MASSORITES, or Massorethites; they imagined that they performed a very cony If. Voss. de LXX Interpret. siderable Service to their Nation, and to their Religion, by counting even the very Letters of their sacred Books. In the Book of Genesis, for Example, they found twelve great Sections, or Paraschoth; forty three Sedarim, or Orders; fifteen Hundred and thirty four Verses, and seventy eight Thousand one hundred Letters. They distinguished the Degrees of Certainty, which they attributed to their Corrections, by these three Words. Keri, read; Cetib, write; and Sbhir, conjecture. When there was a Reading in the Text that was manifestly vicious and corrupt, they substituted another instead of it. This was Chetib. If the Word was one of those, from the Pronunciation of which they used to forbear out of Respect, for Example, Jehovah, they made Use of another whose Pronunciation was allowable, as Elohi, or Adonai. In like Manner, if it was a Word which Modesty forbad to use, they put one instead of it which might be read. This is Keri, read. Lastly, if the Reading found in the Text was doubtful, they marked it Sbhir, or Conjecture.
Heretofore all these critical Remarks were put at the End of the Bibles; but now for the Ease of Readers they are placed in the Margin, or at the Bottom of the Page; and what cannot be thus disposed of is thrown to the End of the Book. ‘Tis pretended that the Invention of the Vowel Points is as antient as Moses, or at least as Esdras. People have been conceited enough to affirm, that the original Bible, as reformed by Esdras, is yet to be seen at Boulogne, in the Convent of the Dominicans. And for Fear that the Roman Catholicks should make any Advantage by this Correction of the Massorites, in Favour of Traditions, which they make a Point of their Creed; the Protestants have thought it to be their Interest to maintain the Antiquity of the Vowel Points; in this going contrary to the Sentiments of Calvin and Luther, who were their chief Reformers. But we have endeavoured to shew the Novelty of these pointed Vowels under the Article MASSORA before; and under the Article POINTED VOWELS we endeavour to confute those, who have stood up for their Antiquity.