את
Aleph is the first letter
of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet.
Tau is the last letter.
They are used in
Scripture
to identify
The First and The Last,
YAHWEH.
He is the beginning
and the end
of all things.
There has been much confusion about two little Hebrew letters that appear quite frequently in the text.
The letters are א - aleph, and ת - tau. Tradition has taught that these two letters when used together, את, are indicators of “the direct object of a verb”. On occasion they do allow that they mean “with”.
For anyone with a serious interest in understanding Scripture these explanations are not helpful. Indeed, they actually cause confusion rather than clarity within the text.
One of the first questions that must be asked is this:
If this combination of letters is a “marker” for the direct object of a verb, then why is it not used consistently, with every verb in Scripture?
It’s very easy to observe, by looking at the Hebrew text, that it is far from consistent in its usage. Add to this that there’s not another language on the planet that has a “marker” for the direct object of the verb in that language. Why, then, would Hebrew contain one? And why is it only used part of the time?
Since YAHWEH is not the author of confusion it makes no sense to have the aleph-tau combination, את, used to sporadically identify the direct object of some verbs in the text. There must be a better answer! And indeed there is. But most of us have been blind to what’s been right in front of our eyes for a very long time. James Strong has provided our answer in his Complete Concordance definitions. There are actually four that use this combination of letters, but for our purposes only two of them are relevant. They are:
852. tDa }ath, awth; (Aramaic) corresponding to 226; a portent:—sign.
853. tEa }eth, ayth; apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):—(as such unrepresented in English).
You’ll notice that the vowel pointings and pronunciation are slightly different. In the original texts there were no vowel pointings. Thus, in that instance, these two “words” would actually appear identical in the text. This is worth noting. The concept of this pair of letters serving as a portent, a sign, should definitely be recognized as significant. Further, we need to note that it’s used to more definitely point out “the object of the verb”, or a preposition. And note that this is “unrepresented in English”.
Mr. Strong has it correct. But tradition has altered the perception of the definition by the way it’s treated these letters. Rather than teaching that it is to emphasize a verb or a pronoun, tradition has taught us to virtually ignore this combination, especially in English - where it does not even show up. This alters the text, subtracting something vital from it! This is a practice Scripture itself forbids. It is not good “scholarship”. It’s detestable!
The Proper Use of את - Aleph-Tau
Having struggled with this issue for many years I recently came across (with some help from YAHWEH of course) a book written in 1921 by Fabre d’Olivet, “The Hebraic Tongue Restored". After spending some time trying to comprehend his approach to Hebrew I discovered his viewpoints on the aleph-tau combination. His primary perspective is that of “SELFNESS”! This is extremely important! It provided the connection to Strong’s use of “properly, self”. After spending some time reflecting on all of this it became apparent that we need to view these two letters as a sign, a signal, a ‘portent’! They are telling us something important about the text.
The next step was to take an in-depth look at every occurrence of aleph tau in Scripture. I wanted to see where it was used and how it was used. I sought to discover a way to put whatever it represented back into the text, including specifically into English so the reader could discover and appreciate its meaning.
The only method that seemed to offer a meaningful way to represent this was to begin using the terms of “…-self”, i.e. itself, himself, herself, yourself, etc. Where the aleph-tau combination occurs these were then inserted into the text. And while it does create some awkward English in some instances the benefits far outweigh the awkwardness.
The truly remarkable thing one notices when doing this is what ends up with a special form of emphasis in the text and where those special emphases occur. These letters are not insignificant! They deserve to be represented in English. They add powerful meaning to the text. This concept of “selfness” presents vital new insights into the text that open up a whole new way to understand The Word of YAHWEH.
A New Version of The Old Covenant
This discovery has led to a new edition of Scripture that is now being prepared. It’s a “work-in-progress”. It will take time to “polish” the presentation of the concept and smooth out some of its awkwardness. Yet if some of that needs to remain in order to properly identify the emphasis, the sign this places in the text for us, so be it. The new edition is called Scripture for Seekers. All the books are now posted on this site as a PDF files. You are welcome to download them and study them. There is also a single PDF of The Old Covenant and a single PDF of The New Covenant. Your feedback is most welcome. It’s new, so there will be typos and other errors in the text, but it was felt that it is crucial to get this text available as soon as possible so others can begin working with this concept. It is sincerely hoped that this will provide a whole new avenue of understanding for those willing to take the time to consider it carefully and prayerfully.
The new version presented is different. It’s not what you’re used to reading. There are revised concepts presented that will challenge your traditional thinking. It’s a study text. It’s intended for serious students of Scripture.
Since we don’t have The New Covenant in an original Hebrew text form we cannot benefit from the usage of aleph-tau in The New Covenant. That’s truly a great loss. You’ll understand why as you begin to see what it adds to the text. A revised version of the text is also provided on the site as Scripture For Seekers, NC. All of the books are available in PDF format. They are free. See the Copy Right/Use Notice in the Sidebar for restrictions.
One final note - you are encouraged to come back to the site often. As new insights are discovered many of the things posted here become subject to change and updating. There are some concepts that already need to be added to the site, and as time permits that will be done. Learning Scripture, or more importantly, learning to know YAHWEH and His Word, is an on-going process. We will not be done learning in this lifetime. Because this is true it’s vital that we keep seeking to know Him and His Word to the best of our ability, and with His kind assistance.
May YAHWEH bless you on the journey!
NOTE: These pages are a "work in progress". They're updated fairly often as new information or insights are provided that require a change in what's presented. Please check back regularly to see what may have changed since your last visit. Scripture verses used on the site are from Scripture For Seekers (see the Home Page). They're not always presented on these pages in exactly the same format as they occur in the text due to space considerations but the text is the same. Every book is now available in PDF format. Download or print your own copy today. Or, go to www.accordancebible.com and obtain your own copy of Accordance. Then follow the instructions on the Home page to download an electronic version of Scripture for Seekers, S4S from The Accordance Exchange.
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