The Hebrew block script is the form of Hebrew most people are familiar with. It is the script used today, but it did not exist during old testament times. Unintuitively, this script is not a descendant of Paleo-Hebrew, which was the common script from 1000 BC until displaced by block script. Instead, the block script descends from the closely related Imperial Aramaic alphabet. Paleo-Hebrew characters are also referred to as Phoenician, being used by the Phoenicians as well. Though there were numerous variations on the alphabet as it was not standardized, the variation of the alphabet is not typically considered very useful in distinguishing a Hebrew variant from a Phoenician variant.
Paleo-Hebrew/Phoenician is understood to be a descendant of Proto-Sinaitic, which is expected to have been developed around the 19th century BC, with a hypothesized Proto-Canaanite script intervening. All of these scripts would be descended from hieroglyphs. (To be clear, the Hebrew language is NOT being described as having descended from hieroglyphs; just the alphabet.)
| Letter | Block Script c. 200–100 BC to present |
Paleo Hebrew c. 1000 BC to 135 AD |
Proto-Sinaitic | Hieroglyphs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alef | א | 𐤀 | ||
| Bet | ב | 𐤁 | ||
| Gimel | ג | 𐤂 | ||
| Dalet | ד | 𐤃 | ||
| He | ה | 𐤄 | ||
| Vav | ו | 𐤅 | ||
| Zayin | ז | 𐤆 | ||
| Chet | ח | 𐤇 | ||
| Tet | ט | 𐤈 | ||
| Yod | י | 𐤉 | ||
| Kaf | כ | 𐤊 | ||
| Lamed | ל | 𐤋 | ||
| Mem | מ | 𐤌 | ||
| Nun | נ | 𐤍 | ||
| Samekh | ס | 𐤎 | ||
| Ayin | ע | 𐤏 | ||
| Pe | פ | 𐤐 | ||
| Tsadi | צ | 𐤑 | ||
| Qof | ק | 𐤒 | ||
| Resh | ר | 𐤓 | ||
| Shin | ש | 𐤔 | ||
| Tav | ת | 𐤕 |
This is a common Nephite theophoric element, specifically referencing El, or Elohim. This would usually be translated into English as "God". It can usually be interpreted as something like "El is <base word>".
There are two basic meanings to this suffix.
| -consonant Normal* |
-i (yod) | -o (vav or heh) | -a (heh) masculine |
-a (heh) feminine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentillic | -consonant-i | -i or -iy (still yod) i sound extended, not doubled |
-oni | -i | -ati |
| Possessive | -consonant-i | -i no change |
-oi | -i | -ati |
*It should be noted that "consonant" does not mean that there was no vowel sound. It just means that any vowel sound was not indicated in Paleo-Hebrew with a separate yod, heh, or vav.
Of course, while the intent here is to know the rules for 600BC. Many Hebrew names used during this time period would be traditional names that follow older rules. The Nephites would have found and used names available to them in their records, or, during the time of Nephi, son of Lehi, names from their memory, which may have been more ancient.
This is a common Nephite theophoric element, specifically referencing Jehovah. This would usually be translated into English as "Lord". It can usually be interpreted as something like "Jehovah is <base word>".
This is very similar to the "-er" noun suffix in English, or "-ador" in Spanish, though the meaning of the suffix is not always quite so clear. Gideon, for example, is "the hewer".