Hebrew Nuggets is an article series that introduces beginners to Hebrew letters, Hebrew vocabulary and spiritual insights from the Hebrew tradition.
The first letter of the word גֵּיהִנּוֹם (ge·hi·NOM, “Gehenna”) is a new letter: ג. Called גִּימֶל (GI·mel) in Hebrew, ג is pronounced like the “g” in “big,” never like the “g” in “giraffe.” A GI·mel at the beginning of a word always has a dagesh or dot in the middle of the letter (גּ). Unlike the letters ב, כ and פ, the presence or absence of a dagesh in ג has no effect on its pronunciation.
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For the transliteration system used in this series, click here.
Comments 2
How can the western evangelical church has got it so badly wrong?! Thank you David.
Thank you for confirming my own studies on the subject. It’s clear “Gehenna” was not meant to be “eternal torture” as misinterpreted today.