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Question
The facts = Hashem changed the names and gave them a different meaning:
Abram to AbraHam
Sarai to Sara
Jacob to Yisrael
I understand the meanings, and I think they are fantastic!
What I would like to know, how the changes operate in the original Hebrew! You see, I am learning Hebrew, but I don`t find the clue how this fits in linguistically, how the letter "H" in Abraham makes it the father to many...
Answer
If Avram stands for Avi Aram, โfather of Aramโ, then the added โHโ with the mem at the end symbolizes the word โhamonโ โ many, while the Resh retains itโs original conotation. These symbolic readings are hinted at in the lettering but are not functions of โpureโ linguistic or gramatical usage.
A word with a โHehโ ending, when made possessed by first person, will get a yud instead of the heh, though usually with a โtzerehโ for the vowel, unless the word is plural, so that sadeh, field, becomes sadi (my field) or sadi (my fields).
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