The Hebrew alphabet consists of twenty-two letters. These Hebrew letters are not just a number of abstract linguistic elements with which you can compose words and sentences, as is the case with the letters in the Dutch language. Hebrew letters have a special meaning. They all have a name and their own identity. The Hebrew letters have a symbolic meaning. They have also been given a numerical value that can be used for calculations.
The Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet consists of twenty-two letters. They are all consonants. The letter Alef is also a consonant. The Alef does not have the sound of the ‘a’, as you would expect, but the sound of a hard tap in the throat. The Hebrew letters form the visible body of the words. The vowels, the soul of the language, are invisible. The story of creation is written with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The Dutch author Harry Mulisch wrote about these twenty-two Hebrew letters in his book ‘The procedure’.
For do not forget that the world was created in Hebrew; That would not have been possible in any other language, least of all in Dutch, where even the spelling is not fixed until heaven and earth pass away. […] Twenty-two letters: He (God) designed them, carved them, weighed them, combined them and interchanged them, each with all; through them He formed all creation and all that was yet to be created. (H. Mulisch (1998) The Procedure, p. 13-14)
The symbolic meaning of the Hebrew letters
Each Hebrew letter has a name and its own identity. The meaning of the Hebrew letters transcends the sound they represent. The letters are the heart of the language and of the Hebrew religion. The twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet each have a symbolic meaning. Also, each letter in Hebrew has a certain numerical value.
Alef א
The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Aleph. The letter has the numerical value one. Alef refers to unity and especially to the unity of God. This letter symbolizes that there is only one God and Creator. This is expressed in Israel’s central confession: ‘Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one!’ (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Bet ב
Bet is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Bet is the first letter of the Torah. The letter has a numerical value of two. Because two is the numerical value of this letter, this letter represents duality in creation. This duality refers to opposites created by God, such as day and night, light and darkness, the waters and the dry earth, the sun and the moon.
Gimel ג
The third letter of the alphabet, Gimel, has a numerical value of three. This letter is seen as the bridge between the contradictions that arise from the second letter, the Bet. The third letter brings balance between the opposites. This concerns a dynamic balance, a balance that is constantly in motion.
Dalet ד
The Dalet is the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter has a numerical value of four. The shape of this letter gives it its meaning. Some see this letter as a bent man. The letter then symbolizes humility and receptivity. Others recognize a stair step by the horizontal and vertical line of this letter. That refers to the structure to rise higher, to overcome resistance. When the Dallet is in someone’s name, it indicates strong will and perseverance. A Biblical example of this is David, who became king of all Israel through a strong will and much perseverance.
Hey ה
The fifth letter of the alphabet is He. The numerical value of this letter is five. The Hee is associated with being. This letter represents the gift of life. It is the first letter of the Hebrew verb to be (haya). The letter hee refers to being, the life essence of everything created by God.
Wow
The sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet has the numerical value of six. This letter, the Waw, is written as a vertical line. This line connects top to bottom. This letter therefore symbolizes the connection between heaven and earth, between God and people. The patriarch Jacob dreams about this connection between heaven and earth (Genesis 28:10-22). Heaven and earth were connected by this so-called Jacob’s Ladder. The letter waw, with its numerical value, also refers to the six days of creation and to the six directions (left and right, up and down, front and back).
Zain ז
Zain is the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter represents the seventh day of creation. That is the day that the Creator has set apart as a day of rest: ‘On the seventh day God had completed his work, and on that day he rested from the work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on that day he rested from all his work in creation” (Genesis 2:2-3). This makes this seventh letter a source of harmony and peace.
Chet ח
The letter Chet is the eighth letter of the alphabet. This letter symbolizes life. This concerns life that transcends biological life. This letter is also associated with the soul and spiritual life. After the seven days of creation, man reaches his full potential when he develops in wisdom and godliness above and beyond natural reality.
Tet ט
The Tet, the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, symbolizes all that is good in creation. The essence of the letter Tet is feminine. The literal meaning of this letter is basket or nest. The numerical value of this letter is nine. That stands for the nine months of pregnancy. This letter is shaped like a uterus.
Jod י
The Jod is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet in shape. It is the first letter of the name of the Lord (YHWH). The Jod is therefore the symbol for the Holy, for the Creator of heaven and earth. The letter represents the unity of the creator, but also the multiplicity. The Jod has the numerical value ten and ten is used in the Bible to indicate multiples.
Chaff כ
The eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Kaf. The literal meaning of this letter is the cupped palm of the hand. This letter is, as it were, a kind of cupped, outstretched palm ready to receive. This letter written as a line with a curved shape. This letter teaches man to bend and adjust his own interests. The numerical value of this letter is twenty.
Lamed ל
The Lamed is the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter symbolizes learning. This learning refers to spiritual learning. It is about learning that leads to spiritual growth. The lamed is written as a wavy movement. This letter represents the constant movements and changes in nature. This letter represents the number thirty.
Mem מ
The letter Mem stands for water. This refers to the water of wisdom and the Torah. The Bible talks about thirsting for the Lord. For example, Psalm 42 verse 3 says: ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God’. Men, the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Refers to the water that God gives. The letter Mem has a numerical value of forty. Forty is a special number in the Bible. The people of Israel stayed in the desert for forty years before they could enter the promised land. This numerical value of this letter is forty.
Noen נ
The Nun is the letter that symbolizes loyalty and the soul. This letter also represents humility, because the Nun is curved both above and below. In Aramaic the letter Nun means fish. Some see this letter as the fish that swims in the water of the Torah. The water of the Torah refers to the previous letter, the Mem. The numerical value of the Nun is fifty.
Samech ס
The fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Samech. This letter symbolizes the protection we receive from God. The outline of this letter indicates God, the Lord. The interior of the letter then refers to his creation, which is safe because it is protected by the Creator himself. The numerical value of this letter is sixty.
Ajien ע
The Hebrew letter Ajien is associated with time. This sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet represents the future and eternity. It teaches people to look beyond the present moment. The letter Ajien symbolizes looking beyond our own reality with open eyes. This letter has a numerical value of seventy.
Pee פ
The letter Peh is the seventeenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter symbolizes the mouth. This letter refers to the power of speech. This power is expressed in the Bible book of Proverbs 18: 21: ‘Words have power over life and death, and he who cherishes his tongue reaps the fruits thereof.’ Or as James writes in the New Testament: ‘Likewise the tongue is a small organ, but what boasts it can produce! Think about how a small flame starts a huge forest fire. Our tongue is like a flame” (James 3:5-6). This letter teaches man to speak carefully. The letter Pee represents the number eighty.
Tsaddie צ
The Tzaddie symbolizes the Tzaddik. A tzaddik is a man who is righteous before God. He is a pious and religious person. A tzaddik strives to be honest. Justice and doing what is right are important to him. The eighteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet represents everything a tzaddik strives for. The numerical value of this letter is ninety.
Koef ק
The letter Kuf is the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of this letter is the back of the head. Other meanings of the letter Koef are the eye of a needle and monkey. The monkey represents the animal in man. This letter challenges man to transcend the animalistic and live as the Creator intended. This letter has a numerical value of one hundred.
Reesj ר
The twentieth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Resh. The meaning of this letter is leader or head. From this meaning, this letter symbolizes greatness. The letter Reesj stands for infinity and exponential growth. The numerical value of this letter is two hundred.
Sheen ש
The Sheen is the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter is connected with fire and transformation. This letter has three teeth in shape. The literal meaning of this letter is tooth, but in the shape of the three teeth three flames can also be seen. It is the flames that cleanse and purify life from unrighteousness. This letter can also show that it is good to choose balance in nature. Of the three teeth that form this letter, the ends are the extremes. The middle tooth balances between them and thus manages to find the golden mean. The numerical value of this letter is three hundred.
Taw ת
The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Taw. It is the twenty-second letter. This letter is a sign and a seal. The Taw symbolizes truth and completion. This letter completes the Hebrew alphabet. The truth of the Torah is written down with this alphabet. The Taw is the last letter of the first word of the Torah ‘ bereshit ‘, ‘in the beginning’. In that beginning the Creator set in motion all of life, the existence of all that is. In that word, beginning and completion are connected. In that word, completion is never an end, but always a new beginning. The numerical value of the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet is four hundred.
The position of the letter determines its meaning
Each Hebrew letter has its own meaning. Some letters have multiple meanings. The position of a letter in a word or sentence partly determines what symbolic meaning a letter ultimately acquires. Depending on the context of a letter, one interpretation is more appropriate than another. However, there is never a definitive meaning. Giving meaning to letters in ancient texts such as Hebrew is an ongoing process.
read more
- The symbolic meaning of letters and alphabet in the Bible
- The symbolic meaning of numbers in the Bible
- The symbolic meaning of colors in the Bible