How Do You Spell in Ancient Hebrew?

Spelling and grammar are shaped by two things: social institutions and historical tradition. These can be very conservative. For example, in English we continue to spell words according to traditional spellings (e.g., right, knight) because of social institutions that shape and define spelling. Of course, spelling can and does change over time. For example, the original 1611 edition of the King James Bible has the following: “And the earth was without forme, and voyd, and darkenesse was vpon the face of the deepe: and the Spirit of God mooued vpon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

Changes in spelling are usually associated with major changes in the social institutions where writing is taught. In ancient Judah, such changes could have taken place in a variety of periods, including the beginnings of the state, the fall of the kingdom of Israel, the social reforms of King Josiah, and the Babylonian exile.

Another important thing to understand is that spelling was taught primarily by practicing vocabulary lists, not by memorizing rules (e.g., “i before e, except after c …”). For example, the Hebrew word for “fortress/city” was originally spelled without the letter yod as ‘r (ער). Eventually, the yod would be included, and the word’s standardized spelling would become ‘îr (עיר).