Copyright © 2017 Marcus Allen Leman All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. READING WITH THE MASORETES: THE EXEGETICAL UTILITY OF MASORETIC ACCENT PATTERNS __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Marcus Allen Leman May 2017 APPROVAL SHEET READING WITH THE MASORETES: THE EXEGETICAL UTILITY OF MASORETIC ACCENT PATTERNS Marcus Allen Leman Read and Approved by: ____________________________________________ Russell T. Fuller (Chair) ____________________________________________ Duane A. Garrett ____________________________________________ Terry J. Betts Date________________________________ .אשׁת חיל ,I dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Rachel Your strong and gracious spirit has helped carry the weight of this project all the way. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS..........................................................................................vii LIST OF TABLES..........................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................xi PREFACE........................................................................................................................xii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Thesis................................................................................................................2 Methodology.....................................................................................................3 Three-fold Function of Accents................................................................5 Masoretic Rigor and Fidelity....................................................................8 Historical Background......................................................................................9 History of Research ........................................................................................11 Early Studies on the Accents..................................................................12 The Influence of William Wickes...........................................................14 Post-Wickes: Developments...................................................................15 Post-Wickes: Objections ........................................................................22 Major Influences on this Dissertation ....................................................24 Conclusion ......................................................................................................26 2. CASE STUDY: ETNACHTA AFTER DIRECT SPEECH.................................27 Grammatical Considerations ..........................................................................27 iv Chapter Page Summary of Research Data ............................................................................28 Outline of the Masoretic Pattern.....................................................................30 Divergence from the Pattern...........................................................................38 Conclusion ......................................................................................................43 3. CASE STUDY: ETNACHTA BEFORE VE‘ATAH ............................................45 Grammatical Considerations ..........................................................................45 Summary of Research Data ............................................................................46 Outline of the Masoretic Pattern.....................................................................48 Divergence from the Pattern...........................................................................53 Conclusion ......................................................................................................64 4. CASE STUDY: ACCENTS FRAMING CONDITIONAL SENTENCES.........66 Grammatical Considerations ..........................................................................66 Summary of Research Data ............................................................................67 Outline of the Masoretic Pattern.....................................................................69 Divergence from the Pattern...........................................................................81 Conclusion ......................................................................................................93 5. CASE STUDY: ACCENTS AT CONTRAST STRUCTURES ..........................95 Grammatical Considerations ..........................................................................95 Summary of Research Data ..........................................................................100 Outline of the Masoretic Approach...............................................................104 Divergence from the Approach.....................................................................112 Conclusion ....................................................................................................121 6. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................122 Review of Case Studies ................................................................................123 Implications and Future Study......................................................................124 Conclusion ....................................................................................................125 v Appendix Page 1. MASORETIC ACCENT HIERARCHY...........................................................127 2. TEXT CRITICAL WORK: JUDGES 16:13 .....................................................130 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AD anno Domini ANE Ancient Near East BDB Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon DS Direct Speech iDS Indirect Speech LXX Septuagint LXX-A Septuagint text of Alexandrinus LXX-B Septuagint text of Vaticanus MT Masoretic Text VSO Verb-Subject-Object (word order) vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Accents concluding direct speech............................................................................29 2. Pattern example: Judges 6:20 ..................................................................................32 3. Pattern example: Judges 15:1 .................................................................................33 4. Pattern example: Judges 8:20 ..................................................................................34 5. Pattern example: Judges 1:3 ....................................................................................35 6. Pattern example: Judges 4:9 ....................................................................................36 7. Pattern example: Judges 7:9–11 ..............................................................................37 8. Divergence example: Judges 11:38 .........................................................................38 9. Divergence example: Judges 16:12 .........................................................................40 10. Divergence example: Judges 16:30 .........................................................................41 11. Divergence example: Judges 19:28 .........................................................................43 12. Location of ve‘atah in relation to the accents..........................................................47 13. Pattern example: Judges 13:7 ..................................................................................50 14. Pattern example: Judges 15:18 ................................................................................50 15. Pattern example: 1 Samuel 9:13 ..............................................................................51 16. Pattern example: 2 Kings 7:9 ..................................................................................52 17. Divergence example: Genesis 50:17 .......................................................................54 18. Divergence example: Judges 17:3 ...........................................................................55 19. Divergence example: Judges 18:14 .........................................................................56 20. Divergence example: Joshua 9:6, 11 .......................................................................57 viii Table Page 21. Divergence example: Genesis 32:10 .......................................................................58 22. Divergence example: 2 Samuel 24:10 and 1 Chronicles 21:8.................................59 23. Divergence example: 2 Samuel 19:10–11 ...............................................................61 24. Divergence example: Judges 6:13 ...........................................................................62 25. Divergence example: Exodus 3:18 ..........................................................................63 26. Accents framing conditional sentences....................................................................68 27. Pattern example: Judges 6:17 ..................................................................................72 28. Pattern example: Judges 4:8 ....................................................................................73