Bible Encyclopedias
Pe

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

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Seventeenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its name appears to be connected with "peh" = "mouth" (see Alphabet). "Pe" has a double pronunciation: (1) as a surd mute (which sound is indicated by the dagesh lene) it is identical with the English "p," and (2) as a spirant with the English "f." It sometimes interchanges with the other labials ב, מ, and ו. "Pe" has also two forms: one for the beginning or the middle of a word (פ), and another for the end (ף). It occurs only as a radical, never as a formative element. As a numeral, "pe" (in the later period) has the value 80.