Yodh (also spelled Yud or Yod) is the tenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Template:Ivrit, Syriac ܝ and Arabic Template:ArabDIN Template:Ar (in abjadi order, 28th in modern order). Its sound value is Template:IPA2.
| Yodh | |
|---|---|
| Phoenician | yodh |
| Hebrew | י |
| Aramaic | yod |
| Syriac | ܝ |
| Arabic | ﻱ |
| Geʽez | የ |
| Phonemic representation | j |
| Position in alphabet | 10 |
| Numerical value | 10 |
| Alphabetic derivatives of the Phoenician | |
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Iota (Ι), Latin I, Cyrillic (Ukrainian and Belarusian) І, Coptic iauda (Ⲓ) and Gothic eis (𐌹).
Origins
Yodh is thought to have originated with a pictograph of a hand (in Modern Hebrew and Modern Arabic, yad). It may be related to the Egyptian hieroglyphic of an arm (see Hieroglyphs).
|
Hebrew Yodh
| Syriac alphabet (200 BCE–present) |
| ܐ ܒ ܓ ܕ ܗ ܘ |
| ܙ ܚ ܛ ܝ ܟܟ ܠ |
| ܡܡ ܢܢ ܣ ܥ ܦ |
| ܨ ܩ ܪ ܫ ܬ |
Pronunciation
In modern Hebrew, Yodh represents as a palatal approximant (Template:IPA2).
Variations
Yodh is a mater lectionis, like Aleph, He, and Vav. At the end of words with a vowel, it represents the formation of a diphthong, such as /ei/, /ai/, or /oi/.
Significance
In gematria, Yodh represents the number ten.
As a prefix, it designates the third person singular (or plural, with a Vav as a suffix) in the future tense.
As a suffix, it indicates first person singular possessive; av (father) becomes avi (my father).
In Judaism
Two yodhs in a row designate the name of God Adonai and in pointed texts are written with the vowels of Adonai; this is done as well with the Tetragrammaton.
As Yodh is the smallest letter, much kabbalistic and mystical significance is attached to it. According to the Gospel of Matthew Jesus mentioned it during the Antithesis of the Law when he says: "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Jot, or iota, refers to the letter Yodh; it was often overlooked by scribes because of its size and position as a mater lectiones. In modern Hebrew, the phrase "tip of the Yodh" refers to a small and insignificant thing, and someone who "worrys about the tip of a Yodh" is someone who is picky and meticulous about small details.
Much kabbalistic and mystical significance is also attached to it because of its gematria value as ten, which is an important number in Judaism, and its place in the name of God. See The Mystical Significance of the Hebrew Letters - Yodh