Page 6 - Texte Massoretique Hebreu

iv Introduction

• It is well known that in the printed Texts the variations called Kethiv
and Keri are marked by the word in the Text (Kethiv) having the vowel-
points belonging to the word in the margin (Keri). This produces
hybrid forms, which are a grammatical enigma to the Hebrew student.
But in this Edition the words in the Text thus affected (Kethiv) are left
unpointed, and in the margin the two readings are for the first time
given with their respective vowel-points.

• The footnotes contains the various readings of the different Standard
codices which are quoted in the Massorah itself, but which have long
since perished.

• It gives the various readings found in the Manuscripts and Ancient
Versions.

• It gives the readings of the Eastern and Western Schools against those
words which are affected by them; lists of which are preserved, and
given in the Model Codices and in certain special Manuscripts.

• It also gives, against the affected words, the variations between Ben-
Asher and Ben-Naphtali, hitherto not indicated in the footnotes of
printed editions. These had been consigned to the end of the large Edi-
tions of the Bible which contain the Massorah of Jacob ben Chayim.

• It gives, in some instances, readings of the Ancient Versions which
are not supported by Manuscript authority.

• It gives, for the first time, the class of various readings called Sevirin
against every word affected by them. These Sevirin in many Manu-
scripts are given as the substantive textual reading, or as of equal
importance with the official Keri. These readings have been collected
from numerous Manuscripts.

• Quotations from the Ancient Editions, such as the Septuagint, are
translated into Biblical Hebrew. This is done to avoid frequent switch-
ing between Semitic and non-Semitic languages in the footnotes which
increases fatigue of the eyes. This edition is designed to be read daily
and not to gather dust on a book shelf as a “reference for scholar
only”.

This is an open, collaborative project. Anyone/everyone is encouraged to
download the latest version of tnk.pdf, to read it, use it, and to proofread
it. If anyone has suggestions for footnotes or important variant readings
with support from manuscripts or ancient printed editions, these will be
considered. Rather than slavishly adopt a particular codex such as Aleppo
or Leningrad (B19A) as the “correct” version or the “original” text, this edi-
tion takes the approach of not abandoning the traditional Rabbinic text and,
instead, putting all known variant readings in the footnotes and letting the
reader weigh up the evidence accordingly.