Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Petr Tomasek <tomasek AT etf.cuni.cz>]

On Thu, Jul 11, 2013 at 08:01:42AM -0700, K Randolph wrote:
> Petr:
> 
> On Thu, Jul 11, 2013 at 4:33 AM, Petr Tomasek <tomasek AT etf.cuni.cz> wrote:
> 
> >
> > …
> >
> > You are obviously right that the exact pronounciation developed
> > between Biblical times and the times of the Masoretic codices we know
> > today. But this changes nothing on the fact that the Masoretic
> > tradition is a reliable one: the vast majority of changes that
> > happened to this tradition are simple sound shifts (and similar phenomena)
> > that have absolutely no influence on the ability to discern particular
> > forms, i.e. it has no influence on the meaning.
> >
> 
> Thanks, I think you have explained more clearly what I write about when I
> distinguish between pointing as an indicator of Biblical pronunciation, and
> pointing as an indicator of meaning.
> 
> >
> > So Karl's claim that because the Masoretic pronounciation doesn't
> > reflect exactly the pronounciation "in the biblical times" (which itself
> > may mean many things given the complicated textual history of the bible!)
> > it shouldn't be trusted - or worse, one can arbitrarily "vocalize"
> > the consonantal text is a complete nonsense.
> >
> 
> But this paragraph is completely off. The pointing is just ancient
> commentary, and to be taken with a grain of salt just like any other
> commentary. And where I say it’s wrong in meaning, I mean that the meaning
> indicated by the pointing contradicts what the consonantal text in its
> context indicates should be the meaning.

No. The pointing is by no means a commentary. And believe me. I tried to
write a dissertation about the "interpretation of the Massoretes"
a was looking a long time for such cases.
At the end I came to a conclustion that there is no such a thing
and that all the "Massoretes" have done was to oraly transmit the Biblical
text (by memorizing it) _in parallel_ to the written transmission done
by the scribes.

Actually, I'm now convinced that in many cases the oral tradition (which we
know through the massoretic elements of the Hebrew Bible) more accurate
than the consonantal text as copied by the scribes.

P.T.