Ayin
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [1]
a´yēn : עין , ‛ayı̄n , "eye" or "fountain": The 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, so named, probably, because the original form resembled the eye. ‛Ayin (ע ) is usually neglected in pronunciation, and inverted comma ( ( ) is the sign most commonly employed to represent it in transliteration. The same sound is found in the Arabic and other Semitic languages. The Arabs have two pronunciations, one a very strong guttural formed at the back of the palate, something like a rattled "r" or "rg," the other similar in quality, only less harsh and guttural. The Septuagint reproduced the ‛ayin (ע ) in some cases by the Greek letter gamma (γ )."The numerical value of this letter is 70. An ‛ayin (ע ) begins each verse of the 16th section of Ps 119 in the Hebrew.
