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The World That We Knew,
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Sophie
I'm not sure why it needs to be spelled like in the Bible? Lea is a very common way of spelling that name in Europe. And since this novel takes place in Europe, it makes sense to not spell it in the American/English way.
Bruce Katz
The Bible wasn't written in English, so "Leah" is a transliteration to begin with. But you're right, it is most commonly spelled with an H at the end -- reflecting, I think, the fact that in Hebrew her name ends with the letter Hei (ה).
Amy
The Bible was written in Hebrew. The name we have transliterated into English as "Leah" is actually spelled לֵאָה and is correctly pronounced LAY-ah. The English name Leah, pronounced LEE-ah, is just that - an English name. You cannot say therefore that spelling it without an H is incorrect. I imagine the author was hoping it would help English-speaking readers pronounce it as written in the Bible. (I agree with Mr. Katz below that the H is likely intended to match the hay ה that ends the word in Hebrew. Other languages don't bother with it -- it is Léa in French; Lía in Spanish, etc. No H in sight in any language but English, though the first vowel sound is "ay" in some, "ee" in others.)
Lisa
I will let my 95-year-old mother-in-law, Lea, who is Jewish, know she needs to add an 'h' to her name to be correct with the Torah and all the experts... LOL
Margie
Did you like the book?
Leah Moore Woods
As a person named Leah, I am mildly annoyed that the "H" is missing. It should be there.
Laurel
Hmm... did the author specifically say that the character was named after the Bible character? If not, this seems like a very ignorant and narrow-minded question. The Bible is not the foundational book of the entire world. Especially not the Bible in English specifically (Lea is used in Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Slovene, Swedish, Polish, French, and Serbian..... for starters).
Ayny
Leah = lee-a
Lea = lee
not the same name
Lea = lee
not the same name
SaraB
Léa in French. I am less familiar with Leah.
Sara Brown
Why would you need a "Biblical" version of the name when the characters are Jewish?
Fran
That's how the Bible written in American English spells it, but just like someone's name could be spelled out a few different ways (i.e. Michel = Michael = Mikael, etc.), this is just another instance of that.
Gayle
those I know spell it Lea. I think it really depends on your mom's mood when you're born. :)
La La
My middle name is Lea and it's pronounced "Lee". Even the text-to-speech on my Kindle is pronouncing it as "lee". It's the feminine version of Lee. All of my first cousins on my father's side have it as a middle name. The girls have Lea, and the boys have Lee.
Minnesinger
Since Judaism and the Torah are so important in this book, I thought the spelling “Lea” was curious, too, because all the other Hebrew names and vocabulary in the novel are spelled correctly. (In Hebrew, not English.)
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