Category: Biblical Hebrew
The Power of Speech
The Hebrew Letter פ
ADONAI, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.
(Psalm 51:15 – The opening of the Shemoneh Esreh prayer)
The Hebrew letter Peh means mouth. Peh has two forms—the closed (פ) and the open (×£). The closed form is used at the beginning and in the middle of words, while only at the end of a word is an open form used. The obvious lesson here is: Learn to be silent (פ) before you decide to speak (×£).
The letter Peh (פ) is constructed from a kaf (f)—symbolizing a "cup" (כוס, kos) or "container" (כלי, keli). Notice what is in this "container"—a yod (×™), a letter of the tetragrammaton (יהוה) symbolizing the Holy Spirit and spirituality.1 The yod (×™) in the peh (פ) illustrates that the mouth should "contain" only words of godliness. When the mouth becomes a vessel ruled by the Spirit of God, then His Word (ב) will be found there, which in the case of peh is literally true. Look inside the peh (פ) above and you will see what I mean.*
Notice the silhouette of a beit (ב–the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet) inside the peh (פ). In Torah scrolls every closed peh is formed this way. This is a constant reminder of God’s command to Joshua:
Do not let this Book of Torah (ב) depart from your mouth (פ); meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.2
In light of the fact that the outline of a beit exists inside the peh, it has been suggested that surrounding the very first letter of the Torah—an enlarged beit—must be an even larger, though invisible, peh.3 And we know that this is indeed the case, for Paul says that all s...
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© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission.
Adapted from
Bikurei Tziyon #62
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