The ancient Hebrews saw their world differently than we do in our 21st Century Greco-Roman culture. Our purpose here is to learn to see Hebrew words through the eyes of an ancient Hebrew.

Each letter used to form a word is a sentence in itself. By studying the words through the letters, the fuller Hebraic meaning can be seen. We will examine the titles of family members to demonstrate the relationship between the letters and the word.

ba

The first letter (Hebrew is read from right to left) is the "al", a picture of an ox. As the ox is strong, the letter also has the meaning of strong. The second letter, bet, is the picture of the tent or house where the family resides. The beyt has the meaning of family. The word ba means "the strong one of the family" - the father.

Picture: Strong one of the house
Word: ab
Meaning: Father

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ma

This word also begins with "al" meaning "strong". The second letter is the "mem" meaning water. The word ma means "strong water". The Hebrews made a glue by boiling animal skins in water. As the skin broke down a sticky thick liquid formed at the surface of the water. This thick liquid was removed and used as a binding agent - "strong water". The word ma means "the one who binds the family together" - the mother.

Picture: Strong water
Word: am
Meaning: Mother

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ha

This word also begins with "al" meaning "strong". The second letter is the "chets", a picture of a wall. The word xa means "strong wall" or "strong barrier". The English concept of a wall is descriptive of anything with a tall vertical appearance. The Hebrew concept of a wall is any barrier, vertical or horizontal. The word xa means "the one who acts as a barrier to protect the family" - the brother.

Picture: Strong barrier
Word: ach
Meaning: Brother

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nb

This word begins with the "bet" meaning "tent". Since the tent is the home of the family, this letter also means "family". The second letter is the "nun", the picture of a seed. The seed is a new generation of life that will grow and produce a new generation of seeds, continuing the line generation after generation. The nb is "the one who continues the family line" - the son.

Picture: Family continues
Word: ben
Meaning: Son