These blogs on the Hebrew alphabet are to be read in conjunction with the bite-sized teachings available via video on this website.
The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter Aleph.
The ancient Hebrew pictograph for aleph is an ox head. This was believed to represent power, authority, strength and a leader.

The classical or modern Hebrew letter consists of two yods plus a diagonal vav.

Phonetically speaking, the letter aleph actually has no sound of its own but usually has a vowel sound associated with it. Aleph can sound like an “a” or an “el” in the English language, in other words both Elohim and Adonai begin with aleph in Hebrew.
Numerically, aleph is associated with the number 1. One represents unity and beginning. In addition, the parts of the letter (yod + yod +vav) equal 26 which is the same number as in the Sacred Name, Yahweh, thus linking aleph to Father God directly.
The way aleph is written in Hebrew now is seen to represent the upper realm of heaven plus the lower realm of earth, connected by the humility of a body, which points to Jesus.

This is emphasised in Revelation 22:13 where Jesus says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last (the Before all and the End of all).” In Hebrew He actually said that He is the “Aleph and the Tav”. The letter tav, which we will get to, is the shape of a Cross!

Aleph also represents the three in one as there are three parts to aleph but aleph is one. Plus, if you add up aleph, lamed and pey (the actual spelling of aleph) you get to 111!
The Hebrew letter aleph led to the Greek letter alpha which led to our English letter “a”.
It all started, at the beginning, with aleph.