The line immediately below the Hebrew text in this Bible commentary contains a transliteration, a conversion of Hebrew letters into script easier to read for the Dutch. There are several transliteration systems. The system chosen in this Bible commentary is a text-based system, where each Hebrew letter or vocal (vowel character) in the transliteration is represented by one character. Transliteration can also be used to aid in the pronunciation of Hebrew words. However, it should be noted that one then pronounces the words according to pronunciation rules from later times. The way Biblical Hebrew was pronounced in Old Testament times cannot be determined with certainty and has undergone changes over the centuries. In the transliteration overview below, the most common pronunciation of consonants or vocals is listed in parentheses when it differs from what one would expect based on the Dutch alphabet.
Transliteration of consonants
| ‘ | = | ' (as the breath before the vowel at the beginning of a word) | l | = | l | |
| m, £ | = | m | ||||
| b | = | b (without dageš: v, with dageš: b) | n¤ | = | n | |
| g | = | g (as the g of garçon) | s | = | s | |
| d | = | d | v | = | v (resembles the pronunciation of ') | |
| h | = | h | p, ¥ | = | p (without dageš: f, with dageš: p) | |
| w | = | w | c, ¦ | = | c (as ts) | |
| z | = | z (as dz) | q | = | q | |
| x | = | x (as ch) | r | = | r | |
| X | = | X | W | = | W | |
| y | = | y (as the english y) | H | = | H (as sj) | |
| k, ¢ | = | k | t | = | t |
The Hebrew vocal signs and the HüwÃA' are transliterated as follows:
| Short vowels | Long vowels | |||||
| a | = | a | A | = | A (in open syllables) | |
| e | = | e | E | = | E | |
| i | = | i | O | = | O | |
| o | = | o (in closed syllables) | ô | = | ô | |
| u | = | u (pronounced: oe) | û | = | û | |
HüwÃA'
ü = ü (mobile; pronounced like the e in the)
The so-called HüwÃA' quiesens, also written in Hebrew as ø , is not pronounced and is omitted in the transliteration.
Vowels with HüwÃA'
| á | = | á |
| ó | = | ó |
| é | = | é |
When the h or the y as the so-called mater lectionis ("reading mother") functions, in some cases it is represented by one letter sign together with the preceding vocalic in the transliteration. This is the case with the following combinations:
| ä | = | ä |
| ê | = | ê |
| Ê | = | ê |
| î | = | î |
In other cases, the mater lectionis is represented in the transliteration in the same way as the corresponding consonant.
Consonants with dageš
When one of the so-called begadkefat letters (b g d k p t) contains a dageš lene (dot), in transliteration the dash above or below the letter is omitted. Then these letters are pronounced "hard" (i.e., as b, g, d, k, p, t); in the other cases soft (indicated by the dash). If a consonant contains a dageš forte (also indicated by a dot), then the consonant is doubled in the transliteration. This also applies to a dageš forte in one of the begadkefat letters, with the understanding that in transliteration no dash is placed above or below the letter (as with dageš lene).
Mappiq
When the h at the end of a word includes a mappiq (also indicated by a dot) (i.e. Ðh), this character combination is rendered in transliteration as h÷. These are the main rules for transliteration and pronunciation. For more details, it is necessary to consult a Hebrew grammar.