Hebrew Nuggets is an article series that introduces beginners to Hebrew letters, Hebrew vocabulary and spiritual insights from the Hebrew tradition.
Revised: 23-Aug-2015
The two letters that comprise the word abba, ’A·lef and bet, happen to be the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Hebrew, the word for “alphabet” is alef-bet, which comes from coupling the names of these two letters.
The English word “alphabet” is derived from the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. Although Greek, the names of these letters sound like Hebrew. That is because the Greeks learned to write from the seafaring Phoenicians,[1] who spoke a Semitic language very similar to Hebrew. The Greeks borrowed their alphabet—its symbols and the names for its symbols—to write the sounds of the Greek language.
Paid Content
Premium Members and Friends of JP must be logged in to access this content: Login
If you do not have a paid subscription, please consider registering as a Premium Member starting at $10/month (paid monthly) or only $5/month (paid annually): Register
One Time Purchase Rather Than Membership
Rather than purchasing a membership subscription, you may purchase access to this single page for $1.99 USD. To purchase access we strongly encourage users to first register for a free account with JP (Register), which will make the process of accessing your purchase much simpler. Once you have registered you may login and purchase access to this page at this link:
For the transliteration system used in this series, click here.
- [1] The Phoenicians belonged to the larger Canaanite people group. ↩
