What do journalist Ernie Pyle, a quirky peace treaty and the phrase “the writing on the wall” have in common? Placed into a Hebrew and Jewish textual context, they are all connected through the root כ‭-‬ת‭-‬ב (khaf, tav, bet), to write, inscribe, engrave and compile.

Jewish Scripture consists of three parts: Torah, Prophets and, from our root, כְּתוּבִים (ketuvim), Writings. Among Ketuvim’s homilies and narratives are two vivid Diaspora stories about the written word. In one, Daniel, hero of the Book of Daniel, is summoned to the Babylonian palace to decipher an Aramaic כִּתְּבָא (kitva), writing—a mysterious inscription on a wall that prophesied doom for the king and the source of the idiom “the writing on the wall.” Writing is a prominent motif of the Book of Esther, including 127 announcements sent to the different communities that made up the Persian Empire, each written כִּכְתָבָם (kikhtavam), in the script and spirit of that group’s language.

Graphology, the study of handwriting, is found in the Five Books of Moses. Exodus 24:4 states that at Sinai, וַיִּכְתֹּב‭ ‬מֹשֶׁה (va-yikhtov moshe), “Moses wrote down,” God’s הַכְתָבָה (hakhtavah), dictation, of the Torah. Deuteronomy, however, says that the Tablets of the Law were כְּתֻבִים‭ ‬בְּאֶצְבַּע‭ ‬אֶלקִים (ketuvim be-etsba elokim), “inscribed by God’s finger.” At the riotous scene of the Golden Calf, also in Exodus, Moses offers his own life in exchange for the lives of his people. He demands that his name be erased מִסִּפְרְךָ‭ ‬אֲשֶׁר‭ ‬כָּתָבְתָּ‭ ‬(mi-sifrekha asher katavta), “from the book You have compiled,” if God destroys the idol-worshipping Israelites. According to Bible scholar Jeffrey Tigay, this book is a reference to the mystical Book of Life alluded to in the Yom Kippur liturgy, in which God inscribes the names of the righteous. 

In Ezekiel, the prophet uses the root to design an ingenious peace treaty. God tells him to take two wooden sticks and תִּכְתֹּב‭ ‬עֲלֵיהֶם (tikhtov aleihem), “engrave them,” with the names of the two warring Israelite kingdoms. One stick should have Judah and its associated tribes and the other, Joseph and the tribes of northern Israel. The sticks should then be bound together so that in the future there will be a reunited kingdom.

Today, a כַּתְבָנִית (katvanit), correspondent, or a כַּתַּב (katav), reporter, will submit their כַּתָּבָה (katavah), story, to a כְּתַב‭-‬עֵת (ketav-et), periodical.

Summertime brings both blockbuster movies and weddings. For many a novice Hebrew speaker, watching an Israeli movie requires squinting at the   כְּתוּבִית (ketuviyot), subtitles. No less challenging, perhaps, is listening to the reading of an Aramaic כּתֻבָּה (ketuba), marriage contract, when at a Jewish wedding ceremony. To share any of these experiences בִּכְתָּב (bikhtav), in writing, just go to your מַכְתֵּבָה (makhteva), writing desk, and write a מִכְתָּב (mikhtav), letter, to your favorite מִתְכַתֶּבֶת (mitkatevet), pen pal. Or perhaps, nowadays, send a text. 

Joseph Lowin’s columns for Hadassah Magazine are collected in HebrewSpeak, Hebrew Talk and his most recent book, Hebrew Matters, available here.