Sebirin
Sebirin [1]
( סבירין ), or Imaginary Readings, is a technical term of the Masorites to denote that words in the Bible ought to be read so and so, but they are not. This expression is derived from Sabar, סבר , "To believe, think;" thus we read in Daniel 7:25 ויסבר , And He Thought, and in the Chaldee paraphrase on Proverbs 14:12, "there is a way which is right in the view of man," we read "There is a way which man imagines" ( דסברין ), etc. Now there are a number of such imaginary or supposed readings to be found in the Hebrew text of the Old Test. as the following examples will prove. Thus we read: האל , these, is said to stand eight times for האלה , as in Genesis 19:25; Genesis 26:3; Leviticus 18:29, etc.
אלפי , Thousand, is said to stand four times for אלפים as in Exodus 32:28; Judges 4:10, etc.
וימר , And He Said, is said to stand twelve times for ויאמרו , "and they said," as in Exodus 14:25; Numbers 32:25, etc.
ארצ , Into The Land, is said to stand five times for
ארצה , as in Genesis 45:25, etc.
אשׁח , A Wife, stands three times for לאשׁח , "for a wife," as in 2 Chronicles 21:6; Ezra 2:61; Nehemiah 7:63.
אשׁר , Which, stands four times for אשׁר , "as which," Exodus 14:13; Leviticus 7:36; Leviticus 7:38; Numbers 4:49.
אתה , As Which, stands ten times for עתה , "which," Deuteronomy 16:10; Deuteronomy 24:8, Joshua 2:7; Joshua 13:8; Joshua 14:2; Jeremiah 23:27 : Isaiah 51:13; Hosea 7:12; Jonah 1:14; Haggai 1:12.
אתה , Thou, stands three times for עתה , "now," as 1 Kings 1:18; 1 Kings 1:20.
ממנו , From It, stands six times for ממנה , "from her," as Leviticus 6:8; Leviticus 26:9; Joshua 1:7; Judges 11:34; 2 Kings 4:39; 1 Kings 22:43.
על , Upon, stands nine times for עד , "until," as Genesis 49:13; Joshua 2:7; Joshua 13:16; Judges 7:29,
על , Upon, stands twice for עם , "with," as Genesis 30:40; 1 Samuel 20:8.
Without enlarging Upon this list, we will remark for those interested in that subject that these סבירין are given in alphabetical order by Frensdorff in his Massora Magna; the first part is entitled Massoretisches Whr-Terbuch, p. 369 sq. See Buxtorf, Tiberias, p. 257 sq.; Levita, Massoreth Ha- Massoreth (ed. Ginsburg), p. 225 sq. (B. P.)
