Targums Study Archive
The word “targum” refers to translations of the Bible into Jewish Aramaic. In the post-exilic period, Aramaic began to be widely spoken in the Jewish community alongside the native language, Hebrew. Eventually Aramaic replaced Hebrew for most purposes, and the Bible itself required translation into the more widely familiar vernacular language.
JEWISH SOURCES:
Targums
Talmudic Midrashim, Aramaic Targumim and Hebrew Seforim
Torah – Or “TaNaKh”, an acronym denoting these three sections:
– Torah (Teaching)
– Nevi’im (Prophets) – Former (Deuteronomic Code); Latter (Literary)
– Ketuvim (Writings) Canonical Collection From Post-Prophetic Age
Talmud – Documents that Comment and Expand Upon Mishnah
– Mishnah 1st-2nd Century Rabbinic Study Book of Laws/Values
– Gamara (Agadah – Tales and Morals ; Halacha – Code of Jewish Law)
– Babylonian (“Bavli”) Gemara (200-600)
– Palestinian (“Yerushalmi”) Gemara (200-500)
Midrash Exegetical Interpretation of the Torah’s Text
– Halakhah – Interpreting Law and Religious Practice
– Aggadah – Biblical Narrative ; Ethics, Theology, Homily (200-1000)
Targums – Translations of the Bible into Jewish Aramaic
Dead Sea Scrolls – Collection of Materials Found in Judean Desert
Josephus – One of World’s All-Time Greatest Non-Biblical Historians
Apocalyptic Genre – “Turn of Era” Lit. Exploring Eschatological Salvation
Liturgical Texts – Routine Prayers Said Spontaneously
Reference Works – Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Concordances
“Jewish writings stipulate that forty years after the coming of the Messiah there will be a resurrection of the dead, and all who are lying in dust will rise to new life.”
Overview: About Targums
The word “targum” refers to translations of the Bible into Jewish Aramaic. In the post-exilic period, Aramaic began to be widely spoken in the Jewish community alongside the native language, Hebrew. Eventually Aramaic replaced Hebrew for most purposes, and the Bible itself required translation into the more widely familiar vernacular language. Thus the Targum was born. The Mishnah, the codified form of Jewish oral tradition, set down detailed rules for the turgeman, the reciter of Targum, to follow in the synagogue service.
The earliest known targums are texts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, most notably the Job Targum from Cave 11, although these documents were probably not used in worship. The Targums that were used in rabbinic Judaism are the following:
Targum Onkelos: Ascribed by tradition to the proselyte Onkelos, this translation, which covers the Torah or Pentateuch, is considered to be the oldest and it is the most widely used of all the Jewish targums. It most likely originated in Palestine in the first few centuries CE, but was transmitted and edited in the East, among the Jews of Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud it is referred to as “our Targum.”
Targum Jonathan: As with Onkelos, some traditions ascribe this targum to Jonathan ben Uzziel, a pupil of Hillel, and, like Onkelos, it probably originated in Palestine in the early centuries CE. Targum Jonathan contains renderings of the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets).
The Palestinian Targums: While Onkelos and Jonathan were used mainly in the East, a distinctively Palestinian targum, covering the Torah only, was composed and used in the West. The two complete versions of the Palestinian targum that survive are Targum Neofiti, a complete codex that was only discovered in 1956 in the Vatican Library; and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, which is extant in only one manuscript from the British Museum. (This Targum is known as “Pseudo-Jonathan,” because a common abbreviation for it in the medieval period — TY, for Targum Yerushalmi, or Jerusalem Targum — was incorrectly read as “Targum Yonatan.”) Incomplete versions of the Palestinian Targum survive, known as the Fragment-Targum and other fragmentary witnesses have been discovered in the Cairo Geniza.
Targums to the Writings: The latest of the rabbinic targums are those to the Writings, the third division of the Hebrew Bible. Judging by the dialect of Aramaic, they were composed at different times and places. The Targum of Job, Targum of Psalms, and Targum of Chronicles are all similar in language to the Pseudo-Jonathan Targum. The Targums to the Five Megilloth (Festival Scrolls) — Ruth, Esther, Song of Songs, Lamentations, and Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) — all contain long interpretive additions. The Targum of Proverbs may be the latest of all; parts of it were copied from the translation of Proverbs found in the Syriac Peshitta. There are no targums of Ezra, Nehemiah, or Daniel.
The targums are important to biblical scholars for several reasons. They are a witness to the Hebrew Bible text as it existed in the first few centuries CE, and references to them are frequent in the apparatus of the Biblia Hebraica. Since it was characteristic of their method sometimes to add interpretive or folkloric material to the translation or paraphrase, many of the targums preserve valuable information about Jewish theology, practice, and interpretation of Scripture from the early centuries of the Christian era. For linguists, the targums serve as an important source for the Aramaic dialects.
The Targumim of the Megillot
(Lamentations 1)
“2 When Moses the Prophet sent messengers to spy out the land, the messengers returned and gave forth a bad report concerning the land of Israel. This was the night of the ninth of Ab. When the people of the House of Israel heard this bad report which they had received concerning the land of Israel, the people lifted up their voice and the people of the House of Israel wept during that night. Immediately the anger of the Lord was kindled against them and he decreed that it should be thus in that night throughout their generations over the destruction of the Temple. “
“19 “When I was delivered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,” Jerusalem said, “I called to my friends, sons of the nations, with whom I had made treaties, to come to my aid. But they deceived me and turned to destroy me. (These are the Romans who entered with Titus and the wicked Vespasian and they built siegeworks against Jerusalem.) My priests and my elders within the city perish from hunger, because they searched for sustenance for themselves to eat, in order to preserve their lives. ” (Targum Lamentations)
Lamentations 4
(On The Failure of the Edomite Collaboration)
“17 Our eyes still fail to see our help which we expected to come from the Romans, but which turned to naught for us. In hope we watched for the Edomites who were a nation which could not save. 18 They prowled our paths so that we could not walk safely in our open places. We said, “Our end is near; our days are fulfilled,” for our end had come.” (Targum Lamentations)
Targum Jonathan
(On Isaiah 53)
“Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high, and increase, and be exceeding strong: as the house of Israel looked to him through many days, because their countenance was darkened among the peoples, and their complexion beyond the sons of men (Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 53, ad locum).’”
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Date: 23 Jan 2006
Time: 17:27:15
Comments:
The apocryphal Book of Judith refers to Nebuchadnezzer as “Lord of the whole and God.” This is a 2nd century b.c. work. In The Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg the Roman emperor, Titus, is being alluded to but the text states that the Palymrene archers fighting on the side of Rome in the seige of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. are giving their assistance to “Nebuchadnezzer.” In the Jewish Midrash Rabbah Ecclesiastes it states that the Roman emperor, Trajan, is “a descendant of Nebuchadnezzer.” First Peter 5:l3 states — “Greetings froml her who dwells in Babylon . . .” in lst century a.d. Imperial Rome. Is Nebuchadnezzer the intended solution to Revelation l3:l8 (666)? [Walter C. Cambra]
Date: 29 Apr 2009
Time: 10:10:38
Your Comments:
The following is a supplement to the entry by Walter C. Cambra for [23 Jan. 2006 — l7:27:l5].
The workd “SHESHAK” occurs only twice in THE BIBLE and is found in the Book of Jeremiah 25:26 and 5l:4l. Applying the “ATBASH CODE” to the Hebrew spelling for “SHESHAK” [Sh, Sh, Q] generates the Hebrew spelling for Babel/Babylon, namely– B, B, L (beth, beth, lamed). {Walter C. Cambra} The Jewish HOUSE OF YESHUA/JESUS was captive in 6th century b.c. Babylon (See Ezra 2:36) when the lst Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. Apparently the lineage of the Jewish HOUSE OF YESHUA/JESUS was in lst century c.e. Imperial Rome when Titus destroyed the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem {See FIRST PETER 5:l3; “Greetings from her who dwells in Babylon”).
Date: 21 Jan 2010
Time: 14:45:22
Your Comments:
Chapter l3:l8 of The New Testament, Book of Revelation, cites the conundrum for the number 666 based upon the numerical values that were assigned to the ancient Greek alphabet. The components of the riddle are veiled in arcane symbolism in the form of a mathematical puzzle that requires not only knowledge, but wisdom as well! The riddle is somewhat complex but its components were so designed to show that once it was deciphered, the answer would not be a mere coincidence. The components of the riddle generate the number 666 simultaneously in two ways. The 7 headed sea-beast of Rev. l3:l is a cipher for the 7 strategic kingdoms of Nebekednesser’s neo-babylonian empire in the 6th century b.c. when the Jewish HOUSE OF YESHUA (translated in the Greek SEPTUAGINT, Ezra 2:36 as HOUSE OF JESUS) was captive/exiled in Babylon. These strateic kingdoms are: Babylon, Egypt, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon. {Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon are found in a single cluster in the Book of Jeremiah 27:3.} The two horned land-beast mentioned at Rev. l3:ll is a cipher for the first and last kings of 6th century b.c. Babylon, namely, Nebekednesser and Balthasar. The numeical values for the Greek letters used in spelling NEBEKEDNESSER, namely, Nu, Eta, Beta, Eta, Kappa, Eta, Delta, Nu, Eta, Sigma, Sigma, Eta, Rho total 666. The numbers just BELOW the Greek letters, that is, their relative position in the Greek alphabet, for all 7 kingdoms and two kings names, will total 666 as well!! [The “e” in Nebekednesser is the Greek letter ETA.] No one has proposed a solution to Rev. l3:l8 (666) that generates this number simultaneously in two ways. Even though the canonical Book of Revelation is a product of the latter half of the lst century c.e. during the sovereignty of Imperial Rome, all the components of the riddles solution are based upon 6th century b.c. historical realities when the lst Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the armies of Nebekednesser under the command of Nebuzaradan. The Romans, under the comman!
d of Titus, destroyed the 2nd Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 70 c.e. Notice that The New Testament letter titled FIRST PETER 5:l3 states: Greetings from her who dwells in Babylon. In The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzburg, volume 6, page 406, a battle scene is being described where the armies of lst century c.e. Imperial Rome, under Titus, is destroying the 2nd Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The Palymrene archers fighting on the side of Rome are characterized as “giving their assistance to Nebekednesser.” In The Apocryphal Book of Judith 2:5, 3:8, 6:2,4 Nebekednesser is used symbolically and referred to variously as “Lord of the whole world”, “Who is God except Nebekednesser?”, “All kingdoms shall call upon Nebekednesser alone as
God.” Apparently the lineage of the Jewish HOUSE OF YESHUA/JESUS was in lst century c.e. Imperial Rome when the Romans destroyed the 2nd Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Isn’t it strange that the number for Jesus’ name spelled in Greek (888) isn’t found anywhere in THE BIBLE. 888 is found, however, in book #l of THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. The number 666 denotes the lower/animal nature while 888 denotes the higher/divine nature. The Book of Daniel 4:l6 mentions that God gave Nebekednesser the mind of a beast for his arrogance and impiety. [Walter C. Cambra–Scriptural Sleugth]
Date: 28 Jan 2010
Time: 13:04:55
Your Comments:
REGARDING THE NUMERICAL VALUE TOTAL OF 888 … AND, 1697 found in book #l of THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES– IN THE 21 JAN 2010 ENTRY I MENTIONED THAT THE NUMERICAL VALUE TOTAL OF 888 FOR JESUS’ NAME SPELLED IN GREEK WASN’T FOUND ANYWHERE IN THE BIBLE. 888 IS BASED UPON THE GREEK SPELLING FOR JESUS, NAMELY, IOTA (10) + ETA (8) + SIGMA (200) + OMICRON (70) + UPSILON (400) + SIGMA (200) = 888. THERE IS ANOTHER NUMERICAL VALUE TOTAL IN THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES, BOOK #l, OF 1697 FOR SOME ARCANE/OCCULT NINE LETTERED NAME FOR THE HEAVENLY FATHER OF JESUS. THIS CONUNDRUM HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED!! THIS FACT GIVES TESTIMONY TO THE WORDS ATTRIBUTED TO JESUS IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 8:54-56, NAMELY, “ALTHOUGH YOU CALL HIM GOD, YOU DON’T KNOW HIM.” I WISH TO PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING SOLUTION, NAMEY, “THEOCHRISTU”, THAT IS, THE GREEK LETTERS–
THETA (9) + ETA (8) + OMICRON (70) + CHI (600) + RHO (100) + IOTA (10) + SIGMA (200) + TAU (300) + UPSILON (400) = 1697. THIS NUMERICAL VALUE TOTAL ALSO CONCEALS A CIPHER FOR THE MESSENGER GOD OF LIGHT! NOTICE THAT THE GOSPEL OF JOHN l2:44-46 ATTRIBUTES THE FOLLOWING WORDS TO JESUS, NAMELY, “I HAVE COME INTO THE WORLD AS LIGHT.” [WALTER C. CAMBRA, A.A., B.A., B.A., M.A., (FRC)]