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INTRODUCTION TO
BIBLICAL HEBREW
RBRTSDTHSBRTHRBRNLTSGRDTHHRSS.
You can see why some people find it difficult to read Hebrew!
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READING HEBREW
Now that we have learned the alphabet we can learn the
vowel signs and begin reading Hebrew. The following rules
apply to reading Hebrew:
1. Hebrew reads from right to left.
2. Each word and syllable begins with a consonant.
3. Every consonant has one and only one vowel (but the
last letter of a word may not have a vowel).
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VOWELS POINTS
The vowel points (called pointing) are placed under the
consonants (except cholem, which is placed above and to the left,
and shureq, which follows to the left of the consonant). In the chart
below, the letter B is not part of the vowels, but is included here so
that the position of the vowels may be visualized.
CHART OF PROMINENT VOWELS
Sign Name Sound Transliteration
B; patach a as in father a
B' qamets a as in father a
B, segol e as in bet e
Be tsere e as in they ey
yBe tsere-yod e as in they ey
Bi chireq i as in siesta i
Bo cholem o as in roll o
AB cholem-vav o as in roll o
Bu qibbuts u as in rule u
W shureq u as in rule u
e
B. sheva no vowel or none
o
B\ chatef-qamets o as in loft
e
B/ chatef-segol e as in bet
a
B] chatef-patach a as in father
READING PRACTICE
We will learn to read by focusing on a few letters at a time.
SET 1
Consonants
a Alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is silent.
B Beyt is the second letter, and sounds like b as in boy when it
has a dot within it.
b Beyt without the dot is pronounced v as in vet.
Vowels
a' The vowel qamets (under the alef at left) is an ah sound, like
the a in father. The alef is not part of the vowel. Since alef is
silent, this combination of letters is pronounced a.
a; The vowel patach (under the alef) is also pronounced ah, like
the a in father. Since alef is silent, this combination of letters is
also a.
You can now read two words and one complete sentence:
Hebrew Words
ba' The word av means father.
aB' The word ba means came.
Hebrew Sentence
aB' ba' Av ba means Father came.
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Now we will practice the next two letters and two more vowels.
SET 2
Consonants
G Gimel is always pronounced g as in go (with or without a
dot).
D Dalet is always pronounced d as in dog (with or without a
dot).
Vowels
Be Tsere is pronounced like the ey in they or prey. The syllable at
left would be pronounced bey as in obey.
B, Segol is pronounced like the e in bet or let. The syllable at left
would be pronounced be as in bet.
Hebrew Words
dG" The word gad means Gad, one of Jacob's sons.
gD" The word dag means fish (Jonah 2:1)
aGE The word gey means proud (Isaiah 16:6)
dB; The word bad means portion, or linen fabric.
Hebrew Sentence
aGE ba' dG" Gad av gey means Gad is a proud father. The words is
and a must added to the English translation; they
are not written in the Hebrew. Also, in Hebrew,
the word father comes before proud.
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Now we will practice the next two letters and two more vowels.
SET 3
Consonants
h Heh is pronounced h as in hat, but it is silent if it comes at
the end of a word or syllable.
w Vav is always pronounced v as in vet.
Vowels
Bi Chireq is pronounced like the i in siesta. The syllable at left
would be pronounced bi (sounds like bee).
yBi Chireq-yod is pronounced like the i in siesta. The syllable at
left would be pronounced bi (sounds like bee).
Hebrew Words
ww" The word vav means nail, peg.
dg<B, The word beged means garment.
dyGIhi The word higid (sounds like hee-geed) means told.
dBea; The word abeyd means to destroy.
ayhi The word hiy (sounds like hee) means she, or it.
dwID" The word david means David.
Hebrew Sentence
dB; dg<B, dBea; aB' dwID" David came to destroy a linen garment.
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We will now practice the next two letters and three more vowels.
SET 4
Consonants
z The letter zayin sounds like z as in zero or zoo.
x The letter chet sounds like ch as in loch and Bach.
Vowels
yBe Tsere-yod is pronounced like the ey in they. The syllable at
left would be pronounced bey.
Bo Cholem is pronounced like the o in roll. The syllable at left
would be pronounced bo.
AB Cholem-vav is pronounced like the o in roll. The syllable at
left would be pronounced bo.
Hebrew Sentences
hz< xb;z< xb;z" dwID" za' Then David sacrificed this sacrifice.
ayhi dBea; aB' bg"x' A locust came to destroy it.
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We will now practice the next two letters and two more vowels.
SET 5
Consonants
j The letter tet sounds like t as in toy and tap.
y The letter yod sounds like y as in yes and yawn.
Vowels
Bu Qibbuts is pronounced like the u in rule. The syllable at left
would be pronounced bu (sounds like boo).
WB Shureq is also pronounced like the u in rule. The syllable at
left would be pronounced bu (sounds like boo).
Hebrew Sentences
hz< bg"x' dBea; dWhae xj;B' dwID" David trusted Ehud to destroy this
locust.
hz< bgEy" bAj This is a good field.
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Hebrew Sentences
bAj bg"x' lk;a' dG" hNEhi Behold, Gad ate a good locust.
dAbK' la, %l;h' dwID" David went unto glory.
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We will now practice the next three letters and furtive patach.
SET 7
Consonants
m The letter mem sounds like m as in music and met.
~ The letter mem takes a different form at the end of a word.
This is called the final form. It also sounds like m as in met.
n The letter nun sounds like n, as in not.
! The letter nun has this form at the end of a word.
s The letter samech sounds like s as in sand and sister.
Vowels
x: When the guttural letters x , [ , or H stand at the end of a
word, they may be preceded by a furtive patach. This patach
is pronounced before the consonant instead of after it. The
furtive patach is inserted so that the guttural sound will not
be neglected. Thus, x:An (Noah) is pronounced no-ach.
Hebrew Sentences
yn:ysi bso %l;h' hwhy Yahweh (the LORD) went to surround Sinai.
lae !mi ~x,l, lk;a' dwID" David ate bread from God.
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Hebrew Sentences
hW"x; ~[i hPo dm;[' ~d"a' Adam stood here with Eve.
hwhy !mi %l;h' aWh ~G: Also, he went from Yahweh (the LORD).
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tbov'An tAbr'x\-l[; ^d>y" byvih'l. zB; zbol'w> ll'v' ll{v.li Ezekiel 38:12
`#r,a'h' rWBj;-l[; ybev.yO !y"n>qiw> hn<q.mi hf,[o ~yIAGmi @S'aum. ~[;-la,w>
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The symbol ` is called sof pasuq which means end of verse.
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The horizontal mark joining words (such as between ~t'AxB.z>mi and l[;)
functions much like a hyphen and is called maqqef.