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{{Redirect|Ben Asher}}
'''Aaron ben Moses ben Asher''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{Script/Hebrew|אַהֲרוֹן בֶּן משֶׁה בֶּן אָשֵׁר}}; [[Tiberian Hebrew]]: ''ʾAhărōn ben Mōše ben ʾĀšēr''; 10th century, died c.960) was a [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[sofer|scribe]] who lived in [[Tiberias]] in northern [[Israel]] and refined the [[Tiberian vocalization|Tiberian system]] of writing vowel sounds in [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]], which is still in use today, and serves as the basis for grammatical analysis.
== Background ==
For over a thousand years ben Asher has been regarded by Jews of all streams as having produced the most accurate version of the [[Masoretic Text]]. Since his day, both handwritten manuscripts of the [[Hebrew Bible]] and printed versions strove to follow his system and continue to do so. He lived and worked in the city of [[Tiberias]] on the western shore of the [[Sea of Galilee]].
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Ben Asher was descended from a long line of [[Masorete]]s, starting with someone called Asher, but nothing is known about them other than their names. His father, Moses ben Asher, is credited with writing the [[Codex Cairensis|Cairo Codex of the Prophets]] (895 CE). If authentic, it is among the oldest manuscripts containing a large proportion of the [[Hebrew Bible]]. [[Umberto Cassuto]] used this manuscript as the basis of his edition of the Hebrew Bible. Aaron ben Asher himself added vowelization and cantillation notes, and mesorah to the [[Aleppo Codex]], correcting its letter-text according to the [[Masoretic Text|masorah]].
[[Maimonides]] accepted the views of ben Asher only in regard to open and closed sections,{{
== First serious scribe ==
Aaron ben Moses ben Asher was the first to take Hebrew grammar seriously. He was the first systematic Hebrew grammarian. His ''Sefer Dikdukei ha-Te'amim'' (''Grammar or Analysis of the Accents'') was an original collection of grammatical rules and [[masoretic]] information. Grammatical principles were not at that time considered worthy of independent study. The value of this work is that the grammatical rules presented by ben Asher reveal the linguistic background of vocalization for the first time. He had a tremendous influence on subsequent Biblical grammar and scholarship.
A rival system of note was that developed by the school of [[ben Naphtali]].
== Was ben Asher a Karaite? ==
{{See also|Karaite Judaism}}
Scholars have long debated as to whether Aaron ben Asher was a [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite]]. While many modern scholars lean toward this being true,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bowker |first1=John |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of world religions |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-172722-1 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095458193 |chapter=Aaron ben Moses Ben Asher}}</ref><ref name="Hayyim2007">{{Cite EJ |last=Ben-Hayyim|first=Zeev |title=Ben-Asher, Aaron ben Moses|volume=3 |pages=319–321 |via=Gale Virtual Reference Library |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ben-asher-aaron-ben-moses}}</ref><ref name="Zer2009">{{
▲</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Friedmann |first1=Jonathan L. |title=Review of: G. Khan, A Short Introduction to the Tiberian Masoretic Bible and its Reading Tradition |journal=Journal of Hebrew Scriptures |date=2015 |volume=15 |url=http://www.jhsonline.org/reviews/reviews_new/review740.htm |quote=he makes subtle allusions to his view that the ben Asher family was not Karaite, contrary to popular belief}}</ref> there is no clear consensus and thus the question remains open.<ref name="Tawil2010">{{cite book |last1=Tawil |first1=Hayim |last2=Schneider |first2=Bernard |title=Crown of Aleppo: The Mystery of the Oldest Hebrew Bible Codex |date=2010 |publisher=Jewish Publication Society |isbn=978-0-8276-0957-0 |pages=33–37 |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=Rkjl28v4ZdAC&pg=PA35}}</ref>
The idea was first suggested in 1860 by [[Simhah Pinsker]], who argued that Masoretes in general should be ‘suspected’ of being Karaites since they seem to have devoted all of their time to the Bible and showed no interest in rabbinic Midrash or Talmud, which at times contradicts the Masoretic Text. Numerous other pieces of circumstantial evidence were presented to make a strong case, however not strong enough to tip the scales and end the debate.<ref name="Zer2009" /><ref name="Khan2020">{{
Some examples of evidence include the following:<ref name="Tawil2010" />
* strong parallels to Karaite theology in the way both Aaron and his father Moshe write about all three parts of the Hebrew Bible being equally authoritative in terms of halakha (a classic Karaite position);
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* the fact that the Codex was in the possession of the Karaites (since the time of its inscribed dedication, I.E. even before they ransomed it from the crusades).
A turning point came in the 1950s when Benjamin Klar discovered that an anti-Karaite polemical poem by [[Saadia Gaon|Sa‘adia Gaon]] criticized a Karaite masorete by the name of "ben Asher".<ref name="Tawil2010" /><ref name="Zer2009" /><ref name="Khan2020" />{{efn|Gatez seems to have already made these connections about 60 years earlier.<ref>{{
== Footnotes ==
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== See also ==
* [[Aleppo Codex]]
* [[Leningrad Codex]]
== References ==
{{
== Further reading ==
* Aaron Dotan, "Was Aharon Ben Asher Indeed a Karaite?" (Hebrew), in [[Sidney Z. Leiman|S.Z. Leiman]], ''The Canon and Masorah of the Hebrew Bible: An Introductory Reader'' (New York: Ktav, 1974).
* Aaron Dotan, "Ben Asher's Creed" (Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1977).
* Rafael Zer, "Was the Masorete of the Keter a Rabbanite or Karaite?", ''[[Sefunot]]'' 23 (2003) Pages 573-587 (Hebrew)
== External links ==
*[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/benAsher.html Aaron ben Moses ben Asher]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170822215959/http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/upload/_FILE_1474292167.pdf Was the Masorete of the Aleppo Codex of Rabbanite or of Karaite Origin? Zer]
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