Comparing the Concepts of

Ugaritic, Hebrew, Greek

and Latin Alphabets
Joannes Richter

Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Transcription
of the Ugaritic 30 ʾa b g ḫ d h wz ḥ ṭ y k š l mḏ n ẓ s ʿ p ṣ q r s ġ t ʾi ʾu s2
alphabet
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Hebrew 22
‫גב א‬ ‫מל כ י טח ז ו הד‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ת שר ק צ פ ע ס‬
Alphabēton
ἀλφάβητον 23 A B Γ Δ Ε F ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΞΟΠ S K Ρ Σ ΤY
10 20 30 40 50 60
Milesian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 0 0 0 0 0
700 800 900

alphabet 27 A B Γ Δ Ε F ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΞΟΠ ϙ ΡΣ ΤYΦΧΨ Ω Ϡ

Old-Greek 19 A B Γ Δ Ε ΥΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΟΠ ΡΣ Τ
Classic
21 A B Γ ΔΕ ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΟΠ ΡΣ ΤY X Ω
Greek
2
26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
0
21-23 24 25 26

C Ϝ Z I
Latin 26 A B DE HÞ K LM N O P Q R S T VUW X Y Z
G VG J
Table 1 Ugaritic abecedaria (1) of the "Northern Semitic order" (27-30 letters)
(categorized according to the comments of Rabbi Saadia Gaon's commentary)

Abstract
The designers of the alphabets had been fettered by the order of the alphabetic phonetic symbols,
the numerical values of the letters and the categorizing of the alphabetic letters, which had been
categorized in a 5 points of articulation (lingual, labial, guttural, palatals and dental).
A common fundamental source of the ordered alphabets may be found in the identified Ugaritic
alphabets (dated 1400 BCE), in which 27 symbols are ordered from A to T.
The fundamental symbols A-T may be identified in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets. In the
Milesian alphabet the symbols were applied as the numbering symbols, which stabilized the
ordering structure for the alphabetic concepts and their categorizing structures.
This essay checks the display of the divine names in the Milesian alphabet. The patterns of the
Hebrew and Milesian alphabets:
• highly correlating in the first 3 rows,
• identical in the display of the theonyms “Θ9Ι10E5F6Ξ60”, respectively “T9Ι10EV6S60“ in row #2,
• and are more or less qualified or “equivalent” for mathematical formulas.
Comparing the 2-Dimensional Hebrew and Milesian Alphabets
The Milesian alphabet was defined as a standard concept for the numbering in mathematics 1. The
ancient numbering system needed 27 characters to define the fundamental symbols
1,2,3,...10,20,30,....100,200,300,...900 in the range from 1 to 900.
The Hebrew alphabet also defined a similar numbering concept, which is based on the 22
alphabetical letters and 5 final letters to cover the counting from 1,2,3,....900.

The Hebrew alphabet

In the Hebrew alphabet the final form is called sofit (Hebrew: ‫סופית‬, meaning "final" or "ending").
The five sofit letters are: Kaf- ‫ ך‬, Mem- ‫ם‬, Nun- ‫ן‬, Fe – ‫ף‬, Tzadi- ‫ץ‬. In the Hebrew Alphabet, there
are also four guttural letters. The word guttural literally means 'of the throat', and is derived from
the Latin word for throat. None of the guttural letters is a final letter.

Standard Hebrew alphabet Final letters

Number # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

value # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 - 30 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 - 400 - 500 600 700 800 900

Hebrew 22 ‫ג ב א‬ ‫ה ד‬ ‫ו‬ ‫כ י ט ח ז‬ ‫מ ל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ש ר ק צ פ ע ס‬ ‫ת‬ ‫ץ ף ן ם ך‬

C Z I Ch M N Ph Ts
Latin 26 A B DE F HÞ K LM N OP QR S T
G G J 500 600 700 800 900

Table 2 The Hebrew alphabet, equipped with 27 numbering symbols

The Hebrew alphabet based on Rabbi Saadia Gaon's Judeo-Arabic commentary on “Sefer Yetzirah”
may be listed in an 2-dimensional table with 5 columns and 5 rows2.
An addition of the final letters requires an extra row in the table. The categorization of the final
(sofit) letters is identical to the standard symbols.
In the 2nd row the table did not need to modify the rows 1,2,3 and 4. The alphabetic array displays
the common theonyms I10-Ε5-V6 and T9-I10-Ε5-V6-S15 of the Hebrew alphabet:

lingual palatal guttural labial dental

6 Nun N700 Pe Ph800 Tsade Ts900
5 Taw T400 Kaph Ch500 Mem M600 Shin S300
4 Nun N50 Qoph Q100 Ayin Gh70 Pe Ph80 Resh R200
3 Lamedh L30 Kaph Ch20 Heth H8 Mem M40 Tsade Ts90
2 Teth T9 Yodh I10 He Ε5 Waw V6 Samekh S60
1 Dalet D4 Gimel G3 Aleph Æ1 Bet B2 Zayin Z7
Table 3 The display of the theonyms I10-Ε5-V6 and T9-I10-Ε5-V6-S15 in the Hebrew alphabet

1 The forgotten art of isopsephy and the magic number KZ* by Dimitris Psychoyos
(published in Semiotica 154±1/4 (2005), 157±224)
2 Source and details: The 2-Dimensional Alphabets' Compendium
The Correlation between the Milesian and the Hebrew Alphabet
The order of the Milesian alphabet is relatively comparable to the structure of the Hebrew alphabet.
Only one Hebrew letter, the 19th letter (Qoph Q100) is missing in the Milesian alphabet to represent
the value 100. Instead of a trailing section of 5 final letters from the standard trailing letter T the
Milesian alphabet needs 6 letters Y, Φ, X,Ψ, Ω, Ϡ for the numbers 400 → 900.

Standard Hebrew alphabet Final letters

Number # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

value # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 - 30 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 - 400 - 500 600 700 800 900

Hebrew 22 ‫ג ב א‬ ‫ה ד‬ ‫ו‬ ‫כ י ט ח ז‬ ‫מ ל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ת ש ר ק צ פ ע ס‬ ‫ץ ף ן ם ך‬

Trans- C Z I Ch M N Φ Ts
26 AB DEF H Þ K L M N O P QR S T
lation G G J 500 600 700 800 900

# 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Milesian 27 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 - 30 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 90 - 100 200 - 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
alphabet 27 A B Γ Δ Ε F Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π ϙ .. Ρ Σ Τ Y Φ Χ Ψ Ω Ϡ
Table 4 The Hebrew alphabet, equipped with 27 numbering symbols
Comparing both alphabets (at the left: Milesian and right-side Hebrew alphabet) we may identify
the correlations between both alphabetical patterns. In the first 3 rows the patterns may be
interpreted as identical. Therefore the theonyms “Θ9Ι10E5F6Ξ60”, respectively “T9Ι10EV6S60“ at the
2nd row are equivalent.

row lingual palatal guttural labial dental Σ row lingual palatal guttural labial dental Σ
7 Ω800 1 7
6 Φ500 Ϡ900 2 6 N700 Ph800 Ts900 3
5 Τ300 Ψ700 Y400 Σ200 4 5 T400 Ch500 M600 S200 4
4 Ν50 Χ600 O70 Π80 Ρ100 5 4 N50 Q100 Gh70 Ph80 R100 5
3 Λ30 Κ20 H8 M40 ϙ90 5 3 L30 K20 H8 M40 Ts90 5
2 Θ9 Ι10 E5 F6 Ξ60 5 2 T9 I10 Ε5 V6 S60 5
1 Δ4 Γ3 A1 B2 Z7 5 1 D4 G3 Æ1 B2 Z7 5
Σ 5 5 4 7 6 27 Σ 6 5 4 6 6 27
Table 5 Comparison of the alphabets (at the left: Milesian and right-side: Hebrew alphabet)

The patterns of the Hebrew and Milesian alphabets:

• highly correlating in the first 3 rows,
• identical in the display of the theonyms “Θ9Ι10E5F6Ξ60”, respectively “T9Ι10EV6S60“ in row #2,
• and are more or less qualified or “equivalent” for mathematical formulas.
Samples of Ugaritic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets

Correlation between the Hebrew and Milesian alphabets

Standard Hebrew alphabet Final letters
Number # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

value # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 - 30 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 - 400 - 500 600 700 800 900

Hebrew 22 ‫ג ב א‬ ‫ה ד‬ ‫ו‬ ‫כ י ט ח ז‬ ‫מ ל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ת ש ר ק צ פ ע ס‬ ‫ץ ף ן ם ך‬

Trans- C Z I Ch M N Φ Ts
26 AB DEF H Þ K L M N O P QR S T
lation G G J 500 600 700 800 900

# 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Milesian 27 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 - 30 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 90 - 100 200 - 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
alphabet 27 A B Γ Δ Ε F Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π ϙ .. Ρ Σ Τ Y Φ Χ Ψ Ω Ϡ
Table 6 The Hebrew alphabet, equipped with 27 numbering symbols (for 1...900)

Relations between the Ugaritic, Hebrew and Greek/Latin alphabets

The following alphabets may have synchronized their designs, in which the phonetic patterns, the
numbering concepts and the categorization had to remain compatible. The categorization of some
symbols in the “Extensions” may be uncertain (for example):
• The letter X may be varying between palatal and dental.
• The letter Y may be varying between palatal and labial.
• The letter Z may be varying between lingual and dental.
Standard Hebrew alphabet Extensions
Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Transcription
of the Ugaritic 30 ʾa b g ḫ d h wz ḥ ṭ y k š l mḏ n ẓ s ʿ p ṣ q r s ġ t ʾi ʾu s2
alphabet
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

value # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 - 30 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 90
10 20 30
0 0 0
-
40
0
500
60 70
0 0
800 900

Hebrew 22
‫גבא‬ ‫מ ל כ י טח ז ו ה ד‬ ‫ת שר ק צ פ ע ס נ‬ ‫ץ ף ן ם ך‬
Alphabēton
ἀλφάβητον 23 A B Γ Δ Ε F ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΞΟΠS KΡ Σ Τ Y
10 20 30 50 60
Milesian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 -
0 0 0
400
0 0
700 800 900

alphabet 27 A B Γ Δ Ε F ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν Ξ Ο Π ϙ .. Ρ Σ Τ Y ΦΧΨΩ Ϡ

Old-Greek 19 A B Γ Δ ΕΥΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΟΠ ΡΣ Τ
Classic Greek 21 A B Γ Δ Ε ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΟΠ Ρ Σ Τ Y X Ω
2
26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
0
21-23 24 25 26
Latin C Ϝ Z I
26 A BDE HÞ K LM N O P Q R S T VUW X Y Z
G VG J
Table 7 Ugaritic abecedaria (1) of the "Northern Semitic order" (27-30 letters),
derived Hebrew, and (probably) various Greek and Latin alphabets
(categorized according to the comments of Rabbi Saadia Gaon's commentary)
Correlation between the Hebrew and Latin alphabets
Standard Hebrew alphabet Extensions
Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Transcripti
on
of the 30
ʾa b g ḫ d h w z ḥ ṭ y k š l mḏ n ẓ s ʿ p ṣ q r s ġ t ʾi ʾu s2
Ugaritic
alphabet
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

value # 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 - 30 40 - 50 - 60 70 80 90
10 20 30
-
40
500 600 700 800 900
0 0 0 0

Hebrew 22
‫גב א‬ ‫מל כ י טח ז ו ה ד‬ ‫ת שר ק צ פ ע ס נ‬ ‫ץ ף ן ם ך‬
Alphabēton
ἀλφάβητον 23 A B Γ Δ Ε F ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΞΟΠS KΡ Σ Τ Y
10 20 30
Milesian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 -
0 0 0
400 500 600 700 800 900

alphabet 27 A B Γ Δ Ε F ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν Ξ Ο Π ϙ .. Ρ Σ Τ YΦ ΧΨΩϠ

Old-Greek 19 A B Γ Δ Ε Υ ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΟΠ ΡΣ Τ
Classic
Greek
21 A B Γ Δ Ε ΖΗΘ Ι Κ ΛΜ Ν ΟΠ Ρ Σ Τ Y X Ω

2
26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
0
21-23 24 25 26
Latin
C Ϝ Z I
26 A B DE HÞ K LM N O P (ṣ) Q R S T VUW X Y Z
G V G J
Table 8 Ugaritic abecedaria (1) of the "Northern Semitic order" (27-30 letters),
derived Hebrew, and (probably) various Greek and Latin alphabets
(categorized according to the comments of Rabbi Saadia Gaon's commentary)

row lingual palatal guttural labial dental Σ row lingual palatal guttural labial dental Σ
6 W 1 6 N700 Ph800 Ts900 3
5 Τ X Y 3 5 T400 Ch500 M600 S200 4
4 Ν Q O P S 5 4 N50 Q100 Gh70 Ph80 R100 5
3 L Κ H M R 5 3 L30 K20 H8 M40 Ts90 5
2 (Þ) Ι, J E F,U,V (ṣ) 6 2 T9 I10 Ε5 V6 S60 5
1 D C, G A B Z 6 1 D4 G3 Æ1 B2 Z7 5
Σ 5 5 4 7 6 26 Σ 6 5 4 6 6 27
Table 9 Comparison of the alphabets (at the left: Latin and right-side: Hebrew alphabet)

The letters Þ and ṣ belong to the skipped symbols, which had been lost for the alphabet, but
conserved for the ancient theonyms (IU-piter or Dious-piter).

The patterns of the Hebrew and Latin alphabets:

• highly correlating in the first 3 rows,
• identical in the display of the theonyms “T9Ι10E5V6S60”, respectively “Þ ΙEUS“ in row #2,
• and are more or less qualified or “equivalent” for mathematical formulas.
The reconstruction of the 2-dimensional Ugaritic Alphabet
The first 27 letters of the Ugaritic abecedaria (1) of the "Northern Semitic order" (27-30 letters) are
categorized as follows: linguals: D, Ṭ, L, Ḏ, N, Ṯ, T, palatals: G, Y, K, Q, Ġ, gutturals: ʾA, Ḫ, H (E),
Ḥ, ʿ (O), labials: B, W, M, P and dentals: Z, Š, Ẓ, S, R.
The 4th letter Ḫ does not exist in the Hebrew alphabet. Therefore in the Hebrew alphabet the
replacement for the letter Ḫ in the great Name YḪW may be the 6th letter H (E)3.

Standard Hebrew alphabet

Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Index
2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
7
transcription ʾA B G (Ḫ) D H W Z Ḥ Ṭ Y K Š L M Ḏ N Ẓ S ʿ P Ṣ Q R Θ Ġ T
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Hebrew 1 ‫ ג ב א‬-- ‫מ ל ש כ י ט ח ז ו ה ד‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ר ק צ פעס‬ ‫ת‬

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Hebrew 2 ‫ ג ב א‬-- ‫כ י ט ח ז ו ה ד‬ ‫מל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ש ר ק צ פעס‬ ‫ת‬

Table 10 Reconstruction of the categorization for 2-dimensional Ugaritic Alphabet
The 2-dimensional table contains 7 linguals, 5 gutturals, 5 palatals, 4 labials and 6 dentals. At the 2nd
row of this table a theonym ṬYḪWŠ (ṬYḪWŠ) is displayed:

Ugaritic Alphabet (27 letters) Hebrew alphabet (22 letters)

# # Σ
linguals palatals gutturals labials dentals Σ lingual palatal guttural labial dental
7 t→ 1 7 -

T27
6 ṯ→ r→ 2 6 -

Θ 25 R24
5 n→ ġ→ ʿ→ ṣ→ 4 5 T22 S21 2

N17 Gh26 O20 Ṣ22

4 ḏ→ q→ ḥ→ p→ s→ 5 4 N14 Q19 Gh16 Ph17 R20 5

Z16 Q23 H9 P,Φ21 S19

3 l→ k→ h(e) → m→ ẓ→ 5 3 L12 K11 H8 M13 Ṣ18 5

L14 K12 E6 M15 Ẓ18

2 ṭ→ y→ ḫ→ w→ š→ 5 2 T9 I10 Ε5 V6 S15 5

Th10 (Θ,Þ) Y11 Kh4 W7 Ś13

1 d→ g→ ʾa → b→ z→ 5 1 D4 G3 A1 B2 Z7 5

D5 G3 A1 B2 Z8
# 7 5 5 4 6 27 Σ 5 4 4 4 5 22

Table 11 A sky-god's theonym ṬYḪWŠ (ṬYḪWŠ)

is displayed at the 2nd row of the Ugaritic alphabet (in a Latin transliteration)
3 The Common YHV-Root in the Ugaritic Alphabets
Eroding in the alphabetical displays of the theonyms
The fourth letter Ḫ in the Ugaritic ABG-alphabet seems to have been deteriorated before the other
alphabets composed their letters.
A permanent deteriorating wave is quite common for languages. The letter Ḫ seemed to have
vanished in all derived alphabets, which had been developed from the Ugaritic concept. Therefore
we may assume that the fourth letter Ḫ may have been skipped in the Ugaritic ABG-alphabet. In
fact the skipped letter Ḫ had to be replaced by a one step-shift of the upper rest of the guttural
column.
The result is sketched in the guttural column of the Ugaritic alphabet, which was to be reduced from
the A1, Kh4, E6, H9, O20 to A1, E6, H9, O20.

Ugaritic Alphabet (26 letters) Hebrew alphabet (22 letters)

# linguals palatals gutturals labials dentals Σ #
lingual palatal guttural labial dental Σ

7 t→ 1 7 -

T27
6 ṯ→ r→ 2 6 -

Θ 25 R24
5 n→ ġ→ ṣ→ 3 5 T22 S21 2

N17 Gh26 Ṣ22

4 ḏ→ q→ ʿ→ p→ s→ 5 4 N14 Q19 Gh16 Ph17 R20 5

Z16 Q23 O20 P,Φ21 S19

3 l→ k→ ḥ→ m→ ẓ→ 5 3 L12 K11 H8 M13 Ṣ18 5

L14 K12 H9 M15 Ẓ18

2 ṭ→ y→ h(e) → w→ š→ 5 2 T9 I10 Ε5 V6 S15 5

Th10 (Θ,Þ) Y11 E6 W7 Ś13

1 d→ g→ ʾa → b→ z→ 5 1 D4 G3 A1 B2 Z7 5

D5 G3 A1 B2 Z8
# 7 5 4 4 6 26 Σ 5 4 4 4 5 22

Table 12 A sky-god's theonym is modified from ṬYḪWŠ (ṬYḪWŠ) to ṬYEWŠ (ṬYEWŠ),

which is displayed at the 2nd row of the Ugaritic alphabet (in a Latin transliteration).

Of course we might renumber the index of the alphabetical letters after a reduction of the
alphabetical structures. In this essay the index number for the letters may be unchanged.

The new index of the old Ugaritic letter h(e) →E6 may be updated in the Hebrew alphabet, which
displays a T9, I10, Ε5, V6, S15 as a transformation of the theonym from Th10, Y11, E6, W7, Ś13 → T9,
I10, Ε5, V6, S15.
Summary
The designers of the alphabets had been fettered by the order of the alphabetic phonetic symbols,
the numerical values of the letters and the categorizing of the alphabetic letters, which had been
categorized in a 5 points of articulation (lingual, labial, guttural, palatals and dental).
A common fundamental source of the ordered alphabets may be found in the identified Ugaritic
alphabets (dated 1400 BCE), in which 27 symbols are ordered from A to T.
The fundamental symbols A-T may be identified in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets. In the
Milesian alphabet the symbols were applied as the numbering symbols, which stabilized the
ordering structure for the alphabetic concepts and their categorizing structures.
This essay checks the display of the divine names in the Milesian alphabet. The patterns of the
Hebrew and Milesian alphabets:
• are highly correlating in the first 3 rows,
• are identical in the display of the theonyms “Θ9Ι10E5F6Ξ60”, respectively “T9Ι10EV6S60“ in the
row #2,
• and are more or less qualified or “equivalent” for mathematical formulas.
Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................1
Comparing the 2-Dimensional Hebrew and Milesian Alphabets ........................................................2
The Hebrew alphabet.......................................................................................................................2
The Correlation between the Milesian and the Hebrew Alphabet...................................................3
Samples of Ugaritic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets....................................................................4
Correlation between the Hebrew and Milesian alphabets...............................................................4
Relations between the Ugaritic, Hebrew and Greek/Latin alphabets..............................................4
Correlation between the Hebrew and Latin alphabets.....................................................................5
The reconstruction of the 2-dimensional Ugaritic Alphabet................................................................6
Eroding in the alphabetical displays of the theonyms.....................................................................7
Summary...............................................................................................................................................8