Masora
Noun: 1. A comprehensive body of critical annotations on the Hebrew Bible: The Masora (also spelled Masorah) refers to the extensive system of notes, comments, and textual traditions compiled by Jewish scribes (Masoretes) between approximately 600 and 900 CE. Its primary purpose was to preserve and standardize the precise wording, spelling, pronunciation, and cantillation of the biblical text.
The term is used as a proper noun to refer to this specific, historical corpus of Jewish scholarship. - Scholars study the Masora to understand the transmission history of the Hebrew Bible. - The notes of the Masora were written in the margins of manuscripts.
- "Masora Parva" (Small Masora): The shorter notes written in the side margins of manuscripts, often consisting of abbreviated comments and statistical counts of word occurrences.
- "Masora Magna" (Large Masora): The more extensive notes collected at the top and bottom margins or at the end of biblical books, providing fuller explanations and lists related to the Masora Parva.
- "Masora Finalis" (Final Masora): Summaries and alphabetical lists placed at the end of entire manuscripts.
- Masorah: An alternate, common spelling of Masora.
- Masoretic (adjective): Pertaining to the Masora or the Masoretes. (e.g., ).
- Masorete (noun): One of the Jewish scribe-scholars who compiled the Masora.
- Masoretic notes: A descriptive synonym emphasizing the form of the Masora.
- Textual apparatus: A broader, more general term for a system of critical notes on a text.
The Masora is not a translation or an interpretation of the Bible's meaning. It is a text-critical and preservative work focused on the accurate mechanical transmission of the consonantal text, its vocalization, and its liturgical recitation. It functions as a guardian of the text's precise form.
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a vast body of textual criticism of the Hebrew Scriptures including notes on features of writing and on the occurrence of certain words and on variant sources and instructions for pronunciation and other comments that were written between AD 600 and 900 by Jewish scribes in the margins or at the end of texts