[b-hebrew] massoretic Text variants

Justin Savino dojustly at ev1.net
Thu Apr 14 23:34:33 EDT 2005


Greetings,

    I am new on the list. My name is Justin Savino and a Seminary student who is in love with Hebrew. I would love to know, from anyone who knows first hand or who can point me to a resource, what the major variant readings are amongst the versions. Apart from vowel differences, plene and defective spellings, and other unessential spelling alterations what are the major variants amongst the manuscripts? Particularly I am interested in the major variant readings between the three major texts that underlie the modern protestant Bible, (Biblia Hebriaca Strugartensia, 2nd Great Rabbinic Bible- Ben Chayyim text, and 1494 Brescia Soncino Bible that Luther used). So far painstakingly combing the textual apparatus of BHS and Ginsburg's massive work have yielded have yielded a few interesting changes. One interesting one is Exodus 5:22 is the difference in the word for Lord in the opening address of Moses to God. Luther's version follows the 1494 Breccias Soncino bibles in making it the sacred name of God translating it "HERR" while the KJV and modern translations following BHS and the Bomberg Bible make the lowercase word "Lord" following the word "adonai."
This stuff fascinates me and will be the subject of a paper I am writing so any input would be valuable. Robert Dick Wilson says that there are 150,000 consonant differences in the Massoretic text families. If someone could clue me into how one can get a look at those differences that would save me a whole lot of time. NO need to re-invent the wheel.

Thank you for your time and consideration. 


Justin Savino
wymxr wlk-al yk wnmt-al yk hwhy ydox

   Lam 3:22


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