Hebrew Aleph Bet

The Aleph Bet with ‘connections’ to all 22 Letters and witnesses in Scripture

The 22 letters of the Hebrew ALEPH BET are pictographs which represent the Terms of Covenant relationship between YaHuWaH and His particular treasured people known as Yisra’El. If you want to know the legal terms of that relationship, study the pictures of the letter shapes. The Paleo Hebrew looks at the reality that this is the orthography, the shape of the letters, the spelling of a word, the narrative story at the pashat level which is the surface narrative! Interfacing with the divine plan of El Shaddai the Omnipotent MOST HIGH ETERNAL ONE who is engaging us through the structure of the language, in the wilderness for the ones who are searching!

ALEPH

א The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of the letter is ‘Aleph’, and so called in allusion to its ancient Heb. form, representing the head of an ox (see אֶלֶף ᴵᴵ, אַלּוּף ⱽᴵ, and cp. Akka. alpu, Arab. alif, Phoen. אלף, whence Gk. Alpha). In PBH it has the numerical value of one. א alternates with other gutterals, as with ה (see e.g. אָמוֹן, Jer. 52:15, instead of הָמוֹן), and with ע (see e.g. מְתָאֵב, Amos 6:5, instead of מֽתָעֵב). It also alternates with י (see e.g. צְבָאִים and צֽבָיִים, pl. of צְבִי). For the interchangeability of א and ה see also in the conjugational system Heb. הִפֽעִיל and Aram. אַפְעֵל, Heb. הִתֽפַּעֵל and Aram. אִתְפַּעֵל. א is used to form secondary verbs and nouns (see e.g. אבטח, אבחן, אַבְטָחָה, אַבֽחָנָה). In Aram. it also serves as the definite article (see ◌ָא ᴵ) and as the most common subst. and adj. suff. (see ◌ָא ᴵᴵ).

Psa 119:1 Blessed are the perfect in the way, Who walk in the Torah of יהוה!
Psa 119:2 Blessed are those who observe His witnesses, Who seek Him with all the heart!
Psa 119:3 Yea, they shall do no unrighteousness; They shall walk in His ways.
Psa 119:4 You have commanded us To guard Your orders diligently.
Psa 119:5 Oh, that my ways were established To guard Your laws!
Psa 119:6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commands.
Psa 119:7 I thank You with uprightness of heart, When I learn the right-rulings of Your righteousness.
Psa 119:8 I guard Your laws; Oh, do not leave me entirely!

BET

ב The second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its name is ‘Beth’ (lit.: ‘house’); so called in allusion to the ancient Heb. form of this letter, representing a house. In PBH it has the numerical value two. ב alternates with מ: cp. e.g. the river name אֲבָנָה and אֲמָנָה; the place name דִּיבוֹן and דִּימוֹן; בָּרִיא (= healthy, fat), and מֽרִיא (= fatling); the place name יַבְנֶה in Heb. and יַמְנִין in Syr. (whence Gk. iamnia, iamneia). ב also alternates with פ: cp. e.g. בזר and פזר (= to scatter); Heb. נשׁף and נשׁב (= to blow); תבר and תפר (= to sew); Heb. בִּקְעָה (= valley) and Syr. פְּקַעַתָּא (of s.m.); Heb. הפך (= to turn), Akka. abāku (= to bring, turn).

Psa 119:9 How would a young man cleanse his path. To guard it according to Your word?
Psa 119:10 I have sought You with all my heart; Let me not stray from Your commands!
Psa 119:11 I have treasured up Your word in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
Psa 119:12 Blessed are You, O יהוה! Teach me Your laws.
Psa 119:13 With my lips I have recounted All the right-rulings of Your mouth.
Psa 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your witnesses, As over all riches.
Psa 119:15 I meditate on Your orders, And regard Your ways.
Psa 119:16 I delight myself in Your laws; I do not forget Your word.

GIMEL

ג The third letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its name is ‘Gimel’; so called in allusion to the ancient Heb. form of this letter, representing the neck of a גָּמָל (= camel). In PBH it has the numerical value three. ג alternates with כ and with ק; cp. e.g. גנן and כנן; גָּבִיעַ (= cup) and Arab. qub‘a (= calyx); גָּדִישׁ, Aram.–Syr. גְּדִישָׁא (= heap) and Arab. kadis (of s.m.); גּוּמָץ (= pit) and Aram. כּוּמְצָא, קּוּמְצָא (of s.m.); גָּפְרִית (= brimstone), Aram. כֻּבְרִיתָא, Syr. כֶּבְרִיתָא, and Arab. kibrit (of s.m.); זְגוּגִית and Aram. זְכוּכִיתָא; מִגְבָּעָה and כּוֹבַע, קוֹבַע (= helmet); מזג and מסך; סגר and סכר; רגל and רכל.

Psa 119:17 Do good to Your servant, Let me live and I guard Your word.
Psa 119:18 Open my eyes, that I might see Wonders from Your Torah.
Psa 119:19 I am a sojourner in the earth; Do not hide Your commands from me.
Psa 119:20 My being is crushed with longing For Your right-rulings at all times.
Psa 119:21 You rebuked the proud, cursed ones, Who are straying from Your commands.
Psa 119:22 Remove from me reproach and scorn, For I have observed Your witnesses.
Psa 119:23 Though princes sat, speaking against me, Your servant meditates on Your laws.
Psa 119:24 Your witnesses also are my delight, My counsellors.

DALET

ד The fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its name, ‘Daleth’, lit. means ‘door’ (see דֶּלֶת); so called in allusion to the ancient Heb. form of this letter, representing a house (cp. דֶּלְתָּא). In PBH it has the numerical value four. ד alternates with ז (cp. e.g. גדד and גזז, נדר and נזר, דרשׁ and זרשׁ, Heb. דְּבוֹרָה and JAram. זִיבּוֹרָא). It also alternates with ט (cp. Heb. דִּבָּה, Aram. טִבָּא and Syr. טֶבָּא). ד also alternates with ת (cp. e.g. בדל and בתל, בדק ᴵ and בתק). In Arab. the corresponding consonant is d, sometimes dh (cp. e.g. חדל with Arab. ḥadhala, נדר with Arab. nadhara, קדר with Arab. qadhara). For the interchangeability of ד and ל cp. L. lacruma, lacrima (= tear), from Old L. dacruma, which is a loan word from Gk. dakruma. cp. also L. Ulixes, equivalent to Gk. Odysseus.

Psa 119:25 My being has been clinging to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.
Psa 119:26 I have recounted my ways and You answered me; Teach me Your laws.
Psa 119:27 Make me understand the way of Your orders; That I might meditate on Your wonders.
Psa 119:28 My being has wept from grief; Strengthen me according to Your word.
Psa 119:29 Remove from me the way of falsehood, And favour me with Your Torah.
Psa 119:30 I have chosen the way of truth; Your right-rulings I have held level.
Psa 119:31 I have clung to Your witnesses; O יהוה, do not put me to shame!
Psa 119:32 I run the way of Your commands, For You enlarge my heart.

HEI

ה The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its name, ‘He’, is of uncertain origin. In PBH it has the numerical value five. ה often alternates with other gutturals, as with א (see the introductory entry to letter א), and with ח if it corresponds to Arab. ḥ (see introductory entry to letter ח). Heb. ה corresponds to Akka. א; cp. e.g. Heb. הָלַךְ (= he went) with Akka. ’alāku (= to go). Rarely Heb. א corresponds to Akka. sh; cp. הוּא (= he), הִיא (= she), with Akka. shū, resp. shī. For the interchangeability of the gutturals cp. also in the conjugational system Heb. הִפְעִיל, BAram. הַפְעֵל, Aram. אַפְעֵל, Arab. ’af‘ala, OSArab. הפעלה. In ע״ו stems sometimes secondary forms develop with the change of ו to ה. cp. מהל, a secondary form of מול (= to circumcise), נהר (= to shine), which is related to נור (= to shine). cp. also the bases כון and כהן, קהל and קול, Heb. בושׁ and Aram.–Syr. בְּהֵת (= he was ashamed), Heb. רוּץ (= to run) and Aram. רְהַט, Syr. רְהֵט (= he ran), Heb. דּוֹר (= generation, period, age) and Arab. dahr (= long time, age), Heb. נהק (= to yawn) and Syr. פָּק, Arab. fāqa (= he sighed).]

Psa 119:33 Teach me, O יהוה, the way of Your laws, And I observe it to the end.
Psa 119:34 Make me understand, that I might observe Your Torah, And guard it with all my heart.
Psa 119:35 Make me walk in the path of Your commands, For I have delighted in it.
Psa 119:36 Incline my heart to Your witnesses, And not to own gain.
Psa 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at falsehood, And revive me in Your way.
Psa 119:38 Establish Your word to Your servant, Which leads to the fear of You.
Psa 119:39 Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your right-rulings are good.
Psa 119:40 See, I have longed for Your orders; Revive me in Your righteousness.

WAW

ו The sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of this letter ‘Waw’, means ‘hook’, ‘peg’ (see וָו ᴵ); so called in allusion to the ancient Heb. form of this letter. In PBH it has the numerical value six. At the beginning of West Sem. words (i.e. Heb., Aram., Ugar.), ו almost always becomes י. cp. e.g. Arab. walada, Heb. יָלַד, Aram. יְלֵד (= he begot), or Ethiop. warḥ, Heb. יֶרַח, Aram. יַרְחָא (= month). cp. also the introductory entries to letters י and ה.

Psa 119:41 And let Your kindnesses come to me, O יהוה; Your deliverance, according to Your word,
Psa 119:42 So that I answer my reprover, For I have trusted in Your word.
Psa 119:43 And do not take away from my mouth The word of truth entirely, For I have waited for Your right-rulings;
Psa 119:44 That I might guard Your Torah continually, Forever and ever;
Psa 119:45 That I might walk in a broad place, For I have sought Your orders;
Psa 119:46 That I might speak of Your witnesses before sovereigns, And not be ashamed;
Psa 119:47 That I might delight myself in Your commands, Which I have loved;
Psa 119:48 That I might lift up my hands to Your commands, Which I have loved; While I meditate on Your laws.

ZAYIN

ז The seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In PBH it has the numerical value seven. It alternates with ס (cp. עלז and עלס), and with צ (cp. זעק and צעק, עלז and עלץ, זרב and צרב, זער and צער). Heb. ז corresponds Aram.-Syr. ד, Ugar. d, Arab. dh, Ethiop. z, Akka. z. cp. e.g. Heb. זֶבַח, Aram. דּֽבַח, דִּבְחָא, Ugar. dbḥ, Arab. dhibḥ, Ethiop. sebḥ, Akka. zību (= sacrifice). cp. also Heb. בִּזֵּר, פִּזֵּר, Aram. בַּדַר (= he scattered), whence Arab. badhara (= he disseminated). Heb. ז also corresponds Aram.-Syr. ז, Ugar. z, Arab. z, Ethiop. z, Akka. z. cp. e.g. Heb. זַָנֶה, Aram. זְנָא, Syr. zannī́, Arab. zanā (= he committed fornication), Ethiop. zeynat (= pollution). See זַיִן ᴵᴵ.

Psa 119:49 Remember the word to Your servant, On which You have caused me to wait.
Psa 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.
Psa 119:51 The proud have utterly scorned me, I did not turn aside from Your Torah.
Psa 119:52 I remembered Your right-rulings of old, O יהוה, And I comfort myself.
Psa 119:53 Rage has seized me because of the wrong Who forsake Your Torah.
Psa 119:54 Your laws have been my songs In the place of my sojournings.
Psa 119:55 I have remembered Your Name in the night, O יהוה, And I guard Your Torah.
Psa 119:56 This has become mine, Because I have observed Your orders.

CHET

ח The eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (‘heth’). It has the numerical value eight. Both in Heb. and Aram. the letter ח represented originally two different gutteral sounds, to which correspond in Ugar. ḥ and ẖ, Arab. ḥ and kh, SArab. ח and חֿ. In Akka. the sound corresponding to Arab. kh remained, that corresponding to ḥ appears as spiritus lenis. Through comparisons with Arab., etc. it is possible to differentiate various bases which have coincided in Heb. and Aram. spelling (see e.g. the bases חבל, חבר, חלה, חלל). Heb. ח sometimes alternates with Aram. ע, Arab. ‘and gh (see חֹב, צבע and רעב.)

Psa 119:57 You are my portion, O יהוה; I have promised to guard Your words.
Psa 119:58 I have sought Your face with all my heart; Show me favour according to Your word.
Psa 119:59 I have thought upon my ways, And turned my feet to Your witnesses.
Psa 119:60 I have hurried, and did not delay To guard Your commands.
Psa 119:61 The cords of the wrong have surrounded me, Your Torah I have not forgotten.
Psa 119:62 At midnight I rise to give thanks to You, For Your righteous right-rulings.
Psa 119:63 I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those guarding Your orders.
Psa 119:64 O יהוה, Your kindness has filled the earth; Teach me Your laws.

TET

ט The ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In PBH it has the numerical value nine. The sound ט (ṭ = emphatic ṯ) occurs in all Sem. languages. ט alternates with ת (cp. תעה and טעה, חתף and חטף) and appears esp. in the vicinity of emphatic and guttural sounds. See טֵית.

Psa 119:65 You have done good to Your servant, O יהוה, According to Your word.
Psa 119:66 Teach me good sense and knowledge, For I have trusted in Your commands.
Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted I myself was going astray, But now I have guarded Your word.
Psa 119:68 You are good, and do good; Teach me Your laws.
Psa 119:69 The proud have forged a lie against me, With all my heart I observe Your orders.
Psa 119:70 Their heart has become like fat, Without feeling; I have delighted in Your Torah.
Psa 119:71 It was good for me that I was afflicted, That I might learn Your laws.
Psa 119:72 The Torah of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

YOD

י The tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its name ‘Yodh’, ‘Yod’, is related to יָד (= hand); so called in allusion to the ancient Hebrew form of this letter. In PBH it has the numerical value ten. Alternates sometimes with א (see the introductory article to letter א).

Psa 119:73 Your hands have made me and formed me; Make me understand, that I might learn Your commands.
Psa 119:74 Those who fear You see me and rejoice, For I have waited for Your Word.
Psa 119:75 I know, O יהוה, That Your right-rulings are righteous, And in trustworthiness You have afflicted me.
Psa 119:76 Please let Your kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant.
Psa 119:77 Let Your compassions come to me, That I might live, For Your Torah is my delight.
Psa 119:78 Let the proud be put to shame, For with lies they perverted me; But I study Your orders.
Psa 119:79 Let those who fear You turn to me, And those who know Your witnesses.
Psa 119:80 Let my heart be perfect in Your laws, So that I am not put to shame.

KAF

כ The eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of this letter, ‘Kaph’, means ‘hollow of the hand’; so called in allusion to the ancient Heb. form of this letter. It has a final form ך. In PBH כ has the numerical value of twenty, and ך has the numerical value of five hundred. כ alternates with ג (see the introductory article to letter ג) and with ק; cp. e.g. קוֹבַע, secondary form of כּוֹבַע (= helmet), and כשׁט, a collateral base of קשט (= to make straight, to arrange, to adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish). See קשׁט ᴵ and תַּכְשִׁיט.

Psa 119:81 For Your deliverance my being has pined away, For I have waited for Your word.
Psa 119:82 My eyes have pined away for Your word, Saying, “When would it comfort me?”
Psa 119:83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, Your laws I have not forgotten.
Psa 119:84 How many are the days of Your servant? When do You execute right-ruling On those who persecute me?
Psa 119:85 The proud have dug pits for me, Which is not according to Your Torah.
Psa 119:86 All Your commands are trustworthy; They have persecuted me with lies; Help me!
Psa 119:87 They almost made an end of me on earth, But I, I did not forsake Your orders.
Psa 119:88 Revive me according to Your kindness, That I might guard the witness of Your mouth.

LAMED

ל The twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of this letter, ‘Lamed’, prob. means ‘the rod (of the teacher)’, from למד, which prob. meant orig. ‘to prick, sting, incite, goad’. In PBH it has the numerical value of thirty. It alternates with נ and with ר. With נ: cp. the bases לחץ and נחץ and the words לִשְׁכָּה and נִשְׁכָּה, כַּלָּה ᴵ and Arab. kanna (= daughter-in-law, sister-in-law), צֶלֶם and Arab. ṣanam (= idol, image), dialectal Arab. naqama and Arab. laqama (= he obstructed), dialectal Arab. naqiya and Arab. laqiya (= he encountered, met), Gk. litron and nitron (= carbonate, natron), L. leptis and neptis (= granddaughter). With ר: cp. Heb. חֶלֶץ and Aram. חֲרַץ (= loin); Arab. qalb (= heart), which according to some scholars is related to Heb. קֶרֶב; Heb. שָׁלַח (= he sent), and Arab. saraḥa (= he sent forth); PBH שַׁלְשֶׁלֶת, a secondary form of Biblical Heb. שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת; Attic Gk. klibanos and Doric Gk. kribanos (= covered earthen vessel); It. albero (= tree) from L. arbor; It. pellegrino, Fren. pèlerin (= pilgrim); Fren. palefroi (= palfrey) from Med. L. palafrēdus, from Late L. paraverēdus; It. mercoledi (= Wednesday) from L. Mercuriī diēs (lit. ‘day of Mercurius’); Eng. plum from vulgar L. prūna, from L. prūnum; Eng. turtle (= dove) from L. turtur. The alternation of the consonants l and n, resp. l and r is in most cases due to dissimilation. The ל sometimes appears at the end of nouns as an additional consonant, as in גִּבְעֹל (= stalk, stem), כַּרְמֶל (= garden land).

Psa 119:89 Forever, O יהוה, Your word stands firm in the heavens.
Psa 119:90 Your trustworthiness is to all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.
Psa 119:91 According to Your right-rulings They have stood to this day, For all are Your servants.
Psa 119:92 If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
Psa 119:93 Let me never forget Your orders, For by them You have given me life.
Psa 119:94 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your orders.
Psa 119:95 The wrong have waited for me to destroy me; I understand Your witnesses.
Psa 119:96 I have seen an end of all perfection; Your command is exceedingly broad.

MEM

מ ‘Mem’ — the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The origin of its name is supposed to be מַיִם (= water); so called in allusion to the ancient form of this letter resembling waves of water. מ alternates with the other labials, esp. בּ, פּ and נ. It has a final form: ם. In PBH it has the numerical value of forty (מ) and six hundred (ם).

Psa 119:97 O how I love Your Torah! It is my study all day long.
Psa 119:98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies; For it is ever before me.
Psa 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your witnesses are my study.
Psa 119:100 I understand more than the aged, For I have observed Your orders.
Psa 119:101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I might guard Your word.
Psa 119:102 I have not turned aside from Your right-rulings, For You Yourself have taught me.
Psa 119:103 How sweet to my taste has Your word been, More than honey to my mouth!
Psa 119:104 From Your orders I get understanding; Therefore I have hated every false way.

NUN

נ The fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of the letter, ‘Nun’, means ‘fish’; so called in allusion to its ancient Heb. form. It has a final form ן. In PBH נ has the numerical value of fifty and ן has the numerical value of seven hundred. נ alternates with ל and מ (see introductory entries to these letters). It also alternates with ר (cp. כָּנַע and כָּרַע; גָּהַר with Syr. גְּהֵן (= he bent, bowed, stooped); זָרַח with Aram. רְּנַח (= it rose, shone); טָמַן with Aram.-Syr. טֽמַר (= he hid under the earth); שֽׁנַיִם with Aram. תְּרֵין (= two); בֵּן with Aram. בַּר (= son). נ also alternates with י as the first radical letter (cp. the bases יצב and נצב (= to put, place); נקשׁ and יקשׁ (= to lay snares). The letter נ is frequently assimilated, as e.g. יִנְגַשׁ becomes יִגַּשׁ; יִנְתֵּן becomes יִתֵּן.

Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psa 119:106 I have sworn, and I confirm, To guard Your righteous right-rulings.
Psa 119:107 I have been afflicted very much; O יהוה, revive me according to Your word.
Psa 119:108 Please accept the voluntary offerings Of my mouth, O יהוה, And teach me Your right-rulings.
Psa 119:109 My life is in my hand continually, And Your Torah I have not forgotten.
Psa 119:110 The wrong have laid a snare for me, But I have not strayed from Your orders.
Psa 119:111 Your witnesses are my inheritance forever, For they are the joy of my heart.
Psa 119:112 I have inclined my heart to do Your laws Forever, to the end.

SAMEK

ס The fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of the letter, ‘Samekh’, prob. derives from סמך and lit. means ‘support, fulcrum’; so called in allusion to its ancient Heb. form. In PBH it has the numerical value of sixty. When (as in most cases) it is an independent sibilant (beside שׂ and שׁ), its Arab. correspondence is s; cp. e.g. אָסַר and Arab. ’asara (= he bound, tied). Sometimes, however, it is secondary standing for orig. שׂ, in which case its Arab. equivalent is sh; cp. e.g. Heb. סְתָו and Arab. shitā’ (= winter). This change of שׂ to ס is quite frequent in NH and in Aram.; in Syriac the שׂ has been replaced entirely by ס. ס alternates also with ז (see the introductory article to letter ז). It often becomes צ, esp. in the vicinity of ח or emphatic sounds; cp. e.g. סחן ᴵ (= to be strong), with Arab. ḥaṣuna (= was strong); קסם (= to practice divination), with Syr. קְצַם (= he practiced divination); פֶּסַח (= Passover) with Syr. פֶּצְחָא (of s.m.); עקץ (= to sting, prick) with Syr. עַקֵּס (= it stung, it pricked). In some rare cases ס represents orig. שׁ; cp. סִרְיוֹן, a secondary form of שִׁרְיוֹן (= coat of arms, armor); Heb. כָּנַס, BAram., Aram. and Syr. כְּנַשׁ (= he gathered, collected).

Psa 119:113 I have hated doubting thoughts, But I have loved Your Torah.
Psa 119:114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I have waited for Your word.
Psa 119:115 Turn away from me, you evil-doers, For I observe the commands of my Elohim!
Psa 119:116 Support me according to Your word, That I might live; And put me not to shame Because of my expectation.
Psa 119:117 Sustain me, that I might be saved, And always look to Your laws.
Psa 119:118 You have made light of all those Who stray from Your laws, For falsehood is their deceit.
Psa 119:119 You have made to cease All the wrong of the earth, like dross; Therefore I have loved Your witnesses.
Psa 119:120 My flesh has trembled for fear of You, And I am in awe of Your right-rulings.

AYIN

ע ‘Ayin’ — the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Lit. meaning ’eye‘, and so called in allusion to the ancient form of this letter. In PBH it has the numerical value seventy. ע alternates with א (see introductory entry to letter א), with ח (see introductory entry to letter ח) and with ק. cp. BAram. אַרְקָא and Aram. אַרֽעָא (= earth; see אֶרֶץ); Heb. קִטֵּר (= he caused to smoke), and Aram. עֲטַר (= it smoked); cp. also Arab. qaṭrān (= tar), borrowed from Aram. עִטֽרָנָא (of s.m.); עַטְלִיז, from אִטֽלִיז (= butcher shop), from Gk. katalysis. In some rare cases the ע disappeared: cp. private name רוּת, prob. contracted from רֽעוּת, and בִּי (= please), which was possibly contracted from בּֽעִי (see בִּי ᴵᴵ).

Psa 119:121 I have done right-ruling and righteousness; Leave me not to my oppressors.
Psa 119:122 Guarantee Your servant’s well-being; Let not the proud oppress me.
Psa 119:123 My eyes have pined away for Your deliverance, And for the word of Your righteousness.
Psa 119:124 Do with Your servant according to Your kindness, And teach me Your laws.
Psa 119:125 I am Your servant – make me understand, That I might know Your witnesses.
Psa 119:126 It is time for יהוה to act! For they have broken Your Torah.
Psa 119:127 Therefore I have loved Your commands More than gold, even fine gold!
Psa 119:128 Therefore all Your orders I count as right; I have hated every false way.

PEH

פ The seventeenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of the letter ‘Pe’ is prob. derived from פֶּה (= mouth), and so called in allusion to the ancient form of this letter. It has a final form ף. In PBH פ has the numerical value of eighty and ף has the numerical value of eight hundred. פ alternates with ב and מ (see introductory entries to these letters). In Arab. it alternates also with th (see e.g. bases חנף and עשׁן, and cp. Russian Fedor and Foma, which derive from Gk. Theodoros and Thomas).

Psa 119:129 Your witnesses are wonders; So my being observes them.
Psa 119:130 The opening up of Your words gives light, Giving understanding to the simple.
Psa 119:131 I have opened my mouth and panted, For I have longed for Your commands.
Psa 119:132 Turn to me and show me favour, According to Your right-ruling, toward those who love Your Name.
Psa 119:133 Establish my footsteps by Your word, And let no wickedness have rule over me.
Psa 119:134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I might guard Your orders.
Psa 119:135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your laws.
Psa 119:136 Streams of water have run down from my eyes, Because they did not guard Your Torah.

TZADI

צ The eighteenth letter of the Heb. alphabet. The name of the letter, ‘tzadeh’ or ‘tzade’ (צָדֵי), means lit. ‘fishing hook’ and prob. so called in allusion to the ancient form of this letter. It is also called צַדִּיק, ‘tzaddik’, prob. formed from צָדֵי and ק, the letter following it in the Heb. alphabet, under the influence of the word צַדִּיק. צ has a final form, ץ. In PBH צ has the numerical value of ninety and ץ has the numerical value of nine hundred. Heb. צ comprises three orig. different sounds. 1 It corresponds to Aram.-Syr. צ, Ugar. ṣ, Arab ṣ, OSArab. צ, Ethiop. ṣ, Akka. ṣ. cp. e.g. Heb. אֶצְבַּע, Aram. אֶצְבַּע, אֶצְבְּעָא, Ugar. ṣb, Syr. צֶבְעָא, Arab. iṣba‘, OSArab. אצבע (as a measure), Ethiop. ’ aṣbā‘t, Akka. ṣubū, iṣbiṭṭu (= finger). 2 צ also corresponds to Aram.-Syr. ט, Ugar. ẓ, Arab. ẓ, OSArab. ט. cp. e.g. Heb. צֵל, Aram. טְלָלָא, Ugar. ẓl, Arab. ẓill, Syr. טֶלָּלָא (= shadow, shade). 3 צ also corresponds to Aram. ע (sometimes ק), Syr. ע, Arab. ḍ, OSArab. צ, Ethiop. ḍ, Akka. ṣ. cp. e.g. Heb. יָצָא (= he went out), Aram. and Syr. יעא (= to go forth, bloom), Arab. waḍu’a (= was or became beautiful, neat or clean), OSArab. וצא (= to go out). Sometimes in this case the Aram. equivalent is צ (see צמד and צרך). If Aram.-Syr. ע, as the regular equivalent of Heb. צ (see above), is preceded or followed by another guttural, it is usually dissimilated into א. cp. e.g. Heb. עֵץ and Aram. אָע, for עָע (= wood); Heb. צֶלַע and Syr. אֶלְעָא, for עֶלְעָא (= rib), Syr. אַעְפָא, for עַעְפָא (= double), and base צעף ᴵ, whence also Heb. צָעִיף (= veil). צ alternates with ז and ס (see the introductory entries to these letters). It also alternates with שׂ. cp. שׂחק — a collateral form of צחק (= to laugh). The change of צ to ג in JAram.-Syr. גִּחֵךְ (= he laughed) is due to dissimilation. For the rare interchangeability of צ and ק see אֶרֶץ, צֹאן, מחץ, עֵץ and צֶמֶר.

Psa 119:137 Righteous are You, O יהוה, And Your right-rulings are straight.
Psa 119:138 You have commanded Your witnesses In righteousness and truth, exceedingly.
Psa 119:139 My ardour has consumed me, For my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
Psa 119:140 Your word is tried, exceedingly; And Your servant has loved it.
Psa 119:141 I am small and despised; I have not forgotten Your orders.
Psa 119:142 Your righteousness is righteousness forever, And Your Torah is truth.
Psa 119:143 Distress and anguish have found me; Your commands are my delight.
Psa 119:144 The righteousness of Your witnesses is forever; Make me understand, that I might live.

QOF

ק The nineteenth letter of the Heb. alphabet. The name of the letter, קוֹף or קוּף (‘koph’, ‘kuph’), means lit. ‘eye of a needle’; so called in allusion to the ancient Heb. form of this letter. In PBH it has the numerical value of one hundred. ק alternates with ג, ח and כ (see the introductory entries to these letters). cp. e.g. Mand. גטאר (= to bind), with Aram.–Syr. קֽטַר, and Heb. קָשַׁר (= he bound, tied). For the rare interchangeability of ק and צ see the introductory entry to letter צ.

Psa 119:145 I have called with all my heart; Answer me, O יהוה! I observe Your laws.
Psa 119:146 I have called upon You; Save me, that I might guard Your witnesses.
Psa 119:147 I rise before dawn, and cry for help; I have waited for Your word.
Psa 119:148 My eyes have gone before the night watches, To study Your word.
Psa 119:149 Hear my voice according to Your kindness; O יהוה, revive me according to Your right-ruling.
Psa 119:150 Those who pursue mischief have drawn near; They have been far from Your Torah.
Psa 119:151 You are near, O יהוה, And all Your commands are truth.
Psa 119:152 Of old I have known Your witnesses, That You have founded them forever.

RESH

ר The twentieth letter of the Heb. alphabet. The name of the letter, רֵישׁ (‘resh’), is Aram., and lit. means ‘head’; so called in allusion to the ancient form of this letter. In PBH it has the numerical value of two hundred. ר alternates with ל and נ (see the introductory entries to these letters). ר often serves for the dissimilation of the reduplication of a consonant. So, e.g., דַּרְמֶשֶׂק is a dissimilated form of דַּמֶשֶׂק (= Damascus). In this way many bases and words have been enlarged into quadriliterals; cp. e.g. BAram. כָּרֽסֵא (= chair), which is prob. a loan word from Akka. kussu (= chair, throne), whence prob. also Heb. כִּסֵּא; base כרסם (= to chew, gnaw, devour), dissimilated from כסם (= to shear, clip); שַׁרְבִיט (= scepter), enlarged from שֵׁבֶט (of s.m.); סַרֽעַפָּה (= branch), enlarged from סֽעַפָּה (of s.m.); שַׂרְעַפִּים (= thoughts), enlarged from שֽׂעִפִּים (of s.m.). Sometimes ר is assimilated to the following consonant; so כִּרֽכַּר becomes כִּכָּר (see כִּכָּר ᴵ, כִּכָּר ᴵᴵ, כִּכָּר ᴵᴵᴵ).

Psa 119:153 See my affliction and deliver me, For I have not forgotten Your Torah.
Psa 119:154 Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.
Psa 119:155 Deliverance is far from the wrong ones, For they have not sought Your laws.
Psa 119:156 Your compassions are many, O יהוה; Revive me according to Your right-rulings.
Psa 119:157 My persecutors and adversaries are many; I have not turned aside from Your witnesses.
Psa 119:158 I saw traitors and was grieved, Because they did not guard Your word.
Psa 119:159 See how I have loved Your orders, יהוה, revive me according to Your kindness.
Psa 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And all Your righteous right-rulings are forever.

SHIN

ש The twenty-first letter of the Heb. alphabet. The name of the letter ‘shin’ is prob. derived from שֵׁן (= tooth), and so called in allusion to the ancient form of this letter. In PBH it has the numerical value of three hundred. The letter ש marks two different sounds: שׂ (‘sin’) and שׁ (‘shin’). Heb. שׂ corresponds to Aram. שׂ and ס, Syr. ס, Ugar. sh, Arab. sh, Ethiop. sh, Akka. sh. cp. e.g. Heb. נָשָׂא, BAram. נְשָׂא, Aram. נְסָא (= he lifted, took, carried), Ugar. nsh (= to lift), Arab. nasha’a (= he rose, was high, grew up), Ethiop. nash’a (= he lifted; he transferred), Syr. מַסַּאתָא (= scales), Akka. nashū (= to lift; to carry). There are exceptions to the rule according to which Arab. sh corresponds to Heb. שׂ and vice versa. These exceptions are due mainly to assimilation, partly also to the circumstance that Heb. שׂ sometimes stands for orig. ס (see שׂכך, שׂבר ᴵ, שׂתם). In earlier Aram. and in BAram. שׂ is generally preserved, but many words that have שׂ in Biblical Heb. are regularly spelled in MH with ס. Heb. שׁ corresponds to Aram.–Syr. שׁ, Ugar. sh, Arab. s, Ethiop. sh, Akka. sh. cp. e.g. Heb. שָׁלוֹם, Aram.–Syr. שְׁלָם, שְׁלָמָא, Ugar. shlm, Arab. salām, Akka. shalāmu, shulmu (= peace). The s in Arab. shams (= sun) is due to dissimilation (see שֶׁמֶשׁ). In many cases Heb. שׁ corresponds to Aram.–Syr. תּ, Arab. th, Ethiop. s. cp. e.g. Heb. שָׁלשׁ, Aram.–Syr. תּֽלָת, Arab. thalāth, Ethiop. shalās (= three). As shown above, the Akka. equivalent of Heb. שׁ is sh. However, in some rare cases Heb. שׁ corresponds to Akka. s (as in sābu, ‘to draw water’, which corresponds to שׁאב). Akka. sh may become l before a dental. cp. e.g. ḫamishtu and ḫamiltu (= five; see חמשׁ), lubushtu and lubultu (= dress; see לבשׁ); mashtītu and maltītu (= drink; see שׁתה).

Psa 119:161 Rulers have persecuted me without a cause, But at Your word my heart stood in awe.
Psa 119:162 I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.
Psa 119:163 I have hated falsehood and loathe it, Your Torah I have loved.
Psa 119:164 I have praised You seven times a day, Because of Your righteous right-rulings.
Psa 119:165 Great peace have those loving Your Torah, And for them there is no stumbling-block.
Psa 119:166 יהוה, I have waited for Your deliverance, And I have done Your commands.
Psa 119:167 My being has guarded Your witnesses, And I love them exceedingly.
Psa 119:168 I have guarded Your orders and Your witnesses, For all my ways are before You.

TAW

ת The twenty-second letter of the Heb. alphabet. The name of the letter, תָּו or תָּיו (‘Tav’, also ‘Taw’), means ‘sign’, ‘mark’; so called in allusion to the ancient form of this letter. In PBH it has the numerical value of four hundred. In the Sem. languages ת alternates with ד, ט and שׁ (see the introductory entries to these letters). ת often appears as the first radical in secondary bases enlarged from primary ones; see תאב ᴵ, תוה, תחל, possibly also תהל (supposed to be the base of תָּהֳלָה). The ת in these cases is either traceable to the ת of the conjugation הִתְפַּעֵל, or is originally identical with the subst. pref. תּ◌ (see תַּ◌, תִּ◌, תּוֹ◌). See תבע.

Psa 119:169 My cry comes before You, O יהוה; Make me understand according to Your word.
Psa 119:170 Let my prayer come before You; Deliver me according to Your word.
Psa 119:171 My lips pour forth praise, For You teach me Your laws.
Psa 119:172 My tongue sings of Your word, For all Your commands are righteousness.
Psa 119:173 Your hand is a help to me, For I have chosen Your orders.
Psa 119:174 I have longed for Your deliverance, O יהוה, And Your Torah is my delight.
Psa 119:175 My being lives, and it praises You; And Your right-rulings help me.
Psa 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I have not forgotten Your commands.