BIBLICAL HEBREW By Example

Lesson 1 WRITING AND

PRONOUNCING HEBREW

עברית מקראית תבניתה כ

IN THIS LESSON Learn how to write and pronounce the Hebrew consonants and vowels.

TECHNICAL NOTE Biblical Hebrew reads from right to left.

TECHNICAL NOTE In this lesson, the names of Hebrew consonants, vowels, and other marks are spelled as they sound to English speakers, not according to their traditional spellings.

Part 1

Consonants by Example

Let’s start with the Hebrew consonants.

In the examples that follow, the /ah/ sound comes from the vowel (the line under the letter), not from the consonant.

א /ʔah/

ב /bah/

ב /vah/

ג /gah/

ג /gah/

ד /dah/

ד /dah/

ה /hah/

ו /vah/

ז /zah/

ח /ħah/

ט /tah/

י /yah/

כ /kah/

כ /kah/

ל /lah/

מ /mah/

נ /nah/

ס /sah/

ע /ʕah/

פ /pah/

פ /fah/

צ /tsah/

ק /kah/

ר /rah/

ש /sah/

ש /shah/

ת /tah/

Part 2

Vowels by Example

Let’s turn now to the Hebrew vowels.

In the examples that follow, the /b/ sound comes from the consonant ב, not from the vowel.

ב, ב/בה /bah/

ב /beh/

ב/בי /bey/

ב/בי /bee/

ב, ב/בו /boh/

ב, בו /boo/

The next few marks introduced here are sometimes called “half vowels.”

ב, ב /bah/

ב /beh/

The final mark introduced here is not exactly a vowel, but that’s the closest category we have in English.

◌ב /v/

ב◌ /beh/

◌בב◌ /v/

◌בב◌ /beh/

Part 3

Explanation of Consonants

אלף =אThe letter ʔahlef is a glottal stop, pretty close to silent for practical purposes.

בית =בWhen it has a dagesh (dot) inside, beyt sounds like the b in bravo.

Without the dagesh, it sounds like the v in victor.

גימל =גGimel sounds like the g in golf.

You need not try to pronounce .differently ג and ג

דלת =דDahlet sounds like the d in delta.

You need not try to pronounce ד and ד differently (though some charts and textbooks advise pronouncing ד like the th in then).

הא =הHey sounds like the h in hotel.

וו =וVahv sounds like the v in victor.

זין =זZahyin sounds like the z in Zulu.

חית =חKheyt is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative. Act like you’re making the sound of h in hotel, but make the sound way back in your pharynx rather than in your mouth, without vibrating your vocal cords. Charts and textbooks often compare the sound to the ch in Bach, but it’s airier than that.

טית =טTeyt sounds like the t in tango.

יוד =יYohd sounds like the y in Yankee.

כף =כWhen it has a dahgesh inside, kaf sounds like the k in kilo.

Without the dahgesh, it sounds airier, almost the same as the letter ח.

At the end of a word, כ changes its shape to ך.

למד =לLahmed sounds like the l in Lima.

מם =מMeym sounds like the m in Mike.

At the end of a word, מ changes its shape to ם.

נון =נNoon sounds like the n in November.

At the end of a word, נ changes its shape to ן.

סמך =סSahmek sounds like the s in sierra.

עין =עʕahyin is a voiced pharyngeal fricative. Charts and textbooks usually advise beginning students to treat it as silent. It’s really closer to an almost inaudible g as in golf, made way back in the throat.

FUN FACT When Jews in the Hellenistic era translated biblical texts from Hebrew to Greek, they represented the ע sound as γ in proper nouns.

פא =פWhen it has a dahgesh inside, pey sounds like the p in papa.

Without the dahgesh, it sounds like the f in foxtrot.

At the end of a word, פ changes its shape to ף.

צדי =צTsadey sounds like the ts at the end of cats.

At the end of a word, צ changes its shape to ץ.

קוף =קQohf sounds like the k in kilo.

(Yes, it sounds just like כ.)

ריש =רCharts and textbooks usually advise beginners to pronounce reysh like the r in Romeo. Modern Israeli speakers trill the sound at the back of the tongue; it almost sounds like gargling.

שין =שSeen sounds like the s in sierra.

(Yes, it sounds just like ס.)

שין =שSheen sounds like the sh in ship.

FUN FACT are really ש and שconsidered one letter with two sounds.

תו =תTahv sounds like the t in tango.

(Yes, that’s the same sound as ט.)

You need not pronounce ת and ת differently (though some charts and textbooks advise pronouncing .(like the th in think ת

Part 4

Explanation of Vowels

פתח ◌=Pahtahkh sounds like the a in father.

Kahmeyts sounds like the a in father.

(Yes, it sounds just like pahtahkh.)

Kahmeyts is sometimes combined with ה at the end of a word, with no change in sound.

קמץ ◌=

Pahtahkh and kahmeyts sometimes combine with י, which makes either one sound like the English word eye.

Segohl sounds like the e in egg.

Segohl is sometimes combined with י, which makes it sound like the ey in they.

סגול ◌=

Tseyrey sounds like the ey in they.

Tseyrey is sometimes combined with י, with no change in sound.

צרי ◌=

Kheereq sounds like the ee in bee.

Kheereq is sometimes combined with י, with no change in sound.

חירק ◌=

Kahmeyts-khatoof sounds like the word oh.

Kahmeyts-khatoof looks exactly like kahmeyts. For best results, assume this symbol represents kahmeyts, and learn by example when it represents kahmetys-khatoof.

קמץ־חטוף ◌=

Khohlem sounds like the word oh.

Khohlem is sometimes combined with ו, appearing as ו, with no change in sound.

חולם ◌=

Keeboots sounds like the oo in moon.

קבוץ ◌=

=שורקShoorek sounds like the oo in moon. (Yes, it sounds just like keeboots.)

ו◌

Khateyf-pahtahkh sounds like the a in arise. It’s the same sound as pahtahkh, but said more quickly and never stressed.

חטף־פתח ◌=

Khateyf-kahmeyts sounds like the o in omit. It’s the same sound as kameyts-khatoof, but said more quickly and never stressed.

חטף־קמץ ◌=

Khateyf-segohl sounds like the e in excuse. It’s the same sound as segohl, but said more quickly and never stressed.

חטף־סגול ◌=

Sheva can seem complicated at first, but it’s so common that you’ll get used to it soon.

שוא ◌=

A sheva at the beginning of a word or the second of two consecutive shevas is called sheva naʕ or “moving sheva.” It sounds just like khateyf-segohl.

שוא נע ◌◌= ◌◌

Any other sheva is called sheva nahkh or “resting sheva.” It is silent.

שוא נח ◌◌= ◌◌

TECHNICAL NOTE There are some more precise rules governing shevas, but these will do for now.

TIP Listen to the audio Hebrew Bible available at www.aoal.org/hebrew_audiobible.htm to get used to the sounds of Hebrew words.

CREDITSSCRIPTED BY

Dr. Chris Heard

PARTIALLY FUNDED BY Pepperdine University

Faculty Innovation in Teaching and Learning Grant

ARTWORK CREATED BY Dr. Chris Heard using licensed resources for DAZ Studio

Freepik via Flaticon (CC-BY)

NARRATED BY Dr. Chris Heard

Rene Heard