| Summary: | 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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