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Thursday 3 April 2014

Psalm 122:4 no evidence for the change in note

Can anyone tell me how an editor works when reading these ancient texts?

Aleppo - third line is beginning of verse 4
Here is a typical modern online example of this verse - generally follows Leningrad codex.
שֶׁשָּׁ֨ם עָל֪וּ שְׁבָטִ֡ים שִׁבְטֵי־יָ֭הּ עֵד֣וּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְ֝הֹד֗וֹת לְשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָֽה׃

Aleppo looks like this. In the second image, there are three common signs (half-circles) that are not interpreted for me anywhere - what are they?

In the white square, there is no change of note - no sign beneath the text. What there is is a conflict in the letter L. Its little brow on its hat is interfering with the vav above it.
Letteris has interpreted the interference as a mehuppakh (ַ֤high C)ל֤. Haik-Vantoura and Mitchell both follow this reading. Leningrad has it as a galgal ל֪ (low d#). 'go up' might demand a higher note, but could be recognizing ambivalence with a lower note. Some note change seems required.

From the image of Leningrad, it almost appears that the lowest half-circle, the one to the right of the interfering letters in the white square (left) is being read as the sublinear sign. But I would have read the circle as a munah ל֣ (B) rather than a C.  So the interfering ל֤ in the line following the current line was given as a note!
Leningrad codex Psalm 122:1-4

I guess we have to put up with some guesses...

The music - uninterpreted is above.

I wonder why I persist - Is anyone reading who gets my question?

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