The third letter in Father’s alphabet is gimmel.
Some say the original pictograph was a picture of a foot. Others say it’s a camel’s foot, and some believe it’s a boomerang.
Based on how the letter is used in Hebrew words and based on the name of the letter, we believe the image is a representation of a camel’s notoriously flat foot.
Why a foot?
As a foot is lifted and used for walking, the Hebrew letter gimmel is commonly found in words having to do with lifting and walking.
Why a camel?
In Hebrew, the letter gimmel is spelled גםל and the word for camel is גםל.
Camels are known for their strength and, as you’ll see shortly, so is the letter gimmel.
The Camel Connection
The Biblical Hebrew word for camel is gamal (Strong’s Concordance #H1581) and it’s somewhat obvious that the words camel and gamal sound similar. If you look into the origin of the English word camel, you’ll see that it’s from the Greek word kamelos which ultimately derives from an “ancient Semitic language.”
As you may know by now, most scholars have a hard time calling ancient Semitic for what it is since they don’t think Hebrew was invented until the 12th century BC, but we have no problem saying the Greek word for camel comes from the Hebrew gamal.
As a hint to the source of the letter gimmel being related to a camel (gamal), when the Greeks adopted the Hebrew alphabet, they called the letter gamma.
Although the Ancient Greek gamma looked something like an arrowhead pointed upward, the modern version looks a lot more like its original Hebrew forebear:
Two English Letters from Gimmel
The letter gimmel ultimately turned into the Latin letter C which was used for “g” sounds and “k” sounds by the Romans. Rome later added a small line to the letter C to distinguish between the two sounds and that’s how the ancient camel’s foot turned into the English letters C and G.
Strength and Endurance
Camels are known for their strength and endurance – they can walk for extremely long distances with hundreds of pounds of weight added to their backs.
Likewise, we see the Hebrew letter gimmel in words having to do with strength and ability.
An example of this is in the Hebrew word gibbor which means mighty man. King David’s valiant warriors were called the gibborim – mighty men.
The root word for gibbor is gabar which means to strengthen.
| Gabar (To Strengthen) | ||
|---|---|---|
| ר | ב | ג |
| Resh (r) | Beyt (b) | Gimmel (g) |
Word Picture With the Letter Gimmel
Whether it’s a camel’s foot or a human’s foot, a foot is something that is lifted up numerous times each day.
In Hebrew, we see the letter gimmel in words having to do with being lifted up. One example is in the Hebrew word for pride. Geeh (pride) is spelled gimmel, alef, hey.
| Geeh (Pride) | ||
| ה | א | ג |
| Hey (h) | Alef (a) | Gimmel (g) |
The gimmel in the word geeh means to lift. The alef means horn. And the hey is a picture of a man. A proud man lifts up (ג) the horn (א) of man (ה). He does not lift up the horn of our GOD EL (אל) – he lifts up his own horn.
I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’
For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
but it is GOD who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.…All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.Psalm 75:4-10
Recap
Letter Name: Gimmel
Letter Picture: Camel’s Foot ג
Sound(s): G
Common Letter Meanings: Lift, Walk, Strength, Ability
Closest Hebrew Word: Gamal: Camel
Precursor to: the Greek Letter Gamma and the English letters C and G
Words We’ve Learned:
גבור (gibbor) means mighty man
גבר (gabar) means to strengthen
גאה (geeh) means pride (to be lifted up)
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