... see message 56606
<http://www.mail-archive.com/ntg-context%40ntg.nl/msg56606.html> in the
list archive. This is not the post-simplefonts solution, but the
pre-simplefonts solution. It does allow much better control over all of
the fonts that make up the typeface (using ConTeXt terminology).
 
If you set only some Hebrew/Aramaic/Arabic, and especially if you do not
need font variants (bold, italic, ...) you might prefer to define a
single font. 

Thank you very much again.  This was helpful, and here is my minimal working example:


\definefontfeature[hebrew][default][script=hebr,ccmp=yes]
\definefont [myhebrew] [SILEOTSR.ttf*hebrew] 
\setupdirections[bidi=on,method=two]

\starttext
Here is the first line of the Bible.

{\myhebrew  בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃  }
\stoptext



I still have some questions.  It took me a long time to understand that

\definefont [myhebrew] [SILEOTSR.ttf*hebrew] 

would use the fontfeature "hebrew" that I had defined together with the font file SILEOTSR.ttf and assign this pairing to the nickname "myhebrew".  Rik's example also has "sa 1" which I do not understand. 

\definefontfeature [aramaic] [default][ccmp=yes,script=hebr]
\definefont [aramaic] [KeterYG-Medium.ttf*aramaic sa 1]

Is the syntax for definefont using "*" documented somewhere?  Is it similar to definefontsynonym at http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Fonts_in_LuaTeX  (and below)?


I also do not understand the full syntax from the referenced message.  Here is my best effort to annotate it, but I would appreciate corrections or additions

%% The following defines the fontfeature "hebrew" 
%% which can then be applied to a font.
%% definefontfeature is documented at
%% http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Command/definefontfeature
%% and the available features are specific to the font

%% e.g. http://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/featurelist.htm

\definefontfeature[hebrew][default][script=hebr,ccmp=yes,mark=yes]

%% I am confused below.  When was font:fallback:serif defined?
%% Why file: but features= ?

%% How will the  fontsynonym "Serif" function?
\starttypescript [serif] [ezrasil]
  \setups[font:fallback:serif]
  \definefontsynonym [Serif] [file:sileot] [features=hebrew]
\stoptypescript

%% Still confused
\starttypescript [ezrasil]
  \definetypeface  [ezrasil] [rm] [serif] [ezrasil] [default]
  \quittypescriptscanning
\stoptypescript

%% Sets the main body to the font 

%% that has been named and given features
\setupbodyfont[ezrasil]

%% Would an alternative at this point be to use
%% \definefont [myezrasil] [ezrasil] 
%% to define a single font and  then use {\myezrasil בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית}  for short passages


\setupalign[r2l]

\starttext
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃  
\stoptext




Thank you again for your guidance.


Best,
Michael