Editing Masoretic Text (section)

==History of the Masorah==
The history of the Masorah may be divided into three periods: (1)&nbsp;creative period, from its beginning to the introduction of vowel-signs; (2)&nbsp;reproductive period, from the introduction of vowel-signs to the printing of the Masorah (1525); (3)&nbsp;critical period, from 1525 to the present time.<ref name="Jewish"/>

The materials for the history of the first period are scattered remarks in Talmudic and Midrashic literature, in the post-Talmudical treatises ''Masseket Sefer Torah'' and ''Masseket Soferim'', and in a Masoretic chain of tradition found in ben&nbsp;Asher's ''Diḳduḳe ha-Ṭe'amim,'' §&nbsp;69 and elsewhere.<ref name="Jewish"/>