, or are there different regional pronounciations or something? (Like accents in different parts of the country.)

From the little research I've done, the alternative English names for Hebrew letters seem to be rooted in different Hebrew pronunciations. Take the alternatives for the letter dalet for example:
1) Daleth seems to have Tiberian Hebrew as its background. This spelling was popular in some past academic circles, such as with the NIV translators in the 1970s.
2) Dales is an Ashkenazi pronunciation alternate.
3) Dalet is the standard spelling in modern Hebrew, and I'm not sure of the background for it.
4) Daled is another alternate; I've not seen it much and I'm not sure of its background either.
5) Dalet - notice the underlined "t" - this alternate involves fonts that can create dots and short lines for single letters. Its quite common in works or books with transliterated Hebrew, but isn't easily reproduced online because of the lack of those fonts.

So just be prepared for encountering variations in English spellings - like kap, kaph or kaf.

Now I don't blame anyone for thinking it is ironic that Hebrew itself gives so much attention to small signs and differences while there is so much variation among transliterated Hebrew into English. :o

LDG

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

LamorakDesGalis

Would you please be so kind as to give the pronunciation in English for the Hebrew alphabet?

Thanks,

Yes! Sounding out the letters is important, and I think I kind of overlooked that - so I appreciate the question. Here are a couple of links that would be helpful.

This first link lists all the Hebrew letters. When you click on the link to each letter, it provides additional information and a sound file for that letter. Here is dalet for example.

This second link:

Hebrew alph-bet video is a youtube video that sings the Hebrew letters. Its both cute and semi-annoying, but its very effective in its repetitiveness.


LDG

 

[Tishri1]

ok who sang it raise your hand It really does help

 

[Lindley]

Subscribing! Thanks for the lessons

 

[stormdancer0]

subscribing

 

[stormdancer0]

Okay, how do we get that painful song OUT OF OUR HEADS!?!?!?!?!

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

LLOJ subscribes........

 

[kenrapoza]

Does Hebrew have the equivalent of uppercase and lowercase letters?

 

[Tishri1]

Not that I know of There are no periods either or commas... I think those final consonants give us clues to where the sentence ends.

and Im guessing, the teacher will know for sure

was I right LDG?

 

[Strong in Him]

Not that I know of There are no periods either or commas...

(This isn't a Hebrew question, it's an English one .... in America a period is what we call a full stop, right? I have to keep reminding myself it doesn't mean something else. )

 

[Tishri1]

And in the Bible there werent any chapter breaks(I do know that one) and it was a song(I know that one too)

 

[kenrapoza]

(This isn't a Hebrew question, it's an English one .... in America a period is what we call a full stop, right? I have to keep reminding myself it doesn't mean something else. )

That's interesting, I've been to the UK 3 times and my stepfather is British, and I didn't know that you call them full stops! I guess you learn something new everyday.

Anyways, by "period" we mean the dot at the end of the sentence that means "stop" or "end".

 

[Strong in Him]

That's interesting, I've been to the UK 3 times and my stepfather is British, and I didn't know that you call them full stops! I guess you learn something new everyday.

Anyways, by "period" we mean the dot at the end of the sentence that means "stop" or "end".

Thanks yeah, that's a full stop. I'd guessed it was, it just surprises me whenever I see it called something else.

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

Does Hebrew have the equivalent of uppercase and lowercase letters?

No, Hebrew does not have any uppercase/lowercase letters. The only time a letter is modified is in the case of five final form letters.


LDG

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

Not that I know of There are no periods either or commas... I think those final consonants give us clues to where the sentence ends.

and Im guessing, the teacher will know for sure

was I right LDG?

Yes you are right, Tishri1!

Spacing helps to distinguish between words and sections. Sometimes individual letters such as a samek or peh are used to break a unit, and poetry in particular uses a new line. Also the standard Hebrew Bible - called Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia or BHS for short - uses small signs such as silluq or atnah as breaks.


LDG

 

[Yasha]

thanks