'Eth (H853) is the most frequently occurring Hebrew word in the Old Testament — appearing over 10,000 times. As the definite direct object marker, it has no English equivalent and is typically left untranslated. When a verb acts on a specific, definite noun, 'eth precedes it: 'et-ha-shamayim ve'et-ha-aretz — 'the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1). A homonym (H854) means 'with, together with.'
Genesis 1:1 reads: 'In the beginning God created 'eth the heavens and 'eth the earth.' Some ancient rabbis and modern Messianic commentators have noted that the first and last letters of the Hebrew aleph-bet — aleph (א) and tav (ת) — compose 'eth. In Revelation 1:8, Jesus calls himself the Alpha and the Omega (the Greek equivalent). This has led to devotional reflection that the 'invisible' 'eth of Genesis 1:1 points to the pre-existent Christ through whom all things were made (John 1:3). While not a standard grammatical interpretation, it reflects the Jewish instinct that every Hebrew letter carries significance.
As the most common word in the Hebrew Bible, 'eth reminds us that even the most 'invisible' elements of God's word carry meaning.