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The Earliest Form Of Hebrew Writing
Sefardic Panther:
Larry David look-alike the Naked Archaeologist looks at the earliest form of Hebrew writing (Proto-Sinaitic) in a cave in the Sinai Peninsula –
The earliest form of Hebrew writing was pictographic, i.e. the Alef (ox) was a picture of an ox. The Bet (house) was a picture of a house. The Gimel (camel) was a picture of a camel etc.
We must study all archaeological examples of this primeval Hebrew writing and use it to further understand the holy language.
For example the word “and” in Hebrew is the letter Waw. Waw was a picture of a peg and just like a peg the word “and” is used to join things together.
muman613:
The current hebrew characters already have the pictographic meaning and the gematria meaning. They were kept when the font we use today was adopted.
Kahane-Was-Right BT:
--- Quote from: muman613 on November 26, 2009, 03:25:34 PM ---The current hebrew characters already have the pictographic meaning and the gematria meaning. They were kept when the font we use today was adopted.
--- End quote ---
What do you mean?
muman613:
--- Quote from: Kahane-Was-Right BT on November 26, 2009, 04:34:19 PM ---
--- Quote from: muman613 on November 26, 2009, 03:25:34 PM ---The current hebrew characters already have the pictographic meaning and the gematria meaning. They were kept when the font we use today was adopted.
--- End quote ---
What do you mean?
--- End quote ---
I believe I have seen the current hebrew font has the same pictographic meanings and the same numerical meaning.
http://www.jewfaq.org/alephbet.htm
--- Quote ---K'tav Ivri: Ancient Hebrew Script
As mentioned above, the Hebrew alphabet that we use today is referred to as Assyrian Script (in Hebrew, K'tav Ashuri). But there was once another way of writing the alphabet that the rabbis called K'tav Ivri, which means "Hebrew Script." Many examples of this ancient way of writing the Hebrew alphabet has been found by archaeologists: on coins and other artifacts. It is quite similar to the ancient Phoenician writing. An example of this script is seen at Scripts of the Hebrew Language, side-by-side with other styles of Hebrew writing that were discussed above.
The rabbis of the Talmudic period were well aware of this ancient K'tav Ivri, and they raised the question whether the Torah was originally given in K'tav Ivri or K'tav Ashuri. A variety of opinions are expressed in the Talmud at Sanhedrin 21c-22a: one opinion states that the Torah was originally given in K'tav Ivri, but was changed to K'tav Ashuri in the days of Ezra, after the Babylonian Exile (the Babylonians, and consequently the Jews in exile, used K'tav Ashuri). Another opinion says that the Torah was written in K'tav Ashuri, but that holy script was denied the people when they sinned and was replaced with another one; when the people repented, the K'tav Ashuri was restored. A third opinion states that the Torah was always in K'tav Ashuri.
The general consensus is that the Torah was given in K'tav Ashuri, because the Talmud makes other references that don't make sense in K'tav Ivri. The Talmud talks about final forms of letters in the original Torah, but K'tav Ivri doesn't have final forms. It talks about the center of the Samekh and the Final Mem miraculously floating when the Ten Commandments were carved all the way through the tablets, but there is no Final Mem in K'tav Ivri, and neither Samekh nor Mem would have a floating center in K'tav Ivri as they do in K'tav Ashuri.
All authorities maintain that today, the only holy script is K'tav Ashuri. Any torah scrolls, tefillin or mezuzot must be written in K'tav Ashuri, and specifically in a style of K'tav Ashuri known as STA"M, discussed above.
K'tav Ivri is understood to be in the nature of a font, like Rashi script, rather than in the nature of a different alphabet, like Greek, Cyrillic or Roman. The names of the letters, the order of the letters, and the numerical value of the letters are apparently the same in both K'tav Ashuri and K'tav Ivri; thus, any religious significance that would be found in the numerical value of words or the sequence of the alphabet is the same in both scripts.
--- End quote ---
http://www.mezuzah.net/scripts.html
http://www.inner.org/hebleter/default.htm
Sefardic Panther:
This ivory pomegranate was used in the first Beith HaMiqdash. It has a Ktav Ivri inscription.
The Habani wrap Tefilin Shel Yad in the shape of a Ktav Ivri Shin, Dalet and Yod -
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