The Masoretes Preserve the Hebrew Text
Jewish scholars preserved the consonantal Hebrew Scriptures and developed systems for recording vowels, accents, pronunciation, and textual notes.
Full Account
The Masoretes worked principally in Tiberias, Jerusalem, and Babylonia. Because the traditional Hebrew text was written mainly with consonants, they recorded inherited reading traditions through vowel signs and accents. Marginal notes identified unusual forms and guarded against casual alteration.
Their work did not compose a new Old Testament. It transmitted an older consonantal text while documenting how it should be read. Differences among Masoretic schools are real but limited enough to reveal a highly disciplined tradition.
Historical Significance
The Masoretic Text became the principal Hebrew basis for Jewish Bibles and most Protestant Old Testament translations.
People, Places and Sources
- Key people: Masoretic scribes; the Ben Asher family; the Ben Naphtali tradition
- Key places: Tiberias; Jerusalem; Babylonia
- Languages: Hebrew, Aramaic
- Scripture:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Psalm 119:89-96