Masora

enUK

Ma·so·ra

also Ma·so·rah M0136400 (mə-sôr′ə)n.1. The body of Judaic tradition relating to correct textual reading of the Hebrew scriptures.2. The critical notes made on manuscripts of the Hebrew scriptures before the tenth century, which embody this tradition.

[Hebrew māsôrâ, from māsar, to hand over; see msr in Semitic roots.]

Mas′o·ret′ic (măs′ə-rĕt′ĭk) adj.

Masora

(məˈsɔːrə) ,

Masorah

Massora

Massorah

n1. (Other Non-Christian Religious Writings) the text of the Hebrew Bible as officially revised by the Masoretes from the 6th to the 10th centuries ad, with critical notes and commentary2. (Other Non-Christian Religious Writings) the collection of these notes, commentaries, etc[C17: from Hebrew: tradition]

Thesaurus

Noun

Masora - a vast body of textual criticism of the Hebrew Scriptures including notes on features of writing and on the occurrence of certain words and on variant sources and instructions for pronunciation and other comments that were written between AD 600 and 900 by Jewish scribes in the margins or at the end of textsMasorahtextual criticism - comparison of a particular text with related materials in order to establish authenticity

Masora

enUK

Masora

Massorah

(məsō`rə) [Heb.,=tradition], collection of critical annotations made by Hebrew scholars, called the Masoretes, to establish the text of the Old Testament. A principal problem was to fix the vowels, as the Hebrew alphabet has only consonants. Through assiduous study the Masoretes formulated rules for an accurate reading of each verse, evolving a system of vowels and punctuation for the purpose of pronunciation and intonation. Two systems of vowels were evolved: the Tiberian (now in use), consisting of curves, dots, and dashes, which can be traced to the 7th cent.; and the Babylonian, of earlier origin, a more complicated superlinear system. The language of the Masora is mostly Aramaic, although some of the notes are written in Hebrew. The Masoretic compilation that consists of notes in the margins is called the Small, or Marginal, Masora; the one that consists of notes written at the top or the bottom of the text is known as the Great, or Final, Masora. Masoretic work was begun at an unknown time; the first traces of it appear in some halakic works on the Pentateuch. Innumerable scholars contributed to this work, which ceased c.1425.

Bibliography

See R. Gordis, Biblical Text in the Making (1937, repr. 1971); C. D. Ginsburg, Introduction to the Masoretico-Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible (rev. ed. 1966).

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Bibliography

Masora

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