Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Fred,

The intent to preserve 'orthodoxy' is within the scope of the religious and 
pietistic purpose of the Masoretes. However, your three points (a, b, c) do 
not necessarily lead to the conclusion you reach, namely that the MT was 
produced 'for exclusive consumption by teachers and rabbis'. There is no 
reason why it could not have a wider scope in mind. In fact, given the intent 
of preserving orthodoxy for a particular community, it seems logical to 
conclude that they would have liked a wider audience. While not all of the 
community would have been able to read it, this does not preclude them from 
being 'consumers' of the MT. Your conclusion appears to be narrower than your 
three points require.


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