Samekhis the fifteenthletterof theSemitic abjads,includingPhoeniciansāmek𐤎,Hebrewsāmeḵס,Aramaicsamek𐡎,Syriacsemkaṯܣ, andArabicsīnس (in theMashriqi order).
| Samekh | |
|---|---|
| Phoenician | 𐤎 |
| Hebrew | ס |
| Aramaic | 𐡎 |
| Syriac | ܣ |
| Arabic | س |
| Phonemic representation | s |
| Position in Alpha bet | 15 |
| Numerical value | 60 |
| Alphabetic derivatives of the Phoenician | |
| Greek | Ξ |
| Latin | - |
| Cyrillic | Ѯ |
Samekh represents avoiceless alveolar fricative/s/.In the Hebrew language, the samekh has the same pronunciation as the left-dottedshin.
Thenumerical valueof samekh is 60.
Origin
editThe Phoenician letter may continue a glyph from theMiddle Bronze Age Alpha bets,either based on ahieroglyphfor a tent peg or support, possibly thedjed"pillar" hieroglyph 𓊽[clarification needed][1] (c.f. Hebrew root סמך s-m-kh 'support', סֶמֶךְ semekh 'support, rest', סוֹמֵךְ somekh 'support peg, post', סוֹמְכָה somkha 'armrest', סָמוֹכָה smokha 'stake, support', indirectlys'mikhahסמיכה;Aramaic סַמְכָא samkha 'socket, base', סְמַךְ smakh 'support, help'; Syriacܣܡܟܐsemkha 'support').
The shape of samek undergoes complicated developments. In archaic scripts, the vertical stroke can be drawn either across or below the three horizontal strokes. The closed form of Hebrew samek is developed only in theHasmonean period.[2]
| Phoenician/Paleo-Hebrew (c. 1000 BC) |
Imperial Aramaic (c. 800 BC) |
GreekChi (letter)(750 BC) | Hebrew (from ca. 350 BC) |
|---|---|---|---|
 
|
|
|
|
The Phoenician letter gave rise to theGreekxi(Ξ),[3]whereas its name may also be reflected in the name of the otherwise unrelated Greek lettersigma.[4]
The archaic "grid" shape of Western Greekxi(
) was adopted in the earlyEtruscan Alpha bet(𐌎esh), but was never included in theLatin Alpha bet.
Arabic sīn
edit| Sīn سين | |
|---|---|
| س | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Arabic script |
| Type | Abjad |
| Language of origin | Arabic language |
| Sound values | s |
| Alphabetical position | 12 |
| History | |
| Development | |
| Other | |
| Writing direction | Right-to-left |
Based on Semitic linguists, Samekh has no surviving descendant in theArabic Alpha bet,and that sīn is derived from Phoenicianšīn𐤔 rather than Phoneciansāmek𐤎, but it corresponds exclusively to ArabicسSīnwhen comparing etymologically to other Semitic languages and is placed in the same position in the abjad sequence based on the Mashriqi order.
In theMashriqiabjad sequence:[5]
- سSīnis at 15th position and acquires the numerical value of 60 and corresponds to Phoeniciansāmek𐤎;
- شShīnis at the 21st position and has the numerical value of 300 and corresponds to Phoenicianšīn𐤔;
| Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyph form: (Help) |
س | ـس | ـسـ | سـ |
TheNabataean Alpha bet,however, which is the immediate predecessor to the Arabic Alpha bet, contains the letterSimkath
.
In theMaghrebianabjad sequence (quoted in apparently earliest authorities and considered older by Michael Macdonald):[5]
- صṢādreplaces Samekh at 15th position and acquires the numerical value of 60;
- ضḌād,a variant ofصṣād,is at the 18th position and has the numerical value of 90;
- سSīn is still at its original 21st position and retains the numerical value of 300.
| Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyph form: (Help) |
ص | ـص | ـصـ | صـ |
Syriac semkat
editThe Syriac lettersemkaṯܣܡܟܬdevelops from the Imperial Aramaic "hook" shape𐡎 into a rounded form by the 1st century. The Old Syriac form further develops into a connected cursive both in the Eastern and Western script variants.
| Aramaic | Old Syriac | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
Hebrew samekh
editHebrewSamekhdevelops a closed cursive form in the middleHasmonean period(1st century BC). This becomes the standard form in earlyHerodianhands.[2]
| Orthographicvariants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various print fonts | Cursive Hebrew |
Rashi script | ||
| Serif | Sans-serif | Monospaced | ||
| ס | ס | ס | 
|
|
Talmudic legend
editIn Talmudic legend, samekh is said to have been a miracle of theTen Commandments.Exodus 32:15records that the tablets "were written on both their sides." TheJerusalem Talmudinterprets this as meaning that the inscription went through the full thickness of the tablets. The stone in the center parts of the lettersayinandtethshould have fallen out, as these letters are closed in thektav ivriscript and would not be connected to the rest of the tablet, but miraculously remained in place. TheBabylonian Talmud(tractate Shabbat 104a) also cites the opinion that these closed letters included samekh, attributed toRav Chisda(d. ca. 320).[6]
Character encodings
edit| Preview | ס | ܣ | ܤ | ࠎ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode name | HEBREW LETTER SAMEKH | SYRIAC LETTER SEMKATH | SYRIAC LETTER FINAL SEMKATH | SAMARITAN LETTER SINGAAT | ||||
| Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
| Unicode | 1505 | U+05E1 | 1827 | U+0723 | 1828 | U+0724 | 2062 | U+080E |
| UTF-8 | 215 161 | D7 A1 | 220 163 | DC A3 | 220 164 | DC A4 | 224 160 142 | E0 A0 8E |
| Numeric character reference | ס |
ס |
ܣ |
ܣ |
ܤ |
ܤ |
ࠎ |
ࠎ |
| Preview | 𐎒 | 𐡎 | 𐤎 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode name | UGARITIC LETTER SAMKA | IMPERIAL ARAMAIC LETTER SAMEKH | PHOENICIAN LETTER SEMKA | |||
| Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
| Unicode | 66450 | U+10392 | 67662 | U+1084E | 67854 | U+1090E |
| UTF-8 | 240 144 142 146 | F0 90 8E 92 | 240 144 161 142 | F0 90 A1 8E | 240 144 164 142 | F0 90 A4 8E |
| UTF-16 | 55296 57234 | D800 DF92 | 55298 56398 | D802 DC4E | 55298 56590 | D802 DD0E |
| Numeric character reference | 𐎒 |
𐎒 |
𐡎 |
𐡎 |
𐤎 |
𐤎 |
| Preview | 𐢖 | س | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode name | NABATAEAN LETTER SAMEKH | ARABIC LETTER SEEN | ||
| Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex |
| Unicode | 67734 | U+10896 | 1587 | U+0633 |
| UTF-8 | 240 144 162 150 | F0 90 A2 96 | 216 179 | D8 B3 |
| UTF-16 | 55298 56470 | D802 DC96 | 1587 | 0633 |
| Numeric character reference | 𐢖 |
𐢖 |
س |
س |
Notes
editReferences
edit
- ^Betro, M. C. (1996).Hieroglyphics.Abbeyville Press, NY, p. 209.
- ^abFrank Moore Cross,Leaves from an Epigrapher's Notebook: Collected Papers in Hebrew and West Semitic Palaeography and Epigraphy(2018),p. 30Archived2023-09-03 at theWayback Machine.
- ^Muss-Arnolt, W. (1892).On Semitic Words in Greek and Latin.Transactions of the American Philological Association v. 23, p. 35-156. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ^Jeffery, Lilian H. (1961).The local scripts of archaic Greece.Oxford: Clarendon. pp. 25–27.
- ^abMacdonald, Michael C. A.(1986). "ABCs and letter order in Ancient North Arabian".Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies(16).,p. 117. 130, 149
- ^The William Davidson Talmud,Shabbat 104aArchived2020-10-03 at theWayback Machine.