MASORAIL MASORETH, or MASSORETH (rrion, rrion, rnion), the name given to a gram matico-critical commentary on the O. T., the de sign of which is to indicate the correct reading of the text in respect of words, vowels, accents, etc., so as to preserve it from all corruption. The word denotes tradition, from 1DO, which is used in Chald. in the sense of to give over, to commit (cor. responding to the Heb. 1'1 Ti,jJ var)n, cf. Targ. on I Sam. xvii. 46; xxiv. 11 ; i Kings xx. 13 ; Exod. xxi. 3 ; Amos vi. 8), and hence by the rabbinical writers in the sense of to deliver with reference to the oral communication of doctrine, opinion, or fact. The derivation, to bind, seems to have been an afterthought, suggested by the sentiment that the Masorah is a hedge to the Thorah. 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 ri$zp (Kabbala), re ception; and as the latter denotes whatever has been received traditionally, the former embraces what ever has been delivered traditionally ; though in usage Kabbala is generally restricted to matters of theologic and mystic import, while Masorah has reference rather to matters affecting the condition of the text of Scripture. It takes account not only of various readings, but also contains notes of a grammatical and lexicographical character.
Origin of the Masorah.—The Masorah is the work of certain Jewish critics who from their work have received the title of n-ronn ,$vn, (Baali Hammasoreth), masters of the Masorah, or, as they are generally designated, llfasoretes. Who they were, and when or where their work was accom plished, are points involved in some uncertainty. According to Jewish tradition, the work began with Moses ; from him it was committed to the wise men till Ezra and the great Synagogue, and was then transferred to the learned men at Tiberias, by whom it was committed to writing and called the Masorah (El. Levita, Masorah Hammasorah, Pref. p. 2). Some even claim Ezra as the author
of the written collection (Buxtorf, Tiberias, c. 11, p. 102 ; Leusden, Philol. Heb. Dirs. 25, sec. 4 ; Pfeiffer, De Masora, cap. ii., Opp. p. 891, etc.) ; hut the arguments which have been adduced in support of this opinion are not sufficient to sus tain it. Ibn Ezra says expressly, ' So was the usage of the wise men of Tiberias, for from them were the men the authors of the Masorath, and from them have we received the whole punctua tion' (Zachieth, cited by Buxtorf, Tib., c. 3, p. 9) ; and even Buxtorf himself unconsciously 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 writing of the Biblical books, but references to varieties of read ing as then existing (Hierosol. Tr. Taanith, f. 68, c. ; cf. Kennicott, Deis. Gen., sec. 34; De \Vette, Einleit. ins A. T., sec. 89; Havernick, introd., p. 280); especial mention is made of the Ptur Sopherim (CrolDD ablatio Scribarum ; Tr. Nedaritn, f. 37, c. 2), of the Keri velo Ketibh, the Ketibh velo Keri, and the Keri vehetibh (Nedarim, 1. c., Tr. Sota v. 5; Soma, f. 21, C. 2), and the puneta extraordinark, which, however, are not properly of critical import, but rather point to allegorical explanations of the passage (Tr. Nasir, f. 23, c. I ; cf. Ilieronym. Quest. in Gen. xviii. 35); and already the middle consonant, the middle word, and the middle verse of the Pentateuch are noted as in the Masorah. In the Tr. Sopherim, written between the Talmud and the Masorah, there are also notes of the same kind ; thougn not exactly agreeing with those in the Masorah. But these variants had not before been formally col lected 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 Tiberias (Zunz, Gottesdienst lichen Vortrage der yuden, p. 309).