In Genesis chapter one and John chapter one both speak of the whole of creation being spoken into existence by Yeshua the Word of Elohim (G-d). It is said that Hebrew is the LaShone Kodesh, the Holy Tongue of G-d Himself, and that Hebrew was used to speak everything into existence and that the Hebrew Language was taught to Adam and has been the Language of the Hebrew people from the beginning.

Hebrew as a language has changed little, almost like King James English and Modern English, so it is similar with Ancient Hebrew and Modern Hebrew which was resurrected around when Israel officially was recognized as a State in 1948. The letters themselves have taken on a major transformation from what is known as Paleo-Hebrew to Modern Hebrew of today. There is a small movement that is picking up steam to return to the Paleo-Hebrew, the Hebrew Moshe penned the Torah in.

Seeing as the Hebrew Alef-Bet was used to create all we see and know, each letter carries with it significant meaning. Pictorial and Messianic meaning was assigned to the Paleo-Hebrew which has carried over into the Modern Hebrew as well as Numeric Value; there is a laymen value as shown below and a priestly value that I haven’t divulged.

The Letters are:

·        Aleph (Silent/A) Ox = Strength, #1: Elohim sacrificed for sin in the atoning Messiah.

·        Bet (B) Tent, Floorplan = Home, Family, #2: The Messiah is the habitation of his people.

·        Gimel (G) Foot, Camel = Walk, Gather, #3: The Messiah is the conveyor of his people (through the wilderness of sin).

·        Dalet (D) Door = Entrance, #4: The Messiah gives entrance into the heavenly kingdom.

·        Hey (H) Man with arms raised, Window = Breath, Reveal, Look, #5: The Messiah is the light and vision of the people.

·        Vav (V/W) Tent Peg, Nail = To Hang, To Secure, To Fasten, To Add, #6: The Messiah grips and tears the evil of the flesh.

·        Zayin (Z) Sickle, Weapon = Food, Cut, Nourish, #7: The blood of Messiah overcomes the powers of Hell (cancels sin).

·        Chet (Ch) Tent Wall, Fence = Divide, Half, Outside, #8: The Messiah is the heavenly Zion: the fortress and security of saints.

·        Tet (T/Th) Basket, Serpent = Surround, Contain, Mud, #9: The Messiah is the wisdom of saints.

·        Yod (Y) Hand = Work, Throw, Worship, Guide, #10: The Messiah is the efficacy of the people – without Him they can do nothing.

·        Kaph (K) Open Palm = Open, Allow, Bend, Tame, #20: The Messiah cushions the way of His people. On Him alone they stand.

·        Lamed (L) Shepherd staff = Teach, Yoke, Bind, #30: The Messiah is the Great Teacher of discipline through twelve Tribes and Apostles.

·        Mem (M) Water, Life = Chaos, Mighty, Blood, #40: The Messiah alone quenches spiritual thirst, He is the Mayim-Chayim, the Living Waters.

·        Nun (N) Seed, Son, Heir, #50: The Messiah is the steadfastness of His people. The Heavenly Yehoshua (Joshua) the son of Nun.

·        Semeach (S) Thorn, Pillar = Grab, Hate, Protect, Uphold, #60: The Messiah is the great heart of His People.

·        Ayin (Silent) Eye = Watch, Know, Shade, #70: The Messiah is the vigilance of His people and we are the apple of His Eye.

·        Pey / Fey (P/Ph,F) Mouth = Blow, Scatter, Edge, #80: The Messiah is the Living Word and the Double Edged Sword that comes out of the Mouth of G-d.

·        Tzaddi (Tz) Man on his side = Wait, Chase, Snare, Hunt, #90: Messiah stands with us, at our side because we have been made righteous by the virtue of His blood.

·        Qof (Q) Sun on Horizon, Axe-Head = Time, Circle, Condense, #100: The Messiah gives efficacy to the pious works of His people.

·        Resh (R) Head = First, Top, Beginning, #200: The Messiah is the Head of the People, the Body.

·        Shin (S/Sh) Teeth = Sharp, Press, Eat, Destroy #300: The Messiah bites the wicked and knocks out the teeth of the wicked.

·        Tav (T) Cross = Mark, Sign, End, Redemption #400: The Messiah was crucified on a cross.

Among the Aleph-Bet there are three mother letters, which is said to be the three letters that was used to create everything. It is said to represent the three elements:

·        Aleph – Air = Because it is an aspirate, a letter pronounced with a silent breath.

·        Mem – Water = Mem is a mute letter representing fish who are silent and water in Hebrew is Mayim, and begins with the letter Mem.

·        Shin – Fire = This is a sibilant letter.

Jewish mysticism and Talmudic Midrash says that the heavens were created with Fire, the Earth from Water and Air from the Spirit mediates between the two.

The Three Mother letters also represent the seasons and the major parts of the body.

·        Aleph = Spring and Fall, Chest

·        Mem = Winter, Stomach

·        Shin = Summer, Head

Then there are seven letters what are called the double letters, and opposites are assigned to these letters as well as direction. These double letters can have either a hard or soft sound depending on the context and reflect the masculine and feminine aspect of YHWH.

·        Bet = Life and Death, (is from) Above

·        Gimel = Peace and War, (is made) Below

·        Dalet = Knowledge and Ignorance, East (The Divine Direction)

·        Kaph = Wealth and Poverty, West (Representing Enterprise)

·        Pey/Fey = Grace and Sin, North (Notice in the Scripture trouble almost always comes from the North)

·        Resh = Fertility and Sterility, South (The Changing Seasons is symbolically comes from the South)

·        Tav = Power and Slavery = Center (Truly these things come from within us)

What is left is twelve letters representing different aspects of our being and the 12 months of the Year.

·        Hey = Sight, Aries/March = Adar/Nissan (Aviv)

·        Vav = Hearing = Tarus/April = Nissan (Aviv)/ Iyar

·        Zayin = Smell = Gemini/May = Iyar/Sivan

·        Chet = Speech = Cancer/June = Sivan/Tammuz

·        Tet = Taste = Leo/July = Tammuz/Av

·        Yod = Sex = Virgo/August = Av/Elul

·        Lamed = Labor/Work = Libra/September = Elul/Tishrei

·        Nun = Movement = Scorpio/October = Tishrie/Cheshvan

·        Samech = Anger = Sagittarius/November = Cheshvan/Kislev

·        Ayian = Mirth = Capricorn/December = Kislev/Tevet

·        Tzaddi = Imagination = Aquarius/January = Tevet/Shevat

·        Qof = Sleep = Pisces/ February = Shevat/Adar

Emet (Aleph, Mem, Tav) is the Hebrew word for Truth and is make up of the first, middle and the last letter in the Aleph-Bet symbolizing that truth is all encompassing.

Many of the Hebrew words define themselves. For instance, the word Fire, Aish, is made up of an Aleph and a Shin, and by definition of the letters we get: “Strength to Destroy.” Water is Mayim, made up of Mem, Yod, and Mem and it says: “Water divided from water by the Hand of G-d.”

Take the word Messiah: Mem, Shin, Chet, if you rearrange the letters you get Chet, Mem, Shin = Chumash (5), another name for the Torah. Rearrange the letters again and you get Shin, Mem, Chet, meaning Shimcha, Joy. Put it all together it means the Torah and the Messiah brings one Joy.

In Genesis 1:1 there is an untranslatable word Aleph-Tav and many believe this is identified as Yeshua Messiah being the Creator, the One who Spoke everything into being (John 1), for in the book of Revelation He calls Himself the Aleph and the Tav (the Alpha and Omega) the Beginning and the End (Rev. 22:13).

Gematria
Let us look briefly at the Numerology of Hebrew sometimes called Gematria:

Mother = Aleph, Mem (Strength of Life) = 1 + 40 = 41

Father = Aleph, Bet (Strength of the Home) = 1 + 2 = 3

Child = Yod, Lamed, Dalet, (By the hand led through the door: represents birth and how parents lead them through life many doors) = 10 + 40 + 4 = 44

See that? Mother + Father = Child: 41 + 3 = 44.

Also in the Torah we see G-d changing names, like:

·        Abram to Abraham: Abram + Hey (H) = Abraham

·        Sarai to Sarah: Sarai + Hey (H) = Sarah

Both were impotent and barren until G-d changed their names and added the Hey (H) the Breath of Life to them, allowing them to be able to concive and give birth to Isaac.

It also works out numerically to let us know G-d brought Isaac about.

El = G-d = 31

31 Squared = 961 This is known in Rabbinic literature as the “Signature of G-d.”

Abraham = 248

Sarah = 505

+ Isaac = 208

_______________

= 961 (31 Squared)

The passage in Genesis 49:10 speaks of the scepter will remain with Judah and the authority of law until Shiloh comes. Both the word Messiah and Shiloh have numeric total of 358. So this passive is a prophetic passage of Messiah.

The passage where Moses puts a brass serpent upon a pole, the Serpent of Moses, Nachash also equals 358 and thus, this too points to the Messiah, and we can see as Messiah died upon a “pole” of sorts he took the sin initiated by the serpent upon himself and so we see How Yeshua Messiah has fulfilled and will fulfill these two verses.

And numbers by themselves, separate from the letters have meaning too:

1.     G-d
2.     House/Couple
3.     *Tri-unity/Family
4.     Directions
5.     Law/Grace
6.     Man
7.     Completion
8.     Beginnings
9.     Wisdom/Judgment
10.    Commandments
11.     Chaos
12.     Government

*  “Concerning what most of Christianity refers to as the “Trinity”, (I refer to it as a Tri-unity) I believe that Elohim reveals Himself in many ways, characteristics and Sefirot, including, but not limited to, Abba (the Father), the Word / the Ben (Son), and the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit).  And I believe that these emanations from Elohim are coeternal, coequal, and coexisting in one (echad) Divine essence.

The Seforitic Tree consists of many charts and formulas, and lists many of HaShem’s attributes, so I will not get into that.  That is not the purpose of this work.  However, I will say that there is a concept referred to as the “Three Pillars”, which consist of Binah: Understanding, Keter: Crown, and Hokhmah: Wisdom.  The Sages refer to them as: Binah as the Father/Abba, Hokhmah as the Mother/Imma, and Keter as their Son/Ben.  And these in turn would coincide with the concept of the Tri-unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  It is interesting to note that the word for Holy Spirit in the Hebrew is Feminine, which would lend credence to the “Three Pillars” of the Seforitic Tree of Binah being Mother/Imma.  In another place of Kabalistic literature, there are references to the Lesser YHWH, which describes Yahshua Messiah uncannily.

I DO NOT adhere to nor believe in tritheism or modalism, these beliefs are INACURATE and HERETICAL! — Get Back to the First Century, Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

“It is entirely tolerable to the Hebraic mind to accept a paradox.  To the non-Hebraic mind, the paradox is seen as blatant contradiction, and is summarily dismissed as nonsense.” – Bikurei Tziyon, issue 71, pg.29”

“Us” refers to the “Tri-Unity of Elohim (G-d). The Shema (Deut. 6:4) says that YHWH is “Echad” meaning, “one”. Not “one” as in the singular, but one in plurality, as in one cluster but many grapes (Num. 13:23-24), one, as in, United.  Some say that, “us” means YHWH consulted the angels, but this could not be because YHWH would not put the created angels on His level by saying “us”.

The first word in Hebrew that begins the book of Genesis is, “B’reshit” Spelled with the Hebrew letters: “Bet-Resh-Alef-Shin-Yod-Tav” Bet starts the Hebrew word, “Ben” which means son, referring to Yeshuah the Messiah the son of YHWH.  The letter Resh starts the word, “Ruach” meaning Spirit, as in Holy Spirit. The letter Alef starts the Hebrew word “Abba” meaning Father, representing YHWH G-d the Father.

Jewish Tradition says that YHWH consulted the Torah in creation (and not the angels as has become a later tradition states) and I have no problem with that. For Yeshua the Messiah is the Living Manifestation, the embodiment of the written Torah.

So ones name in Hebrew gives a word picture and expresses ones mission, sort of a prophecy over ones life, that is why it is so important what you name your child. Names and letters hold power and meaning.

My name is Yehudah ben Shomeyr: Praiser of YHWH, son of the Guardian/Protector.

According to the pictorial meaning of each letter my name means:

·        Yehudah: The hand (5 = Torah) will reveal and connect a door to revelation, pointing people by the Torah to the Nailed Messiah and that he is the Salvation, deliverance and door to the One True G-d.

·        Ben: This house will continue, live on.

·        Shomeyr: Will protect and defend tooth and nail the Head of the Living Waters (Yeshua Messiah).

As a Rabbi I have an acronym that represents my name: RaYBaSH: The head of the house will destroy by his hand (the chaos of falsehood through Torah).

The Numeric value of my name (Yehudah ben Shomeyr) is 628 meaning: This man will bring balance to G-d and man (two houses) and make them one and this new beginning will multiply.

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Topics  Ancient Hebrew Alphabet  

The Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet

By Jeff A. Benner

Old Hebrew and the Samaritan Alphabet

The Samaritans are, according to themselves, the descendants of the Northern Tribes of Israel that were not sent into Assyrian captivity, and have continuously resided in the land of Israel. The Torah Scroll of the Samaritans use an alphabet that is very different from the one used on Jewish Torah Scrolls. According to the Samaritans themselves and Hebrew scholars, this alphabet is the original “Old Hebrew” alphabet, also called “Paleo-Hebrew.”

Even as far back as 1691, this connection between the Samaritan and the “Old” Hebrew alphabets was made by Henry Dodwell; “[the Samaritans] still preserve [the Pentateuch] in the Old Hebrew characters.”

Humphrey Prideaux also writes in 1799; “And these five books [of the Samaritans] still have among them, written in the old Hebrew or Phoenician character, which was in use among them before the Babylonish captivity, and in which both these and all other scriptures were written, till Ezra transcribed them into that of the Chaldeans [Aramaic].”

This same theory is presented in the 1831 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana; “During the Babylonish captivity, they received from the Chaldees the square character in common use; and in the time Ezra, the old Hebrew manuscripts were copied in Chaldee [Aramaic] characters.”

Prior to the Babylonian captivity, the Jews used an alphabet very similar to what is found in the Torah scrolls of the Samaritans.

However, during the Babylonian captivity, the Jews adopted the Aramaic square script. While paleo-Hebrew continued to be used by the Jews into the first century A.D. on a limited basis, it was the Aramaic square script that was most predominately used to write Hebrew and this is the script used in most scrolls found in the Dead Sea caves.

 

Old Hebrew and the Phoenician Alphabet

While Prideaux noted that the Old Hebrew alphabet was the same as the Samaritan alphabet, he also pointed out that it is identical to the Phoenician alphabet.

When we compare the letters of these three alphabets, we can see this similarity.

This is the letter beyt in the Old Hebrew alphabet, the Samaritan alphabet and the Phoenician alphabet. Note the close similarity of each.

The 1831 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana also makes this connection between the Phoenician, Samaritan and Hebrew alphabets; “[the Hebrews] written characters were the same as the Phoenician, to which the letters of the Samaritan manuscripts approach the nearest.”

The Phoenicians lived north of the land of Israel centered around the Biblical cities of Sidon and Tyre, in modern day Lebanon, between the 16th and 3rd Century BC.

The Phoenicians shared the same alphabet with the Hebrews and the Samaritans. It was also evident that the Phoenicians and Hebrews spoke the same language as the “Foreign Quarterly Review” wrote in its 1838 publication; “The learned world had almost universally allowed that the Phoenician language was, with few exceptions, identical with the Hebrew.”

The first major discovery connecting the Phoenician alphabet and language with Hebrew occurred on January 19th, 1855, when Turkish laborers accidently uncovered an ancient sarcophagus in Sidon, a Phoenician city. On this sarcophagus was a lengthy inscription written in the Phoenician alphabet and language, which was found to be identical to Hebrew with only a few exceptions.

 

Old Hebrew and the Aramaic Alphabet

As previously mentioned, the old Hebrew alphabet was used by all Semitic peoples including the Arameans (also called the Chaldeans), but evolved independently from the Hebrew.

By the 5th century B.C., the time of the Israelites captivity in Aramea (or Babylon), it no longer resembled the old Hebrew it came from and it is this Aramaic “square” script that Israel adopted during their captivity.

 

Old Hebrew and the Greek Alphabet

The Old Hebrew alphabet, was adopted by the Greeks around the 12th century BC. The first five letters of the Hebrew alphabet are aleph, beyt, gimel, dalet and hey. These same letters, adopted by the Greeks, became the alpha, beta, gamma, delta and E-psilon (meaning “simple E”). While Hebrew is usually written from right to left, Greek was written left to right and the orientation of the letters were reversed from the Old Hebrew.

Over the centuries, these ancient Greek letters evolved into their Modern Greek forms.

Our English alphabet is Roman, and because the Romans adopted the Greek alphabet, we are able to see our own modern English alphabet in these ancient Hebrew turned Greek letters, the A, B, C, D and E.

The connection between the Middle Hebrew Alphabet and the Modern Roman Alphabet can be clearly seen in the image below.

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