period, there was change and evolution in the use of these consonants, but by the end of the Old Testament period the following scheme was in use: ה represented ā in final position. [e.g. מה = mā (when the ה itself is not pronounced and ā = ‘a’ as in ‘father’)] ו represented both ō and ū in both final and internal positions. [e.g. לו = lō or lū (ō = ‘o’ as in ‘bone’ and ū = ‘oo’ as in ‘zoo’)] י represented both ī and ē in both final and internal positions. [e.g. לי = lī or lē (ī = ‘i’ as in ‘ravine’