Unlike other languages, each letter in the 22-letter Hebrew alef bet (alphabet) has a numerical value (ranging from 1 to 400) and a pictograph. For example, the first letter, alef (or aleph), represents the oneness of God, a teacher, and an ox. Let’s examine eight of the Hebrew letters for their divine undertones.
The second letter, bet, represents a tent or house or the dwelling place of God. In Micah 5:2, we learn that our Lord would be born in the “house of bread,” or Bethlehem. We knew that he would be miraculously conceived of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and would be called a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace whose kingdom would never end (Isaiah 9:6-7). Some have claimed that these verses are about King Hezekiah, but Hezekiah was never called an eternal and “Mighty God” whose kingdom never ended. Hezekiah’s kingdom came to an end.
The third letter, gimel, represents a camel and the concept of giving or acting in benevolence. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passion Week, riding humbly on a camel. He presented himself as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He presented himself as the Passover sacrifice that day. This event was prophesied by Zechariah (9:9): “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.” Ancient Jews knew this verse represented the Messiah as they pointed out in the Sanhedrin 98a. If they merited redemption, the Messiah would come in the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13-14), but if they did not, he would come as a humble king, riding on an ass (Zechariah 9:9).
The fourth letter, dalit, represents a hanging branch or to draw water. Isaiah (11:10) prophesied that the messianic king would come from a shoot or branch (Hebrew: netzer) of Jesse’s lineage. The ancient city of Nazareth is based on this root word, meaning branch or shoot. Jesus was known as the Nazarene since he grew up in Nazareth. On the cross, Pontius Pilate instructed soldiers to label Jesus as “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” The acronym for the Hebrew letters that would have been inscribed is “Yod hey vav hey,” which is the same acronym God used throughout the Hebrew scriptures to name himself.
The fifth letter, hey (heh or hei) represents divine breath, revelation, or light. In John 1, we learn that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. God spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1) through his word. We also know that Jesus is the light of the world (Isaiah 9:2) and we’re called to let our light so shine (Matthew 5:16).
The sixth letter, vav, represents a hook or a nail. Jesus was nailed to the cross and crucified, as reported in all four gospels. This excruciating death was prophesied over a thousand years prior in Psalm 22 where we learned that his hands and feet would be pierced and that he would be surrounded by “strong bulls of Bashan” who would divide up his clothing. Isaiah (52:13-53-12) prophesied that our Suffering Servant would be beaten so badly as to be barely recognizable. He would be “pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquity” but he would “see the light” (Isaiah 53:11). We would mourn for the firstborn after he was pierced (Zechariah 12:10).
The seventh letter, zayin, represents a weapon or sword. It symbolizes spiritual perfection and a crowned vav. As predicted in Isaiah 110, where King David prophesied the second Lord would sit at the right hand of the first, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. And he will come again in glory (Daniel 7) to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. Daniel (2) prophesied four kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek, and the fourth (Roman Empire). Out of the fourth would come the Messiah whose kingdom would have no end. He appeared in the Second Temple (as prophesied by Malachi 3:1), which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
The last letter of the Hebrew language, tav, represents a sign or seal. In ancient “paleo Hebrew,” the letter was in the shape of a cross – an x or t shape. That is interesting because in Ezekiel 9:3-5, God instructed a man clothed in linen to mark the foreheads of the people who mourned the abominations in Jerusalem with the letter tav to save them from slaughter. In other words, they were marked with a cross. In Revelation 22:13-15, Jesus said that he is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega (in the Greek language) and the first and the last. This corresponds to the alef and the tav of the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word for truth is emet, which consists of three letters: alef mem tav.
Jesus, the anointed one, was “cut off” “seventy sevens” less seven (483 years) after the call to rebuild Jerusalem went out, as predicted by Daniel 9:24-27. This call occurred twice in 444 and 457 B.C., which led ancients to the timing of the crucifixion on April 3, 33. On April 5, 33, Jesus resurrected from the dead. He is risen indeed.
The author of this post, SJ Thomason, is a follower of Yeshua (Jesus), our Lord and our salvation.
Christian Apologist 