<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Masoretic Text (MT or M) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Rabbinic Judaism . It is not the original text (Urtext) of the Hebrew Bible . It was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries CE . The oldest extant manuscripts date from around the 9th century . The Aleppo Codex (once the oldest - known complete copy but now missing the Torah) dates from the 10th century . The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter - text, with its vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah . </P> <P> The ancient Hebrew word mesorah (מסורה, alt . מסורת) broadly refers to the whole chain of Jewish tradition (see Oral law), which is claimed (by Orthodox Judaism) to be unchanged and infallible . Referring to the Masoretic Text, mesorah specifically means the diacritic markings of the text of the Hebrew Scriptures and the concise marginal notes in manuscripts (and later printings) of the Tanakh which note textual details, usually about the precise spelling of words . </P>

What is the masoretic text of the bible