Massora

MASSORA. This Hebrew Word Massorah signifies Tradition. It is derived from the Verb¹ Masar, which signifies to give, present, or offer. Those Hebrew Doctors are called Massorites, who have fixed the reading of the sacred Text, by adding pointed Vowels to it, and who made the marginal Notes that are seen in the Margins of the printed Hebrew Bibles; who have counted with a most scrupulous Exactness all the Words, Verses, and even Letters of every Book: That in following Ages no further Change may be made, and that the Reading of the Bible may be fixed for ever. As the Hebrews often write their Words without any Vowel to determine their Sound, there is only a Tradition handed down from Father to Son, which is their Rule for reading certain Consonants, which may have a Variety of Significations, according to the Nature of the Vowel to be supplied. For Example, these three Letters d b r may be pronounced dabar, a Word, or he spoke; daber, Death, or, the Plague; dabir, a Court; dabber, speak; daber, he that speaks; and so of others. ‘Tis therefore Tradition only which teaches the Jews how they must pronounce this Word, in the several Places in which it is found; and ‘tis in Consequence of this Tradition, that the Massorites have invented pointed Vowels, to fix the Reading, and make it invariable. ‘Tis for this Reason they are called Massorites, and their Work Massora, or Tradition.

These pointed Vowels are instead of the real Vowels where they are wanting, and they shew what Sound is to be given them, when they are found in the Text; and whether they are to be pronounced or not, whether they are long or short, whether they are to be pronounced with a full Sound, or only slightly. These pointed Vowels are commonly put under the Letters, but sometimes above. They are thirteen in all, five long, five short, and three very short. For the rest we refer to the Hebrew Grammars. ‘Tis an Error to think, that the Hebrew Tongue has no Vowels; for it has its Vowels as well as other Languages, but it does not always put them down in Writing. See the Article of Letters aforegoing.

The Massorites have also marked the Accents and the Points. The Accents serve for Pronunciation, for singing and reading of the Words. The Points serve for the Distinction of Sentences and Verses, as with us the Comma, Colon, &c. distinguish the Verses and Periods.

As to the Letters, the Massorites have been exact in marking those that are either deficient or redundant in the Text; whether a Word is writ in a regular Manner, if one Letter is put for another; if it is larger, or shorter, or inverted, or suspended. For the Hebrews have such a vast Respect for the sacred Books, that they make a Scruple only to change the Situation of a Letter, that is plainly out of its Place. They are more inclined to suppose there is some Mystery that has occasioned the Alteration. Their Ancestors ‘tis very plain were not so scrupulous, since we find so many Mistakes in the Text, that could not proceed but from the Negligence or Ignorance of the Transcribers.

Lastly, when there are various Readings in the Text, or any palpable Fault, they put the true Reading in the Margin, without daring to alter the Text. That which is found in the Text is what they call Chetib, that is to say, written; and what they put in the Margin they call Keri, which is as much as to say, read or Reading. The Meaning of which is, write in this Manner, but read in that Manner. For Example, when they find certain Words, they substitute others in their Stead. Thus instead of the sacred Name Jehovah, they substitute Adonaï, or Elohim; and instead of certain Terms not very decent, they pronounce others more inoffensive, or more agreeable to good Manners.

As to the Massorites, or Authors of the Massora, and the Age they lived in, and as to the Judgment that ought to be made of their Performance, there is a great Variety of Sentiments among the Criticks. Some have very much commended this Undertaking, and have looked upon the Work of the Massorites as an admirable Invention, to deliver the Text from a Multitude of Equivocations and Perplexities to which it was liable, to put a Stop to the unbounded Licentiousness and Rashness of Transcribers and Criticks, who often made Alterations in the Text by their own private Authority, according to their own Understanding or Humour. Others have blamed the Design, suspecting the Massorites to have corrupted the Purity of the Text, substituting instead of the ancient and true Reading of their Fathers, another Reading more favourable to their Prejudices, and more opposite to Christianity, whose Testimonies and Proofs they would weaken as much as they can. This is very certain, that they often follow and authorize Readings, that are very different from those followed by the ancient Greek Interpreters, that lived before Jesus Christ. Sometimes they even depart from the Reading of the Chaldee, which is the most ancient Author of any that have interpreted the original Text, in a Language of near Affinity to the Hebrew. Lastly, it may be shewn, that the ancient Rabbins do not always agree with the Massorites. Whence it is easy to infer, that their Tradition has not always been intirely uniform, as to the Manner of reading and interpreting the Text, or that they have not been very faithful in representing it to us in their Massora.

There are some among the Jews who pretend, that the Massora is derived even from Moses; that ‘twas he that communicated to the Elders of Israel the Manner of reading and explaining the sacred Text. Others refer the Beginning of it to Esdras, and to the Members of the great Synagogue that lived in his Time. Lastly, there are others, that go no higher for the Rise of it, than to the Beginning of the fifth Age of the Church, and think they were the Masters of the School at Tiberias, who were the first Authors of it. But it cannot be said with any Reason, that Moses was the Author of the Massora of all the Books of the Old Testament, since some of ‘em were composed long after his Time. Nor can it be said that under Esdras the Manner of reading and dividing the Bible was fixed, since there have been so many Varieties in the reading of the Text, and in the Manner of explaining it, for several Ages after his Time; in the Seventy, for Example, in Aquila, in Symmachus, and in Theodotion, who often differ from each other, only because the Manner of reading the Text was unsettled in their Time. Nor was it settled in the Time of Origen, or St. Jerome², as may be gathered from several Passages of this Father.

But this Father, who lived in the fourth Century, and who died in the fifth about the Year 420, and who affirms so expressly, that the Manner of reading the Hebrew Text was unfixed in his Time, makes that very suspicious which the Rabbins³ would persuade us, concerning the Invention of the Points by the Doctors of Tiberias. The Talmud not being finished according to some⁴ but in the Year of Christ 500, or according to others⁵ not till 645, furnishes more Proofs that then the pointed Vowels were not in Use. It never speaks a Word of ‘em, though there were so many Occasions in its Way. It relates several Histories, that give Reason to conclude, that then the Manner of reading the Text had not been determined. For Example, Joab, General of the Armies of David, returning from an Expedition against the Amalekites, the King asked him why he had not entirely exterminated this People. Joab answered, that he had fulfilled all that the Lord had commanded against Amalek, saying, destroy all the Males of Amalek; in Hebrew Sacar⁶. David insisted that it ought to be read Secher, exterminate the Memory of Amalek. But Joab replied, that his Master had always taught him to read Sacar. This Narrative is a mere Fable, but it sufficiently proves, that then the Reading of the Hebrew was unascertained.

They produce the Book called Cozri, which contains a Conference between King Cozar and some Jews, and in which the Use of the pointed Vowels is supposed as known. And ‘tis said there, that Words composed of Consonants without Vowels are like Women undressed, who ought not to appear in publick. ‘Tis pretended this Conference was held in 740, but the most able Criticks take both the Book and the Conference for a Fable; and maintain this Work called Cozri was composed at least four hundred Years after the seventh Century. But no Body denies that then the Points were in Use.

The Jews have also Commentaries upon Scripture, which they call Midraschim, which have been composed since the Talmud, and which contain a Multitude of grammatical Observations, and Niceties about Letters and Words, and the Manner of Reading and Writing. But in these Commentaries there is not a Word of the pointed Vowels, or of any of the Labours of the Massorites. The Book of the Scribes, or Sopherim, which is also since the Talmud, for the Talmud is there quoted as a Work of Antiquity, and universally approved; this Book, I say, contains a vast Number of Particulars about the Text and Writing of the sacred Books. In this are shewn the Nature, the Qualities, the Measure of the Parchment, upon which these Books ought to be writ; what Space should be left between each Line, how many Words every Line should have, and how many Lines should be in every Page; how many Rasures will make a Volume Prophane, which Letters should be Capitals; and such like. In a Word, in this Work are to be found even the most inconsiderable Niceties relating to the Text, and yet there is not a Word about the Points, or the other Observations of the Massorites.

Besides, among the Jews are to be found two other Works, which are later than these now mentioned, and are the various Lections of the Hebrew Text, collected by the Eastern and Western Jews. The Western Jews were the first who began to collate the Text from Manuscripts, to count the Letters, to take Notice of Words, either defective or redundant. This Work having been communicated to the oriental Jews that lived at Babylon, and beyond the Euphrates; they examined it, and in their Turn compared the Text with the Manuscripts. They observed two Hundred and sixteen Passages, in which their Manuscripts were different from those of Jerusalem. This Difference produced two Parties among them, the Jews of Jerusalem, and those of Babylon, each maintaining the Fidelity of their Manuscripts and Text. These Disputes fell out about the End of the eighth Century, or at the beginning of the ninth. Neither Side appealed to the Authority of the Massorites, or their Remarks, which they would hardly have failed to have done, had they been then extant: So that there is great Probability they were not then known.

But a little while afterwards, in the Dispute which arose between the Rabbins Aaron-Ben-Aser, Chief of the Western School, and Moses-Ben-Naphtali, Chief of the Eastern School; much Mention is made of Points, Accents, and other Observations about the Manner of reading the Terms of Scripture: Which gives Room to conclude, that in this Interval of an hundred Years, between the Years 840, in which the various Readings of the Western Jews appeared, and 940, or perhaps 1030, in which flourished the Rabbins Ben-Aser, and Ben Naphtali, that the Massorites began their Work. But it was not presently finished: It required a considerable Time to bring it to Perfection. As Aaron-Ben-Aser presided at the School of Tiberias, this gave Occasion to say that the Massora took its Origin from this City. All these Reasons discussed at their full Length, may be seen in the Exercitations of P. Morin, in Walton’s Prolegomena, in Capellus’s Work intitled, Arcanum punctuationis revelatum, in Buxtorf, and in several other Authors who have treated on this Subject.

Isaac Vossius⁷ affirms, that he has had in his Hands more than two Thousand Hebrew Manuscripts, and that he saw none of ‘em pointed, that were more than six hundred Years old. He challenges all the Partisans of the pointed Vowels, to produce any Mannscripts older than this, with the Points of the Massorites. That if any of ‘em are found pointed, it is easily discoverable, that the Pointing is more Modern, and has been since added to the Manuscript. Lastly, a convincing Proof of the Novelty of this Invention is, that the Copies of the Bible that are kept in Rolls in the Synagogues, are still to this Day without any Points. Therefore there is great Probability, that this Invention has been in Use, only since the Jews began to have Grammars of their Language, which was but in the ninth Age. Then to make the Reading of Hebrew easy to Beginners, they invented the pointed Vowels, in Order to ascertain the Reading.

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