ה
Hey
Behold, revelation, breath, the divine
Hey (ה) is perhaps the most spiritually charged letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It appears twice in God's sacred four-letter name — YHVH (יהוה) — and was the letter God added to Abram's name to make him Abraham (אַבְרָהָם), and to Sarai to make her Sarah (שָׂרָה). The ancient pictograph of Hey was a person with raised arms, calling out 'Behold!' or 'Look!' — an exclamation of wonder and revelation. Hey is also associated with breath itself; when you say the letter, you simply exhale. This connects it to God breathing life into Adam and to the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). Its numerical value of 5 represents grace — God's unmerited favor.
How to Pronounce Hey
Hey makes an 'H' sound, like the H in 'hello.' At the end of a word, it is often silent.
“No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham (with Hey), for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”
Ancient Pictographic Form
The ancient pictographic Hey was drawn as a person standing with arms raised, as if calling out or worshipping. It evolved through Phoenician into the Greek Epsilon (Ε) and eventually influenced the Latin E.
Pictograph: A person with raised arms or a window
Spiritual Significance
Hey represents divine revelation, grace, and the breath of God. Its presence in God's name (YHVH) twice emphasizes the divine. When God changed Abram to Abraham, He inserted Hey — literally breathing His own name into Abraham's identity. Hey's numerical value of 5 connects to the five books of Torah, the five fingers of a hand, and in Christian tradition, the five wounds of Christ — all pointing to grace.
Connection to Scripture
Hey appears twice in the Tetragrammaton — God's sacred name YHVH (יהוה). God added Hey to Abram's name (Genesis 17:5) and Sarai's name (Genesis 17:15), literally placing His own breath/name into their identities as a sign of covenant.
Words That Begin with Hey
Halleluyah
Praise the LORD
Hineh
Behold
Har
Mountain
Ha'aretz
The land/earth
Heichal
Temple, palace
Modern Hebrew Usage
In modern Hebrew, Hey is used as the definite article הַ (ha-, 'the'), making it one of the most common letters. It appears in words like הַלְלוּיָהּ (Halleluyah, 'Praise the LORD'), הִנֵּה (hineh, 'behold'), and הַר (har, 'mountain'). Adding Hey to the end of a word often makes it feminine.
People Also Ask
Why did God add the letter Hey to Abraham's name?
God changed Abram (אַבְרָם) to Abraham (אַבְרָהָם) by adding the letter Hey — which appears in God's own name YHVH. This was a sign of covenant, as if God was literally breathing His own identity into Abraham. The same happened with Sarai becoming Sarah.
What does Hey represent spiritually?
Hey represents divine breath, revelation, and grace. Its ancient pictograph showed a person with raised arms saying 'Behold!' Its sound is a simple breath — connecting it to God breathing life into creation. Its numerical value of 5 symbolizes grace in both Jewish and Christian tradition.
Fun Fact
The phrase 'Halleluyah' (הַלְלוּיָהּ) ends with Hey, representing the breath of praise ascending to God. It's one of the few Hebrew words used in virtually every language on earth, unchanged for over 3,000 years.
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