Features of interest · Interesting ketiv/qere cases · NAEE book links
This document discusses all nine cases of קרי ולא כתיב in near-Aleppo. In the manuscript, all nine have the expected marginal note containing the qere letters. Also as expected, none of the nine have any qere or ketiv letters in the body text, i.e. in the large-lettered main columns of the manuscript. The cases differ in whether, in the body text:
(By definition, when niqqud marks are present, these are “orphan” niqqud, i.e. letterless niqqud.)
For each case of קרי ולא כתיב, we show the following in this document:
We present the MAM notes not only in their original Hebrew but also in English translation. This translation also makes the original notes’ abbreviated wording more explicit.
Each site has:
The additional template records which niqqud, if any, are present and whether horizontal space is present. The cases use three kinds of additional template:
| Template | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ניקוד בלי אות | niqqud with horizontal space above the marks |
| ניקוד בלי אות ובלי רווח | niqqud without horizontal space above the marks |
| רווח בלי ניקוד | horizontal space without niqqud |
The phrase “space above the marks” means horizontal space in the line of letters, left between words or at the end of a manuscript line. At a line ending, that horizontal space may have been left on purpose or may be accidental. The end-of-line cases here are Judges 20:13 and Ruth 3:17. None of the cases discussed here is at the start of a manuscript line.
The niqqud templates are specific to near-Aleppo. Their payloads use artificial carrier letters to hold the marks; those carriers are not written manuscript letters. The carrier can be alef, vav, or, rarely, dalet. At 2 Kings 19:31, an artificial vav carries the orphan ḥolam dot:
{{ניקוד בלי אות|אְאָא֖וֹ}}
The additional template immediately precedes the קרי ולא כתיב template, with no intervening separator. The example edition displays artificial carriers or empty double guillemets below the qere in the same rounded-edge box or “cartouche” that it uses for normal ketiv/qere cases. The box and artificial carriers are editorial display conventions; their widths do not measure manuscript spacing.
| Verse | N | H | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judges 20:13 | N | EOL | |
| 2 Samuel 16:23 | |||
| 2 Samuel 18:20 | N | ∅ | |
| 2 Kings 19:31 | N | ||
| 2 Kings 19:37 | N | ||
| Jeremiah 31:37 | |||
| Jeremiah 50:29 | |||
| Ruth 3:5 | |||
| Ruth 3:17 | EOL |
In column “N”, N marks niqqud in the body text; blanks mean no niqqud. In column “H”, ∅ marks the absence of horizontal space in the line of letters; blanks mean space is present. In column “Pos.”, EOL marks the end of a manuscript line; blanks mean between written words.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at Judges 20:13.
ניקוד בלי אות: The additional template records sheva, tsere, and munaḥ, with no dagesh, and horizontal space above these marks.
… אָבוּ֙ «אְאֵ֣» בִנְיָמִ֔ן …
In cases of qere without ketiv, dagesh marks are never included. The line ending provided space for the marks, possibly accidentally.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at 2 Samuel 16:23.
רווח בלי ניקוד: The additional template records horizontal space without niqqud.
… כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר יִשְׁאַל־«» בִּדְבַ֣ר …
There is only a narrow space, and no pointing for אִ֖ישׁ, which is read but not written.
The below-marks of איש (ḥiriq and tipeḥa) could have easily fit underneath the maqaf and/or the space after it, but the naqdan declined to provide those below-marks. MAM’s description of the space as “narrow” is slightly puzzling, unless we take “narrow” to refer to the space that would be needed for the (implied) letters rather than the smaller space needed to fit the below-marks.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at 2 Samuel 18:20.
ניקוד בלי אות ובלי רווח: The additional template records tsere and merkha, with no dagesh or horizontal space above the marks. An artificial alef has both marks.
… תְבַשֵּׂ֔ר כִּֽי־עַל־«אֵ֥» בֶּן־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ …
In the Aleppo Codex, there is no space for כֵּ֥ן, which is read but not written, but the tsere and merkha are written below, between the surrounding written atoms (not the dagesh, as expected).
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at 2 Kings 19:31.
ניקוד בלי אות: The additional template records sheva, qamats, tipeḥa, and an orphan ḥolam dot, with horizontal space above the marks. Three artificial alef letters carry the below-marks, followed by an artificial vav carrying the ḥolam dot.
… יְהוָ֥ה «אְאָא֖וֹ» תַּעֲשֶׂה־זֹּֽאת׃
The gap here is generous compared with the manuscript’s usual small or nonexistent spaces between atoms, so it is pretty clear that the letter-scribe intended to leave a large gap, perhaps even one large enough to fit the (implied) qere letters.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at 2 Kings 19:37.
ניקוד בלי אות: The additional template records two qamats marks and pashta, with horizontal space above the marks.
… וְשַׂרְאֶ֤צֶר «אָאָא֙» הִכֻּ֣הוּ …
The marks occupy a large horizontal space between the surrounding written atoms, presumably left intentionally by the letter-scribe.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at Jeremiah 31:37.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the marginal qere note at Jeremiah 31:37.
רווח בלי ניקוד: The additional template records the generous horizontal space without niqqud.
… יָמִ֥ים «» נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה …
MAM agrees with the qere implied by all of the following: the Leningrad Codex, the Cairo Codex of the Prophets, and the printed tradition.
The Aleppo Codex has the following body text:
הִנֵּ֛ה יָמִ֥ים [] נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה
Pointing is not present in the space intended for “qere without ketiv”.
Breuer’s note.
Koren, Breuer, the Simanim Tanakh, and Mechon Mamre.
The damage to the marginal qere note looks as if opaque tape had been laid parallel to the right margin, obscuring approximately the first letter of each inferred word on its own line. The cause of the damage is unknown. The tape comparison describes how the damage looks; it does not propose a mechanism.
The marginal qere note is inferred to have one word per line:
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at Jeremiah 50:29.
רווח בלי ניקוד: The additional template records the generous horizontal space without niqqud. The preceding maqaf extends into the space.
… סָבִ֗יב אַל־יְהִי־«» פְּלֵיטָ֔ה …
The Aleppo Codex has the following pointed ketiv, i.e. the following body text:
אַל־יְהִי־[֯] פְּלֵיטָ֔ה
There is an empty space without vowel points or cantillation marks, with a masorah circle above.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at Ruth 3:5.
רווח בלי ניקוד: The additional template records the generous horizontal space without niqqud.
… אֲשֶׁר־תֹּאמְרִ֥י «» אֶעֱשֶֽׂה׃
MAM’s qere agrees with the qere implied by the Leningrad Codex. (φ1)
In the Aleppo Codex there is a noticeable space containing a masorah circle referring to the marginal note “אלי קרי”, but the vowel points and cantillation marks for the qere, which is read but not written, are not present.
This Aleppo Codex image shows the body text at Ruth 3:17.
רווח בלי ניקוד: The additional template records the generous horizontal space at the end of the manuscript line, without niqqud.
… אָמַ֣ר «» אַל־תָּב֥וֹאִי …
MAM’s qere agrees with the qere implied by the Leningrad Codex. (φ1)
In the Aleppo Codex there is a noticeable space containing a masorah circle referring to the marginal note “אלי קרי ולא כתב”, but the vowel points and cantillation marks for the qere, which is read but not written, are not present.
The line ending may account for the generous space, possibly accidentally.
Sometimes it is not clear what a note means when it says, for example “=ל-קרי”. We translate that as “MAM’s qere agrees with the qere implied by the Leningrad Codex.” But it is important to note that by “agrees” here we don’t mean “equals” so much as “is consistent with”. I.e. what we mean is “MAM’s qere is consistent with the qere implied by the [body niqqud (if any) and marginal qere letters of the] Leningrad Codex.”