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  • From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] What is "Biblical Hebrew"
  • Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:34:58 -0500

joel AT exc.com wrote:
The Massoretes did not interpret the text, they were passing on a
consonantal and vocalization tradition as they had heard and seen the
text. While some interpretation may have gone on, -- both in the

I don't understand. Your position is that they "did not interpret the
text" but that "some interpretation may have gone on"?

I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree. My position, which seems
to be supported by overwhelming evidence, is that the Hebrew
pronunciation of the Masoretes does not accurately reflect the
pronunciation from over 1,000 years before them, so using the Tiberian
pronunciation diacritic marks (a.k.a. "vowels") to understand Hebrew
from the first millennium BCE is simply a mistake in anything other
than a religious context.

HH: The diacritical points help us to understand the words. If the pronunciation is not exactly the same as 1,000 years earlier, the pointing is nonetheless helpful for understanding the words. The Bible is a religious book, so using it in a religious context is using it the way it was meant to be used. It is important that the Masoretes were passing on a tradition of pronunciation. That must be what the previous commentator meant when he said that they did not interpret the text. If there were things they needed to make decisions about, such as choosing between two traditions of interpretation at a certain point, then they would have done interpretation, even though their basic desire was to pass on the tradition as they had received it.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard





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