QERE kə rā' (קְרִי, H7950; that which is to be read). Preferred readings differing from the written OT text either as corrections or variant changes, placed in the mg. by transcribers. Rules prohibited changing the authoritative, consonantal text; but the Massoretes, who introduced vowel signs into the text, did place vowels of any preferred variant with the unchanged consonants (called the Kethibh, “the written”) and then indicated the appropriate consonants of the amended word in the margin. More than 1,300 such marginal notes are said to be found in the MT. See Text and Manuscripts of the Old Testament.