The first letter in Father’s alphabet is alef, which in the Original Hebrew script was a picture of a bull.
Bulls are known for their strength and the inability of man to subdue them.
In Hebrew words, the letter alef is used to mean strong, strength, chief and leader.
One example of this is in EL אל which is translated as GOD throughout the Bible.
In Original Hebrew, EL is spelled with a bull (alef א) and a shepherd’s staff (lamed ל).
By the letters, EL (GOD) means Chief Shepherd.
The Apostle Peter wrote, speaking of GOD, “when the Chief Shepherd אל appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (1 Peter 5:4)
Bulls Versus Oxen
Some people use the terms oxen and bulls interchangeably, but an ox is different from a bull.
For centuries, bull riding has been seen as an act of bravery. If you’re brave enough to mount a bull and you can hold your position for even a few seconds, it’s considered a great feat of human strength. Oxen, on the other hand, are domesticated animals – they’re often neutered and unable to produce offspring. They’ve been domesticated to work for men. While an ox is indeed strong, it’s not necessarily leading the pack.
In modern terminology, the alpha of a pack is its leader. Since we got the word alpha from the Greeks and the Greeks got it from the Hebrew alef, the sense of the word alpha as the leader of a pack likely derives from its origin as a pictograph of a bull.
Biblical Hebrew Words that Correspond to the Letter Alef
Aluph
Strong’s Concordance #H441
The word aluph is used numerous times in the Old Testament to mean chief. It’s also translated as captain, duke, guide and governor.
Eleph
Strong’s Concordance #H504 and #H505
As a bull produces numerous descendants, the Hebrew word eleph is used throughout the Bible to mean herd, cattle, and thousand.
Word pictures with the Letter Alef
Av – Father
The Hebrew word for father is av אב spelled with a bull (alef א) and a house (beyt ב).
The letter beyt ב is a picture of a house. Whenever you see the word temple in the Bible, the word is actually house.
The leader א of the House ב of GOD is GOD, our Father אב. The word av is also used for fathers here on earth.
Unlike English, Hebrew is read from right to left, so when you read the word below, you begin with the alef on the right side and work your way towards the left:
| AV (Father) | |
| ב | א |
| Beyt (v)House | Alef (a)Leader |
To help you practice reading just the paleo characters, here is the word again without all the English explanations:
| ב | א |
EL – GOD
Here’s the Name EL from earlier. Reminder to read from the right side to the left side:
| EL (GOD) | |
| ל | א |
| Lamed (l) | Alef (e) |
| Shepherd | Chief |
As you can see from the word av and the Name EL, the letter alef makes two sounds: “a” and “e.”
Ahab – Love
One of the Hebrew words for gift is hab. Hab is what’s called a root word. Root words are small two- and three-letter words that form the basis for other longer Hebrew words. Here’s what the word hab (gift) looks like in Hebrew:
| Hab (Gift) | |
| ב | ה |
| Beyt (b) | Hey (h) |
If you add an alef to hab (gift), you end up with a strong gift since the letter alef means strong.
The word ahab in Hebrew means to love, and love is a strong and powerful gift.
| Ahab (Love) | ||
|---|---|---|
| ב | ה | א |
| Beyt (b) | Hey (h) | Alef (a) |
| Gift | Strong | |
YASHUA said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). To die for someone is the greatest demonstration of the strong gift of love that you can show, because when you die, you have nothing left to give – you’ve given it all.
Recap
Letter Name: Alef
Letter Picture: Bull א
Sound(s): A, E
Common Letter Meanings: Chief, Leader, Strong, Strength
Closest Hebrew Words: Eleph: cattle; Aluph: chief
Precursor to: the Greek Letter Alpha and the English letter A
Words We’ve Learned:
אל (EL) is our Chief Shepherd.
אב (av) means father, the leader of a house.
אהב (ahab) is love, a strong gift.
👉 Next: Lesson 2 Beyt
