Ancient Hebrew Language and Alphabet

Child Roots
Ancient Hebrew Language and Alphabet
Of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, 4 double as
consonants and vowels 34 , the (a), (e), (o and u)
and (i).
A Child Root is formed by adding one of the
consonant/vowels as a prefix (in front), a suffix (at the
end) or an infix (in the middle) to the Parent Root. While
the Parent Root represents a concrete subject with a wide
range of mnemonic meanings, the purpose of the Child
Root is to separate out the various mnemonic meanings of
the Parent Root. Therefore, all the Child Roots formed
from the Parent Root are directly related in meaning to the
Parent Root. Below are the Child Roots, as found in the
Biblical text, formed from the Parent Root / lb / bal,
which has the generic meaning of "flow", demonstrating
the close relationship to each other and the Parent Root.
a.b.l - wilt: a flowing away of life
h.b.l - empty: flowing out of contents
b.h.l - panic: a flowing of the insides
b.l.h - aged: a flowing away of youth
b.w.l - flood: a heavy flowing of water
y.b.l - stream: a flowing of water
34 Ernst Ettisch, The Hebrew Vowels and Consonants (Brookline
Village Ma: Branden Publishing Co., 1987) 87. William R. Harper
PH. D., Elements of Hebrew (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1895) 17. E. Kautzsch, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (London:
Oxford, 1910) 35.
36