there a resource that explains Hebrew words as a compilation of the meaning of the individual letter

James P Tortorelli
James P Tortorelli Member Posts: 10 ✭✭
edited December 2024 in English Forum

Is there a resource that explains Hebrew words as a compilation of the meaning of the individual Hebrew letters? I understand that the letters have meanings and usually the words are related to the meaning of the letters used to spell the word. There is even a relation to the shape of the letters. Aleph like an ox head, Bet like a house, ABBA the worker of the house = the father. So, is there a Logos resource that covers this or, barring that, a book ?

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  • George Somsel
    George Somsel Member Posts: 10,150 ✭✭✭


    Is there a resource that explains Hebrew words as a compilation of the meaning of the individual Hebrew letters? I understand that the letters have meanings and usually the words are related to the meaning of the letters used to spell the word. There is even a relation to the shape of the letters. Aleph like an ox head, Bet like a house, ABBA the worker of the house = the father. So, is there a Logos resource that covers this or, barring that, a book ?


    Yes, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet have "meaning" in that they originally were derived from representations of words which began with the letter it came to represent.  The aleph was an ox head.  The bet was a house.  The mem was water (original form ^^^^).  The resh was a head.  It would be a great mistake, however, to attempt to read meanings into words based on those original representations of letters.  I think the Kabala does something like that (and perhaps David Paul).

    george
    gfsomsel

    יְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן

  • James P Tortorelli
    James P Tortorelli Member Posts: 10 ✭✭

    George:

    Oh. Okay, thanks for the info.  I really would rather avoid the Kabbalah.  I withdraw my question.

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,477 ✭✭✭✭

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.