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Parent guide · Grade 2 Biblical Hebrew · Unit 3

Lesson 3.1 The Ah Vowels

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
Know that Hebrew vowels are little marks under and over the letters. Find patach ַ and qamets ָ and say ah. Read a letter with patach or qamets.
You need
  • Paper
  • A marker
  • An ink pad or paint
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (4:50))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Write the word “cat” without the a: c_t. Could it be cat, cut or cot? For a long time Hebrew was written without vowels, and readers had to know the words. Then scribes added little vowel marks to help.

  2. Read aloud: The story. In the beginning the earth was dark. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. In Hebrew, God’s first spoken words are יְהִי אוֹר, yehi or: let there be light. With just a word, God made light. The Bible’s words are powerful because they are God’s words.

    Read aloud: How Hebrew sounds. Hebrew letters are mostly consonants. The vowels are tiny marks called points. Today you learn two that both say ah. Patach is a short line under the letter: בַ = vah, בַּ = bah. Qamets looks like a little T under the letter: דָ = dah. Read the letter first, then the vowel under it: d + ah = dah.

    Read aloud: Practice. Point to a letter, say its sound, then slide your finger down to the vowel and say ah. Join them: m … ah … mah.

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

    • יָד (yad) [YAHD]: hand
    • בַּת (bat) [BAHT]: daughter
    • אוֹר (or) [OHR]: light
  4. Bright rays of light burst out from behind dark, rolling clouds high in the sky, spreading over a dark sea and rocky land below.
    The Creation of Light, Gustave Doré, 1866. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

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

    Read aloud: This is the first picture in Doré’s great Bible. He did not try to draw God; instead he drew the light itself, breaking through the darkness at God’s word.

    Point and find:

    • Where is the light coming from?
    • Which parts of the picture are still dark?
    • Find the sea.
    • Why do you think there are no people in this picture?

    Ask:

    • “What would it have been like to see the first light?”
    • “How is God’s word like light?”

  5. Show: Read: מָ

    Say this: “The letter is mem: m.”

    Say this: “The vowel is qamets: ah.”

    Answer: mah.

    Show: Read: בַּ

    Say this: “The letter is bet with a dot: b.”

    Say this: “The vowel is patach: ah.”

    Answer: bah.

    Show: Read: יָד

    Say this: “yod + qamets = yah.”

    Say this: “Then dalet: d.”

    Answer: yahd (yad, hand).

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

    Ask: Read: לָ

    Listen for: lah.

    Ask: Read: נַ

    Listen for: nah.

    Ask: Which vowel looks like a little T?

    Listen for: Qamets.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Use a fingertip to stamp letters and vowels.

    Steps:

    1. Write five letters in a row with space under each: ב ד מ ל נ.
    2. Under each, draw a qamets (a little T).
    3. Read: ba, da, ma, la, na.
    4. In a new row, draw patach (a short line) under each, and read again.

    Tips for you:

    • The vowel goes under the middle of the letter.

    Done when your child can say:

    • I wrote five letters with qamets and five with patach.
    • I can read them all.

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

    1. Write patach and qamets large and label them ah. Copy יָד and בַּת.

  9. Read aloud: In a Torah scroll read in a synagogue today, there are still no vowel points: the reader must know the words. The points appear in printed Bibles and in books like the Leningrad Codex.

    • Saying the vowel before the letter. Read the letter first, then the vowel under it.
    • Missing the dot in bet: בּ b, ב v.

  11. Lay letter cards with qamets or patach in a row. Hop to each and read it: bah, dah, gah… If you read it right, you may hop on. Time yourself.

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

    Listen for: Know that Hebrew vowels are little marks under and over the letters.; Find patach ַ and qamets ָ and say ah.; Read a letter with patach or qamets.

  13. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

    Genesis 1:3 (KJV)

    In Hebrew, from the Leningrad Codex: <span class="heb-block" lang="he" dir="rtl">וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר</span> These are God’s first spoken words in the Bible. Find the patach under the first letter, vav: va-, and.

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.