Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yitzhak Sapir <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

On 11/2/05, Karl Randolph wrote:

> It is almost impossible to remember each point,
> so it is pretty obvious that the Masoretes, too, relied on
> context to help remind them.

This is just not true.  The Massoretes remembered each
point, and used a huge body of statistical information that
they also memorized regarding odd forms of each word to
remember each and every point.  For someone who makes
it their life occupation to remember the vocalization and
cantillation of each word in the Bible, it's very possible.
They did not rely on context at all although I assume that
context may have played a role as various versions of the
Massorah (the above mentioned statistical system) emerged.
The Massorah contains reference to locations of those odd
words not by book, chapter, and verse but by using three
or four words of the verse suggesting that given only three
or four consecutive words anywhere in the Bible, the
Massoretes would know which book, chapter and verse
was referenced.  This only serves to illustrate just how
phenomenal their capability for memorizing the Bible was.

Yitzhak Sapir