how to say “stone” in Hebrew
אֶבֶן, סֶלַע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אבן-1.mp3″ /]
Just as English has the words stone and rock, Hebrew has אֶבֶן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אבן-2.mp3″ /] and סֶלַע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אבן-3.mp3″ /].
אבן might refer to the rock a child holds in his hand, or it might make up the name of the prehistoric period as we saw last week. It could also be the material with which a counter top or anything else is made, for example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אבן-4.mp3″ /]יֵשׁ לָהּ לֵב שֶׁל אֶבֶן.
She has a heart of stone.
Though it appears masculine, the word אבן is feminine, so that precious stones are אֲבָנִים יְקָרוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אבן-5.mp3″ /].
The word סלע refers more specifically to a stone that is too big to fit in someone’s hand. It could be the size of someone’s head, or it could be a boulder.
It could also be big enough to fit a cave inside, as we find in the words of Naomi Shemer in her classic יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁל זָהָב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אבן-6.mp3″ /] – Jerusalem of Gold:
וּבַמְּעָרוֹת אֲשֶׁר בַּסֶּלַע
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אבן-7.mp3″ /]מְיַלְּלוֹת רוּחוֹת…
And in the caves in the mountain (mountain stone)
Winds are howling…
In honor of the 48th anniversary of the Jewish return to historical Jerusalem, here’s ירושלים של זהב.