Page 239 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
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218 COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
Table 16.2. Incidents of small letters in the Bible.

Ed
1

Ed in Hebrew is “witness.” In subsection 1.3.5, we discussed at some length how
Jewish tradition perceives the major assignment of the Jewish nation in the world
to serve as witnesses for the existence of God. This theme is repeatedly conveyed
by the Jewish prophets; some quotations supporting this fact were provided in the
above subsection.
It is therefore not surprising that in the most focused expression of the mission
of the Jewish people, recited in all Jewish prayers—“Hear O Israel: the Lord our

God; the Lord is one”(Deut. 6:4)—two letters appear that are enlarged. The first
2
letter is ayin, which appears in the word shema (hear), and the second is dalet,
1
3
which appears in echad (one). Together, the two letters form the word ed, a
witness:
דחא הוהי וניהלא הוהי לארשי עמש

Some other explanations may be found with some well-known and revered
Jewish interpreters, like Kli-Yakar (1550–1619), who associates the large dalet
with the way the Tefilin is tied, or Sforno (1475–1550), who traces the large