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Can somebody help me translate the inscription on this pendant?

I had it for many years but I never found out. I tried to translate myself but, well... you can imagine... I guess it must be a quote from the Bible but it would be nice to know for sure.

Thank you.

picture

Marcos G.
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2 Answers2

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It is the letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph-bais) in order, but the letter samech (the fifteenth) is damaged, and the gimel (the third letter) looks like a nun, and the heh (fifth letter) looks like a hes.

The first letter, Aleph, is near one of the points of the star, at around 11 o'clock in the photo.

Hebrew Alphabet https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transparent_Alephbet.png

Isaac Moses
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Mordechai
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    That looks like an old style of writing ה, where the leg touches in the middle of the roof instead of the edge – Double AA Aug 13 '19 at 19:03
  • @DoubleAA When and where was a heh written like that? (I want to know; this is not at all an attack tone.) – Mordechai Aug 13 '19 at 19:17
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    probably everywhere before ~1000 years ago. Some north african and middle eastern communities for a bit longer. Go read the dead sea scrolls or the tiberian masoretic codecies – Double AA Aug 13 '19 at 19:18
  • The Lameds also appear to be upside down. There are also 2 words or names on opposite sides of the inner ring. It appears to say “שלמה”, but the form of the letters is difficult to make out. – Yaacov Deane Aug 13 '19 at 22:10
  • The lamed looks right side up to me. The tower is the important part, not the tail. Again look at old writings to see tall towers and small tails. Short tops are a corruption of modern typesetting. @Yaacov – Double AA Aug 14 '19 at 02:03
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    @DoubleAA The shape of the Lamed is a Vav on top of a Kaf. It is the Lamed of Holy name, Alef-Lamed. The Name parallels initial creation of male & female which absolutely are equal with a value of 26, G-d’s name. And like is expressed in regard to the appearance of one light without a source on day 1 & then the 2 great & equal sources of that light & their ultimate alteration in evaluation, one called greater & one lesser. But who is greater & who lesser according to Torah? Alef is a Yud above, a Yud below & a Vav between, also 26. But man has 248 limbs, while woman has 252. Who is lesser? – Yaacov Deane Aug 14 '19 at 02:33
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    @Yaacov that is indeed the way the letter is broken down in kabbalistic thought. I don't dispute that. It just doesn't seem relevant here. We have a vav and kaf in the picture. The kaf is small and the vav is tall. Just like how the letter was traditionally written in old writings. The Gemara calls Lamed מגדל פורח באוויר and the Midrash writes that Lamed has only one leg to stand on like the angels, not sitting on a base אין לו ישוב. Rama"k writes that Lamed is made of three vavs: head, roof, foot, just like in this picture: three lines making a tower in the air. – Double AA Aug 14 '19 at 02:36
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    This question was worth it just for the comments and the shiur above ! – mbloch Aug 14 '19 at 04:17
  • (Some modern scribes take the "kaf" part hyperliterally and end up with what looks to a child like a regular kaf with a funny Tag on top. That could very well be invalid.) – Double AA Aug 14 '19 at 12:00
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It’s the Hebrew alphabet, although the tenth letter (י - yud) is attached to the one preceding it and the fifteenth letter (ס - samech) is incomplete.

Oliver
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