lexicon659_81205.pdf

The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible

THESAMECH,SHIN AND SIN......................................................................................

In the Modern Hebrew alphabet the letter shin (W) represents two different sounds, an
"sh" and an "s". To differentiate these two sounds a dot is placed above the shin in
different locations. For the "sh" sound the dot is placed on the right (S) and called a
"shin" and for the "s" sound it is placed on the left ([) and called a "sin".

In most cases words spelled with the sin are more closely related in meaning with
words spelled with the samech (). In addition, Hebrew words spelled with the sin are
written with the samech in other Semitic languages. In the Hebrew Bible several
Hebrew words written with the [ are also written with a . Table 4 below are some
examples.

Table 4

E[R  E\R  nasa Lift up

VJ[ VJ\ sur Remove

/O[ /O\ sakak Cover

YJ[ YJ\ sut Turn aside

Y[ Y\ set Rebel

I[SI\S shasah Plunder

Because the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible is concerned with restoring Hebrew
words to their original meaning and relationship with the ancient roots, words written
with a [ in the Masoretic text will be written with the ancient pictograph \
(sin/samech) in the Lexicon. For example, the word I[S appears as I\W in the

Lexicon with the spelling I[W noted under "defective spellings".

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL HEBREW ALPHABET.........................................

The Ancient Hebrew letters form the foundation to the Ancient Hebrew language and a
thorough study of these letters is essential to understanding the cultural background to
the words they form. The process of reconstructing the original Hebrew alphabet is
similar to the field of archeology, which digs down to hidden depths to determine the
origins, culture or way of life of Ancient civilizations. As artifacts are found, they are