Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

The question is: Was the Masoretic Text (MT), specifically the Leningrad 
Codex, produced for public consumption?

Answer: It was produced (1) in order to preserve the text received; and (2) 
for Jewish liturgical purposes.

Within the scope of those two points, I don't think there was a consideration 
about whether it was produced for public consumption. Insofar as 'for Jewish 
liturgical purposes' coincided with public consumption, then yes. But I don't 
think the Ben Asher family of Tiberias thought of themselves as a public 
publishing house. I think if you asked them, they would have said they were 
performing a religious duty motivated by piety, not a publishing or marketing 
campaign.


GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au