Maḥzor Vitry's "Palestinian Vocalization": Is It Really Vocalization?

The geographical provenance of the so-called Palestinian vocalization signs has mainly been based on a single medieval reference, a passage in R. Jacob ben Samson's commentary to tractate Avot (twelfth century, northern France). While past scholars disputed over the precise details of this passage,...

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Published in:Jewish Quarterly Review Vol. 115; no. 3; pp. 521 - 536
Main Author: Howard, Jonathan
Format: Article
Published: University of Pennsylvania Press Summer2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Maḥzor Vitry's "Palestinian Vocalization": Is It Really Vocalization?
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        Philology
        Phonetics
        Invocation
        Cantillation
        Palestine
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          Palestine
          Philology
          Phonetics
          Invocation
          Cantillation
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        cantillation
        Geniza
        Jacob ben Samson
        Vitry
        vocalization
      ab: The geographical provenance of the so-called Palestinian vocalization signs has mainly been based on a single medieval reference, a passage in R. Jacob ben Samson's commentary to tractate Avot (twelfth century, northern France). While past scholars disputed over the precise details of this passage, for the most part the accepted Palestinian origin of the vocalization signs remained intact. However, a renewed examination of this passage leads to the conclusion that Jacob's invocation of the term "pointing" (nikud) does not in fact refer to vocalization signs but rather to cantillation signs, undermining the theory that the "Palestinian" vocalization is in fact Palestinian.
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