This book is intended to provide a quick introductory overview of the Tiberian Masoretic tradition of the Hebrew Bible and its background. It was this tradition that produced the great Masoretic codices of the Middle Ages, which form the basis of modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible. The presentation gives particular prominence to the multi-layered nature of the Masoretic tradition. These layers include the various components of the written text surviving in the medieval Masoretic manuscripts as well as the reading tradition that was transmitted orally in the Middle Ages. Particular attention is given to the Tiberian reading tradition. Much of our current knowledge of this reading tradition, which is essential for a correct understanding of the Tiberian vocalization system, derives from recently discovered medieval sources and has not been incorporated so far into the standard textbooks of Biblical Hebrew used by students.

This second edition contains a number of additions to the first edition, notably in the chapters on Masoretic Treatises and on the Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition.

Geoffrey Khan is Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge. He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1998 and Honorary Fellow of the Academy of the Hebrew Language in 2011. In 2004 he was awarded the Lidzbarski Gold Medal for Semitic Philology.