Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Bearpecs AT aol.com]

In a message dated 7/26/2005 3:09:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time,  
schmuel AT nyc.rr.com writes:

The  Leningrad text is just one Masoretic Text, not up to the standards of 
the  Received Text.
>From this viewpoint, what really counts is the Received  Text.  And it is 
>not 
likely to have the annoying small copying errors.  


The Leningrad Codex agrees much more with the Aleppo Codex than does Ben  
Hayyim.  The Aleppo Codex is almost certainly the text which Maimonides  
verified 
as the very best massoretic text.  Both agree more often than Ben  Hayyim's 
text with statements in massoretic texts that identify   specific readings.  
Ben Hayyim compiled his text from multiple  manuscripts, without clarifying 
either which manuscripts he used or how he  decided between them when there 
were 
discrepancies.  For such reasons, the  Chief Rabbinate of Israel approved 
Dotan's edition (based on Leningrad Codex)  for use as the official Tanakh of 
the 
Israeli armed forces.
All of this reasons from logic.
 
I generally abhor responding to statements on this list which are  based on 
theology (anyone's; whether or not I agree with it); but since  "Inspiration" 
(by which I assume is meant "divine" inspiration) was brought up  as a 
justification for prefering the RT, I need to respond:  
First, we have a guideline:  "Debate that forces particular faith or  
doctrinal perspectives onto a reading of the text is not appropriate subject  
matter 
for this forum. "
Second, it may be perfectly acceptable for a Christian to believe that the  
Ben Hayyim edition is divinely inspired and therefore superior (although I 
con't  see any more justification for this than believing the same of the 
King 
James  Version).  I do NOT, however, believe this is possible for Jews, if  
only 
because Ben Hayyim later became an apostate.  Therefore, given that I  do not 
expect anyone to give weight to my theological objections to Ben Hayyim,  I 
hope that no one will expect me to give weight to their theological defenses  
of 
the Ben Hayyim text.
He does, however, have a nice name.
Hayyim