Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The (Proto-)Masoretic Text: A Ten-Part Series by Prof. Emanuel Tov

by Prof. Emanuel Tov

— Part 1—
The Bible and the Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT), whether in its consonantal form (Proto-MT) or its full form, is the commonly used version of the Hebrew Bible, considered authoritative by Jews for almost two millenia.[1] From the invention of the printing press, all Hebrew editions of the Hebrew Bible have been based on a text form of MT, with the exception of publications of the Samaritan Pentateuch or eclectic editions.[2]
The roots of MT and its popularity go back to the first century of the Common Era. Before that period, only the proto-rabbinic (Pharisaic) movement made use of MT, while other streams in Judaism used other Hebrew textual traditions.
In other words, before the first century of the Common Era, we witness a textual plurality among Jews, with multiple text forms conceived of as “the Bible,” or Scripture, including the Hebrew source upon which the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (LXX), was built...
  Table of Contents
  Part 1   –   The Bible and the Masoretic Text

  Part 2   –   Judean Desert Texts Outside Qumran
  Part 3   –   Socio-Religious Background and Stabilization
  Part 4   –   The Scribes of Proto-MT and their Practices
  Part 5   –   Precise Transmission of Inconsistent Spelling

  Part 6   –   Scribal Marks
  Part 7   –   Key Characteristics of the (Proto-)MT
  Part 8   –   Other Biblical Text Traditions
  Part 9   –   Evaluating (Proto-)MT
  Part 10 –   Editions and Translations of (Proto-)MT

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