Masorah, Masoreth, or Massoreth (n'nb'^,
ri'ID'C, r'lnS^), the technical term given to a gram- matico-critical commentary on the O. Test., the design of which is to indicate the correct reading of the text with respect to words, vowels, accents, etc., so as to pre- serve it from all corruption, putting an end to the ex- ercise of imbomided individual fancy. In the He- brew Masoreth denotes tradition, from "iD^, which is used in Chaldaic in the sense of to give over, to commit (corresponding to the Hebrew T'S "(r;, "iSG, "I'^icri; comp. Turg. on 1 Sam. xvii, 46; xxiv, 11 ; 1 Kings xx, 13 ; Exod. xxi, 3 ; Amos vi, 8) ; and hence, by the rab- binical writers, in the sense oi to deliver, 'w'lih reference to the oral communication of doctrine, opinion, or fact. The derivation, from "lON, to bind, to fx within strict limits, seems to have bec4i an afterthought, suggested by the sentiment that the Masorah is a hedge to the To- rah. The Masorah, however, is not confined to what is communicated by oral tradition ; in the state in which it has come down to us it embraces all that has been delivered traditionally, whether orally or in writing. Its correlate is tlPSp (Kabbalah), receptio?i ; and as the latter denotes whatever has been received traditionally, the former embraces whatever has been delivered tradi- tionally; though in usage Kabbalah is generally restrict- ed to matters of theologic and mystic imjiort [sec Ca- bala], while Masorah has reference rather to matters affecting the condition of the text of Scripture. It takes account not only of various readings, but also contains notes of a grammatical and lexicographical character. (The article here given is substantially adojjtedfrom that in Kitto's Cyclopeedia, which is based upon the article in Herzog's Real-En'eyMopddie.)
I. Origin of the ^fasorah. — The IMasorah is the work of certain Jewish critics, who from their work have re- ceived the title of n^ilD^n ip"2 (Baali Hcnnmaso- reth), mastei-s of the Masorah, or, as they are generally designated, Masoretes. Who they were, and when or
MASORAH
861
MASORAH
where their work was accomplished, are points involved in some uncertainty. According to Jewish tradition, the work began with Moses; from him it was commit- ted to the wise men till Ezra and the great Synagogue, and was then transferred to the learned men at Tiberias, by whom it was transmitted to writing and called the Masorah (El. Levita, Masoreth Ilammasoreih, Pref. p. 2). Some even claim Ezra as the author of the written col- lection (Biixtorf, Tiberias, c. 11, p. 102; Leusden, Philol. lleb. Diss. 25, sec. 4 ; Pfeiffer, De Masora, cap. ii, in Ojyp. p. 891, etc.) ; but the arguments which have been ad- duced in support of this opinion are not sufficient to sus- tain it. Aben-Ezra says expressly, " So was the usage of the wise men of Tiberias, for from them were the men the authors of the Masoreth, and from them have we received the whole punctuation" (^Zachuth, cited by Buxtorf, Tib. c. 3, p. 9) ; and even Buxtorf himself un- consciously gives in to the opinion he opposes by the title he has put on his work. That various readings had been noted before this, even in pre-Talmudic times, is not to be doubted. In the Talmud itself we have not only directions given for the correct ^vriting of the Bib- lical books, but references to varieties of reading as then existing {Ilierosol., tr. Taanith, f. G8, c. 1 ; comp. Kenni- cott. Diss. Gen. sec. 3^ ; De Wette, Einleit. ins A . T. sec. 89 ; Hiivernick, Introduct. p. 280) ; especial mention is made of the Ittur Sopherim (C^"iSD ^113", Ablatio Scribarum ; tract Nedarim, f. 37, c. 2), of the Keri re-lo Ketkib, the Kethib ve-lo Keri, and the Keri ve-lcethib {Xt- darim, 1. c. ; tract Sota, v, 5 ; Joma, f. 21, c. 2), and of the pinicta extraordinaria, which, however, are not properly of critical import, but rather point to allegorical expla- nations of the passage (tr. Nasir, f. 23, c. 1 ; comp. Je- rome, Qiuest. ill Gen. xviii, 35) ; and already the mid- dle consonant, the middle word, and the middle verse of the Pentateuch are noted as in the Masorah. In the tract Sopherim, written between the Talmud and the INIasorah, there are also notes of the same kind, though not exactly agreeing with those in the Masorah. But those variants had not before been formally collected and reduced to order in writing. This was the work of the Jewish scholars who, from the 6th century after Christ, flourished in Palestine, and had their principal seat at Til)erias (Zunz, Gottesdienstiiche Vortrdge der Ju- den, p. 309).
II. Contents of the Masorah. — These are partly pala?o- graphic, partly critical, partly exegetical, partly gram- matical. They embrace notes concerning —
1. The Consonants of the Jlebreiv Text. — Concerning these, the Masoretes note about thirty letters which are larr/er than the others, about thirty that are less, four which are suspended or placed above the line of the oth- ers in the same word, and nine wliicli are inverted or written upside down ; to these peculiarities reference is made also in the Talmud, and the use of them as merely marking the middle of a book or section indicated (tr. Kiddushin, f. 30, c. 1 ; Hiivernick, 1. c, p. 282). The Ma- soretes also note a case in which the linal D is found in the heart of a word (Pimab, Isa. ix, G) ; one in which the initial "3 is found at the end Ccn, Neh. ii, 13) ; and one in which the initial 3 occurs at the end (J'a, Job xviii, 1) — irregidarities for which no reason can be as- signed (comp. Leusden, Phil. Ileb. Diss. x). They have noted \wvr often each letter occurs ; and they signalize the middle of each book, the middle letter of the Penta- teuch (the 1 in "in:. Lev. xi, 42), the middle letter of the Psalter (the 2? in "i"i'2, Psa. Ixxx, 14), the number of times each of the five letters which have final forms occurs in its final and in its initial form.