Sharon ( Hebrew : שָׁרוֹן Šārôn "plain"), also spelled Saron , is a given name as well as a Hebrew name.
121-694: In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, it is used both as a masculine and a feminine given name. The Hebrew word simply means "plain", but in the Hebrew Bible , שָׁרוֹן is the name specifically given to the fertile plain between the Samarian Hills and the coast, known (tautologically) as Sharon plain in English. The phrase " rose of Sharon " (חבצלת השרון ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ ha-sharon ) occurs in
242-410: A completely satisfactory solution. There are four words having one of their letters suspended above the line. One of them, מ שה , is due to an alteration of the original משה out of reverence for Moses ; rather than say that Moses's grandson became an idolatrous priest, a suspended letter nun ( נ ) was inserted to turn Mosheh into Menasheh ( Manasseh ). The origin of the other three
363-633: A finer pen) and frequently the Masorah. During the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries the Franco-German school of Tosafists influenced in the development and spread of Masoretic literature. Gershom ben Judah , his brother Machir ben Judah , Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils (Tob 'Elem) of Limoges , Rabbeinu Tam (Jacob ben Meïr), Menahem ben Perez of Joigny , Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil , Judah ben Isaac Messer Leon , Meïr Spira, and Meir of Rothenburg made Masoretic compilations, or additions to
484-562: A group—if it existed—was only a small minority in early Israel, even though their story came to be claimed by all." Scholars believe Psalm 45 could have northern origins since it refers to a king marrying a foreign princess, a policy of the Omrides . Some psalms may have originated from the shrine in the northern city of Dan. These are the Sons of Korah psalms, Psalm 29 , and Psalm 68 . The city of Dan probably became an Israelite city during
605-518: A perfect text sanctified in its consonantal base quickly spread throughout the Jewish communities via supportive statements in Halakha , Aggadah , and Jewish thought; and with it increasingly forceful strictures that a deviation in even a single letter would make a Torah scroll invalid. Very few manuscripts are said to have survived the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE . This drastically reduced
726-778: A range of sources. These include the Septuagint, the Syriac language Peshitta translation, the Samaritan Pentateuch , the Dead Sea Scrolls collection, the Targum Onkelos , and quotations from rabbinic manuscripts . These sources may be older than the Masoretic Text in some cases and often differ from it. These differences have given rise to the theory that yet another text, an Urtext of
847-592: A rejection of God's kingship; nevertheless, God permits it, and Saul of the tribe of Benjamin is anointed king. This inaugurates the united monarchy of the Kingdom of Israel . An officer in Saul's army named David achieves great militarily success. Saul tries to kill him out of jealousy, but David successfully escapes (1 Samuel 16–29). After Saul dies fighting the Philistines ( 1 Samuel 31 ; 2 Chronicles 10 ),
968-558: A reversed nun is found referred to as a nun hafucha by the masoretes. In some earlier printed editions, they are shown as the standard nun upside down or rotated, because the printer did not want to bother to design a character to be used only nine times. The recent scholarly editions of the Masoretic Text show the reversed nun as described by the masoretes. In some manuscripts, however, other symbols are occasionally found instead. These are sometimes referred to in rabbinical literature as simaniyot (markers). The primary set of inverted nuns
1089-527: A slight rise in the late 1950s), falling out of the top 100 after 1977, and out of the top 500 after 2001. In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1960s. It was the 10th most popular female name by 1964 and was still as high as 17th in 1974 (when it was at rank 70 in the US), but a sharp decline in popularity followed and since the 1980s it has not featured in the top 100. While appearing on
1210-577: A special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stichs in the verses, which are a function of their poetry . Collectively, these three books are known as Sifrei Emet (an acronym of the titles in Hebrew, איוב, משלי, תהלים yields Emet אמ"ת , which is also the Hebrew for " truth "). These three books are also the only ones in Tanakh with a special system of cantillation notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses. However,
1331-453: A steep increase only in the mid-1930s, however, and peaked during the 1940s, remaining a top 10 name for most of the decade. The variant Sharron is on record during the 1930s to 1970s, with a peak popularity in the US in 1943. The more eccentric spelling Sharyn was popular only for a brief time in the 1940s, peaking in 1945. The name's popularity has steadily declined since the 1940s (except for
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#17327648285401452-455: A thought which some of the readers might expect them to express. The assumed emendations are of four general types: Among the earliest technical terms used in connection with activities of the Scribes are the mikra Soferim and ittur Soferim . In the geonic schools, the first term was taken to signify certain vowel-changes which were made in words in pause or after the article; the second,
1573-420: Is based entirely on Ben Asher: they are all eclectic. Aside from Ben Asher and Ben Naphtali, the names of several other Masorites have come down; but, perhaps with the exception of one—Phinehas, the head of the academy, who is supposed by modern scholars to have lived about 750—neither their time, their place, nor their connection with the various schools is known. Most scholars conclude that Aaron ben Asher
1694-545: Is concise in style with a profusion of abbreviations, requiring a considerable amount of knowledge for their full understanding. It was quite natural that a later generation of scribes would no longer understand the notes of the Masoretes and consider them unimportant; by the late medieval period they were reduced to mere ornamentation of the manuscripts. It was Jacob ben Chayyim who restored clarity and order to them. In most manuscripts, there are some discrepancies between
1815-733: Is consistently presented throughout the [Hebrew Scriptures] as the God who created the world, and as the only God with whom Israel is to be concerned". This special relationship between God and Israel is described in terms of covenant . As part of the covenant, God gives his people the Promised Land as an eternal possession. The God of the covenant is also a God of redemption . God liberates his people from Egypt and continually intervenes to save them from their enemies. The Tanakh imposes ethical requirements , including social justice and ritual purity (see Tumah and taharah ) . The Tanakh forbids
1936-563: Is credited as the author of at least 73 of the Biblical Psalms . His son, Solomon , is identified as the author of Book of Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , and Song of Solomon . The Hebrew Bible describes their reigns as a golden age when Israel flourished both culturally and militarily. However, there is no archeological evidence for this, and it is most likely a "retrospective extrapolation" of conditions under King Jeroboam II ( r. 781–742 BCE). Modern scholars believe that
2057-469: Is doubtful. According to some, they are due to mistaken majuscular letters; according to others, they are later insertions of originally omitted weak consonants. In fifteen passages within the Bible, some words are stigmatized; i.e., dots appear above the letters. The significance of the dots is disputed. Some hold them to be marks of erasure; others believe them to indicate that in some collated manuscripts
2178-469: Is found surrounding the text of Numbers 10:35–36. The Mishna notes that this text is 85 letters long and dotted. This demarcation of this text leads to the later use of the inverted nun markings. Saul Lieberman demonstrated that similar markings can be found in ancient Greek texts where they are also used to denote 'short texts'. During the Medieval period, the inverted nuns were actually inserted into
2299-556: Is highly likely that extensive oral transmission of proverbs, stories, and songs took place during this period", and these may have been included in the Hebrew Bible. Elements of Genesis 12–50, which describes the patriarchal age , and the Book of Exodus may reflect oral traditions . In these stories, Israelite ancestors such as Jacob and Moses use trickery and deception to survive and thrive. King David ( c. 1000 BCE )
2420-523: Is largely a reworking of the Tiberias . Levita compiled likewise a vast Masoretic concordance, Sefer ha-Zikronot , which still lies in the National Library at Paris unpublished. The study is indebted also to R. Meïr b. Todros ha-Levi (RaMaH), who, as early as the 13th century, wrote his Sefer Massoret Seyag la-Torah (correct ed. Florence, 1750); to Menahem Lonzano , who composed a treatise on
2541-524: Is mentioned in the Midrash Koheleth 12:12: Whoever brings together in his house more than twenty four books brings confusion . The original writing system of the Hebrew text was an abjad : consonants written with some applied vowel letters ( " matres lectionis " ). During the early Middle Ages , scholars known as the Masoretes created a single formalized system of vocalization . This
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#17327648285402662-413: Is roughly 2000. The Tanakh consists of twenty-four books, counting as one book each 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel , 1 Kings and 2 Kings , 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles , and Ezra–Nehemiah . The Twelve Minor Prophets ( תרי עשר ) are also counted as a single book. In Hebrew, the books are often referred to by their prominent first words . The Torah ( תּוֹרָה , literally "teaching") is also known as
2783-684: Is roughly chronological (assuming traditional authorship). In Tiberian Masoretic codices (including the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex ), and often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra. This order is more thematic (e.g. the megillot are listed together). Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text ( MT or 𝕸; Hebrew : נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה , romanized : Nūssāḥ hamMāsōrā , lit. 'Text of
2904-733: Is the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures, comprising the Torah , the Nevi'im , and the Ketuvim . Different branches of Judaism and Samaritanism have maintained different versions of the canon, including the 3rd-century BCE Septuagint text used in Second Temple Judaism , the Syriac Peshitta , the Samaritan Pentateuch , the Dead Sea Scrolls , and most recently the 10th-century medieval Masoretic Text compiled by
3025-530: The BBC 's Celebrity Mastermind , contestant Amanda Henderson was asked to name the Swedish teenage climate activist who wrote a book titled No One's Too Small to Make a Difference . Henderson answered "Sharon." Following the broadcast, climate activist Greta Thunberg (the correct response to the question) changed her name to Sharon on her Twitter bio (which remained there for the day: 3 January 2020). Sharon
3146-511: The Dead Sea Scrolls indicate that multiple versions of the Hebrew scriptures already existed by the end of the Second Temple period . Which is closest to a theoretical Urtext is disputed, as is whether such a singular text ever existed. The Dead Sea Scrolls, dating to as early as the 3rd century BCE, contain versions of the text which have some differences with today's Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint (a Koine Greek translation made in
3267-580: The KJV translation of the Song of Songs ("I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley "), and has since been used in reference to a number of flowering plants. Unlike other unisex names that have come to be used almost exclusively as feminine (e.g. Evelyn ), Sharon was never predominantly a masculine name. Usage before 1925 is very rare and was apparently inspired either from the Biblical toponym or one of
3388-707: The Masoretes added vowel markings to the text to ensure accuracy. Rabbi and Talmudic scholar Louis Ginzberg wrote in Legends of the Jews , published in 1909, that the twenty-four book canon was fixed by Ezra and the scribes in the Second Temple period . According to the Talmud , much of the Tanakh was compiled by the men of the Great Assembly ( Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah ), a task completed in 450 BCE, and it has remained unchanged ever since. The 24-book canon
3509-602: The Masoretes , currently used in Rabbinic Judaism . The terms "Hebrew Bible" or "Hebrew Canon" are frequently confused with the Masoretic Text; however, this is a medieval version and one of several texts considered authoritative by different types of Judaism throughout history . The current edition of the Masoretic Text is mostly in Biblical Hebrew , with a few passages in Biblical Aramaic (in
3630-823: The Masoretic Text , compiled by the Jewish scribes and scholars of the Early Middle Ages , comprises the Hebrew and Aramaic 24 books that they considered authoritative. The Hellenized Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria produced a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible called "the Septuagint ", that included books later identified as the Apocrypha , while the Samaritans produced their own edition of
3751-542: The patriarchs : Abraham , his son Isaac , and grandson Jacob . God promises Abraham and his descendants blessing and land. The covenant God makes with Abraham is signified by male circumcision . The children of Jacob become the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel . Jacob's son Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, but he becomes a powerful man in Egypt. During a famine, Jacob and his family settle in Egypt. Jacob's descendants lived in Egypt for 430 years. After
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3872-464: The "Pentateuch", or as the "Five Books of Moses". Printed versions (rather than scrolls) of the Torah are often called Chamisha Chumshei Torah ( חמישה חומשי תורה "Five fifth-sections of the Torah") and informally as Chumash . Nevi'im ( נְבִיאִים Nəḇīʾīm , "Prophets") is the second main division of the Tanakh, between the Torah and Ketuvim . This division includes the books which cover
3993-547: The 10th century. However, codification of the base consonants appears to have begun earlier, perhaps even in the Second Temple period . The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran , dating from c. 150 BCE – 75 CE , shows that in this period there was no uniform text. According to Menachem Cohen , the Dead Sea scrolls showed that "there was indeed a Hebrew text-type on which the Septuagint-translation
4114-634: The 5th century BCE. This is suggested by Ezra 7 :6, which describes Ezra as "a scribe skilled in the law ( torah ) of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given". The Nevi'im had gained canonical status by the 2nd century BCE. There are references to the "Law and the Prophets" in the Book of Sirach , the Dead Sea Scrolls , and the New Testament . The Book of Daniel, written c. 164 BCE ,
4235-568: The English translation of the Old Testament for the King James Version (though not always followed). Next to Ibn Adoniyah, the critical study of the Masorah has been most advanced by Elia Levita , who published his famous "Massoret ha-Massoret" in 1538. The Tiberias of the elder Johannes Buxtorf (1620) made Levita's researches more accessible to a Christian audience. The eighth introduction to Walton's Polyglot Bible
4356-589: The Exodus , the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years. God gives the Israelites the Law of Moses to guide their behavior. The law includes rules for both religious ritual and ethics (see Ethics in the Bible ) . This moral code requires justice and care for the poor, widows, and orphans. The biblical story affirms God's unconditional love for his people, but he still punishes them when they fail to live by
4477-593: The Greek of Aquila of Sinope and Theodotion and what we now know as the Masoretic Text are minimal. Relatively small variations between different Hebrew texts in use still clearly existed though, as witnessed by differences between the present-day Masoretic Text and versions mentioned in the Gemara , and often even halachic midrashim based on spelling versions which do not exist in the current Masoretic Text. The current received text finally achieved predominance through
4598-487: The Hebrew Bible resulting from centuries of hand-copying. Scribes introduced thousands of minor changes to the biblical texts. Sometimes, these changes were by accident. At other times, scribes intentionally added clarifications or theological material. In the Middle Ages, Jewish scribes produced the Masoretic Text , which became the authoritative version of the Tanakh. Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels, but
4719-410: The Hebrew Bible were composed and edited in stages over several hundred years. According to biblical scholar John J. Collins , "It now seems clear that all the Hebrew Bible received its final shape in the postexilic, or Second Temple, period." Traditionally, Moses was considered the author of the Torah, and this part of the Tanakh achieved authoritative or canonical status first, possibly as early as
4840-580: The Hebrew Bible, but the books are arranged in different orders. The Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Oriental Orthodox , and Assyrian churches include the Deuterocanonical books , which are not included in certain versions of the Hebrew Bible. In Islam , the Tawrat ( Arabic : توراة ) is identified not only with the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses ), but also with the other books of
4961-533: The Hebrew Bible, once existed and is the source of the versions extant today. However, such an Urtext has never been found, and which of the three commonly known versions (Septuagint, Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch) is closest to the Urtext is debated. There are many similarities between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament . The Protestant Old Testament has the same books as
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5082-421: The Hebrew Bible. Tanakh is an acronym , made from the first Hebrew letter of each of the Masoretic Text 's three traditional divisions: Torah (literally 'Instruction' or 'Law'), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)—hence TaNaKh. The three-part division reflected in the acronym Tanakh is well attested in the rabbinic literature . During that period, however, Tanakh was not used. Instead,
5203-671: The Hebrew canon, but modern scholars believe there was no such authoritative council of rabbis. Between 70 and 100 CE, rabbis debated whether certain books "make the hands unclean" (meaning the books are holy and should be considered scripture), and references to fixed numbers of canonical books appear. There were several criteria for inclusion. Books had to be older than the 4th century BCE or attributed to an author who had lived before that period. The original language had to be Hebrew, and books had to be widely used. Many books considered scripture by certain Jewish communities were excluded during this time. There are various textual variants in
5324-542: The Hebrew into the Greek; rather they testify to a different pre-Christian form of the Hebrew text". On the other hand, some of the fragments conforming most accurately to the Masoretic Text were found in Cave ;4. Tannaitic sources relate that a standard copy of the Hebrew Bible was kept in the court of the Second Temple for the benefit of copyists and that there were paid correctors of biblical books among
5445-464: The Hebrew word masorah "tradition" . Originally masoret , a word found in Book of Ezekiel 20:37 (there from אסר "to bind" for "fetters"). According to the majority of scholars, including Wilhelm Bacher , the form of the Ezekiel word masoret "fetters" was applied by the Masoretes to the מסר root meaning "to transmit", for masoret "tradition." (See also Aggadah § Etymology .) Later,
5566-581: The Jacob cycle must be older than the time of King Josiah of Judah ( r. 640 – 609 BCE ), who pushed for the centralization of worship at Jerusalem. The story of Moses and the Exodus appears to also originate in the north. It existed as a self-contained story in its oral and earliest written forms, but it was connected to the patriarchal stories during the exile or post-exile periods. The account of Moses's birth ( Exodus 2 ) shows similarities to
5687-553: The Kethiv-Qere readings and more. These observations are also the result of a passionate zeal to safeguard the accurate transmission of the sacred text. Even though often cited as very exact, the Masoretic "frequency notes" in the margin of Codex Leningradiensis contain several errors. The Masorah magna , in measure, is an expanded Masorah parva . Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) includes an apparatus referring
5808-409: The Masorah into the margin, he compiled at the close of his Bible a concordance of the Masoretic glosses for which he could not find room in a marginal form, and added an elaborate introduction – the first treatise on the Masorah ever produced. Due to its wide distribution, and in spite of its many errors, this work is frequently considered as the textus receptus of the Masorah. It was also used for
5929-462: The Masorah may be divided into three periods: (1) creative period, from its beginning to the introduction of vowel-signs; (2) reproductive period, from the introduction of vowel-signs to the printing of the Masorah (1525); (3) critical period, from 1525 to the present time. The materials for the history of the first period are scattered remarks in Talmudic and Midrashic literature, in
6050-434: The Masoretes included a standard division of the text into books, sections, paragraphs, verses, and clauses; fixing of the orthography, pronunciation, and cantillation; introduction or final adoption of the square characters with the five final letters ; some textual changes to guard against blasphemy (though these changes may pre-date the Masoretes – see Tikkune Soferim below); enumeration of letters, words, verses, etc., and
6171-539: The Masoretic Concordance. The Small Masorah consists of brief notes with reference to marginal readings, to statistics showing the number of times a particular form is found in Scripture, to full and defective spelling, and to abnormally written letters. The Large Masorah is more copious in its notes. The Final Masorah comprises all the longer rubrics for which space could not be found in the margin of
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#17327648285406292-526: The Masoretic Text and the old Greek. However, despite these variations, most of the Qumran fragments can be classified as being closer to the Masoretic Text than to any other text group that has survived. According to Lawrence Schiffman , 60% can be classed as being of proto-Masoretic type, and a further 20% Qumran style with a basis in proto-Masoretic texts, compared to 5% proto- Samaritan type, 5% Septuagintal type, and 10% non-aligned. Joseph Fitzmyer noted
6413-567: The Masoretic Text. The Masoretic Text is the basis for most Protestant translations of the Old Testament such as the King James Version , English Standard Version , New American Standard Bible , and New International Version . After 1943 , it has also been used for some Catholic Bibles , such as the New American Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible . Some Christian denominations instead prefer translations of
6534-510: The Masoretic notes are those that detail the Qere and Ketiv that are located in the Masorah parva in the outside margins of BHS. Given that the Masoretes would not alter the sacred consonantal text, the Kethiv-Qere notes were a way of "correcting" or commenting on the text for any number of reasons (grammatical, theological, aesthetic, etc.) deemed important by the copyist. The earliest tasks of
6655-533: The Masoretic notes is primarily Aramaic but partly Hebrew. The Masoretic annotations are found in various forms: (a) in separate works, e.g., the Oklah we-Oklah ; (b) in the form of notes written in the margins and at the end of codices. In rare cases, the notes are written between the lines. The first word of each biblical book is also as a rule surrounded by notes. The latter are called the Initial Masorah;
6776-418: The Scribes" ( tikkune Soferim ; Midrash Genesis Rabbah xlix. 7), assuming that the Scribes actually made the changes. This view was adopted by the later Midrash and by the majority of Masoretes. In Masoretic works these changes are ascribed to Ezra ; to Ezra and Nehemiah ; to Ezra and the Soferim ; or to Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah , Haggai , and Baruch . All these ascriptions mean one and the same thing: that
6897-430: The Septuagint as it matches quotations in the New Testament . The oldest manuscript fragments of the final Masoretic Text, including vocalications and the masorah, date from around the 9th century. The oldest-known complete copy, the Leningrad Codex , dates from the early 11th century. The Aleppo Codex , once the oldest-known complete copy but missing large sections since the 1947 Civil war in Palestine , dates from
7018-406: The Talmudic tradition ascribes late authorship to all of them; two of them (Daniel and Ezra) are the only books in Tanakh with significant portions in Aramaic . The Jewish textual tradition never finalized the order of the books in Ketuvim. The Talmud gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles. This order
7139-499: The Tanakh is monotheism , worshiping one God . The Tanakh was created by the Israelites , a people who lived within the cultural and religious context of the ancient Near East . The religions of the ancient Near East were polytheistic , but the Israelites rejected polytheism in favor of monotheism. Biblical scholar Christine Hayes writes that the Hebrew Bible was "the record of [the Israelites'] religious and cultural revolution". According to biblical scholar John Barton , " YHWH
7260-571: The Tanakh, such as Exodus 15, 1 Samuel 2, and Jonah 2. Books such as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are examples of wisdom literature . Other books are examples of prophecy . In the prophetic books, a prophet denounces evil or predicts what God will do in the future. A prophet might also describe and interpret visions. The Book of Daniel is the only book in the Tanakh usually described as apocalyptic literature . However, other books or parts of books have been called proto-apocalyptic, such as Isaiah 24–27, Joel, and Zechariah 9–14. A central theme throughout
7381-415: The Temple court, at variance with each other. The differences between the three were resolved by majority decision. This may describe a previous period, although Solomon Zeitlin argues it is not historical. An emphasis on minute details of words and spellings, already used among the Pharisees as basis for argumentation, reached its height with the example of Rabbi Akiva (died 135 CE). The idea of
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#17327648285407502-412: The Text-Critical Masorah. The close relation which existed in earlier times (from the Soferim to the Amoraim inclusive) between the teacher of tradition and the Masorete, both frequently being united in one person, accounts for the Exegetical Masorah. Finally, the invention and introduction of a graphic system of vocalization and accentuation gave rise to the Grammatical Masorah. The most important of
7623-466: The Torah to Moses . In later Biblical texts, such as Daniel 9:11 and Ezra 3:2, it is referred to as the " Torah (Law) of Moses ". However, the Torah itself credits Moses with writing only some specific sections. According to scholars , Moses would have lived in the 2nd millennium BCE , but this was before the development of Hebrew writing. The Torah is dated to the 1st millennium BCE after Israel and Judah had already developed as states. Nevertheless, "it
7744-410: The Torah, the Samaritan Pentateuch . According to the Dutch–Israeli biblical scholar and linguist Emanuel Tov , professor of Bible Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , both of these ancient editions of the Hebrew Bible differ significantly from the medieval Masoretic Text. In addition to the Masoretic Text, modern biblical scholars seeking to understand the history of the Hebrew Bible use
7865-416: The Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh ) in Rabbinic Judaism . The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocalization and accentuation known as the mas'sora . Referring to the Masoretic Text, masorah specifically means the diacritic markings of the text of the Jewish scriptures and
7986-477: The ancient Israelites mostly originated from within Canaan. Their material culture was closely related to their Canaanite neighbors, and Hebrew was a Canaanite dialect . Archaeological evidence indicates Israel began as loosely organized tribal villages in the hill country of modern-day Israel c. 1250 – c. 1000 BCE . During crises, these tribes formed temporary alliances. The Book of Judges , written c. 600 BCE (around 500 years after
8107-402: The beginning and end of the book of Job are in the normal prose system. The five relatively short books of the Song of Songs , Ruth , Lamentations , Ecclesiastes , and Esther are collectively known as the Ḥamesh Megillot (Five Megillot). In many Jewish communities, these books are read aloud in the synagogue on particular occasions, the occasion listed below in parentheses. Besides
8228-512: The birth of Sargon of Akkad , which suggests Neo-Assyrian influence sometime after 722 BCE. While the Moses story is set in Egypt, it is used to tell both an anti-Assyrian and anti-imperial message, all while appropriating Assyrian story patterns. David M. Carr notes the possibility of an early oral tradition for the Exodus story: "To be sure, there may have been a 'Moses group,' themselves of Canaanite extraction, who experienced slavery and liberation from Egypt, but most scholars believe that such
8349-430: The books of Daniel and Ezra ), written and printed in Aramaic square-script , which was adopted as the Hebrew alphabet after the Babylonian exile . The Tanakh includes a variety of genres, including narratives of events set in the past. The Torah ( Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy ) contains legal material. The Book of Psalms is a collection of hymns, but songs are included elsewhere in
8470-403: The books of Daniel and Ezra , and the verse Jeremiah 10:11 ). The authoritative form of the modern Hebrew Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism is the Masoretic Text (7th to 10th century CE), which consists of 24 books, divided into chapters and pesuqim (verses). The Hebrew Bible developed during the Second Temple Period , as the Jews decided which religious texts were of divine origin;
8591-458: The cancellation in a few passages of the "vav" conjunctive, where it had been wrongly read by some. The objection to such an explanation is that the first changes would fall under the general head of fixation of pronunciation, and the second under the head of Qere and Ketiv (i.e. "What is read" and "What is written"). Various explanations have, therefore, been offered by ancient as well as modern scholars without, however, succeeding in furnishing
8712-533: The changes were assumed to have been made by the Men of the Great Assembly . The term tikkun Soferim ( תקון סופרים ) has been understood by different scholars in various ways. Some regard it as a correction of biblical language authorized by the Soferim for homiletical purposes. Others take it to mean a mental change made by the original writers or redactors of Scripture; i.e. the latter shrank from putting in writing
8833-493: The concise marginal notes in manuscripts (and later printings) of the Tanakh which note textual details, usually about the precise spelling of words. It was primarily copied, edited, and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries of the Common Era (CE). The oldest known complete copy, the Leningrad Codex , dates from the early 11th century CE. The differences attested to in
8954-487: The connotations of alternative expressions such as ... Hebrew Bible [and] Old Testament" without prescribing the use of either. "Hebrew" refers to the original language of the books, but it may also be taken as referring to the Jews of the Second Temple era and their descendants, who preserved the transmission of the Masoretic Text up to the present day. The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in Aramaic (mostly in
9075-529: The content of the Ketuvim remained fluid until the canonization process was completed in the 2nd-century CE. There is no scholarly consensus as to when the Hebrew Bible canon was fixed: some scholars argue that it was fixed by the Hasmonean dynasty , while others argue it was not fixed until the second century CE or even later. The speculated late-1st-century Council of Jamnia was once credited with fixing
9196-570: The covenant. God leads Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan , which they conquer after five years. For the next 470 years, the Israelites were led by judges . In time, a new enemy emerged called the Philistines . They continued to trouble Israel when the prophet Samuel was judge (1 Samuel 4:1–7:1). When Samuel grew old, the people requested that he choose a king because Samuel's sons were corrupt and they wanted to be like other nations ( 1 Samuel 8 ). The Tanakh presents this negatively as
9317-476: The differences between the two are found in more or less complete Masoretic lists and in quotations in David Ḳimḥi, Norzi, and other medieval writers. The differences between Ben Naphtali and Ben Asher number about 875, nine-tenths of which refer to the placing of the accents, while the rest relate to vowels and consonantal spelling. The differences between the two Masoretes do not represent solely personal opinions;
9438-483: The events it describes), portrays Israel as a grouping of decentralized tribes, and the Song of Deborah in Judges 5 may reflect older oral traditions. It features archaic elements of Hebrew and a tribal list that identifies Israel exclusively with the northern tribes. By the 9th or 8th centuries BCE, the scribal culture of Samaria and Judah was sufficiently developed to produce biblical texts. The Kingdom of Samaria
9559-486: The exploitation of widows, orphans, and other vulnerable groups. In addition, the Tanakh condemns murder, theft, bribery, corruption, deceitful trading, adultery, incest, bestiality, and homosexual acts. Another theme of the Tanakh is theodicy , showing that God is just even though evil and suffering are present in the world. The Tanakh begins with the Genesis creation narrative . Genesis 12–50 traces Israelite origins to
9680-550: The first mention of such notes is found in the case of R. Meïr (c. 100–150 CE). Early rabbinic sources, from around 200 CE, mention several passages of Scripture in which the conclusion is inevitable that the ancient reading must have differed from that of the present text. The explanation of this phenomenon is given in the expression "Scripture has used euphemistic language" ( כנה הכתוב ), i.e. to avoid anthropomorphism and anthropopathism . Rabbi Simon ben Pazzi (3rd century) calls these readings "emendations of
9801-407: The following regarding the findings at Qumran Cave 4 in particular: "Such ancient recensional forms of Old Testament books bear witness to an unsuspected textual diversity that once existed; these texts merit far greater study and attention than they have been accorded till now. Thus, the differences in the Septuagint are no longer considered the result of a poor or tendentious attempt to translate
9922-511: The kingdom is divided between his son Eshbaal and David (David ruled his tribe of Judah and Eshbaal ruled the rest). After Eshbaal's assassination, David was anointed king over all of Israel ( 2 Samuel 2–5). David captures the Jebusite city of Jerusalem ( 2 Samuel 5 :6–7) and makes it his capital. Jerusalem's location between Judah in the southern hills and the northern Israelite tribes made it an ideal location from which to rule over all
10043-558: The marginal Masorah and the final Masorah. The category of marginal Masorah is further divided into the Masorah parva (small Masorah) in the outer side margins and the Masorah magna (large Masorah), traditionally located at the top and bottom margins of the text. The Masorah parva is a set of statistics in the outer side margins of the text. Beyond simply counting the letters, the Masorah parva consists of word-use statistics, similar documentation for expressions or certain phraseology, observations on full or defective writing, references to
10164-569: The notes on the side margins or between the columns are called the Small ( Masora parva or Mp) or Inner Masorah (Masora marginalis); and those on the lower and upper margins, the Large or Outer Masorah ( Masora magna or Mm[Mas.M]). The name "Large Masorah" is applied sometimes to the lexically arranged notes at the end of the printed Bible, usually called the Final Masorah, ( Masora finalis ), or
10285-448: The number of variants in circulation and also gave a new urgency that the text must be preserved. Few manuscripts survive from this era, but a short Leviticus fragment recovered from the ancient En-Gedi Scroll , carbon-dated to the 3rd or 4th century CE, is completely identical to the consonantal Masoretic Text preserved today. New Greek translations were also made. Unlike the Septuagint, large-scale deviations in sense between
10406-524: The numerous places in the United States named after the Biblical plain. Use as a feminine name began in the early 20th century, first entering the statistics of the 1,000 most popularly given names in the United States in 1925. Its inspiration was possibly the heroine of the serial novel The Skyrocket by Adela Rogers St. Johns , published in 1925 and made into a romantic drama film starring Peggy Hopkins Joyce in 1926. The name's popularity took
10527-671: The officers of the Temple. The Letter of Aristeas claims that a model codex was sent to Ptolemy by the High Priest Eleazar , who asked that it be returned after the Septuagint was completed. Josephus describes the Romans taking a copy of the Law as spoil, and both he and Philo claim no word of the text was ever changed from the time of Moses. In contrast, an Amoraic narrative relates that three Torah scrolls were found in
10648-473: The other, examining, however, standard codices of other schools and noting their differences. The Masorah for the most part ended in the 10th century with Aaron ben Moses ben Asher and Ben Naphtali who were the leading Masoretes of the time. Ben Asher wrote a standard codex (the Aleppo Codex ) embodying his opinions. Ben Naphtali likely did as well, though it has not survived. However,
10769-408: The post-Talmudical treatises Masseket Sefer Torah and Masseket Soferim , and in a Masoretic chain of tradition found in ben Asher's Diḳduḳe ha-Ṭe'amim, § 69 and elsewhere. Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijah , having collated a vast number of manuscripts, systematized his material and arranged the Masorah in the second Bomberg edition of the Bible ( Venice , 1524–1525). Besides introducing
10890-408: The proper title was Mikra (or Miqra , מקרא, meaning reading or that which is read ) because the biblical texts were read publicly. The acronym 'Tanakh' is first recorded in the medieval era. Mikra continues to be used in Hebrew to this day, alongside Tanakh, to refer to the Hebrew scriptures. In modern spoken Hebrew , they are interchangeable. Many biblical studies scholars advocate use of
11011-488: The prose books of the Bible were hardly ever written in stichs, the copyists, in order to estimate the amount of work, had to count the letters. According to some this was (also) to ensure accuracy in the transmission of the text with the production of subsequent copies that were done by hand. Hence the Masoretes contributed the Numerical Masorah. These notes are traditionally categorized into two main groups,
11132-507: The reader to the large Masorah, which is printed separately. The final Masorah is located at the end of biblical books or after certain sections of the text, such as at the end of the Torah. It contains information and statistics regarding the number of words in a book or section, etc. Thus, Book of Leviticus 8:23 is the middle verse in the Pentateuch. The collation of manuscripts and the noting of their differences furnished material for
11253-469: The reason that such faulty readings would belong to Qere and Ketiv, which, in case of doubt, the majority of manuscripts would decide. The last two theories have equal probability. In nine passages of the Masoretic Text are found signs usually called inverted nuns , because they resemble the Hebrew letter nun ( נ ) written in some inverted fashion. The exact shape varies between different manuscripts and printed editions. In many manuscripts,
11374-602: The reign of King Jeroboam II (781–742 BCE). Before then, it belonged to Aram , and Psalm 20 is nearly identical to an Aramaic psalm found in the 4th century BCE Papyrus Amherst 63 . The author of the Books of Kings likely lived in Jerusalem. The text shows a clear bias favoring Judah, where God's worship was centralized in Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Samaria is portrayed as a godless breakaway region whose rulers refuse to worship at Jerusalem. The books that make up
11495-717: The reputation of the Masoretes , schools of scribes and Torah scholars working between the 7th and 11th centuries in the Rashidun , Umayyad , and Abbasid Caliphates , based primarily in the cities of Tiberias and Jerusalem and in Mesopotamia (called "Babylonia"). According to Menachem Cohen, these schools developed such prestige for the accuracy and error-control of their copying techniques that their texts established an authority beyond all others. Differences remained, sometimes bolstered by systematic local differences in pronunciation and cantillation . Every locality, following
11616-574: The revelation at Sinai , since it is impossible to read the original text without pronunciations and cantillation pauses. The combination of a text ( מקרא mikra ), pronunciation ( ניקוד niqqud ) and cantillation ( טעמים te`amim ) enable the reader to understand both the simple meaning and the nuances in sentence flow of the text. The number of distinct words in the Hebrew Bible is 8,679, of which 1,480 are hapax legomena , words or expressions that occur only once. The number of distinct Semitic roots , on which many of these biblical words are based,
11737-447: The seven Books of Moses". Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy as we know them but Numbers was really three separate volumes: Numbers 1:1–10:35 followed by Numbers 10:35–36 and the third text from there to the end of Numbers. The 85 letter text is also said to be denoted because it is the model for the fewest letters which constitute a 'text' which one would be required to save from fire due to its holiness. The history of
11858-547: The stigmatized words were missing, hence that the reading is doubtful; still others contend that they are merely a mnemonic device to indicate homiletic explanations which the ancients had connected with those words; finally, some maintain that the dots were designed to guard against the omission by copyists of text-elements which, at first glance or after comparison with parallel passages, seemed to be superfluous. Instead of dots some manuscripts exhibit strokes, vertical or else horizontal. The first two explanations are unacceptable for
11979-584: The subject, which are all more or less frequently referred to in the marginal glosses of biblical codices and in the works of Hebrew grammarians. Traditionally, a ritual Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) could contain only the Hebrew consonantal text – nothing added, nothing taken away. The Masoretic codices , however, provide extensive additional material, called masorah , to show correct pronunciation and cantillation , protect against scribal errors, and annotate possible variants. The manuscripts thus include vowel points , pronunciation marks and stress accents in
12100-430: The substitution of some words for others in public reading. Since no additions were allowed to be made to the official text of the Bible, the early Masoretes adopted other methods: e.g., they marked the various divisions by spacing, and gave indications of halakic and haggadic teachings by full or defective spelling, abnormal forms of letters, dots, and other signs. Marginal notes were permitted only in private copies, and
12221-693: The term Hebrew Bible (or Hebrew Scriptures ) as a substitute for less-neutral terms with Jewish or Christian connotations (e.g., Tanakh or Old Testament ). The Society of Biblical Literature 's Handbook of Style , which is the standard for major academic journals like the Harvard Theological Review and conservative Protestant journals like the Bibliotheca Sacra and the Westminster Theological Journal , suggests that authors "be aware of
12342-441: The text and the masorah, suggesting that they were copied from different sources or that one of them has copying errors. The lack of such discrepancies in the Aleppo Codex is one of the reasons for its importance; the scribe who copied the notes, presumably Aaron ben Moses ben Asher , probably wrote them originally. In classical antiquity, copyists were paid for their work according to the number of stichs (lines of verse). As
12463-454: The text of the early Rabbinic Bibles published by Bomberg in the early 16th century. The talmud records that the markings surrounding Numbers 10:35-36 were thought to denote that this 85 letter text was not in its proper place. Bar Kappara considered the Torah known to us as composed of seven volumes in the Gemara "The seven pillars with which Wisdom built her house (Prov. 9:1) are
12584-477: The text was also called moseirah , by a direct conjugation of מסר "to transmit," and the synthesis of the two forms produced the modern word masorah. According to a minority of scholars, including Caspar Levias , the intent of the Masoretes was masoret "fetter [upon the exposition of the text ]", and the word was only later connected to מסר and translated as "tradition". Other specific explanations are provided: Samuel David Luzzatto argued that masoret
12705-515: The text, and is arranged alphabetically in the form of a concordance. The quantity of notes the marginal Masorah contains is conditioned by the amount of vacant space on each page. In the manuscripts it varies also with the rate at which the copyist was paid and the fanciful shape he gave to his gloss. There was accordingly an independent Babylonian Masora which differed from the Palestinian in terminology and to some extent in order. The Masora
12826-422: The text, short annotations in the side margins, and longer more extensive notes in the upper and lower margins and collected at the end of each book. These notes were added because the Masoretes recognized the possibility of human error in copying the Hebrew Bible. The Masoretes were not working with the original Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible and corruptions had already crept into the versions they copied. From
12947-627: The third and second centuries BCE) and the Peshitta (a Syriac translation made in the second century CE) occasionally present notable differences from the Masoretic Text, as does the Samaritan Pentateuch , the text of the Torah preserved by the Samaritans in Samaritan Hebrew . Fragments of an ancient 2nd–3rd-century manuscript of the Book of Leviticus found near an ancient synagogue's Torah ark in Ein Gedi have identical wording to
13068-460: The three poetic books and the five scrolls, the remaining books in Ketuvim are Daniel , Ezra–Nehemiah and Chronicles . Although there is no formal grouping for these books in the Jewish tradition, they nevertheless share a number of distinguishing characteristics: their narratives all openly describe relatively late events (i.e. the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent restoration of Zion);
13189-715: The time from the entrance of the Israelites into the Land of Israel until the Babylonian captivity of Judah (the "period of prophecy" ). Their distribution is not chronological, but substantive. The Former Prophets ( נביאים ראשונים Nevi'im Rishonim ): The Latter Prophets ( נביאים אחרונים Nevi'im Aharonim ): The Twelve Minor Prophets ( תרי עשר , Trei Asar , "The Twelve"), which are considered one book: Kəṯūḇīm ( כְּתוּבִים , "Writings") consists of eleven books. In Masoretic manuscripts (and some printed editions), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in
13310-504: The tradition of its school, had a standard codex embodying its readings. In the talmudic academies in Babylonia , the school of Sura differed from that of Nehardea ; and similar differences existed in those of Syria Palaestina as against that at Tiberias, which in later times increasingly became the chief seat of learning. In this period living tradition ceased, and the Masoretes in preparing their codices usually followed one school or
13431-691: The tribes. He further increased Jerusalem's importance by bringing the Ark of the Covenant there from Shiloh ( 2 Samuel 6 ). David's son Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem. After Solomon's death, the united kingdom split into the northern Kingdom of Israel (also known as the Kingdom of Samaria) with its capital at Samaria and the southern Kingdom of Judah with its capital at Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Samaria survived for 200 years until it
13552-516: The two rivals represent different schools. Like the Ben Ashers there seem to have been several Ben Naftalis. The Masoretic lists often do not agree on the precise nature of the differences between the two rival authorities; it is, therefore, impossible to define with exactness their differences in every case; and it is probably due to this fact that the received text does not follow uniformly the system of either Ben Asher or Ben Naphtali. Ben Asher
13673-413: Was a Karaite rather than a Rabbinical Jew, though there is evidence against this view. The two rival authorities, ben Asher and ben Naphtali, practically brought the Masorah to a close. Very few additions were made by the later Masoretes, styled in the 13th and 14th centuries Naqdanim , who revised the works of the copyists, added the vowels and accents (generally in fainter ink and with
13794-485: Was a synonym for siman by extended meaning ("transmission[ of the sign]" became "transmitted sign") and referred to the symbols used in vocalizing and punctuating the text. Ze'ev Ben-Haim argued that masoret meant "counting" and was later conjugated as moseirah "thing which is counted", referring to the Masoretic counts of the letters, words, and verses in the Bible, discussed in Qiddushin 30a. The language of
13915-412: Was adopted as a surname by Zionist emigrants in the context of the Hebrew revival in the early 20th century, and has since become a heritable Israeli surname . Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh ( / t ɑː ˈ n ɑː x / ; Hebrew : תַּנַ״ךְ Tanaḵ ), also known in Hebrew as Miqra ( / m iː ˈ k r ɑː / ; Hebrew : מִקְרָא Mīqrāʾ ),
14036-523: Was based and which differed substantially from the received MT." The scrolls show numerous small variations in orthography , both as against the later Masoretic Text, and between each other. It is also evident from the notings of corrections and of variant alternatives that scribes felt free to choose according to their personal taste and discretion between different readings. The text of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Peshitta read somewhat in-between
14157-408: Was chiefly done by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher , in the Tiberias school, based on the oral tradition for reading the Tanakh, hence the name Tiberian vocalization . It also included some innovations of Ben Naftali and the Babylonian exiles . Despite the comparatively late process of codification, some traditional sources and some Orthodox Jews hold the pronunciation and cantillation to derive from
14278-631: Was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE. The Kingdom of Judah survived for longer, but it was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Temple was destroyed, and many Judeans were exiled to Babylon . In 539 BCE, Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia, who allowed the exiles to return to Judah . Between 520 and 515 BCE, the Temple was rebuilt (see Second Temple ) . Religious tradition ascribes authorship of
14399-497: Was more powerful and culturally advanced than the Kingdom of Judah. It also featured multiple cultic sites, including the sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan . Scholars estimate that the Jacob tradition (Genesis 25–35) was first written down in the 8th century BCE and probably originated in the north because the stories occur there. Based on the prominence given to the sanctuary at Bethel (Genesis 28), these stories were likely preserved and written down at that religious center. This means
14520-487: Was not grouped with the Prophets presumably because the Nevi'im collection was already fixed by this time. The Ketuvim was the last part of the Tanakh to achieve canonical status. The prologue to the Book of Sirach mentions "other writings" along with the Law and Prophets but does not specify the content. The Gospel of Luke refers to "the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms" ( Luke 24 :44). These references suggest that
14641-457: Was the last of a distinguished family of Masoretes extending back to the latter half of the 8th century. Despite the rivalry of ben Naphtali and the opposition of Saadia Gaon , the most eminent representative of the Babylonian school of criticism, ben Asher's codex became recognized as the standard text of the Hebrew Bible. Notwithstanding all this, for reasons unknown neither the printed text nor any manuscript which has been preserved
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