How Egyptian Hieroglyphs Became Semitic Letters
|
Egyptian symbol |
meaning
|
Egyptian word
|
Semitic letter
|
meaning
|
Semitic word
|
sound in Semitic
|
|
|
house
|
pr
|
 |
house
|
bet (bayit in Hebrew)
|
b
|
|
|
throw stick
|
‘m‘ ’t
|
 |
throw stick
|
gaml (gimel in Hebrew)
|
g
|
|
|
arm and hand
|
‘ (a laryngeal sound not found in English)
|
 |
arm and hand
|
yod (yad in Hebrew)
|
y
|
|
|
water
|
nt
|
 |
water
|
mem (mayim in Hebrew)
|
m
|
|
|
composite bow
|
iwnt
|
 |
composite bow
|
than/thin (shin in Hebrew)
|
th
|
This chart shows several symbols used in Egyptian hieroglyphics (left) and in the early Semitic alphabet (center). Over time these symbols became transmuted into the B, G, Y, M and S of our own day. While the Semitic signs are barely distinguishable from their Egyptian predecessors, their function is radically different: The symbols represent the first sound in the name of the object depicted. As a result, a relatively small number of signs could be juxtaposed with each other to make a limitless number of words—the world’s first alphabet.