Extract

01.1 General Comments

In principle only the consonants are written. Vowel signs have only been invented relatively late (→ § 03).

In print, above all in the Bible, the so-called square script is customary (→ table in § 01.2). In addition, in modern Hebrew, i.e. the “Ivrit,” a cursive script (writing script) is also used (→ table in § 01.2).

Numerals

The use of Hebrew consonants as signs of numbers (→ table) does not occur in the text of Biblia Hebraica, only in the Masora (→ § 07.3). Compound numbers have the order hundred-tens-ones from right to left, e.g.: יא equals 11; קיא equals 111. Hundreds from 500–900 are denoted through the final consonants ך through ץ or through combination with ת, which equals 400.

In order to avoid the group of letters יה (an abbreviation of the name of God יהוה), וט (9 + 6) is written for the number 15.

01.2 Writing

Writing is done from right to left. In the square script, the individual letters are not connected. A space the size of a square letter appears between two words. There is no word division.