Masoretes
The
Masoretes (
ba'alei hamasorah, Hebrew בעלי ×"מסורת) were groups of scribes working between the 7th and 11th centuries based primarily in
Tiberias;
Jerusalem; and
Babylonia. Each group compiled a system of pronunciation and grammatical guides in the form of diacritical notes on the external form of the Biblical text in an attempt to fix the pronunciation, paragraph and verse divisions and cantillation of
Tanakh for the wolrdwide Jewish community. (See the article on the
Masoretic text for a full discussion of their work.)
The Ben Asher family of masoretes was largely responsible for the preservation and production of the Masoretic Text, although an alternate Masoretic text of the Ben Naphtali masoretes which differs slightly from the Ben Asher text existed. The halakhic authority
Maimonides endorsed the Ben Asher as superior, although
Saadya Gaon had preferred the Ben Naphtali system.
The Masoretes devised the vowel notation system for Hebrew that is still widely used as well as the
trope symbols used for
cantillation.
*
In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language, Chapter 5. ISBN 0814736548
*
The Text of the Old Testament. ISBN 0802807887
*
Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah. ISBN 089130374X
*
Jewish Encyclopedia: Masorah
*
The role of the Masoretes
