Biblical Hebrew For Beginners- part 5

Pastor Spell discuss the Hebrew Alephbet and the meaning of each of the letters

Transcript

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Welcome to Know Your Bible Institute classes, where it's all about the Bible. Today's session is going to be on the study of the Hebrew language. We have been surveying and unpacking, learning more about the language that the Lord God chose to reveal his truth. So important for us to develop at least the awareness of how to recognize what is in the original Word of God. We know that in reading the Bible in English, what we are reading is a translation. We will be able, as we can see the language, to have a closer contact with its original meaning. We've been learning and talking about through our podcast sessions the alphabet, the letters, the consonants of the Hebrew language, as well as the vowels. And understanding that each of these vowels or letters, rather, excuse me, letters, each of these letters have their own specific meaning. Today I want to run through with you some of the meanings behind the individual letters in the Hebrew Oliph bet. The first letter Oliph, if you're writing it down, it's spelled A-L E P H. The first letter Oliph represents a silent giant. Oliph is the first letter, but it has no sound of its own. It's a placeholder for a vowel. The pictograph of the olive is that of an ox head representing a strength or leader. And when you see the olive written, it looks like a windmill with bent arms. The second Hebrew letter is bait, spelled B-E-T. Looks like bet, but it is pronounced bait. And we remember that this letter is the B and V sound in the Hebrew language. Bait gets the B and V. And bait means the container. It's the second letter, but it's the first letter in the Bible. The first word in the Hebrew Bible is Beresheet, and Beresheet begins with the word bait, the letter bait. In the beginning, or more accurately, beresheet means when it all began. The pictograph or the picture of the bait represents a tent or house floor plan. And the bait, it looks like a box with an open front door. The next letter is the gimel, spelled G-I-M-E-L. Gimmel. This gets the G sound, and it means the walker. This letter sounds like G and girl, and it's linked to the word for camel. And it gets that look. Its pictograph is a camel's neck or foot, meaning to lift or carry. It looks like a giraffe or a camel walking, is what some people think when they see the letter gimel. The next letter is the letter Dollit. Dollet spelled D-A-L-E-T gets the letter D, and it means the divider. This letter creates the hard D sound and it represents the flap of a tent door that divides inside from outside. Its pictograph is a tent door, and it looks like a diving board or a door hinge. The next letter is the letter Hey. This letter is spelled He. And it means the breath. Pronounced like H in head, it's the breath of life. And we should know this letter occurs twice in the name for God. Yod He Volv He. Its pictograph is that of a man with arms raised. And it's easy to remember because it looks like a house with a window, but has a gap at the top left that lets heat out. The first group of letters that we've surveyed olive, bait, gimel, dollet, and hay, they all together represent the household. Because everything begins at home. We start with strength, we move through the house, we travel out the door, and we behold the world. That's the first five letters representing the household Olive to Hay. The next group of letters represent the tools of life. The first is the valve, spelled V A V, or sometimes W A W. And this letter v means the connector. Its pictograph is that of a tent pig or a nail. It's a vertical line. Looks like similar to the letter L, but it has a little hook at the top going slightly towards the left. The next letter is Zion. Zion, this letter means the weapon. It sounds like the z as in zebra. And Zion looks very similar to the previous letter Volv, but at the top it creates what looks like a T, a capital T in English. And it resembles that of a weapon or plow. Its printor is that of a sword or mattock, and it sounds like the letter Z. And it looks kind of like a zigzagging sword, the letter itself. The next letter is the letter Het. This letter means the wall. It's a guttural sound, meaning you have to say it more with the back of your throat. It's a frictional sound. That's what a sound from the back of the throat means, a guttural, frictional. You have to use more of your throat, your voice to make the sound of hat. Its pictograph is a tent wall, a divide that's separate, and it looks like a haystack or a fence. The hat is closed in all the way at the top, and its only opening is at the bottom. The next letter is the letter tet spelled T-E-T. And this letter means the basket. Its pictograph is that of a basket or looks like a snake coiling. Next letter is the letter Yode. This looks like an apostrophe and it means the spark. It's the smallest letter in the alphabet. And it makes the Y sound. Gets transliterated as a Y. The letter Yod pictograph is that of a closed hand or arm. Looks like a tiny apostrophe or an apostrophe, a little bigger apostrophe. And Yod is also the first letter in the name for God. These letters here: Vav, Zion, Het, Tet, and Yod. These five letters represent the tools of life. So we started with the household, and we've moved to the tools of life. And now on to the body and protection. The next group of letters represent the body and protection. Next is the letter Kough spelled K A F. And Kough, which gets the letter K when transliterated, represents or means the palm. Sometimes the cough looks different or sounds different depending on what's added to the letter. It changes sounds similar to the bait, which can be a B or a V. The cough can be a K or a C sound. It also changes shapes at the when it comes at the end of the word, and it has what's called a final form. Next is the letter Lamit. Lamit spelled L-A-M-E-D. It represents the staff. It's the tallest Hebrew letter. And it gets the L sound as in Lion. But it looks like a shepherd's staff. And it looks, well, it its pictograph is that of a shepherd's staff. But it looks somewhat like a lightning bolt. It zigs and zags its way down. The next letter is the letter Mem. Mem spelled M E M. This letter means the waters. It gets a different shape when it comes at the end of a word, but it has the same sound, and it means water waves. Next is the term nun. Nun is spelled N-U-N, and it gets this sound in as in no. Its pictograph is that of a sprouting seed or fish. And it looks like a nub or a small bracket. Next is the letter Samek. Samic means the support. It gets transliterated as an S, and it is pronounced the same S that is in Sam. Its pictograph is that of a prop or thorn, and it looks somewhat like a stone or just a circle. Next is the group of letters Ion Turesh, which means the senses. Ion spelled A Y I N represents the I. It's a silent letter like Olive, a placeholder. It's a placeholder for vowels. Its pictograph is that of an I and it looks like the letter Y, but silent. The next letter is the letter pei. Pei means mouth. When it gets a dot or da gage, it changes like the bait and the cough, and instead of making a p sound, it will make a phu sound. Similar to how phone is spelled, beginning with a P, but beginning also with a F sound. The pay pictogram pictograph is that of a mouth, a speaker. And it's easy to remember because it looks like a profile of a face with an open mouth. Or a piece of pie in its mouth. The next letter is the letter Sadi, spelled T-S-A-D-E, and it means the hook. It's pronounced the same way as cats, that T S sound. It's easy to remember. It's pictograph is that of a fish hook or a man on side. And it looks like a C. It looks like a letter Y and a Z mixed together. Next is the letter Kof. It means the horizon. It's spelled Q O F. And Kof gets a hard K sound. It drops below the line. It looks like a queen with long hair. But its pictograph is that of the sun or the sun on a horizon or a needle eye. Next is the letter raish. Raish means the head. Next are the letters sheen to tov. The olive bat ends with teeth with a mark. The next word sheen means the teeth. Its pictograph is two front teeth, and it looks like a ship with three masts or a pitchfork. And then the last letter in the Hebrew oliphette is the letter Tov, spelled T-A-V. It means the mark. And it has a hard T sound. And so if I didn't spell Raish for you, it's R-E-S-H. And sheen is spelled like Shin S-H-I-N. And the last Hebrew oliphette is Tov, spelled T-A-V. Committing and memorizing these letters will help not only with spiritual growth, but also in the development of understanding God's word. It grows us to spend time learning how to read God's word. And there is a spiritual connection to be had and felt as you grow closer into the origin of the scriptures. And know this for certain, beloved, God smiles on your effort to learn more about Him. As we preach this past Sunday, we've all got work to do. Sometimes you got to find work to do. Amen. You know, parents come in and they see you sitting down, they will find work for you to do. That's how it is with the Lord. He's given us opportunity to find work to do for him. Learning his word, brothers and sisters, is a work that we all should find ourselves doing. And know that if we're working for God, he is most certainly a rewarder of those who diligently seek. And so the Hebrew Aleph Bet again is Aleph, Bait, Gimel, Dalit, He Volv, Zion Het, Tet Yod, Kaflamit, Mim Nun, Samik Ion, Pe Sadi Kof Rish, Sheen, Sin and Tov. Continue practicing and learning these letters, and you will grow tremendously in your relationship with God's Word, your connection with His Spirit. God is faithful. God is faithful to increase your encounters and your connection with him as you spend good time working and learning his holy word. And so I'm going to open the lineup if there be any questions on reflection from our Hebrew. Any questions on our Hebrew study, the letters, their meanings, their significance, as we've uncovered and looked at this on today. You said you're thinking. Okay. Amen. Alrighty. Well, listen, beloved, we are still steadily working on producing this Hebrew textbook. It shall be available shortly. We have quite a few projects, but we are grateful to God that all shall be accomplished. Because, again, as the message this past Sunday, we've got work to do. I don't know about you, but I've got work to do. So, amen, beloved, we're going to have a quick closing word of prayer. God, our Father, we just say thank you again for life today, the privilege of prayer, the opportunity to spend our time and study your word. Help us. Open our eyes, our ears, that your truth, Lord God, would penetrate. Penetrate deeply in our hearts so that we would not sin against you. For we are reminded it is that which comes out of the heart that causes us to be defiled. Bless us and use us. Smile on all these thy children who gathered, who given their time in the study of your truth. And Lord, we will be careful, children, now and always to give you the glory, honor, and the praise. In Jesus' name we pray. In his name we ask it all for his sake. Amen. Amen. Amen.