Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Polycarp66 AT aol.com]

In a message dated 3/14/2004 10:11:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
kwrandolph AT email.com writes:
I don’t think disagreeing with the 
Masoretes equals beating up on them. As for 
my personal opinion, I think they did a 
bang up job with the materials that they 
had. Where I disagree with them, it is 
where I think the traditions for 
pronunciations no longer reflect the 
original pronunciation of Biblical Hebew 
and/or the specific maaning of a passage. 
These traditions predate the Masoretes by 
centuries, some close to a millennium.

Don’t blame the Masoretes for faithfully 
recording something that was not of their 
making.
_________

I'm afraid you lost me here.  If the tradition which the Masoretes recorded 
predated them and that's all we have that goes back even that far, how can 
you 
know that the traditions don't reflect the original pronunciation?  We can 
obviously know nothing regarding the original pronunciation unless it is for 
such 
items as were virtually transliterated into the Greek of the LXX.  Are you 
privy to some special revelation concerning this?

gfsomsel