HEBREW.
The Hebrew alphabet has twenty-two letters. Column No. 1 of the following table indicates the force of Hebrew letters when read without points. Column No. 2 gives their force when the language is printed with the Masoretic points or vowels, which are of later date than the letters. The names and numerical value of the characters are also shown.
THE HEBREW ALPHABET.
| Names. | No. 1. | No. 2. | Numer. Value. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| א | Aleph | Sounded a in war (vowel) | A gentle aspirate | 1 |
| ב | Beth | ... | Bh | 2 |
| ג | Gimel | g hard | Gh | 3 |
| ד | Daleth | ... | Dh | 4 |
| ח | He | a in hate (vow.) | A rough aspirate | 5 |
| ו | Vau | u vowel, or before a vowel, w | ... | 6 |
| ז | Zain | ... | Ds | 7 |
| ה | Cheth | ... | Hh | 8 |
| ט | Teth | Th | ... | 9 |
| י | Jod | Like ee in English (vowel) | j consonant, or the softer y | 10 |
| כ ך final | Caph | k or c hard | ... | 20 |
| ל | Lamed | ... | ... | 30 |
| מ ם final | Mem | ... | ... | 40 |
| נ ן final | Nun | ... | ... | 50 |
| ס | Samech | ... | Soft s | 60 |
| ע | Ain | o long (vowel) | hg, or hgh, the roughest aspirate | 70 |
| פ ף final | Phe | ... | ... | 80 |
| צ ץ final | Tzaddi | j soft | ... | 90 |
| ק | Koph | k or qu | ... | 100 |
| ר | Resch | ... | ... | 200 |
| ש | Shin or Sin | ... | s hard | 300 |
| ת | Thau | ... | ... | 400 |
LETTERS THAT HAVE A LIKENESS TO OTHERS.
| Beth | ב |
| Caph | כ |
| Daleth | ד |
| Caph | ך |
| Resch | ר |
| Vau | ו |
| Zain | ז |
| Jod | י |
| Nun | ן |
| Mem | ם |
| Samech | ס |
| Gimel | ג |
| Nun | נ |
| He | ה |
| Cheth | ח |
| Thau | ת |
| Teth | ט |
| Mem | מ |
| Ain | ע |
| Tzaddi | צ |
The dividing of Hebrew words not being permitted, the five following letters are cast broad to enable the compositor to justify the lines without irregular spacing:—
| Aleph | ﬡ |
| He | ﬣ |
| Lamed | ﬥ |
| Mem | ﬦ |
| Thau | ﬨ |
Hebrew has no capitals, and therefore letters of the same shape, but of a larger body, are used at the beginning of chapters and other parts of Hebrew works.
Hebrew reads from the right to the left, which is the case with all other Oriental languages, except Ethiopic and Armenian. In composing it, the general method is to place the nick of the letter downward, and after putting the points to the top, to turn the line and set the points that come under the letters. If the letter has but one leg, the point is placed immediately under it; but where the letter has two legs, it is put under the centre.
The Masoretic points or vowels are subjoined under the consonant בּ (beth).
1. The Long Vowels.
| Kametz | ׇ | aa | בָּ | baa |
| Tzeri | ֵ | ee | בֵּ | bee |
| Long Chirek | י | ii | בִּי | bii |
| Cholem | וֹ | oo | בּבּוֹ | boo |
| Shurek | וּ | uu | בּוּ | buu |
2. The Short Vowels.
| Patach | ַ | a | בַּ | ba |
| Sœgol | ֶ | e | בֶּ | be |
| Little Chirek | ִ | i | בִּ | bi |
| Kametz-chataph | ָ | o | בָּ | bo |
| Kibbutz | ֻ | u | בֻּ | bu |
3. Shevas, which imply a Vowel to be wanting.
| Simple Sheva | חְ | |
| Patach furtive | חַ | |
| Chataph Patach | חֲ | a |
| Chataph Sœgol | חֱ | e |
| Chataph Kametz | חֳ | o |
The last three are called compound shevas; and, in fact, they are only the short vowels, to which the simple sheva [ְְ] is joined.
ACCENTS.
Hebrew accents are either mere points, or lines, or circles.
Those which are mere points or dots consist of one or two or three such points, and are always placed above the middle of the accented letter, thus,
| That consisting of | One, called rebia, ב֗ , i.e. sitting over. |
| Two, called royal zakeph katon, ב֔, or, the little elevator, from its figure, which is composed of upright points. | |
| Three, called royal segolta, ב֒, an inverted [ ֶ]. |
The lines are either upright, inclined, or transverse.
The upright is either solitary or with points or dots.
| The solitary is either | between two words, ב׀ב, termed pesick, or musical pause, and terminating a song. | |
| or under a word, | Metheg, בֽ or bridle, an euphonic accent at the beginning of a word. | |
| Royal silluk, בֽ, end, which is placed before [׃], sophpasuk, i.e. toward the end. | ||
| With points, namely, | two, above the letter, royal zakeph gadhol, ב֕, the great elevator, strains the sound. |
| one, below the letter, royal tebhir, ב֛, broken sound, from its figure and tone. |
Inclined lines hang either above or below.
| Above, toward | the right | Leader pashta, ב֙, extension, extends the voice or sound, and is placed above the last letter of the word. |
| Subservient kadma, ב֨, antecedent, to the leader geresh; and is placed above the penult or antepenult letter. | ||
| the left | Leader geresh, ב֜, expulsion, is sung with an impelled voice. | |
| Gereshajim, ב֞, two expellers, from the figure being doubled. | ||
| Below, toward | the right | Leader tiphcha, ב֖, fatigue, from the song or note. |
| the left | Of subservient merca, ב֥, lengthening out, from its lengthening out the song or note. | |
| Merca kephula, ב֦, a double lengthening out, from its music and figure. |
The transverse line is either right or curved: thus, ־ ֮ .
The right line is placed between two words, connecting them together, thus, ב־ב, and is called maccaph, i.e. connection.
The curved or waved line, ב֮, is called leader, zarka, or the disperser, from its modulation and figure.
Circles are either entire or semi.
The entire circle is placed always above, and has a small inclined line attached to it.
Either on the left, when it is placed at the head of the word, ב֠, and is called leader telisha the greater, or the great evulsion.
Or on the right, when it is placed at the end, ב֩, and is called subservient telisha the less.
On both together, ב֟, called leader karne para, the horns of the heifer, from its modulation and figure.
The semicircle is either solitary or pointed.
The solitary is either angular or reflected.
| The angular is | on the right | Subservient hillui, ב֬, elevated, from the elevation of the voice. |
| Munach, ב֣, placed below, from its position. | ||
| on the left | Leader jethith, ב֚, drawing back, from its figure. | |
| Subservient mahpach, ב֤, inverted, also from its figure. | ||
| The reflected is | either single subservient darga, ב֧, a degree. | |
| or double, leader, shalsheleth, ב֓, a chain, from its figure and modulation. | ||
When joined with other points, it is either above or below the letter.
When above the letter, it has a small line attached to it on the left, ב֡, leader paser, the disperser from the diffusion of the note.
When below the letter, it is pointed either downward, ב֑, called royal athnach, respiration, as the voice must rest upon it, and respire; or upward, ב֢, subservient, jerah-ben-jomo, the moon of its own day, from its figure.