'Not We' Written, 'We Are His' Read — Psalm 100:3
וְלֹא / וְלוֹ
What to look for
In the thanksgiving psalm — 'He made us, and not we ourselves' / 'He made us, and we are His' — the written text has velo with an alef, the margin reads it with a vav.
What it is
A ketiv/qere twin to Job 13:15, built on the same soundalike pair, this time both readings full of light.
Why it matters
The ketiv denies self-creation: we did not make ourselves. The qere declares belonging: we are His, the sheep of His pasture. One letter's difference, and the sentence pivots from what we are not to whose we are.
How it has been understood
Unlike Job's dark ketiv, both readings here are treasured — many translations even print both. The scribal note becomes a two-line theology: creatureliness and belonging, humility and comfort, hinging on alef versus vav.