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  • From: Bearpecs AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Masoretic invention, was: masorete pointing v's LLX translite...
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:03:27 EDT


In a message dated 7/26/2005 12:19:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time, joel AT exc.com
writes:

But there is incontrovertible evidene that the
Masoretes did not correctly capture the sounds of ancient Hebrew.



Quite. But they were not trying to capture the sounds of ancient Hebrew.
They were trying to capture the sounds of the best and most reliable living
tradition of reading the Hebrew of the Bible. Certainly they knew that
different communities had different traditions. (Whether they believed that
their
tradition was somehow a more authentic reflection of how Moses spoke is
moot.)
They knew they were capturing the tradition as it existed in their day.
Thus, to say that they "misread" a verb as pu`al which should be qal
passive,
is meaningless. They didn't invent the pronunciation of the word. They
invented a system for recording the pronunciation they found.

(I am not btw 100% sure I believe this to be literally true, but I think it
is a valid and coherent position.)
Hayyim




  • Re: [b-hebrew] Masoretic invention, was: masorete pointing v's LLX translite..., Bearpecs, 07/26/2005

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