Cabbalah

/kəˈbɑːlə/ noun

Definition

An alternative spelling of cabbala, referring to the Jewish mystical tradition and its teachings about hidden meanings in scripture.

Etymology

Variant spelling of cabbala, with the extra 'h' added to better represent the Hebrew pronunciation of the final syllable (qabbālāh), a common practice in English transliterations of Hebrew words.

Kelly Says

The different spellings (Cabbala, Cabbalah, Kabbalah, Qabbalah) actually all came from English speakers trying to phonetically represent a Hebrew word that doesn't use Latin letters—it's like how there's no 'perfect' way to write a Chinese name in English, so you get multiple versions floating around.

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