First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics

• Well, mainly in Galilee in Israel, we have the Massoretes, that faithful generation of Karaite Jews who meticulously, and very faithfully, copied and preserved the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. History tells us that they worked from around the sixth century to beyond the 10th century. The Aleppo Codex, that great exemplar of Massoretic tradition, was made around 850 A.D. The famous Leningrad Codex, the oldest known COMPLETE edition of the Hebrew Bible, dates to around 1008 A.D. These are beautiful and high quality Hebrew Old Testaments, facsimile editions of which are still available today.
• The Massoretes preserved the Hebrew Bible, but their marginal notes and references were all written in Aramaic. They clearly thought in Aramaic, or at least recorded in Aramaic, as well as knowing Hebrew.