# David Libre font

> A libre Hebrew text face from Ismar David’s drawings, with Latin letters taken from Gentium, in three book weights.

David Libre is a Hebrew and Latin serif built by Meir Sadan from a Monotype digitisation of Ismar David’s original drawings, with Latin letters derived from Gentium. David Libre has three weights, Regular 400, Medium 500 and Bold 700, and 836 glyphs. It is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 for Hebrew documents, correspondence and books.

## Facts

- Classification: [Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/serif)
- Designed by: Monotype Imaging Inc., SIL International, Meir Sadan
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 3 (Regular 400, Medium 500, Bold 700)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 836
- Character sets: hebrew, latin, latin-ext, vietnamese
- Last updated: 2025-09-10
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/David+Libre
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/david-libre
- Tagged for: Body text, Editorial

## About David Libre

David Libre is an open version of the David Hebrew typeface. Its source is a digitisation that Monotype released in 2012, made from the large technical drawings of Ismar David; Google worked with Monotype to open three book weights, and Meir Sadan of Tel Aviv constructed the new fonts. Regular 400, Medium 500 and Bold 700 are the three static styles. The Latin letters come from Gentium, and in the specimen they are a calligraphic serif with angled stress and wedge-like serifs. OpenType features handle nikud vowel marks, and three stylistic sets offer Hebrew-height numerals, a Hebrew ampersand and an alternative sheqel sign by Ismar David. To approximate documents typed in the David shipped with Windows, the glyphs were scaled down by 12.5 percent. The 836 glyphs cover Hebrew, Latin, Latin Extended and Vietnamese under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright 2016 The David Libre Project Authors (https://github.com/meirsadan/david-libre), with reserved font name "Hadash", "Gentium" and 'SIL'.

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Hebrew letters and official documents**: The project was shaped around the needs of Israeli institutions, where David is the customary face for correspondence.
- **Reopening older Hebrew files**: Glyphs are scaled 12.5 percent smaller to approximate documents typed in the David shipped with Windows, limiting changes in page count.
- **Vocalised Hebrew text**: Positioned nikud marks support poetry, children’s books and teaching material that need vowel points.
- **Hebrew with Latin passages**: Gentium-derived Latin letters were integrated for text where both scripts appear side by side.
- **Prices and figures in Hebrew layouts**: Stylistic sets provide Hebrew-height numerals and an alternative sheqel sign.

## Things to know

- **No cantillation marks**: Vowel points are supported, but the makers state that biblical cantillation marks are not.
- **Approximate, not exact, compatibility**: The size adjustment brings layouts close to those of the system David; the makers do not promise identical line breaks.
- **Three weights, no italic**: Regular, Medium and Bold are static upright files; there is no SemiBold and no slanted style.
- **Several reserved names**: The license notice reserves the names Hadash, Gentium and SIL for the sources this font was built from.

## FAQs

### Is David Libre free for commercial use?

David Libre is free to use for personal and commercial work under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. Modification and redistribution are allowed, the fonts cannot be sold on their own, and any modified version stays under the same license. The license text decides in case of doubt.

### Who designed David Libre?

David Libre was constructed by Meir Sadan from drawings by Ismar David. The font files name four designers (Ismar David, J. Victor Gaultney, Annie Olsen, Meir Sadan), while the catalogue lists Monotype Imaging, SIL International and Meir Sadan.

### How many weights does David Libre have?

David Libre has three weights: Regular 400, Medium 500 and Bold 700. It is not a variable font.

### Does David Libre support nikud?

Yes. David Libre includes OpenType features that position Hebrew diacritic marks (nikud). Biblical cantillation marks are not supported.

### Which languages does David Libre support?

David Libre covers the Hebrew script, and its Latin letters serve English and other languages such as French, German, Polish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/david-libre (trendhub)