Aleph

Aleph

By Karl D. Coke, Ph.D.

The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the Aleph. The Aleph stands for the numeral 1 when used in counting. It is of Phoenician origin and as a pictograph represents the outline of an ox-head. According to the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, "Aleph has the softest pronunciation of the guttural letters, and it is uttered with a light breathing of the throat, or rather lungs, like the smooth breathing in Greek, and the French h in the words habit, homme, . . ."

The Aleph first appears around the year 1500 B.C.E. (before common era). It appears in the Proto-Canaanite Script. "Modern investigation into the origin of the alphabet began in 1905 with the discovery of the Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions by Sir Flinders Petrie at Sarabit al-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula."1

"The Proto-Canaanite alphabet seems to copy some pictographic signs from the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Some Canaanite communities adapted the method of writing as in the Akkadian cuneiform syllabic script (i.e., clay tablet and stylus) to the new alphabetic system. Akkadian cuneiform was used in the latter half of the second millennium for international correspondence even between the Egyptian pharoaoh and his vassals in Palestine. The cuneiform alphabet was not limited to Ugarit in northern Canaan; specimens of this script were found at three sites in Palestine (Beth-Shemesh, Taanach, and Nahal Tabor). . . . The Proto-Canaanite script was the source of all alphabetic scripts which later spread throughout the entire world. . . . The main offshoot of the Proto-Canaanite script, however, is the Phoenician, from which the (Ancient) Hebrew and Aramaic as well as the Greek alphabets evolved."2

1 & 2 Encyclopaedia Judaica Vol. 2, pp. 674 & 677.

The Aleph as a numeral stands for "1." The study of the numeric value of the Hebrew alphabet letters is called "gematria." According to the Chassidic scholars, "The graphic form of the a symbolizes the infinite, eternal nature of God. It consists of three parts. Its upper right segment is a (font not available) (yodh); its lower left segment is a (font not available) (yodh); and these two letters are connected by a diagonal (font not available) (vau). Each yodh has a numerical value of 6, yielding a total of 26. This equals the numerical (gematria) value of the Four-letter Divine Name (font not available) ((font not available) =10; (font not available) =5; (font not available) =6; (font not available) =5)." (The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet, Monk, p. 44)

This Chassidic thought opens up the idea that the Aleph, which represents the unity of God, is composed of three parts. This idea allows us to think about the one true God being composed of three parts. The Aleph is the first letter of the word (font not available) , (ECHAD - "one"). This word appears in the Shema recorded in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is ‘ONE.’ " This same word, "one," appears in the description of the Menorah (candlestand) from Exodus 37:19. In this verse, echad is translated "another." The Menorah has seven branches, or, "seven in one." Christians believe that the "one true" God is "three in one." This appears to be suggested by the three separate parts (strokes) used in making the Aleph.

The Aleph is the first letter in the name (font not available) (Adam). Adam was the "first" man. The Aleph is also the first letter in the "man of faith" (font not available) (Abraham). Abraham was the "first" man of faith. The Aleph is the first letter in (font not available) (Adonai), (font not available) , (Elohim) and(font not available) (Abba). It is hardly coincidence that this first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph, appears in these "firsts." After all, He is the Aleph and the Tau–the beginning and the end.