1. The Origin!
of the Alphabet!
Prof
Bernie
Cohen
U3A
Guildford
December
2013

2. When is a writing system!
(not) an alphabet?!
Hieroglyphic
Cuneiform
!वनागरी
Devangari
ελληνικά
Greek
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
‫اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬
Chinese
Arabic
Русский
Sign
‫עִבְִרית‬
Hebrew
ENGLISH
Russian
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
2

3. Writing Systems!
Each
symbol
represents
Pictogram
its
meaning,
eg
hieroglyphic,
cuneiform,
signs
Syllabary
a
syllable,
eg
Linear
B,
Mayan,
Chinese,
Japanese)
Abjad
a
consonant,
eg
Hebrew,
Arabic
Abugida
a
consonant
plus
a
vowel,
eg
Devangari
Alphabet
a
consonant
or
a
vowel,
eg
Greek,
La[n,
English
The
last
three
are
much
easier
to
learn:
tens
of
symbols
versus
hundreds
or
even
thousands.
ref
Peter
T.
Daniels
The
World's
Wri.ng
Systems,
Oxford
(1966)
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
3

4. So What?!
The
alphabet
was
one
of
mankind's
most
important
inven.ons
because
it
took
literacy
and
the
control
of
knowledge
out
of
the
hands
of
scribes
and
priests
and
gave
it
to
the
people.
But
who
invented
it,
where,
why
and
when?
Strangely,
we
may
know
the
answers
to
all
these
ques9ons.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
4

5. When
and
Who
In
the
18th
century
BCE
(or
17th
in
Rohl's
New
Chronology),
Upper
and
Lower
Egypt
were
unified
under
the
12th
dynasty.
Amenemhat
III,
last
Pharoah
of
the
12th
dynasty,
was
also
known
as
Mer
Wer,
the
Great
Canal,
which
he
built
to
control
the
Nile
floods,
storing
surplus
produce
in
the
huge
‘Labyrinth’
(described
by
Herodotus)
at
his
capital,
Ijt-­‐Tawy,
where
he
built
his
second
pyramid,
replacing
his
earlier
'Black
Pyramid'
at
Dashur.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
5

6. Amenemhat
III
and
the
Levant
He
also
expanded
trade
with
Byblos
in
Lebanon
(cedar
wood
for
papyrus)
and
mining,
at
Serabit-­‐el-­‐Khadem
in
Sinai
(turquoise)
and
at
Timna
in
the
Negev
(copper),
using
migrant
labourers
(Habiru)
who
were
fleeing
famine
in
Canaan
(Retenu).
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
6

7. Where
The
Mer
Wer
is
now
known
as
Bahr
Yussef
(Joseph’s
Canal).
Byblos
Hawara
was
the
'house
of
Canaan/Retenu
government'
(hwt-­‐wrt)
Avaris
in
Goshen
of
the
central
Nile
region.
Many
of
the
Habiru
were
Timna
accommodated
in
Lake
Moeris
Wadi
el-­‐Hol,
(Mer
Wer),
Hawara
in
the
Upper
Nile,
and
Ijt-­‐Tawy
and
in
Avaris,
hwt-­‐wrt
of
the
Lower
Nile,
Serabit-­‐el-­‐Khadem
the
biblical
Pi-­‐Ramesses
in
Goshen
(the
Eastern
Delta),
from
where
the
Israelites
leu
in
the
Exodus,
Wadi-­‐el-­‐Hol
some
300
years
later.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
7

8. Meet
the
Lady
hwt-­‐hr
(mansion
of
Horus)
pronounced
Hathor,
Goddess
of
fer[lity
and
motherhood,
source
of
milk,
bearer
of
the
Milky
Way,
protector
of
miners
and
travellers,
also
known
as
Ba'alat,
the
Lady,
Tanit,
sister
of
'Anat,
and
Sekhmet,
the
destroyer.
An
ancient
figure,
later
iden[fied
with
Astarte,
Aphrodite
and
Venus.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
Hathor's
Temples
Byblos/Gebal: cedar wood
Home of Canaanite high God, El
Hazor:great Canaanite city,
defected to Habiru, later
destroyed by Joshua or Barak.
Timna: copper mines.
Serabit el-Khadim: turquoise mines,
near St Catherines Monastery (Mt Sinai?)
Dendera, near Wadi el-Hol and Thebes
and
many
other
loca[ons
in
Egypt
including
the
Eastern
Delta
and
Abu
Simbel.
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
8

9. The
Serabit
Curse
This
inscrip[on
was
found
on
a
rock
near
Hathor's
temple
at
Serabit
el-­‐Khadem.
Glyph
InterpretaCon
MT
LB'LT
with
vowels:
mat
l'ba'alat
Canaanite
(Hebrew)
for
Death
to
the
Lady
EgypCan
water
mark
goad
house
eye
Canaanite
mayim
tav
lamed
bayit
ayin
Consonant
M
T
L
B
(glowal
stop)
Each
lewer
is
a
crude
form
of
an
Egyp.an
glyph
whose
value
becomes
the
first
sound
of
the
Canaanite
name
of
the
glyph
(as
in
children's
reading
books).
This
acrophonic
principle
works
very
well
for
Semi[c
languages
in
which
the
meaning
of
a
word
can
be
determined
from
roots
of
two
or
three
consonants.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
9

10. The
Wadi
el-­‐Hol
inscrip[on
Transla[on
suggested
by
Brian
Colless,
An.guo
Oriente
8
(2010)
91
[Ver[cal,
top
to
bowom]
m,
sh,
t,
r,
',
h,
',
n,
t,
g,
sg,
',
l
Excellent
(R[’š])
banquet
(mšt)
of
the
celebra[on
(H[illul])
of
`Anat
(`nt).
’El
(’l)
will
provide
(ygš)
[Horizontal,
right
to
leu]
r,
b,
v,
n,
m,
n,
h,
n,
g,
m,
h,
',
p,
m,
ch,
r
plenty
(rb)
of
wine
(vn)
and
victuals
(mn)
for
the
celebra[on
(H[illul]).
We
will
sacrifice
(ngm_)
to
her
(h)
an
ox
(’)
and
(p)
a
prime
(R[’sh])
fatling
(mX).
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
10

11. The
Proto-­‐Sinai[c
abjad
Glyph
EgypCan
ox
house
throws[ck
fish
jubila[on
hook
sword
yarn
Canaanite
elef
bayit
gimel
dag
hillul
vav
zayin
chut
Consonant
(silent)
b
g
d
h
v
z
(lo)ch
Hebrew
‫ח
ז
ו
ה
ד
ג
ב
א‬
Glyph
EgypCan
good
arm
hand
goad
water
snake
prop
eye
Canaanite
tov
yad
kaf
lamed(?)
mayim
nachash
s'micha
'ayin
Consonant
th
y
c
l
m
n
x(si)
(silent)
Hebrew
‫ע
ס
נ
מ
ל
כ
י
ט‬
Glyph
EgypCan
corner
plant
monkey
head
sun
mark
Canaanite
pinah
tzemach
kof
resh
shemesh
tav
Consonant
p
tx
k
r
sh
t
Hebrew
‫
ת
ש
ר
ק
צ
פ‬
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
Some
consonants
were
denoted
by
different
symbols
in
the
early
stages
of
the
abjad's
development
11

12. Whodunit?
The
actual
inventor
of
the
script
may
have
been
Khebeded,
the
“Brother
of
the
Ruler
of
Retenu”,
the
highest-­‐ranking
Canaanite
who
leu
a
hieroglyphic
inscrip[on
in
the
Serabit
temple.
He
was
probably
a
leader
of
the
Canaanite
workforce
but,
judging
by
the
poor
quality
of
his
inscrip[ons,
poorly
educated.
One
can
readily
sympathise
with
him,
in
the
depths
of
the
Sinai
desert,
unable
to
read
or
write
hieroglyphic
or
cuneiform,
but
desperate
to
record
his
prayers
to,
and
curses
against,
Hathor,
his
patron
goddess.
Note:
Retenu
is
the
area
between
Gaza
and
the
Baqaa
in
Lebanon.
It
may
be
cognate
with
'Artzeinu',
Hebrew
for
'our
land').
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
12

13. The
Role
of
the
Phoenicians
Etymology:
from
Egyp[an
fenchu:
'Asia[c
semites'
from
Canaan
(Khna)
to
Mycenaean
po-­‐ni-­‐ki
to
Greek
phoinike
influenced
by
'phoinix',
the
Tyrian
purple
dye
derived
from
murex
to
La[n
poenicus,
later
punic
when
their
capital
was
at
Carthage.
The
Phoenicians
were
Canaanite
sea-­‐farers
who
migrated
from
the
Persian
Gulf
to
Byblos
where
they
traded
cedarwood
for
Egypt's
papyrus.
By
the
14thC
BCE,
they
were
trading
across
the
en[re
Mediterranean,
probably
as
far
as
England
(for
Cornish
[n).
They
gradually
recognised
the
value
of
the
Proto-­‐sinai[c
system
for
communica[ng
in
wri[ng
with
their
different
trading
partners,
and
developed
it
into
the
standard
Phoenician
alphabet,
from
which
all
other
alphabets
are
derived.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
13

14. The
'Proto-­‐Canaanite'
(ca
1200BCE)
or
Phoenician
(from
1050BCE)
Abjad
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
14

15. The
Palaeo-­‐Hebrew
Abjad
(ca1000BCE)
The
earliest
known
inscrip[on
in
Paleo-­‐Hebrew
is
this
complete
'abecedary'
carved
on
one
side
of
a
38lb
stone
on
a
wall
at
Tel
Zayit,
in
the
Beth
Guvrin
Valley
about
35
miles
southwest
of
Jerusalem,
found
by
volunteer
Daniel
Rypma
in
Ron
Tappy's
dig
on
July
15,
2005.
The
middle
line
contains
contains
eighteen
lewers
(aleph
through
tsadi),
while
the
bowom
line
contains
the
remaining
four
lewers
(qoph
through
tav)
followed
by
two
zigzag
symbols.
Curiously,
the
ordering
is
slightly
different,
with
waw
before
heh,
chet
before
zayin,
and
lamed
before
qoph.
And
oddly,
the
top
line
has
the
lewers
ayin,
zayin,
daleth,
spelling
'azed'!
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
15

16. Lewer
Names
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The
Phoenician
names
differ
from
those
of
proto-­‐Canaanite,
as
follows:
gaml
"throwing
s[ck"
to
gimel
"camel"
digg
"fish"
to
dalet
"door"
hll
"jubila[on"
to
he
"window"
ziqq
"manacle"
to
zayin
"weapon"
naḥš
"snake"
to
nun
"fish"
piʾt
"corner"
to
pey
"mouth"
šimš
"sun"
to
šin
"tooth
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
16

17. Lexicographic
Order
The
origin
of
the
'lexicographic
order'
is
uncertain.
One
theory
is
that
the
first
half
deals
with
ac[vity
on
land,
agriculture,
etc:
Alef
-­‐
an
ox,
to
Lamed
-­‐
a
whip;
and
the
second
with
ac[vity
on
water:
fishing,
sailing
etc:
Mem
-­‐
water,
Nun
-­‐
fish,
Samek
-­‐
fish
bones,
Ayin
-­‐
a
water
spring,
Peh
-­‐
the
mouth
of
a
well,
Tsadi
-­‐
to
fish,
Kof,
Resh
and
Shin
are
the
hook
hole,
hook
head
and
hook
teeth,
known
to
exist
from
prehistoric
[mes,
and
the
Tav
is
the
mark
used
to
count
the
fish
caught.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
17

18. From
Abjad
to
Alphabet
matres
lecConis
(La[n
"mothers
of
reading",
singular
form:
mater
lec.onis,
from
Hebrew:
‫
אֵם
ְקִריאָה‬mother
of
reading)
From
around
1000BCE,
certain
consonants
were
used
to
indicate
a
vowel.
The
lewers
that
do
this
in
Hebrew
are
vav
‫
,ו‬he
‫
,ה‬aleph
‫
א‬and
yod
‫
.י‬
In
Arabic,
the
matres
lec.onis
are
alif
‫
,ا‬waw
‫
,و‬and
ya'
‫
.ي‬
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
18

19. Greek
In
the
late
9th
century
BCE,
Greek
ini[ally
took
over
all
of
the
22
lewers
of
Phoenician.
Five
were
reassigned
to
denote
vowel
sounds,
turnng
the
nota[on
from
an
abjad
to
an
alphabet.
yod
for
Ι,
iota
waw
for
Υ,
upsilon
aleph
for
Α,
alpha
ayin
for
Ο,
omicron,
and
he
for
Ε,
epsilon.
In
some
dialects,
the
lewer
heth
was
used
as
an
addi[onal
vowel
lewer
Η,
eta,
and
eventually,
a
seventh
vowel
lewer
Ω,
omega,
was
introduced.
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
19

20. The
evolu[on
of
our
alphabet
MODERN
HEBREW
SCRIPT
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
20

21. The
evolu[on
of
our
alphabet
MODERN
HEBREW
SCRIPT
©Prof
Bernie
Cohen
2013
The
Origin
of
the
Alphabet
U3A
Guildford
21