# Bension Kohen

Rabbi Bension Kohen or haKohen (Hebrew: בֶּנְצִיּוֹן הַכֹּהֵן; born in Djerba, Tunisia, died 1999 in Jerusalem) was a writer of literature on Hebrew grammar and literature. He was the author of Sfath Emeth, a work on the pronunciation of the Hebrew alphabet.

## Lineage

In the introduction to his work, Kohen provides a purported lineage going back over a dozen generations of kohanim born at Djerba. Among his claimed patrilineal ancestors are Rabbi Shaul HaKohen [he] (d. 1848), himself an author of multiple works on Hebrew grammar. Citing a similar lineage table from Heritage of Yehoyada HaKohen (נוריש יהוידע הכהן), Kohen claims to trace the family back to Yitzchak HaKohen the Elder, who had emigrated from Israel to Djerba at the Second Temple Destruction.

## Sfath Emeth

Kohen's flagship work, the Sfath Emeth, was first printed in Jerusalem in 1987. The work purports to present the "authentic" pronunciation of the 22 Hebrew letters based on Geonic literature and the work of Hebrew grammarians such as Rav Saadya Gaon, Rabbi Yitzhak ben Shlomo Yisraeli and the Radak.

### Table of pronunciation

Rabbi Kohen's research led him to produce a table of pronunciation. The table was published (with minor variations from what is listed below) on page 150 of Sfath Emeth:
| Hebrew letter | IPA | Similar-sounding Arabic letter | Similar English sound | Jewish community with correct pronunciation | Varying pronunciation error |
| א - Alef | [ʔ] | ا | button (English Cockney) | Most Jewish communities | H |
| בּ - Beth | [b] | ب | B | All Jewish communities | none |
| ב - Veth | [v] | Non-existent | V | Ashkenazim, Temanim | בּ and פ |
| גּ - Gimmel (Degusha) | [g] | Non-existent | G | Ashkenazim and Sefardim | ج (jīm) |
| ג - Gimmel | [ɣ] | غ | Gh (French) | Jewish communities of Arabic nationality | Gimmel degusha |
| דּ - Daleth (Degusha) | [d] | د | D | All communities | none |
| ד - Daleth | [ð] | ذ | the | Temanim | Dalet degusha |
| ה - Hey | [h] | ه | H | Ashkenazim, Sefardim | Alef |
| ו - Waw | [w] | و | W | Temanim, Iraqi Jews | V |
| ז - Zayin | [z] | ز | Z | Most communities | [ʒ] (soft J, like French Jean) |
| ח - Ḥeth | [ħ] | ح | Non-existent | Jewish communities of Arabic nationality | Chof, Hey |
| ט - Teth | [tˤ] | ط | Non-existent (T, yet thicker) | Jewish communities of Arabic nationality | Taw degusha |
| י - Yodh | [j] | ي | Y | All Jewish communities | none |
| כּ - Kaph | [k] | ك | K | All Jewish communities | none |
| כ - Kaph (non degusha, spelled also Chof) | [χ] | خ | Non-existent | All communities | none |
| ל - Lamedh | [l] | ل | L | All Jewish communities | none |
| מ - Mem | [m] | م | M | All Jewish communities | none |
| נ - Nun | [n] | ن | N | All Jewish communities | none |
| ס - Samech | [s] | س | S | All Jewish communities | none |
| ע - Ayin | [ʢ] | ع | Non existent | Jewish communities of Arabic nationality | Alef, Gimmel non-degusha |
| פּ - Peh | [p] | Non existent | P | Most Jewish communities | Peh (non-degusha), Beth |
| פ - Peh non-degusha | [f] | ف | F | All Jewish communities | none |
| צ - Ṣade | [sˤ] | ص | Non-existent (pronounced as a thicker-sounding S) | Jewish communities of Arabic nationality | Samech, "Tz" sound |
| ק - Kof | [q] | ق | Non-existent | Iragi and North-African Jewry | Kafh, Gimmel, Alef, Gimmel (non-degusha) |
| ר Resh | [r] | ر | Non-existent | Eastern-European and Asian Jewry | Gimmel (Non-degusha), (American R) |
| שׁ Shin | [ʃ] | ش | Sh | Most Jewish communities | Samech |
| שׂ Sin | [s] | س | S | Most Jewish communities | Shin |
| תּ Taw | [t] | ت | T | All Jewish communities | None |
| ת Taw (non degusha) | [θ] | ث | Th | Iraqi and Yemenite Jewish communities | Samech, Taw (degusha) |