THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
MASON, LOWELL: Musical composer and educator; b. in Medfield, Mass., Jan. 8, 1792; d. in Orange, N. J., Aug. 11, 1872. He early developed a remarkable talent in musical matters, and in 1812 began to give public instruction in that branch in Savannah, Ga.; in 1827 he removed to Boston, Mass., whence his activities spread through all New England, exciting popular interest and educating taste for music. By his instrumentality the Boston Academy of Music was established, and an enormous impetus given to musical education. In 1837 he visited Europe for purposes of study. He was especially devoted to the bettering of the musical services of the churches, and to that end paid attention to the training of church choirs. He was indefatigable also in the preparation of handbooks and manuals for use in churches, Sunday-schools and singing-classes. His collections, from his first (Boston Handel and Haydn Society's Collection of Church Music, Boston, 1821) to his last (The Song Garden, 1866), number more than forty. He also composed many hymn tunes which are still in use. In 1855 the University of the City of New York made him a " doctor in music," the first degree of the kind given in the United States.
Bibliography: American Annual Encyclopedia, xii. 495- 500, New York, 1873 (contains a very full list of Mason's works); G. Grove, Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ii. 225, London, 1880; J. D. Champlin and W. F. Apthorp, Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, ii. 532-533, New York, 1893.
HASORAH, mas'o-ra: The Jewish tradition regarding the textual readings of the Pentateuch in particular and of the Old Testament in general,
meaning by this the consonantal text;
Content After the return from the Exile the
of the Law of Moses was the central point of
Masorah. the common life of the people, and an
absorbing care for the textual basis was the natural consequence. Instruction in the Law began in early youth, and in the synagogues passages were read from this part of Scripture, to which there came to be added also selections from the prophets. Very early there were formulated exact directions regarding the copying of the Scriptures, especially for the making of synagogue rolls. Soon there were devised also checks in order to control in the matter of accuracy. The verses, words, and letters of the entire Old Testament and also of parts of it were counted, and note was taken of the number of times single words occurred in the whole or in parts of the volume. Thus the tradition that there are in the Old Testament 23,203 verses is as old as the persecution under Hadrian. Moreover, peculiarities were noted and arranged in groups, as in cases where marginal readings were preferred (see Keri and Kethibh). In cases where these singularities were supposed to have particular significance, note was made of them so that omission or change became difficult or impossible, and sometimes an explanation of the phenomenon was given. Examples of these are the suspended " nun " in the name " Manasseh," Judges xviii. 30, and the two methods (scriptio plena and defectiva) of spelling the proper name Ephron in Gen. xxiii. 16, of which fanciful explanations were given.
There is no indication in the Talmuds or in the older Midrashim that materials of this sort were committed to writing, but it is presumed that they were transmitted orally, at least until the seventh century. The division of the Law into paragraphs (in Palestine so as to be read through in three years, in Babylonia in one year) and into Oral Trans- verses was known at this early date, mission; indicated by the 290 open and 379 Textual closed sections. It appears that after Variations, the pronunciation handed down by tradition was indicated in the manuscripts, the notes of peculiarities and the results of the examination of the text began to be written on the margin of the manuscripts or at the end of the volume or of the individual books, sometimes, however, on separate manuscripts. The different development which Judaism underwent at home and abroad (in Palestine and Babylonia) produced variations and diversities in the texts, and thus a diversity of " authority " has been produced. Concerning these the Masorah is not wholly consistent, and the older manuscripts show great varieties of reading. The general agreement among most codices of the Old Testament is due to a leveling process under the influence of the Masoretes. The origin of the three systems of punctuation known to exist has not with certainty been discovered.
Masoretic studies were long prosecuted in Tiberias, a fact that is registered in marginal references on the codices to the " men of Tiberias," where in particular the family of Aaron ben Moses ben Asher was active from the end of the eighth century; and the Masoretic punctuation must have taken shape there, at least in its essentials. Many names of noted Masoretes are known, Eminent among them the contemporary of Masoretes Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, Moses and Texts, ben David ben Naphthali, and something more than the name of Moses Moheh and Rabbi Pinhas. A manuscript of singular notoriety is also known by name — the Mahazora rabba, cited as early as Ben Naphthali; and of other codices citations are extant which are still of value. The points in which Ben Naphthali differed from Ben Asher are preserved in lists and in numerous marginal notes. But the most celebrated of all the Masoretes is Aaron ben Moses ben Asher (flourished at Tiberias early in the tenth century), who is quoted as the highest authority upon the text; and it has been claimed that a codex from his hand, supplied with punctuation and Masorah, is extant at Aleppo. Modern textual criticism seeks particularly to employ the means left by Aaron ben Asher. After him come the so-called Nakdanim or punctuators, eminent among whom are Moses, Samson (both called Nakdan), and Jekuthiel ben Judah ha-Kohen. Later copyists and grammarians cite them and their model codices with frequency. Of the Masoretic handbooks named and cited since the middle of the twelfth century the most important is that called Oklah weoklah (Ochlah weochlah), though an older work is the tract Sopherim. Mention should also be made of the codices from Yemen which combine grammar with Masorah. Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijah undertook to