שׁעוּר ו Look-a-Like Consonants

Transcription

1 Biblical Hebrew 101 Learning to Read Biblical Hebrew Lesson 6 שׁעוּר ו Look-a-Like Consonants Fellowshipping! Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1 ESV Continue reinforcing the Hebrew aleph-bet 6.01 Compare the consonants that Look-a-Like 6.02 Vowels: o & oo-type vowels (וּ) and the shurek (וֹ) 6.03 Fun way to remember the cholam vav 6.04 Practice reading 6.05 BeGeD KeFeT letters 6.06 Let s read Psalm 133:1 in Hebrew 28 P a g e

2 6.01 Let s compare the consonants that are look-a-likes Notice the differences between each of these look-a-like consonants: Letter Name of letter & the difference or uniqueness of the letter Print ב כ ג נ ד ר ך ו ן ז ה ח ת ע צ ס ם Vet (note: the flat bottom bar) Chatef: (note: how the letter is rounded) Gimmel (note: foot on lower right) Nun (note: top & bottom bars are both short) Dalet (note: top bar is straight & extends a bit to the right) Resh (note: resh is similar ;דto however, top bar doesn t extend to right) Chaf sofit (similar to,ר only tail hangs below the line; this letter only appears as the last letter of a word.) Vav (note: similar to ;ר only top bar is short) Nun sofit (note: similar to,ו only tail hangs below the line; this letter only appears as the last letter of a word.) Zayin (note: similar to,ו only top bar is slanted) Hey (note: opening on top left) Chet (note: there is no opening on top left) Tav (note: looks like,ח but has foot on bottom left) Ayin (note: how the letter is rounded on the bottom) Tsade (note: how this letter has a straight bottom and the cross line is also straight) Samech (note: how this letter is rounded) Mem sofit (note: how the mem sofit has a flat bottom & a flat right side; this letter only appears as the last letter of a word.) 29 P a g e

3 6.02 The o & oo vowels The vowels we ve studied thus far have been written below their corresponding consonant. As we ll learn the o and oo vowels are slightly different. 1. There are three different ways to write the o type. a. The 1 st is the cholam vav; it is written with a dot on top of the vav:.וֹ It is important to note that the vav is silent and is no longer a consonant; instead it is part of the vowel. Therefore, the only sound the cholam vav has is o as in row. For example: טוֹב (tov, meaning good ) b. The 2 nd type of o vowel is like the cholam vav, only it is written without the vav. For example: בּ ק ר (bo-kehr, meaning morning ) Note: the dot slightly to the left side of the bet. This vowel is called cholam and has the same sound as the cholam vav. c. The 3 rd is not as common as the first two. It is called a chatef kamats and is written with a kamats and a sheva under the letter & has a long o sound. For example: ע נ י (o-nee, meaning poor ). 2. There are two different ways to write the oo type of vowel..וּ it, a. The first is called a shurek. It is written with a vav and a dot, which is in the middle of This vav is silent and is no longer a consonant, but part of the vowel. The sound of the shurek is oo as in pool. For example: ע שׁבוּ (shah-voo-ah, meaning week ). b. And the other type of oo is called a kibbuts; it is 3 slanted dots under any consonant. א. For example: הע ד ת (hah-eh-doot, meaning the testimony ) 6.03 Fun way to remember the sounds of the cholam vav and the shurek To remember the cholam vav (וֹ) & the cholam ( ): if I tapped you on top of your head, you d say Oh! To remember the shurek (וּ) & the kibbutz ( ): if I tapped you in the tummy, you d say oo (as in pool). Book print וֹ Name of vowel Note: this vowel is always written with the vav חוֹלם וו & is called cholam vav (חוֹלם מל א (also called: cholam male Vowels: o & oo-types Sound of vowel Block Print o-type vowels oh as in row וֹ א Note: the cholam can be written with most חוֹלם consonants. Called cholam oh as in row א חט ף קמץ This vowel is chatef kamats א oh as in row א וּ Note: this vowel is always written with a vav שׁוּ רק & is called shurek oo-type vowels וּ oo as in pool א Note: the kibbuts can be written with most ק בּוּץ consonants & is called kibbuts oo as in pool א Write each letter 30 P a g e

4 6.04 Practice reading Read common Hebrew words & phrases below (note: accented syllables are in bold & highlighted) Hebrew Translation Transliteration Write נכוֹן right or correct O ) nah-chon (long כבוֹד glory, honor or splendor O ) kah-vod (long כל הכבוֹד All the honor; congratulations. This phrase means the same as the phrase below. All the honor; congratulations כל הכבוֹד א רוֹן ה קד שׁ kol -- hahk-kah-vod are spelled differently but כל & כל pronounced the same. kol -- hahk-kah-vod (pronounced the same as word above; note the kamats chatuf.) Holy Ark (storage cabinet for the Sefer Torah, Torah Scroll; 2Chron 35:3.) ל אמר to say O ) leh-mor (long end or close (the same root as,סוֹפת as סוֹף (ם sofit in mem suffix or ending, as in mem sofit סוֹפת so-feet (סוֹף (same root as ם הע ד ת the testimony hah-eh-dut ע ד witness (noun) ehd ah-ron -- hahk-ko-dehsh (long O ) sof (long O ) עד eternal (literally, until) ahd עד עוֹל ם forever (2Sam 7:16; literally until forever) ahd-o-lahm ל עוֹל ם וע ד forever and ever (PS 145:21) leh-o-lahm -- vah-ehd ש ב ת ש ל ום Have a good Shabbat! shahb-baht -- shah-lom ט וב Good tov בק ר ט וב Good morning! bo-kehr -- tov evening! Good ע ר ב ט וב eh-rehv tov (Tip: when 2 segols appear in a 3 or 4-letter word, the 1st gets the accent) שבוּ ע ט וב Have a good week shah-vu-ah -- tov מ ה ז ה? What is this? zeh? mah -- ת וד ה ר ב ה Thanks a lot! to-dah -- rahb-bah ר ג ע One moment reh-gah ע וד פ ע ם One more time; again od -- pah-ahm כ ן Yes kehn לא No lo 31 P a g e

5 בּ ג ד כ פּ ת letters: 6.05 BeGeD KeFeT There are 6 letters in the Hebrew aleph bet which have 2 possible, but closely related, pronunciations. The term BeGeD KeFeT is simply a device for the easy memorization of these 6 letters..( ת) and tav ;(פּ) pay ;(כ) kaf ;( ד) dalet ;( ג) gimmel ;(בּ) These 6 consonants are: bet You will notice in the chart below, when there is a dot 1 in these consonants, there is a change in the pronunciation of 3 of the letters, which are lighted in light blue. (The other 3 sets have letters have no change in sound in Modern Hebrew. However, sometimes there may be a change with Seminary Hebrew or Ashkenazic pronunciation.) BeGeD KeFeT Name of letter Sound Example Explanation (rahb-bah) NOTE: the bet and vet are ר בּה with dot: bet as in ball בּ pronounced differently (sheh-veht) שׁ בת without dot: vet as in vice ב (gahm) גם with dot: gimmel as in get ג Note: the gimmel is pronounced the same with (chahg) and without the dagesh חג without dot: gimmel as in get ג (dahg) דג with dot: dalet as in dog ד Note: the dalet is pronounced the same with (od) and without the dagesh עוֹד without dot: dalet as in dog ד (kehn) NOTE: the kaf and chaf כן with dot: kaf as in keep כ are pronounced differently (nah-chon) נכוֹן without dot: chaf as in Bach כ (pah-ahm) NOTE: the pay and fay are פּ עם with dot: pay as in pet פּ pronounced differently (so-feet) סוֹפת without dot: fay as in far פ ת with dot: tav as in tell ת ת without dot: tav as in tell שׁבּ ת (to-dah) וֹדה (shahb-bat) Note: the tav is pronounced the same with and without the dagesh 1 In Lesson 9, we will discuss this dot in more detail. 32 P a g e

6 6.05 Let s read Psalm 133:1: some cantillation 1 markings are in the words below Vocabulary for Psalm 133:1 (note: accented syllables are in bold & highlighted) Hebrew Translation Transliteration הנ ה behold heen-neh מה what or how mah ט וֹב good O ) tov (long וּמה and what or how oo-mah נע ים pleasant, nice, or delightful nah-eem ה נ ה מ ה ט וֹב וּמה נע ים and how pleasant, nice, or delightful (the dash or maqqef (מק ף) functions similarly to a dash or hyphen in English. Also, with a maqqef, note accents shifts from 1 st word to 2 nd.) וּמ ה נ ע ים ש ב ת א ח ים ג ם י ח ד oo-mah nah-eem שׁ ב ת sit, dwell, or remain, or abide (Tip: when 2 segols appear in a 3 or 4-letter word, the 1st gets the accent) sheh-veht אח ים brothers ah-cheem גם also or moreover gahm י חד one, as in together or in unity yah-chad גם י חד also or moreover, as one gahm yah-chad Psalm 133:1 - Read a complete verse in Hebrew! (Continue writing names of letters & vowels. This exercise helps to develop your reading skills.) Shurek Cholam vav Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1 ESV Guess what?? Today, you read and understood one complete verse in Hebrew!!! 1 Refer to previous lesson for more information on cantillation markings. 33 P a g e