Memorize these three letters: alef, bet, mem

See how they make these two words: 'aV & 'eM

A Child's First Words. Notice how the alef carries a vowel sound along with it, which is different for each of these words.

More commonly used versions of those words: 'aBBa, 'eeMa

Technically these ones are “loan words” from Aramaic, but I'm sure babies don't realize that 😁 There is some Aramaic in the Bible, as well. It is a language that is closely related to Hebrew.

I'd suggest that these words came from the meaning implicit in the ancient pictograms. Or, in other words, the sounds (which undoubtedly came first) got assigned to the pictograms.

Mem, the water, implies “source” or “origin.” The letter mem is used as a prefix to mean “from”, so your mother is where you physically came from.

Bet, the house, implies protection, shelter, strength. A father, in the ancient world especially, would have been the one in whose household you dwelt, provided for, and physically protected you (and provided for and protected your mother, for that matter.) (And, yes, I'm sneaking a couple of actual words into these early Alphabet lessons, because we will need them in order to talk about Syllables and Vowels in upcoming lessons.)