List of symbols

Phonetic table (modern square writing)

Symbol	Name (Unicode)	Transliteration	Approximate pronunciation
	ālef (ALEF)	’	laryngeal occlusive, sudden occlusion of the vocal chords
	bēt (BET)	b	b; voiced bilabial plosive /voiced labial dental fricative if preceded by vowel (Span.: haba)
	gimel (GIMEL)	g	hard g ; voiced velar if preceded by vowel (Span.: pagar)
	dālet (DALET)	d	d; voiced interdental if preceded by vowel (Eng.: there)
	hē (HE)	h	h laryngeal fricative, English-German  h
	wāw (VAV)	w	w semivowel
	zayin (ZAYIN)	z	s voiced (Ital.: fuso)
	ḥēt (HET)	ḥ	h voiceless pharyngeal , similar to the sound of asthmatic breathing
	ṭēt (TET)	á¹­	t “pharyngealized”  (« emphatic »)
	yōd (YOD)	y	y semivowel
	kaf (KAF)	k	k; voiceless velar if preceded by vowel (Germ.: Bach)
	lāmed (LAMED)	l	l
	mēm (MEM)	m	m
	nūn (NUN)	n	n
	sāmek (SAMEKH)	s	s
	‘ayin (AYIN)	‘	voiced pharyngeal (similar to the sound of retching)
	pē (PE)	p	p; voiceless bilabial plosive /voiceless labial dental fricative if preceded by vowel (Tuscan Ital: cupola)
	ṣādē  (TSADI)	á¹£	“pharyngealized” s (« emphatic »)
	qōf (QOF)	ḳ	“glottalized” k
	rēš (RESH)	r	r
	śīn, šīn (SHIN)	Å›, š	s, voiceless palatal velar  fricative (Ital.: scena)
	tāw (TAV)	t	t; voiceless interdental, if preceded by vowel (Engl.: think)

Paleographic Table

1*	2*	3*	4*	5*	6*	7*	8*	9*	10*	11*	12*	13*

Legend:

1) phonetic value
2) proto-Sinaitic (15th century BC)
3) Phoenician: arrowhead (11th century BC)
4) Phoenician: sarcophagus of Ahiram of Byblos (10th century BC)
5) Moabite: stele of Mesha king of Moab (9th century BC)
6) Hebrew: handles of amphora with royal seal (8th century BC)
7) Hebrew: funeral inscription of a royal official (end 8th century BC)
8) Hebrew: Lachish ostracon (6th century BC)
9) Aramaic: Parshandata seal (5th century BC)
10) Aramaic: Ermoupolis papyrus, Egypt (5th century BC)
11) Hebrew: Qumran manuscript (1st century BC)
12) Hebrew: Masorah text of the Pentateuch (9th century AD)
13) Greek alphabet