Hebrew 412

I'm actually just in introductory Hebrew but am amazed with my progress in understanding the language. Luckily for the rest of you, someone took me up on my offer and asked me a Hebrew question.

So, I'll take you up on your offer. The footnote for Genesis 2:23 (NIV) on BibleGateway.com says:"The Hebrew for woman sounds like the Hebrew for man."How so? Can you illustrate this for me? Specifically, I guess I'm just looking for the phonetic representation of both words.

I'll do my best now to answer this question with my current knowledge, and 4 minutes worth of research to get to my conclusion.

The Hebrew word for "woman" used in that verse would be pronounced "ishash" in English. There are actually 8 different words for man in Biblical Hebrew, one of which is also used in that verse. It is pronounced "ish." The two words are similar in in that the word for man, is obviously the root for the word for woman, which would actually be translated "from man." Here is where the pronunciation similarities come into play.

In original Hebrew culture, vowels were not used. They were pronounced, but not written. Hebrew was a language of oral tradition, and the vowels were learned only through an oral understanding of the language. After a while, Hebrew scholars decided they needed to form a system of keeping this language sacred in written form as well. Thus, Hebrew vowels are actually markings of sounds placed above and below the consonants. The only difference in looking at the two words in Hebrew "ish" and "ishash" would be their vowel markings, and a silent consonant.

Looking at an old enough copy of the Old Testament, you actually would be provided with no difference in sound, but a slight difference in look. Looking at modern Hebrew scripts, which strive to keep the original pronunciation and meaning intact with the addition of the vowel marks, it is clear to what the separate meanings are, and when they are used.