The Hebrew Alphabet
(information compiled by Eric
Rosenbloom) Letter
Name
Spelt
Value Transliterated Representing
Square Script Rashi
Alef
Bheth, Beth
Gimel
Daleth
He
Vav
Zayin
Cheth
ALPh
BYTh
1
2
GYML 3
DLTh
HA
VV
ZYN
4
5
6
7
ChYTh 8
A, ’ (silent)
Bh (V), B
G, Gh
D, Dh (hard Th)
H
V, W
Z
Also Meaning
Tarot Qaba
ox (head)
thousand, clan, 0, fool cattle; (youth to learn, AIR teach, train, tame
house
1, ma household, (build stanza, Mercu 2000? & dea
camel
3000?
2, hig priest (virgi Moon & stri
door
3, em page of (moth scroll, first Venus half of wisdo verse folly
window
4, em lo, behold, (fathe this, and Aries
peg, hook, yoke?
5, hier (revel hearin Tauru
dagger
6, lov & id); Gemi
enclosure, Ch (guttural H) fence
7, cha (victo speec
Cance Teth
Yod
Khaf, Kaf
Lamed
Mem
Nun
TYTh
YVD
KPh
9
10
Y
20, 500 Kh, K (final)
hand (open)
9, her (union touch) Virgo
fist (grasping), palm of hand
sole of foot, spoon, cave, vault, curve
10, w fortun (perio Jupite & pov
ox whip
to learn, study, teach, train; study, learning; studied, deduced, defined
11, ju (balan Libra
30
MM
40, 600 M (final)
water
seas
12, ha man (subm WAT
NVN
50, 700 N (final)
fish (head), water serpent?
to sprout, grow
13, de (liber Scorpi
tent-post, pillar, foundation
support; to support, lean, ordain
14, te (contr (anger Sagitt
eye
source, spring, ring, hole, sight
15, de (sense mirth) Capri
OYN
70
L
8, stre (diges Leo
LMD
Samekh SMKh 60
'Ayin
T (palatal)
snake, basket, bale, sieve?, ear?
S (emphatic)
O, ‘, 'A, Ñ? (silent)
Phe, Pe PA
80, 800 Ph (F), P (final)
Tsadi
90, 900 Ts, Tz, J (final)
Qof
Resh
Shin, Sin
Thav, Tav
TsDY
QVPh
RYSh
ShYN
TV
100
200
300
400
Q
R
Sh, S
Th, T
mouth (for speech)
16, to (fallac Mars, (beaut
fishhook, scythe?, bow?
17, st (exper thoug Aquar
back of head
monkey, ape, eye of 18, M (sleep needle, Pisces hole for axe handle
head (face)
19, Su (reaso to be poor; Sun, poverty fruitfu sterilit
teeth, fang?
20, ju (regen FIRE
mark
sign, musical note, postage stamp
Notes.
All of these 22 characters are consonants. (There are also 16 vowels, indicated by dots and lines dancing around the consonants.) The number of consonants is augmented by 5 alternative forms (Bh/B, Kh/K, Ph/P, S/Sh, Th/T), a dot indicating the less aspirate sound, and by 5 final forms (for Kh, M, N, Ph, Ts). Many of the representations are presumed from those of Old Hebrew, Aramaic, or Phoenician forms, as the Modern Hebrew forms are much more abstract. Many of the original forms themselves derive from Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabets, probably their hieratic forms. Kabbalistic origin: The spirit of the name (ShAM) gave rise to ALPh as air, out of which came MM as
21, w (retur Saturn domin slaver
water, out of which came ShYN as fire; these are the 3 mother letters. Then were made the 7 doubles (aspirate/unaspirate) (aspirate/unaspirate) to correspond with the heavenly spheres, and then the 12 simples that correspond to the zodiacal months. [GYML, DLTh, and RYSh were apparently originally doubles. And as ShYN hovers between being a mother and a double, QVPh is both double and simple.] Note that 22 letters divided by 7 doubles is a close approximation of pi, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, and that 22 plus 7 (plus Q's share of the moon's sphere) is the number of days in a lunar month.
