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Parent guide · Grade 1 Biblical Hebrew · Unit 3

Lesson 3.1 Nun and the Lamp

Written for the parent. The Read aloud parts are written to your child; read them as they are. Do this parts are for you. Answers for you are marked Listen for.

At a glance

Time
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes
Goal
Point to nun נ and its end form ן and say the name. Say ner (lamp) and Noach (Noah). Find the end-nun in ben (son) and amen.
You need
  • Paper or card stock
  • Crayons
  • Tape
  • Yellow tissue paper
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (4:38))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Turn off the light and switch on a flashlight. Point it at your feet and walk across the room. Can you see where to step? The Bible says God’s word is like a lamp for your feet.

  2. Read aloud: The story. In Bible times, a lamp was a little clay bowl of oil with a wick. At night it gave just enough light to see the path right in front of you. King David wrote: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The first word of that verse is נֵר, ner, lamp, and it begins with nun. Noah’s name, נֹחַ, begins with nun too.

    Read aloud: How Hebrew sounds. Nun says n. The regular nun נ is short and bends at the bottom. At the end of a word it stretches straight down below the line: ן. Find it at the end of בֵּן, ben (son), and אָמֵן, amen. Say NOON, NAYR, NOH-akh.

    Read aloud: Say it and move. Hold up a pretend lamp: Nun! ner! Stretch one arm straight down: end-nun! Fold your hands: amen!

  3. Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

    • נ ן (nun) [NOON]: the letter nun: n
    • נֵר (ner) [NAYR]: lamp
    • נֹחַ (Noach) [NOH-akh]: Noah
    • בֵּן (ben) [BAYN]: son
  4. In a green forest clearing, crowds of animals gather: a dappled grey horse stands in the middle, two lions crouch below it, leopards lie at the right, a turkey and porcupines walk in front, swans and herons stand by a pond at the left, parrots and other bright birds fill a bare tree, and a man in red leads a saddled camel toward the right.
    The Entry of the Animals into Noah’s Ark, Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1613. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

    Do this: Look at the picture together for a quiet minute before anyone talks.

    Read aloud: Jan Brueghel was a Flemish painter famous for tiny, careful details. He studied real animals in the zoo of the rulers of Brussels so he could paint each one exactly. Here the animals are on their way to Noah’s ark.

    Point and find:

    • Find the horse in the middle. What color is it?
    • Find the two lions.
    • Count the parrots in the tree.
    • Find the camel. Who is leading it?

    Ask:

    • “Which animal would you most like to see up close?”
    • “Why do you think Brueghel painted so many animals?”

  5. Show: Find the end-nun in אָמֵן.

    Say this: “The end is on the left.”

    Say this: “End-nun drops below the line.”

    Answer: The last letter, ן.

    Show: Which is vav and which is end-nun? ו ן

    Say this: “Vav sits on the line.”

    Say this: “End-nun drops below the line.”

    Answer: ו (right) is vav; ן (left) is end-nun.

  6. Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

    Ask: What does ner mean?

    Listen for: Lamp.

    Ask: Say Noah’s name in Hebrew.

    Listen for: Noach.

    Ask: Say nun.

    Listen for: NOON.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make a little paper lamp with a nun on it.

    Steps:

    1. Draw an oil lamp shape (like a little bowl with a spout) and cut it out.
    2. Tape a twist of yellow tissue paper on the spout for the flame.
    3. Write נֵר on the lamp and say ner.
    4. On the back, copy the English: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.

    Tips for you:

    • The regular nun is short; the end-nun drops below the line.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My lamp says נֵר.
    • I can say nun and ner.

  8. Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

    1. Write נ and ן side by side. Draw a lamp beside נֵר and circle the end-nun in בֵּן and אָמֵן.

  9. Read aloud: Nun became the Greek nu and our letter N. Its old picture may have been a snake or a fish; scholars are not sure.

    • Mixing end-nun ן with vav ו. End-nun goes below the line.
    • Mixing nun נ with gimel ג. Nun has a flat base; gimel has a foot stepping out.

  11. In a dim room, the parent calls out a Hebrew word. If it begins with nun (ner, Noach, nun), take one step with the flashlight. Otherwise stay still. Reach the other side of the room!

  12. Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Point to nun נ and its end form ן and say the name.; Say ner (lamp) and Noach (Noah).; Find the end-nun in ben (son) and amen.

  13. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

    Psalm 119:105 (KJV)

    In Hebrew, from the Leningrad Codex: <span class="heb-block" lang="he" dir="rtl">נֵר־לְרַגְלִי דְבָרֶךָ וְאוֹר לִנְתִיבָתִי׃</span> This verse begins the nun part of Psalm 119. Its first word is ner, lamp. Find the nun at the very start, on the right.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

  1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Picture study and show how.
  2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
  3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.