KETIB‐QERE The Ketib‐Qere (lit. ‘written’ and ‘read’) phenomenon is found in the text of medieval masoretic Hebrew Bibles. This phenomenon indicates that a word must be read in a way different to how it is written in the biblical text. The qere reading is a combination of the consonants found in the margin as part of the Masorah Parva (MP), called qere, and the vowels written in the biblical text below the word that must be read differently, called ketib. Aleppo, Is 3:16 The main manuscripts –those attributed or related to the Ben Asher family (Or 4445, Cairo, Aleppo, and Leningrad Codices)– contain discrepancies regarding the number of cases, their location and their graphical representation (Martín‐Contreras 2016). The most common way of indicating this phenomenon is by using the shorter form of the term qere, '‫ק‬, and less often the abbreviation '‫קר‬. Normally the whole word is given in the qere, but sometimes it only indicates the particular letter or letters that are affected. Vowels tend to appear in the biblical text below the ketib although in some cases they also are attached to the qere letters. Some other terms, such as yatir (‘superfluous’) or a sign like a large final nun, have been considered another way of expressing the Ketib‐Qere phenomenon (Yeivin); however, they seem to be related to the consonantal text without any reference to the reading tradition (Martín‐ Contreras 2015). Researchers have failed to reach an agreement on the origin, function and classification of the phenomenon (Martín‐Contreras 2013). Although the Ketib‐Qere does not appear in earlier biblical manuscripts, the mention of some cases in the rabbinic literature seems to attest to its antiquity (Tov). In addition to the two traditional theories given to explain this phenomenon (correction and textual collation), several new approaches have emerged in recent decades. These interpretations, with different nuances, suggest that the origin of the Ketib‐Qere lies in the relationship between the manuscript (the consonant graphic tradition, the ketib) and the way in which the Bible was read (qere), joining the reading traditions; moreover, they suggest that the function of the qere would have been to protect the ketib and to keep the ketib from being contaminated by the qere and vice versa, therefore preserving the biblical text (Barr; Graves; Morrow and Clark; Cohen). Furthermore, several classifications of this phenomenon have been proposed. They are based on: multiple categories of different nature (historical, grammatical, syntactic, phonetic, semantic; Gordis); just two categories (orthographic and morphological; Morrow and Clarke); or formal criteria (textual unit of the note, position and mater lectionis; Cassuto). Some cases are known as qere perpetuum. These words must always be read differently to how they are written but have no circellus or consonantal text in the margin, although they do display the qere vowels below the ketib. The leading example is the tetragrammaton, YHWH, which uses vowel pointing from the words Adonai or Elohim. These cases only appear in the Pentateuch. In addition, there are two more phenomena that are usually treated together, although these cases are not really Ketib‐Qere. ‐ Qere we la Ketiv (‘read but not written’) The text of the medieval masoretic Hebrew Bibles also contains words that must be read although they are not written in the consonantal text. The number of cases and the way of marking this phenomenon in the biblical text and in the Masorah differ from one manuscript to another and even within the same manuscript (Martín‐Contreras 2015). According to the Masorah Magna of the Cairo and Leningrad Codices, two traditions existed concerning the number of cases affected by this phenomenon: 1) ten cases (Judg 20:13; 2 Sam 8:3; 18:20; 16:23; 2 Kgs 19:37; 19:31; Jer 31:38; 50:29; Ruth 3:5; 3:17); and 2) eleven cases, where the additional eleventh case is the word ‫ ככל‬in Ezek 9:11. There are several ways of indicating this phenomenon in the biblical text: a) giving the vowels and accents, sometimes as well as the masoretic circellus; b) using only the circellus; c) with the accent signs. Normally the vowels and accents of the word that must be read together with the circellus appear in the normal space between two words, without any extra blank space. In the MP, the word that must be read appears first, usually followed by the formula ‫קרי‬ ‫‘( ולא כתיב‬read but not written’) and sometimes by the term ‫קרי‬. ‐ Ketiv we la Qere (‘written but not read’) Eight words are written in the biblical text but should not be read: 2 Sam 13:33; 15:21; 2 Kgs 5:18; Jer 38:16; Jer 39:12; Jer 51:3; Ezek 48:16; Ruth 3:12. The word that should not be read appears without the vowels in the biblical text and the formula ‫‘( כתב ולא קרי‬written but not read’) is used in the MP notes. Both phenomena are mentioned in the rabbinic literature (TB Ned 37b‐38a and in Sof 6,8). BIBLIOGRAPHY J. Barr, “A New Look at Qere/Kethib, Remembering all the Way,” OTS 21 (1981): 19‐37. Ph. Cassuto, Qeré‐Ketib et Listes Massorétiques dans le Manuscrit B19a (Frankfurt 1989). M. Cohen, The Kethib and the Qeri System in the Biblical Text: A Linguistic Analysis of the Various Traditions (Heb.; Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2007). E. Martín Contreras, “The Marginal Nun in the Masorah of the Cairo Codex of the Prophets: Use and Function”, Vetus Testamentum 65:1 (2015): 81‐90. E. Martín Contreras, “The Current State of Masoretic Studies” Sefarad 73:2 (2013): 423‐458, 449‐451. E. Martín Contreras, “The Phenomenon Qere we la’ ketib in the Main Biblical Codices: New Data,” Vetus Testamentum 62 (2012): 77‐87. E. Martín Contreras, “Medieval Masoretic Text: Overview Article”, “Medieval Text of MT: Pentateuch”, “Medieval Text of MT: Prophets”, “Medieval Text of MT: Writings” in A. Lange (ed.), The Textual History of the Bible (forthcoming). W.S. Morrow and E.G. Clarke, “The Ketib/Qere in the Aramaic Portions of Ezra and Daniel,” VT 36 (1986): 406‐422. E. Tov, “The Ketiv‐Qere Variations in Light of the Manuscript Finds in the Judean Desert,” in id., HB, GB, and Qumran (2008): 199–205. I. Yeivin, Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah. Translated by E. J. Revell, (Missoula, Montana, 1980), pp. 52‐53.