Ketiv and Qere
From SkepticWiki
Ketiv and Qere
Contents |
[edit] Definition
Ketiv refers to the standard reading of the Hebrew scriptures given by the Masoretic Text; qere refers to marginal notes suggesting alterative readings.
[edit] History
There had been a long rabbinical tradition of variant readings of the Hebrew Scriptures; and the fact that the text, and the vowel sounds in particular, had been ostensibly fixed by the Masoretic scholars did not stop subsequent Jewish scholars from wondering whether the text required amending. Their solution was to leave the main text just as the Masoretic scholars wanted it, but to add a marginal note ("qere" --- "what is read") to accompany the main text ("ketiv" --- "what is written").
[edit] Discussion
In translation, it is necessary to decide in each case whether to follow the ketiv or the qere, and which, if either, deserves incorporation of a footnote. For example, in Job 13:15, do we have Job speak as the ketiv speaks, and say:
- "He will surely slay me; I have no hope; yet I will surely defend my ways to his face."
Or should we rather follow the qere, in which case he says:
- "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face."
The difference here is in two words, both pronounced "lo", but spelt differently. One means "in him", and the other is a negative particle. Different English Bibles use different translations.
