Meaning of MASORETES

(from "Massorah": "tradition", that is, the set of all teachings dealing with the sacred text, preserved for a long time by oral tradition).

The Masoretes, Jewish rabbis of Tiberias and Babylon, transmitted the OT to us in its current form. Its activities extend between the 5th and 10th centuries AD.

At first they fixed the text by choosing a plus. among all the mss. that they had. They then copied the text with extraordinary care.

According to certain scribes, an error in a single letter made the ms. could not be used.

They then annotated the text in order to prevent any addition or omission, indicating in the margin the number of letters, the number of certain expressions, the central letter, the word and the central verse in each book or collection of books; When a word seemed incorrect to them, they left it within the text ("kethib") and put the consonants of the corrected word ("Keri") in the margin.

They invented vocal punctuation. Until the 5th century AD, the Heb. text. of the Bible had only consonants. Tradition was enough to ensure normal reading.

But, as the Jewish people assimilated into the nations to which they had been dispersed, there was a risk that the exact pronunciation of the words would gradually be lost.

It was to fix this pronunciation that the Masoretes invented vocalization points. These (dots or small strokes) were placed above or below the consonants, without disturbing the integrity of the traditional consonantal text.

Finally, they also invented a peculiar system of accents, intended to preserve, in the reading of the text, the nuances of tone and feeling, as well as the appropriate rhythm for the reading of the Hebrew Bible.