It may even be the case that the Septuagint is mistaken, and the masoretic text's Tarsis is a corruption of Asshur ( they are similar when spelt using the Hebrew alphabet ), referring to Assyria's quintessential exported mineral-flint.

According to the version of the story in the masoretic text, David managed to conquer the city by a surprise attack, led by Joab, through the water supply tunnels ( Jerusalem has no natural water supply except for the Gihon spring ).

According to many textual scholars the claim in the masoretic text could simply be a scribal error ; the Septuagint version of the passage states that the Israelites had to attack the Jebusites with their dagger rather than through the water shaft.

In the version of this passage in the masoretic text, it describes Saul and Jonathan being separated from the rest of the people, and lots being cast between them ; the Septuagint version, however, states that Urim would indicate Saul and Jonathan, while Thummim would indicate the people.

For over a thousand years Ben-Asher has been regarded by Jews of all streams around the world as having produced the most accurate version of the masoretic text.

This version is from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer translation of the masoretic Hebrew text.

Despite some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint version of the Torah stating that Jochebed was Kohath's cousin, the Hebrew masoretic text states that she was Kohath's sister-Amram's aunt-although Jochebed's relationship to Levi is not explicitly stated.

Textual scholars regard the chapter as being an insertion by the deuteronomist, and, even in the Talmud, it is argued that the chapter had been moved and was originally part of the Torah as an aspect of the Deuteronomic Code ; though the masoretic text for this chapter includes a role for the death of the high priest, the Septuagint's version of the chapter does not mention it.

In the masoretic text of Deuteronomy and the Septuagint version of the same, an instruction is given to build an altar on Mount Ebal, constructed from natural ( rather than cut ) stones, to place stones there and whiten them with lime, to make peace offerings on the altar, eat there, and write the words of this law on the stone.

According to the Samaritan Pentateuch version of Deuteronomy, the instruction actually concerns Mount Gerizim, which the Samaritans view as a holy site ; some scholars believe that the Samaritan version is probably more accurate in this respect, the compilers of the masoretic text and authors of the Septuagint being likely to be biased against the Samaritans.

The masoretic text / Septuagint family tree of Levi's immediate descendants is as follows:

A similar genealogy is given in the Book of Exodus, where it is added that among Kohath's sons was one — Amram — who married a woman named Jochebed, who was closely related to his father, and they were the biological parents of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ; though some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Torah state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, the masoretic text states that she was his father's sister, and the Septuagint mentions that she was one of his father's sisters.

The only minerals fitting these details are heliodor ( taking into account the implication of Smaragdos that it was green ) and rock crystal ( ignoring the literal meaning of Smaragdos, since the masoretic text doesn't appear to specify colour ); there is much to be said for Smaragdos being either of those.

The passover is celebrated by the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim, and it is additionally considered by them as the location of the near-sacrifice of Isaac ( the masoretic, Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scroll versions of Genesis state that this happened on Mount Moriah which Jews traditionally identify as the Temple Mount ).

Bible translations incorporating modern textual criticism usually begin with the masoretic text, but also take into account possible variants from all available ancient versions.

There is also an identically spelled ( homonym ) Hebrew noun herem, fisherman's net, which appears 9 times in the masoretic text of the Tanakh but has no etymological connection to herem as devoted objects.

The accounts of Micah's idol also include reference to a Jonathan son of Gershom as being a priest, and although the masoretic text seems to avoid the implication that non-Aaronim could be priests by describing this particular Gershom as a son of Manasseh ( מנשה ), this appears to have been distorted ; the letter nun ( נ ) appears here in superscript, suggesting that the text originally described this Gershom as the one that was a son of Moses ( משה ).

Goshen-Gottstein suggested ( in the introduction to his facsimile reprint of the codex ) that not only was it the oldest known masoretic Bible in a single volume, it was the first time ever that a complete Tanakh had been produced by one or two people as a unified entity in a consistent style.

Unfortunately, the meaning of the Hebrew names for the minerals, given by the masoretic text, are not clear, and though the Greek names for them in the Septuagint are more clear, scholars believe that it cannot be completely relied on for this matter because the breastplate had ceased to be in use by the time the Septuagint was created, and several Greek names for various gems have changed meaning between the classical era and modern times.

This platform is literally described by the masoretic text as a laver ( Hebrew: kiyyor ), and as with the Priestly Code's laver, there is only one platform, and it is placed in the centre of the outer court.

The Latin Vulgate by Jerome was based upon the Hebrew for those books of the Bible preserved in the Jewish canon ( as reflected in the masoretic text ), and on the Greek text for the deuterocanonical books.

In masoretic manuscripts ( and some printed editions ), Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stitches in the verses, which are a function of their poetry.

תו ּ מ ִ ים ( Thummim ) is widely considered to be derived from the consonantal root תת ּ ו ּ מ ִ ים ( t-m-m ), meaning innocent, while או ּ ר ִ ים ( Urim ) has traditionally been taken to derive from a root meaning lights ; these derivations are reflected in the Neqqudot of the masoretic text.

For these reasons, many scholars view the Aleppo Codex as the most authoritative representative of the masoretic tradition, both its letter-text and its vocalization ( niqqud and cantillation ), although most of its Torah section and many other parts of the text are now missing.

The text is offered in four formats: ( a ) Masoretic letter-text, ( b ) " full " letter-text ( unrelated to masoretic spelling ), ( c ) masoretic text with vowels ( niqqud ), and ( d ) masoretic text with vowels and cantillation signs.

* Odem ( in the masoretic text ) / Sardios ( in the Septuagint )-both names mean red ( Odem is cognate with Adam ), and probably refers to Sard, an immensely common stone in classical cultures.

* Nofekh ( in the masoretic text ) / Anthrax ( in the Septuagint )-while Anthrax simply means coal ( presumably here referring to the colour of burning coal ), the Vulgate here has Carbunculus, referring to the Carbuncle, which was red.

* Ahlamah ( in the masoretic text ) / Amethystos ( in the Septuagint )-Amethystos refers to Amethyst, a purple mineral which was believed to protect against getting drunk from alcohol ( Amethyst's name refers to this belief, and literally translates as not intoxicating ), and was commonly used in Egypt.

* A multi-volume set in Hebrew only, often but not always including the entire Tanakh with masoretic notes ( sometimes ), Targumim and several classical commentaries, is referred to as Mikraot Gedolot " Great Scriptures.

* The Qahal, an organisational structure mentioned in the masoretic text of the Bible, which the Septuagint refers to as the Ekklesia.

Balaam's location, Pethor, is simply given as " which is by the river of the land of the children of his people " in the masoretic text and the Septuagint, though the Samaritan Pentateuch, Vulgate, and Syriac Peshitta all identify his land as Ammon.

* Pit ' dah ( in the masoretic text ) / Topazios ( in the Septuagint )-despite the suggestion of the Septuagint that it was Topaz, Topaz was barely known at the time the Book of Exodus was written ( according to both the traditional dating of the book and that by textual scholars ); in the classical era, topazios referred to an island on which a particular yellow mineral was mined ( topazios means to seek, in reference to the difficulty in finding the island ).

* Bareket ( in the masoretic text ) / Smaragdos ( in the Septuagint )-Bareketh etymologically means shimmering / shiny ; Smaragdos is cognate with Emerald, and literally means green stone, but is somewhat of a false friend as it was used to refer to a number of different green gems, not just the Emerald in particular.

* Sapir ( in the masoretic text ) / Sapphiros ( in the Septuagint )-despite appearing to refer to Sapphire, Sapphire was essentially unknown before the era of the Roman Empire, and even once it became more known was treated as merely being a form of hyacinth or of jacinth.

* Yahalom ( in the masoretic text ) / Onychion ( in the Septuagint )-in some other places the Septuagint instead has Beryllios where the masoretic reads Yahalom.

* Leshem ( in the masoretic text ) / Ligurios ( in the Septuagint )-the names here seem to refer to places-Leshem and Liguria, respectively.

* Sebo ( in the masoretic text ) / Achates ( in the Septuagint )-Achates definitely refers to agate, and Sebo may be cognate with the Assyrian term Subu, meaning agate.

* Tarshish ( in the masoretic text ) / Chrysolithos ( in the Septuagint )-in some other places the Septuagint instead has Anthrax ( meaning Coal ) where the masoretic reads Tarshish.

Even though often cited as very exact, the masoretic " frequency notes " in the margin of Codex Leningradiensis contain several errors.

It was criticised by Moshe Goshen-Gottstein: " the publisher of the Koren Bible-who laid no claim to expertise in masoretic issues ... sought the help of three scholars, all of whom suffered from the same lack of masoretic expertise ... Basically, the Koren edition is hardly an edition like that of Dotan, but another rehash of the material prepared by ben Hayim.

Following the reading of the masoretic text, some scholars suspect that the name is derived from a Syriac term meaning first rupture, in the sense of being a first-born son.

One of the leading members of the Tiberian masoretic community was Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, who refined the oral tradition now known as Tiberian Hebrew.

Nevertheless, the masoretic text for the Books of Samuel states that David managed to capture the city by stealth, sending his forces through a " water shaft " and attacking the city from the inside.

Jewish English Bible translations are modern English Bible translations that include the books of the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh ) according to the masoretic text, and according to the traditional division and order of Torah, Nevi ' im, and Ketuvim.

They do not include the masoretic notes of the Aleppo Codex.