Many are unaware of the history of textual and Hebraic studies that prevailed in the early post-Reformation period of scholasticism. Some who are aware of it dismiss it entirely on the basis of trusting “modern scholarship” (which can, in many cases, be far less valuable than older writings and studies). However, I firmly believe that older works on the biblical text have contributed much material that is useful for the church today in our studies on Scripture, as received by the people of God throughout history.
One of the most prevailing issues during the post-Reformation period was a debate concerning the vowel points in the Hebrew text, as represented in the Masoretic tradition. The most popular theory today in most circles is that the vowel pointings were invented by the Tiberian Masoretes from the time period of around AD 500-700 (some extend the time period to a broader range of centuries, up to the 11th century). However, the classical Jewish view as well as the view of the Reformed church has been that these Hebrew vowel points are inspired, authoritative, and original. One of the first major figures to question this view was the Renaissance Hebraist Elias Levita (1469-1549). Most Old Testament scholars and higher critics today follow him in his theory. The following paper seeks to present a number of in-depth arguments in defense of the more traditional and historic view for, not just the antiquity of the vowel pointings, but also their necessity for understanding the Old Testament Scriptures, from which we can reasonably deduce their originality.
The Testimony of the Holy Scriptures
Christ said “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18). The Greek term that is translated “tittle” is κεραία. Thayer’s Lexicon gives the following entry for the meaning of the word:
“κεραία (WH κέρεα (see their Appendix, p. 151)), κεραιας, ἡ (κέρας), a little horn; extremity, apex, point; used by the Greek grammarians of the accents and diacritical points. In Matthew 5:18 ((where see Wetstein; cf. also Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah, 1:537f)); Luke 16:17 of the little lines, or projections, by which the Hebrew letters in other respects similar differ from each other, as cheth ח and he ה, daleth ד and resh ר, beth ב and kaph כ (A. V. tittle); the meaning is, 'not even the minutest part of the law shall perish.' ((Aeschylus, Thucydides, others.))” (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2762/kjv/tr/0-1/)
The definition of κεραία as pertaining to “diacritical points” and “accents” (which would obviously transfer over to Hebrew as referring to the vowel pointings, and the chireq vowel in particular, since it is indeed the smallest of all of the Hebrew pointings) is exactly what we find we examine the usage of the word in ancient Greek literature.
“...if anyone should go to the building where your public records are kept and erase one tittle [κεραίαν] of your law, or one single syllable of a decree…” (Dio Chrysostom, Discourses, 31.86)
“He was exchanging, altering and turning up and down the letters, according to the syllables, but rather even each tittle [κεραίαν].” (Philo, Flaccus, 131)
Both of these examples demonstrate our point. But the one by Philo in particular, is particularly a good piece of evidence concerning the meaning of κεραία. This is because Philo clearly sets forth κεραίαν as something that is less than a “letter” or “syllable”. This would naturally be a diacritical mark, or perhaps a breathing mark (such is the case with the Greek language).
St. Augustine also seemed to have the same understanding of Matthew 5:18 -
“As to what He says, “One iota or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law,” nothing else can be understood but a strong expression of perfection, since it is pointed out by means of single letters, among which letters ‘iota’ is smaller than the others, for it is made by a single stroke; while a ‘tittle’ is but a particle of some sort at the top of even that. And by these words He shows that in the law all the smallest particulars even are to be carried into effect. After that He subjoins: “Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” Hence it is the least commandments that are meant by ‘one iota’ and ‘one tittle’” (Augustine, Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Book I, Chapter 8)
The great Calvinist preacher and Hebraist scholar John Gill argues forcefully that the word κεραία is the Greek transliteration of חִירֶק, the name for the smallest vowel in Hebrew, as we mentioned earlier. This idea fits well with the basic meaning of Matthew 5:18. The following table shows the exact way in which the Hebrew and Greek letters and vowels would correspond to one another in order for the transliteration to work:
This may be a bit confusing to understand at first. But by God’s grace, things will become clearer as we give examples of each type valid transliteration.
One way in which an equation/correspondence of ח and κ could be proven is by noting the examples in which Greek writers transliterate this way. For example, Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chapter 16) refers to the city חָרָן as καρρα. In Joshua 17:2, חֵ֗לֶק is rendered Κέλεζ. In 1 Samuel 23:15, חֹֽרְשָׁה is rendered καινῇ.
The next thing to be examined is the correspondence between י and ε. In 1 Samuel 14:50, אֲבִינֵ֔ר is rendered as Ἀβεννήρ. In 1 Chronicles 1:31, נָפִ֖ישׁ is rendered Ναφές.
There are numerous examples of where ר is transliterated with ρ. For the sake of time, one example can be found in Nehemiah 7:50, where רְאָיָ֥ה is rendered as Ῥαεά.
There are a few passage where the Hebrew vowel segol ( ֶ ) is correspondent with αι. In 2 Samuel 3:5, עֶגְלָ֖ה is rendered as Αιγλα. In Joshua 12:12, עֶגְלוֹן֙ is rendered as Αἰλάμ.
Last but not least, ק would have to be equivalent to α. John Gill writes the following concerning this point:
“[Having already equated] the first and principle syllable in the word κερ, [then] there is only ק at the end of the word to be accounted for: and that and ה, in some languages, are used promiscuously: as in Behek and Behah. Besides, in the Chaldee or Syro-Chaldean language, used in Christ’s time, and before, the same word, which ends in קא, κα, has the termination of ky, aa, or aia. Thus araka is read araa in the same verse, Jeremiah 10:11, and then, put all together, and you have the word keraa or keraia.” (Rev. John Rippon, A Brief Memoir of the Life and Writings of the Late Rev. John Gill, pg. 52)
All of this evidence put together has lead the Reformed Hebraists (such as John Gill, and others) to conclude that the Greek word κεραία, as used by our Lord in Matt. 5:18, is derived from the Hebrew word חִירֶק, the name for the smallest vowel.
Both Jewish and Christian defenders of the vowel points’ antiquity have also appealed to Deuteronomy 27:8, which says “And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly”. Rabbi Aaron ben Joseph ha-Levi said “If any one should ask, Whence do we know that the points and accents were dictated by the mouth of the Omnipotent? The reply is, It is to be found in the Scriptures, for it is written, ‘And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly’ (Deuteronomy 27:8). Now, if the points and accents, which make the words plain[,] did not exist, how could one possibly understand plainly whether שׁלמה means wherefore, retribution, Solomon, garment, or perfect?” (Sepher Ha-Semadar)
Evidence from Rabbinic Texts
The following passage of the Babylonian Talmud (and the flow of argument contained in it) would only make sense if the vowel points existed at this time in some shape or form:
“For Joab and all Israel remained there until he had cut off every male in Edom” (1 Kings 11:16). When Joab came before David, he said to him, “How come you did it this way [killing only the males]?” He said to him, “Because it is written, ‘You shall blot out the males [זָכַר] of Amalek (Deuteronomy 25:19).’ He said to him, “What is written is not ‘males,’ [זָכַר] but ‘remembrance.’ [זֵכֶר - the reading of the MT]” He said to him, “But I was taught to read, ‘male [זָכַר].’” Joab then went to his teacher. He said to him, “How did you teach me to recite the verse?” He said to him, “Male [זָכַר].” Joab pulled out his sword and proposed to kill him. The teacher said to him, “What are you doing?” He said to him, “Because it is written, ‘Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord negligently’ (Jer 48:10).” He said to him, “Let it be enough for you that I am cursed.” He said to him, “It also says, ‘Cursed be he who keeps his sword back from blood’ (Jeremiah 48:10).” There are those who say that he killed him, there are those who say he did not kill him.” (Bava Batra, 21a-b)
Here, the discussion is about a variation in the pronunciation of zkr in Deuteronomy 25:19. We have the reading זָכַר, and the other reading, which is זֵכֶר. Notice that the only thing that separates these two words is their difference in vowel pointing. If it weren’t for that, they would be the same. Thus, at the time of the Babylonian Talmud, the Hebrew vowel points were a part of the traditional OT text.
Now, some modernists might argue that since the Babylonian Talmud was completed sometime within the general time frame given by the “Tiberian Masorete Hypothesis” (i.e. the vowel points were invented by the Tiberian Masoretic scribal school), then they might dismiss the evidence from this form of the Talmud. However, the Jerusalem Talmud presents evidence in favor of this hypothesis:
“Rab said, one should read not ‘exempt’ [פטוך] but ‘permitted.’ [פטוך] . . . said R. Yohanan, ‘One should read here not “exempt,” [פטוך] but “permitted [פטוך].” (Tractate Shabbat, 11:2)
“Rabbi Zeira in the name of Rav Ḥananel: They read in the Scroll of the Torah Neh. 8:8., that is the reading. Explained, that is the translation…Making sense, these are the accents” (Tractate Megillah, 4:1)
The Babylonian Talmud also speaks of other grammatical terminology which further give evidence to the existence of the vowel pointings at this time period:
“Rav Ḥisda raises a dilemma: This verse, how is it written, i.e., how should it be understood? Should the following verse be read as two separate halves, with the first part consisting of: “And he sent the young men of the children of Israel, and they sacrificed burnt-offerings” (Exodus 24:5), which were sheep; and the second part consisting of the rest of the verse: “And they sacrificed peace-offerings of bulls to the Lord,” i.e., these peace-offerings alone were bulls? Or perhaps both of these were bulls, as the term: “Bulls,” refers both to the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings. The Gemara asks: What is the practical difference between the two readings? Mar Zutra said: The practical difference is with regard to the punctuation of the cantillation notes,” (Tractate Chagigah, 6b.13)
“Berakhot 62a mentions the use of the right hand to indicate the סימני תורה, presumably referring to the practice known as ‘cheironomy,’ still in use in some Jewish communities, in which a leader uses his hands to indicate to the congregation the accentuation of the text being chanted” (Israel Yelvin, Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah, pg. 163)
Even many academics today (known for usually believing that the points were invented by the Tiberian scribes) have acknowledged the role of the “accents” and “vowels” as being something passed down through tradition to the Masoretes from the Taananite period (ca 100 BC - AD 200). Bruce Waltke says ““The accent signs in the MT also preserve a tradition. The Talmud mentions תעמים פּסקי ‘the stops of the ta’amim which were learned as a normal part of learning the text.” (An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, sec. 1.6.4)
Another piece of evidence is more indirect, but equally in favor of our view. The Puritan John Owen said the following:
“there is not one text of Scripture to be found cited in the Talmud in any other sense, as to the literal reading and meaning of the words, than only that which it is restrained unto by the present punctuation[.] . . . [H]ow it can be fancied there should be no variety between our present reading and the Talmudists’ [reading], upon supposition they knew not the use of points[?] . . . Is it possible, on this supposition, [that] there should be such a coincidence between their and our present punctuation[?]” (John Owen, The Integrity and Purity of the Greek and Hebrew Texts of the Scriptures, in The Works of John Owen, Vol. 26, pg. 393)
We would be amiss here if we did not also discuss the Mishnah, which is accepted by many to have been compiled and completed by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi around the 3rd century AD. This is before the time of when the Tiberian Masoretes would have flourished (AD 500-700), therefore the Mishnah is of great importance to us. Note the following passage containing a dispute between two rabbis regarding a reading in Song of Solomon:
“Rabbi Yehoshua diverted his attention to another matter and said to him: Yishmael, how do you read the following verse in the Song of Songs (1:2)? Do you read it as: For Your love [דודיך] is better than wine, or as: For your love [דודיך] is better than wine? The first version, which is in the masculine form, would be a reference to God, whereas the second version, in the feminine, would be a reference to the Jewish people. Rabbi Yishmael said to him that it should be read in the feminine: For your love [דודיך] is better than wine.” (Avodah Zarah 2:5)
The fact that there was difference of opinion regarding the proper reading of a word that had all the same consonants (dalet-vav-dalet-yod-khaf) clearly implies that the vowel points existed at the time of the Mishnah (3rd century AD and slightly prior as well), since that would be the only thing that could distinguish these two words grammatically. Some might object that this passage in the Mishnah is merely in reference to the oral pronunciation of דודיך rather than the written vowel pointings and script. However, Rabbi Yehoshua asked Rabbi Ishmael “how do you read the following verse…..”, not how Ishmael pronounced it. Thus, this is another testimony to the vowel pointings as antique and early.
What if one examines even earlier history concerning the vowel points? During the time of the Lord Jesus (very early 1st century AD), there flourished two main sects and schools of thought within Judaism, known as the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. The House of Shammai were known were following the Karaites, the group of Jews who rejected the Oral Torah and favored only the written Torah. The 17th-18th century Jewish scholar Mordecai bin Nisan, in his book Dod Mordekhai, an account of the history of the Karaites, tells us that the Torah scroll owned by the House of Shammai was pointed in the Hebrew text. John Gill gives the exact citation for this as “Dod Mordecai, five Comment. de Karaeis, c. 9, p. 97” (John Gill, A Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language: Letters, Vowel-Points, and Accents, pg. 226).
John Gill also goes back earlier to a rabbi named Nehunya ben HaKanah. The Babylonian Talmud tells us (Bava Batra 10b) that he lived during the time of R. Johanan ben Zakkai (d. 90 AD). Jewish tradition ascribes the Sefer HaBahir to him. This document is yet another witness to the antiquity of the vowel points:
“They asked him: Why is the letter Cheth open? And why is its vowel point a small Pathach?...He said to them: Come and hear the fine points regarding the vowel points found in the Torah of Moses.” (Aryeh Kaplan, Sepher Ha-Bahir or “The Book of Illumination” - Attributed to Rabbi Nehunia ben HaKana, pgs. 10-11)
“115. What are the things that are circular? They are the vowel points in the Torah of Moses, for these are all round. They are to the letters like the soul, which lives in the body of man. It is impossible for [man] to come [into this world] unless [the soul] endures within him. It is impossible for him to speak about anything, great or small, without it. In a similar manner, it is impossible to speak a word, great or small, without the vowel points. 116. Every vowel point is round, and every letter is square. The vowel points are the life of the letters, and through them, the letters endure. These vowel points come through the pipes to the letters through the fragrance of a sacrifice, which immediately descends. It is therefore called “A descending (pleasant) fragrance to God” – indicating that it descends to God. This is the meaning of the verse (Deuteronomy 6:4), “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” (Aryeh Kaplan, Sepher Ha-Bahir, pg. 30)
Assuming the Jewish tradition is correct concerning the authorship of the Sepher HaBahir, Rabbi Nehunya ben HaKanah, a scholar who lived during the time of Christ, here gives explicit testimony that the vowel points existed in the Hebrew Bible of his time. This is a clear refutation of Elias Levita’s claim that the Tiberian Masoretes invented the vowel points. Even today, modern OT scholars who agree with Levitas’ claim also recognize that it was an innovation: “nevertheless, Jewish and Christian tradition both believed in the divine origin of the vocalization, and only in the sixteenth century was a serious attempt made to refute this supposition.” (Emmanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, pg. 40)
Evidence from the Masorah
One interesting thing about the theory of the Tiberian Masoretes “inventing” the vowel points is that is refuted by the Masoretes themselves, based on the notes found in the margins of the Masoretic text. For, there are places in which the Masorah mention other manuscripts (which are not extant today), but were nonetheless pointed in their respective texts.
The examples below are taken from the 1524-1525 Rabbinic Bible of R. Jacob ben Chayyim. This is considered by many to be the standard collection of the Masorah, i.e. the notes in the margins given by the Masorete scribes. Thomas D. Ross, in his paper on the vowel points, provides the following examples from Jacob ben Chayyim’s collection of Masorah:
[1]. There is a note on Genesis 2:3 which states that the Hebrew text follows the vocalization of the Jericho manuscript [כן יריחו מנגן], which is now lost.
[2]. The Masoretic notes on Genesis 28:3 and Numbers 16:21 say that the Jericho manuscript had the tsere (ביריחו....צירי).
[3]. The Masorah say that the Jericho manuscript contained a patach on Numbers 34:28 (ביריחו....פּתה).
[4]. The note on Exodus 21:37 gives the vocalization יִגְנָב as being present in the Hillel codex (יִגְנָב.....בהללי ובזנבוקי), which is now lost.
Evidence from the Early Church
“They are those who pervert the Scriptures to their own pleasures while reading with a tone of voice, and by the transposition of certain accents and points, which have been wisely and usefully prescribed, they derive their own delights” (Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book III, Chapter 4)
In the context, Clement is commenting on Malachi 3:15, so it would make sense for him to be referring to the Hebrew language here, rather than the Greek (as some would have tried to interpret it).
Peter Whitfield, in his Dissertation on the Hebrew Vowel-Points (pgs. 242-243) gives a number of examples from St. Jerome’s writings which show that the texts of the Hebrew Bible which he read were most likely pointed texts. Jerome undoubtedly had access to a variety of manuscripts and copies of the Hebrew Bible, as well as the instruction of Jews with whom he was acquainted. The following examples are given in Whitfield’s book.
[1]. Commenting on Isaiah 32, Jerome says “Fire and light are written with the same letters אור, which, if they be read אור as [אוּר] signify fire, if אור as [אוֹר] signify light.” – The only way in which two Hebrew words that have the exact same consonants in number is if there are vowel points distinguishing them apart. Thus, Jerome read Isaiah in Hebrew with vowel pointings in the text.
[2]. In his commentary on Ezekiel 27:18, Jerome wrote “Hebrew nouns have very different interpretations, from the difference of accent, and the change of letters and vowels, especially such as have their peculiar uses.”
[3]. In Jerome’s commentary on Ecclesiastes 12:5, he refers to a variation in reading from Jeremiah 1:11-12 between the words שָׁקֵד and שֹׁקֵד, which as one can see, have the same consonants, and are impossible to tell apart without vowel points. Jerome says “the word שׁקד in the beginning of Jeremiah, with a change of accent, signifies a nut or watching.”
The Hermeneutical Necessity of the Vowel Points
Apart from the Hebrew vowel pointing system, the language becomes almost completely unintelligible. This makes the interpretation and translation of the Old Testament infinitely more difficult. A couple of examples suffice to show this:
Isaiah 26:14 has the phrase וַתְּאַבֵּ֥ד כָּל־זֵ֖כֶר לָֽמוֹ - which, without vowel points and diacritical marks, can be rendered in a variety of ways. It could mean either “you wiped out all memory of them”, or “you have destroyed every male of them”, which is how the Septuagint renders it.
Isaiah 5:26 has the phrase מְהֵרָ֖ה קַ֥ל יָבֽוֹא- this could mean “they shall come swiftly with speed” or “the voice shall come swiftly.”
Both of these, and countless other examples, demonstrate that the vowel points are necessary if we are to accurately understand the Old Testament text.
The Masoretes before the Medieval Period
There are even more problems with the idea that the Masoretes invented the vowel pointing system. For one thing, the name “Masorete” itself goes back way before the 6th to 11th centuries. Rabbi Akiva, who died in the 2nd century AD, is recorded in the Mishnah as saying “Tradition (מָסֹרֶת - massoret) is a fence to the Torah”. (Pirkei Avot, 3:13). Earlier on, the same book says “Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah” (Pirkei Avot, 1:1).
Thus, as Thomas Ross says, “the Mishnah traces the Masoretic concept back to Moses at Mount Sinai.” Promises of the preservation of written divine revelation through scribes abound in the Old Testament (Psalm 12:6-7; 1 Chronicles 2:55; 2 Samuel 8:17, 1 Kings 4:3, to name a few examples). The greatest biblical scribe in history was Ezra, who is described as “a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.” (Ezra 7:6). Therefore, from the time that God gave the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai, there were official groups of scribes and even individual scribes who, in divine providence, guarded the biblical text from corruption and faithfully transmitted it down to the next generation.
We also have evidence for the strong attitude of reverence the Jewish scribes had toward Scripture in the Second-Temple Period:
“And how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation, is evident by what we do. For during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold, as either to add anything to them; to take any thing from them; or to make any change in them. But it is become natural to all Jews, immediately, and from their very birth, to esteem these books to contain divine doctrines; and to persist in them: and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them” (Josephus, Against Apion, 1.8)
“Whether, therefore, he advised them from his own reasoning, or as he was divinely taught, they referred it all to God: and though many years have passed, I cannot say exactly how many, but more at all events than two thousand years, they have not altered even a single word of what had been written by him, but would rather endure to die ten thousand times, than yield to any persuasion contrary to his laws and customs.” (Philo, as cited by Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, 8.6)
The True Origin of the Vowel Points
All of the above evidence and argumentation is conclusive in demonstrating that the historic and traditional Jewish and Christian view is correct, and that the modern opinions of OT scholars are wrong. But, a reasonable question may be asked: if the Tiberian Masoretes did not invent the vowel points, then who did? How did the vowel points come about?
The general answer from Judaism and Christianity is that they were revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai when the Law was given, and that they were completed by Ezra and the Men of the Great Synagogue after Israel’s return from the Babylonian captivity. Some Jews have gone as far as to say that the vowel points were revealed to Adam, our first parent. But this is obviously a massive stretch and conjecture.
Even some opposers of the traditional view of the vowel points, as has been defended in this paper, have admitted that Ezra had some role in the creation and preservation of the vowel points. John Prideaux (1578-1650), though being an opposer of the antiquity of the points, yet thought it likely and probable that Ezra standardized at least some of the vowel points, and that they were preserved in separate parchments until the time of the Tiberian Masoretes.
Nehemiah 8:8 is a key text on this particular question - “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” Many Rabbinical writings have understood this text refer to the vowel points in the last two clauses of the passage:
“It is written: ‘They read from the scroll of the Teaching of God’ (Nehemiah 8:8): this is the Torah reading. ‘Translating it’: this is the translation. ‘And giving the sense’: these are the accents. ‘So they understood the reading’: these are the beginnings of the verses. Rabbi Huna son of Lollianus says: ‘These are the grammatical constructions and pieces of evidence’. The Rabbis of Caesarea said: ‘A reference to the vocalic tradition’.” (Bereishit Rabbah 36:8)
“Behold! R. Ika, in the name of R. Cliananel, who quoted Rab, said: ‘What is the meaning of the passage (Neh. 8:8) So they read in the Book, in the law of God distinctly, and exhibited the sense; so that they [the people] understood what was read; i.e., so they read in the Book of God, refers to the Biblical text; distinctly, refers to the Targum; and exhibited the sense, refers to the division of the verses; so that they understood what was read, refers to the signs of punctuation, and according to others, it refers to the Massoroth.” (Ein Yaakov, Megillah 1:2)
Also see earlier in this paper, where evidence was given that Deuteronomy 27:8 might be a reference to the vowel points. Regardless of whether one traces them back to Ezra or Moses, the vowel points are inspired either way, since both Ezra and Moses were inspired under the divine providence.
Answering Objections
Objection #1 - OT scholar Emmanuel Tov said “The late origin of the vocalization [of the MTR] is evident from its absence in the texts from the Judean Desert.” (Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, pg. 40). Personally, I view this as the most powerful objection against the traditional position which I am defending. There are two things which may be said in response:
[1]. Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls (e.g. 1QapGen; 1QTLevi; 2QNJ) are in Aramaic, not Hebrew. Thus, it would be expected to not see any vowel points in these, other than matres lectionis, which though it is indeed a valid system of vocalization.
[2]. Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are extra-biblical documents, so them being unpointed is not relevant to the discussion.
[3]. As for Qumran documents which are copies of the Hebrew Bible, and yet unpointed, I would say that this does not do overall damage to the traditional position, considering that they are confined to one particular location, namely that Judean Desert, whilst the Masoretic text is more spread out geographically, which gives more information on the general practice of the Jews in how they copied and transmitted the Hebrew Bible.
[4]. The Dead Sea Scrolls actually favor the Masoretic text in the vast majority of biblical manuscripts (though there are exceptions and variant readings). An example of this can be seen by comparing the Great Isaiah Scroll with the Masoretic tradition (link).
Objections #2 - Louis Cappel (1585-1658) objects that since the proper names in the Hebrew Masoretic text are different from those in the Septuagint, therefore the Hebrew texts must not have been pointed at the time of Ptolemy’s commission to the seventy scribes and translators for the creation of the LXX.
It is indeed true that there are many such variations in the Septuagint away from the Masoretic pointing and vocalization. Here are some examples of this:
[1]. גֹמֶר is translated as γαμέρ
[2]. יָוָן is rendered as Iωύαν
[3]. תֻבָל is translated as Θοβέλ
[4]. סַבְתְּכָא is rendered as σαβάθακα
In response, we should note that on the confession of the proponents of this theory themselves, there was never any real difference in the vocal pronunciation of the text. Elias Levita himself says “there never was any difference of opinion among all Israel about the pronunciation of the words; for all alike read the Law without points, just as they had received it from Moses; and the other sacred books, as they received them from the Prophets.” (C.D. Ginsburg, The Massoreth Ha-massoreth of Elias Levita: Being an Exposition of the Massoretic Notes on the Hebrew Bible, Or, the Ancient Critical Apparatus of the Old Testament, pgs. 112-113)
Thus, even according to Elias Levita, the first Renaissance Hebraist to question the originality of the vowel points, the vocalization of the Hebrew text had remained uniform and the same throughout Israel’s history. Earlier, I also cited the witness of Josephus and Philo to the effect that the Jews never altered a single word in the Torah wholescale (though there were certainly corruptions in individual manuscripts). Therefore, some other cause must be sought for the differences between the Hebrew text and the Septuagint.
Jerome, in his letter (Ep. 106) to Sunnias and Fretela, tells us that “the Greeks paraphrase, instead of translating; and render the Hebrew words, not by a true version; but in conformity to the idiom of their own language.” This might indeed be an explanation for many of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint. These differences do not disprove the antiquity of the vowel points, but rather shed light on the production of the Septuagint, namely that the Greek sought to render the Hebrew text idiomatically, rather than literally.
Not only that, but there are numerous places in which the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew text, even when the vowel points have no influence or bearing on the variation in reading. One example will suffice. In Genesis 2:3, בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת is translated by the Greeks as ἤρξατο ὁ θεὸς ποιῆσαι. The verb “created” is in the past tense (Qal Perfect) in the Hebrew, while the Greek has it in the aorist active infinitive.
Furthermore, there are examples when the Greek Septugaint helps to prove the antiquity of the vowel points, since there are places where they transliterate the Hebrew text exactly according to the vocalization and vowel pointings. In Genesis 25:13, the Hebrew text has the name נְבָיֹ֔ת, and the Septuagint translates it exactly according to the pointing as Ναβαιώθ. In Joshua 13:19, the Hebrew text reads קִרְיָתַ֣יִם, and the Septuagint translates it as Καριαθάιμ. One could fill up 10 pages (and more) worth of examples like this which show that the Septuagint translators had pointed Hebrew copies before them, which they used in their work of translation of the Old Testament into Greek.
Objection #3 - Many have made much of the fact that the Jewish synagogues kept a copy of the Hebrew Bible which was unpointed, and were generally for liturgical use. This is indeed the practice of Jewry today, and was also the case during the time of the Reformation. Brian Walton, for example, in his Biblia Polyglotta, tells us that the Jesuit missionaries to China found unpointed Hebrew scrolls in the Jewish synagogues there.
John Owen gives a good response to this objection in his treatise titled The Integrity and Purity of the Greek and Hebrew Texts of the Scriptures:
“The Jews give a threefold account of this practice [of keeping an unpointed Hebrew text in their synagogues]: — 1.) The difficulty of transcribing copies without any failing, the least rendering the whole book, as to its use in their synagogues, profane. 2.) The liberty they have thereby to draw out various senses, more eminent, as they say (indeed more vain and curious), than they have any advantage to do when the reading is restrained to one certain sense by the vowels and accents. 3.) To keep all learners in dependence on their teachers, seeing they cannot learn the mind of God but by their exposition; Rabbi. Azarias, lib. Jmre Bina. cap. 59. . . . I do not understand this argument: ‘The Jews keep a book in their synagogues without points, therefore the points and accents were invented by the Tiberian Masoretes;’ when they never read it, or rather sing it, but according to every point and accent in ordinary use. Indeed, the whole profound mystery of this business seems to be this, that none be admitted to read or sing the law in their synagogues until he be so perfect in it as to be able to observe exactly all points and accents in a book wherein there are none of them.”
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