The Talmud Yerushalmi [[Ta'anit lxviii. 1]], perhaps referring to an earlier time, says that while the Temple was still standing, standard codices of the Pentateuch were officially recognized. These were deposited in the court of the Temple and served as models for accuracy. According to the passage quoted, three were known by the following names respectively: ''Sefer Me'on,'' called on account of its reading instead of [[Deutonomy 33#27]]; ''Sefer Za'aṭuṭe,'' because of its reading instead of [[Exodus 24#5]]; and "Sefer Hi," because of its reading with a ''yod'' in nine passages instead of eleven. The ''Masorites'', too, seem to have consulted standard manuscripts celebrated for their accuracy in the redaction of the text and in the compilation of the ''Masoretic'' glosses.
It is a tenet of halachic Judaism that the ''Tenach'' (Bible) has been preserved in its entirety from its original writing until today. Minor variations are mentioned in rabbinic literature, but Jewish law has not found these to imply any differences in meaning or in implication. (This face fact has been reinforced by modern scholars who have analyzed the Qurman fragments (see below), indicating that they confirm that the meaning and implication of the text has remained faithful to what we now call the Masoretic Text for more than two thousand years).
Though only the Aleppo and Leningrad manuscripts have been preserved, the first nine manuscripts below are referred to as authorities in almost every manuscript of importance:
