The Development of the Hebrew Alphabet

From Proto-Sinaitic Pictographs to Modern Square Script

Proto-Sinaitic (c. 1850 BCE) β†’ Phoenician (c. 1050 BCE) β†’ Paleo-Hebrew (c. 1000 BCE) β†’ Middle Hebrew (c. 500 BCE) β†’ Square Script (c. 200 BCE - Present)
# Name Proto-
Sinaitic		 Phoenician Paleo-
Hebrew		 Middle
Hebrew		 Late
Hebrew		 Modern
Square		 IPA Latin Pictograph Sound
1 Aleph Aleph 𐀀 Aleph Aleph Aleph א [Κ”] ΚΎ Ox head Glottal stop (silent)
2 Bet Bet 𐀁 Bet Bet Bet Χ‘ [b], [v] b, v House b (hard), v (soft)
3 Gimel Gimel 𐀂 Gimel Gimel Gimel Χ’ [Ι‘] g Camel/throw stick g
4 Dalet Dalet 𐀃 Dalet Dalet Dalet Χ“ [d] d Door d
5 He He 𐀄 He He He Χ” [h] h Window/raised arms h
6 Waw Waw 𐀅 Waw Waw Waw Χ• [v], [w] v, w Hook/nail v/w
7 Zayin Zayin 𐀆 Zayin Zayin Zayin Χ– [z] z Weapon/sword z
8 Chet Chet 𐀇 Chet Chet Chet Χ— [Ο‡], [Δ§] αΈ₯ Fence/courtyard ch (guttural)
9 Tet 𐀈 Tet Tet Tet ט [t] ṭ Basket/wheel t (emphatic)
10 Yod Yod 𐀉 Yod Yod Yod Χ™ [j] y Hand/arm y
11 Kaf Kaf 𐀊 Kaf Kaf Kaf Χ› [k], [x] k, kh Palm of hand k/kh
12 Lamed Lamed 𐀋 Lamed Lamed Lamed ל [l] l Goad/staff l
13 Mem Mem 𐀌 Mem Mem Mem מ [m] m Water m
14 Nun Nun 𐀍 Nun Nun Nun נ [n] n Fish/serpent n
15 Samech Samech 𐀎 Samech Samech Samech ב [s] s Support/pillar s
16 Ayin Ayin 𐀏 Ayin Ayin Ayin Χ’ [Κ•], [Κ”] ΚΏ Eye Silent (guttural)
17 Pe Pe 𐀐 Pe Pe Pe ׀ [p], [f] p, f Mouth p/f
18 Tsade Tsade 𐀑 Tsade Tsade Tsade Χ¦ [ts] αΉ£, ts Fishhook/plant ts
19 Qof Qof 𐀒 Qof Qof Qof Χ§ [k], [q] q Back of head k (uvular)
20 Resh Resh 𐀓 Resh Resh Resh Χ¨ [ʁ], [r] r Head r
21 Shin Shin 𐀔 Shin Shin Shin Χ© [Κƒ], [s] Ε‘, s Tooth sh/s
22 Tav Tav 𐀕 Tav Tav Tav Χͺ [t] t Mark/cross t

Understanding the Chart

Proto-Sinaitic: The earliest alphabetic script, developed by Semitic workers in Egyptian turquoise mines (c. 1850-1500 BCE). Highly pictographic.
Phoenician: Standardized consonantal alphabet used throughout the Levant (c. 1050-150 BCE). Ancestor of most modern alphabets.
Paleo-Hebrew: The script used in ancient Israel before the Babylonian exile (c. 1000-586 BCE). Similar to Phoenician.
Middle Hebrew: Transitional forms showing the evolution toward square script during the Persian period (c. 500-200 BCE).
Late/Modern Hebrew: The "square script" (ktav ashuri) adopted from Aramaic, used from c. 200 BCE to present day.
Acrophonic Principle: Each letter's sound came from the first sound of its name (e.g., Aleph = ox β†’ glottal stop sound of 'aleph').
πŸ”Š Audio Pronunciation: Click the speaker buttons in the IPA column to hear each sound. Audio from Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA).

The Dagesh: How a Dot Changes Pronunciation

The dagesh (דָּג֡שׁ) is a dot placed inside certain Hebrew letters. It was introduced by the Masoretes (7th–10th century CE) to preserve accurate pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible. Six letters, known by the mnemonic Χ‘Φ°ΦΌΧ’Φ·Χ“Φ°Χ›Φ°ΦΌΧ€Φ·Χͺ (Begadkefat), change their sound depending on whether they contain a dagesh.

Letter Name With Dagesh (Hard) Without Dagesh (Soft) Modern Hebrew
Χ‘ΦΌ / Χ‘ Bet / Vet [b] as in boy [v] as in voice Both sounds preserved βœ“
Χ’ΦΌ / Χ’ Gimel [g] as in go [Ι£] (soft g) [g] Israeli; [Ι£] Yemenite/Iraqi
Χ“ΦΌ / Χ“ Dalet [d] as in door [Γ°] as in this [d] Israeli; [Γ°] Yemenite/Iraqi
Χ›ΦΌ / Χ› Kaf / Khaf [k] as in king [x] as in Scottish loch Both sounds preserved βœ“
Χ€ΦΌ / Χ€ Pe / Fe [p] as in pen [f] as in fish Both sounds preserved βœ“
ΧͺΦΌ / Χͺ Tav [t] as in top [ΞΈ] as in think [t] Israeli; [s] Ashkenazi; [ΞΈ] Yemenite
Why does this matter? In Biblical Hebrew, all six letters had two distinct sounds. Modern Israeli Hebrew preserves only three of these distinctions (Bet/Vet, Kaf/Khaf, Pe/Fe). The Yemenite Jewish tradition is the only one that still distinguishes all six pairs. When reading ancient texts, understanding the dagesh helps reconstruct how Hebrew originally sounded.
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