The Masorah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

by Daniel Mynatt; Timothy G. Crawford; Page H. Kelley

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1998

Overview

One of the barriers involved in teaching students of biblical Hebrew about the Masorah is the lack of introductory literature on the subject. Although a lot of information about the Masorah is available in print, most of it is in technical professional journals or encyclopedia articles. Scattered about in disparate sources, often not in English, this literature is easier to ignore than it is to incorporate into introductory Hebrew classes. As a result, most students of biblical Hebrew complete their studies without any background on the Masorah.

This volume fills this gap by providing an introduction and glossary to the Masorah of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Although the volume could be used by any student of the Hebrew Bible, it is specifically designed to be helpful for students who are just learning Hebrew. Thus it can serve as an important parallel text for second semester or second year Hebrew courses.

The introductory chapters give an overview of the field of Masoretic studies and explain the mechanics of using the Masorah of BHS. The annotated glossary provides students with definitions and explanations for most of the terms used in BHS, including examples.

Contents

Top Highlights

“We can narrow the beginning of the use of graphic signs for vowels and accents to the time period 600–750 C.E.^{11” (Page 15)}

“basis of the Masoretic text (M) attained ascendancy over other Hebrew textual traditions during the Second Temple” (Page 31)

“They simply list the references where the word or phrase at issue in the Mp note can be found. In other words, they elaborate on the frequency information given by the Mp notes. For example, in Genesis 21:15, the word אַחַד has the Mp note כ̇ה̇ (a Frequency note). The Mp note tells us that אַחַד occurs 25 times. Index number 14 sends us to Mm 187, where we find the list of the 25 occurrences.” (Page 52)

“Second, the student will need a complete Hebrew concordance. Even-Shoshan’s A New Concordance of the Old Testament will probably be the most accessible.” (Page 4)

“Students of the Masorah owe Jacob ben Chayyim ibn Adonijah (dates uncertain, late fifteenth to sixteenth century) a great debt of gratitude, because he rescued the Masorah and restored it to its original function, the preservation of the text tradition.” (Page 24)

Praise for the Print Edition

Students of biblical Hebrew study the Masoretic text, but few become familiar with the Masorah. . . . This book is intended to give the students easy access to this information from an early stage in their careers. It will thus fill a significant gap in the available literature. The book makes a brief and uncomplicated presentation, with reasonable assessments of the state of unsolved problems, using clear and simple language, as befits an introduction. . . . Of great value to students of the Hebrew Bible, and also to their instructors.

—E. J. Revell, University of Toronto

Product Details

• Title: The Masorah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: Introduction and Annotated Glossary
• Authors: Page H. Kelley, Daniel S. Mynatt, and Timothy G. Crawford
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 228

About the Authors

Page H. Kelley (1924–1997) was professor emeritus of Old Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky.

Daniel S. Mynatt is assistant professor of Religion at Anderson College, Anderson, South Carolina.

Timothy G. Crawford is associate professor of Bible and Hebrew at Bluefield College, Bluefield, Virginia.