Mem

Mem  2.5" x 3.5"   acrylic on wood

This is our letter "m". It is water and means "liquid, massive. chaos" it is also the number 13. Again - not my favorite painting and is in danger of being repainted. I will have to see when I get them all done and together. I like the colors and texture - the symbol just doesn't make me very happy.

Kaf

Kaf  3.5"x 2.5"  Acrylic on wood

This is the number 11 and our letter "k, or ch". It is an open hand or palm. It means "to cover, to open, allow".  It sounds a bit like "cuff". The big symbol in the middle is Proto-Canaanite and the symbol on the right is more Early Phoenician. ...(and yes - it is Aramaic again)

Lamed

Lamed  2.5" x 3.5"   Acrylic on wood

Lamed is maybe my favorite letter, but this sure isn't my favorite painting. Lamed - pronounced with 2 syllables (lah-med) is the number 12. It is picture of a cattle goad. OK - I haven't seen a cattle goad so I'll take their word for it. However when we were kids my older brother chased me all over a feed store trying to get me with an electric cattle prod - but I think that looks a little different.  - It means "control, authority, the tongue" and is like our letter "l". The lower right is the modern Hebrew lamed. The "l" in the upper right annoys the heck out of me and this painting my get changed.

2 little paintings today

Tet  4" x 3" Acrylic on wood

Yodh  4" x 3"   Acrylic on wood

These two painting are a little larger than the others and I am putting them together because I painted them together and they seem to belong together. I like the  simplicity of them and the grittiness of graphite when it mixes with the paint.

The "tet" is the number 9 and it's literal meaning is a "snake" or "surround," and it means "to surround". It sounds like our letter "t"

The "yodh" or "yood"  is a picture of a closed hand - I can sort of see the arm - elbow - hand idea there. It means "work, a deed, to make."  It is the smallest letter and is commonly thought to be the "jot and tittle" spoken of in the Bible. 

Matt 5:18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." 

The yodh is the number 10 and is our letter "y"

Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

Chet

Chet -  3.5" x 2.5"   Acrylic on wood

 Here is another one that I like. I just like the way it looks. It is "chet"  - I guess our equivalent would sort of be the diphthong "ch" - but if you said it in the back of your throat - Oh, I don't have a description for how it sounds really - you just have to hear it.  It's a picture of a fence or an inner room. It means "private or to separate." It is also the number 8. On the lower left is the modern Hebrew letter.

Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

Zayin

Zayin  3.5" x 2.5"  Acrylic on wood

 Zayin sounds to me like the word "Zion" or "Zine". It is the number 7, and it is a weapon. It means "to cut off or cut". Again lower right is Hebrew - lower left the letter "z"

Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

Vav or Waw

 Vav  2.5" x 3.5" Acrylic on wood

This is "v" also number 6. It's literal meaning is a "nail or peg". The symbolic meaning is "and, to add, to secure" 

It is a picture of a nail .

  In the lower right corner is the contemporary Hebrew vav. Again - it's Aramaic - just because I like it.

Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

Hey - (I mean the letter hey)

Hey  2.5" x3.5"  acrylic on wood

This is the letter "h" - or hey, number 5, and literally means "behold" - symbolically it's "the" or "to reveal".Originally it was a picture of a person holding his arms up  -  like the symbol in the upper left corner. The text that is collaged in here is not Hebrew - it's Aramaic - but I liked it. Remember my discalaimer - I am PLAYING - not a scholar - no rules I have to follow....

A little later I will show you something very interesting involving this letter!

The letter "g"

 

Gimel  2.5" x 3.5"  Acrylic on wood

So the letter for today is gimel - pronounced with a long "e" sound - like geeml. It is the number 3, our letter "g" and is a camel.  I think it is the head and neck of a camel - uh, don't ask me how they got camel out of this one but that is what they say. It means "to lift up, pride or animal"

This one is pretty simple - but I just liked it and stopped before I messed it up. I like the peach and purple - which is actually a bit softer and more lavender than it shows on my screen -

Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

Another tiny painting

 Bet - 2.5" x 3.5" Acrylic on wood

I really like this one. I like the way it came out, and I like the colors even though I am not a fan of blue. Bet (or beyt - or beth) is the letter "b or v" and it means "house or tent." It's also the number 2. It's symbolic meaning is "household , in, into or family". Moses would have written it as a 3 room house like in the upper left corner, David would have written it as a a tent on the landscape - like the main triangular image. In the lower right is the contemporary bet in Hebrew,  and on the lower left corner is our English letter.  

Disclaimer: I am not a Hebrew or ancient language scholar - heck, I am not any kind of scholar. I have seen a number of different ways that these letters were written so please don't jump on my case if you disagree - I am just going by the books and reference material I have and PLAYING with this! One thing  - no two things -  remain pretty consistent throughout - that is the number value and the meanings of the letters.

Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site