Psalm 6/Notes/Textual.v. 4.349842
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
- In the Masoretic Text, there is a ketiv/qere in v. 4b – a case of dissonance between the consonantal text (the ketiv = "what is written") and the reading tradition (the qere, "what is read"), represented by the vocalization. In Ps 6:4b, the consonantal text (the ketiv) reads ואת, and the vocalization (the qere) reads וְאַתָּ (i.e., וְאַתָּה). There is probably no difference in meaning between these two forms, only a difference in spelling. The ketiv ואת is to be regarded as a defectively written 2ms pronoun: and you (וְאַתָּ).[1]
- ↑ Cf. LXX: καὶ σύ. Compare the form אַתְּ in Num 11:15, which must be 2ms according to the context. In this case, however, the Masoretes vocalize it as though it were a feminine pronoun. The Masoretic note on אַתְּ in Num 11:15 says, "three times with a masculine sense" (cf. Ezek 18:14). Interestingly, the Qumran composition 4QCatenaA quotes Psalm 6 but has ועתה ("and now") instead of ואת/אתה ("and you"). The reading ועתה is secondary, but it demonstrates that, already at this early date, ואת was pronounced with a final "ah" sound (וְאַתָּה).