Lamed

Mathew 5:8

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

Lamed the twelfth letter of the Hebrew Alphabet

The Hebrew letter “lamed” has the letter sound of “L” with a word picture of a cattle goad, a staff or a rod. The “lamed” is the tallest letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. When the "lamed" is the first letter of the word it can be a prefix, indicating several different meanings: the infinitive “to,” or toward or belonging to. The “lamed” can also have a word picture of “control, or urging forward,” as in a cattle goad or even pushing forward as in teaching or the tongue. The “lamed” is one of the Hebrew letters that progressed through a series of shapes from the original shape in the proto-Canaanite to the modern-day “lamed” which looks quite different.

The Hebrew word for “no” is “lo.” This is a strong negative “no” or “do not.” The Hebrew spelling is “lamed” with a letter sound of “L” and a word picture of a staff, followed by an “alef,” which is a silent letter carrying only the sound of a vowel, with a word picture of “strong or ox.” The lamed followed by an “alef” is the word picture of a staff for control and strength.

Another “lamed” word is “la-mad,” meaning study, or be accustomed to. The Hebrew spelling of “la-mad” is “lamed” with a letter sound of “L” and a word picture of “a staff or control,” followed by the letter “mem” with a letter sound of “M” and a word picture of “water, powerful or chaos,” followed by a “dalet” with a letter sound of “D” and a word picture of a “door, pathway or enter.” When put together these Hebrew letters are a word picture of a shepherd or someone controlling chaos through a door or pathway.

Another “lamed" word is “lev” which is Hebrew for “heart.” The Hebrew spelling for “lev” is “lamed” with a letter sound of “L” with a word picture of a “staff, control or strong/strength,” followed by a “bet” with the letter sound of “V” (sometimes a “B” when it has a dagesh or dot in the center) with a word picture of a “house or inside.” Together these two Hebrew letters, “lamed” followed by a “bet” spell “lev,” which is “heart.” The Hebrew word picture is that the heart controls what is inside.

Another “lamed” word is “nee-hel” or “lead.” The Hebrew spelling for “nee-hel” or "lead" is the letter “noon,’ with the letter sound of “N” and a word picture of “life or action,” followed by the letter “hey” with the letter sound of "H" the breath leaving the mouth and the word picture of “what comes from or behold,” followed by a lamed with the letter sound of “L” and a word picture of “a staff, to direct or leader.” Together the Hebrew word “nee-hel” has a word picture of “the action of the staff is to lead or direct.”