Large and Small Letters in the Hebrew Text of the Bible

In a few cases, throughout the text of the Hebrew Bible, one occasionally finds a letter in the beginning, middle, or end of a word written in miniature or sometimes in large print. Most biblical text is written in ‘normal’ size, but when enlargement or diminishment does occur, it has a special meaning. An example of a large character is the letter beth, ב which is the first letter of the Bible in the Book of Genesis. The meaning of this very large beth is quite profound and hinges upon the very Act of Creation and the dualistic world. An example of a diminished letter is seen in Gen. 2:4, where the phrase ‘when they were created’ appears, in Hebrew, behibaram בהבראם. The letter heh ה of the phrase is written with a miniaturized character. The meaning of the diminished heh ה is linked to Abraham and ultimately the birth of Isaac (See Abram What's in a name).

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