Masora

Not all printed or electronic Hebrew Bibles ( Mikra / Tanakh) are exactly the same in all details. For example the diacritical symbols used for vowels ( nekuddot) and cantillations marks (ta`amei ha-mikra) can sometimes vary from edition to edition. A good illustration of this is to be found in Genesis 32:18 see the picture below:

It should be noted that in the above example there is a slight change in vocalization and in maybe how the text is to be chanted but not in meaning. An interesting discussion on of this can be found in the archives of the Avodah Mailing List: http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol08/v08n090.shtml#03

It would seem that most (if not all) translators follow the ‘Ktiv Menuqad’ of the ‘Masoretic’ text when attempting to render 1 kings 17:6 into English. In doing so translators have either knowingly or unwittingly accepted the Masoretes’ interpretation of scripture. The text that lay before the Masoretes was probably the ambiguous והערבים . Without, the Neqqudot the word could be read either as ‘ravens’ or ‘Arabs’ depending on its literary context or on the interpreter’s decision. However, the Masoretes who added the Neqqudot had to decide whether to point the word with the ‘patach’ vowel under the letter ‘Ayin’ or a ‘Holam’ above the letter ‘Ayin’. A simple change of even a single vowel point can radically alter the meaning of a word in classical Hebrew and that actually is the only difference between the reading ‘ravens’ or ‘Arabs’. Examine the image below carefully. The vowel points are in red to make it easier to spot the difference between these two readings/vocalizations/interpretations:

What’s your opinion or take on the above?  In the over all context of the narrative how do you think the word under consideration should be rendered and why?