Hebrew Point Holam

It marks the “o” vowel in pointed Hebrew. Holam, also spelled cholam, is a niqqud mark: one of the dots and strokes added to Hebrew letters to show vowels that ordinary spelling often leaves unwritten. In the Tiberian system, it records a vowel reading.

Full systems for marking Hebrew vowels emerged in the seventh and eighth centuries to preserve traditional readings of biblical text. The oldest manuscripts using the Tiberian system date from the 10th century CE. The system took shape through scribal work over time.

Scribes in Babylonian and Palestinian Jewish traditions developed separate systems with vowel signs above letters. They marked related vowel sounds; Tiberian pointing became the dominant surviving system.

Why does holam move over vav?

The dot’s position can distinguish two readings involving ו. In וֹ, vav carries the “o” vowel as a vowel letter; this spelling is called holam male. When ו is a consonant, the following holam sits to its upper left in careful typography, and the consonant’s sound varies by Hebrew reading tradition.

Some historical descriptions place holam above the gap between a preceding consonant and ו before its visual shift toward vav. A font that centers the dot in both positions can hide the distinction. Holam is a nonspacing mark, so it needs a base letter; displayed alone, it may use a dotted-circle placeholder that is not part of the Hebrew spelling.