Gimmel

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GIMMEL

GIMMEL (Heb. ג; גִּמֶּל), third letter of the Hebrew alphabet; its numerical value is therefore 3. The basic shape of this letter consists of two strokes forming an angle: thus in the Proto-Sinaitic , Proto-Canaanite . and Proto-Arabian scripts. In the tenth-century b.c.e. Phoenician script two types occur: and . The first type was adopted by the ancient Hebrew and Greek scripts (cf. the gamma ), while the second one prevailed in the later Phoenician and Aramaic scripts. From the Aramaic developed the Jewish , Syriac , and Arabic . The modern Hebrew cursive gimmel evolved as follows: → → . See *Alphabet, Hebrew.

[Joseph Naveh]

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