TARGUMIM
(as: “speak”).
In Jewish literature, the Aramaic version of the OT is called targum. With the exception of Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah, which were already written partly in Aramaic, these versions of OT books, paraphrased, and with short intercalary explanations, had their origin in the needs of synagogue worship.
After the captivity, the Jewish people of Palestine spoke Aramaic. It was necessary to translate the Torah orally into Aramaic, also giving explanations to readers or listeners who were ignorant of geography, history and certain Jewish customs of antiquity.
The translation into Aramaic did not represent any serious problem, having been the language of the patriarchs before their entry into Canaan, and being used here and there in the Pentateuch (Gen. 31:47: two words), the Prophets (Jer. 10 :11), in Ezra (Ezra 4:7-6:18; 7:12-26) and in Daniel (Dan. 2:4b-7:28).
Later, these oral translations and explanations would be crystallized in writing, along with legendary expansions in many cases.
The Targums. There are eleven:
(a) That of Onkelos, which could be the oldest, on the Pentateuch. It is a very faithful version of the Torah text, with paraphrases only of some poetic passages, such as Gen. 49; No. 24; Dt. 32; 33.
Traditional terms receive modern translation (Ismaili becomes Arabic, etc.). It raises the question of whether Onquelos was a real person. Certain indications seem to argue in favor of a collective fatherhood, in particular the contradictory statements of the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud.
According to Schiller-Szinessy, Onquelos would however be a historical figure who would have lived at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. The problem still remains.
Written in Palestinian Aramaic, this work appears to have received its final form in Babylon around the 4th century. His authority was great among the Jews, if judged by the frequent quotations found in the Talmud. Published in Bologna for the first time in 1482; A. Berliner published a critical edition (Berlin, 1884).
(b) That of Jonathan ben Uzziel, which includes the prophets and historical books; It is probably older than that of Onkelos and is attributed to the best of the eighty disciples of Hillel (Talmud).
However, its authenticity is doubtful. From the fact that he uses the Targum of Onkelos for quotations from the Pentateuch, it can be estimated that it received its definitive form in Babylon in the middle of the 4th century. This targum has enjoyed great authority within Judaism. It was printed in 1517 in the Rabbinate Bible.
(c) A Samaritan targum of the Pentateuch, in Samaritan Aramaic dialect, with barbaric terms, and from which many chapters are missing (6th century).
(d) The Pseudo-Jonathan, on the Pentateuch, which has two recensions: the targum yerusalmi I (with the complete Pentateuch), probably from the 7th century, and the targum yerusalmi II, very incomplete. Printed in Venice in 1591.
(e) The targum of Joseph the Blind (or One-Eyed), on the Hagiographers (Job, Psalms, Proverbs). Probably a manipulation of the Peschitto’s Syriac text for Proverbs, a trans. from heb. for certain psalms, and a paraphrase for others. Of relatively recent origin.
(f) The targum of the Five Megilloth (scrolls), comprising Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Lamentations. There are several different copies. These targums don’t have much value. Esther’s includes many legendary additions. Date: from the 12th to the 14th centuries. First printed in the Rabbinate Bible in 1517.
(g) The targum of the Chronicles, discovered only in the 17th century in the Erfurt library, where it had remained within a ms. Printed in the year 1680 and edited by Wilkins, in Cambridge, in 1715.
(h), (I), (J) Three Targums on Esther.
(l) A Jerusalem targum on the prophets, known only from a marginal note in ms. 154 Kennicot.
A fairly recent discovery (1956) has been that of the Neofiti targum, on the Pentateuch, a mostly literal version, although it presents numerous paraphrases of the original text.
Its great importance lies in the fact that it comes from the 1st or 2nd century AD, and that its Aramaic is that of Galilee from the time of the Lord.
The value of Targumic literature.
Despite the great freedom of interpretation, the Targums, especially those of greater antiquity, and especially the Neophyte, have a great interest in knowledge of the theological problems of the Jews since the 1st century BC. to the second century AD: the preexistence of the Torah, Angelology, judgment, resurrection and messianic issues.
The targum of Jonathan ben Uziel, undoubtedly the most messianic of all, does not present Moses only under the aspect of a military and victorious leader, but also conceives him under the aspect of the man of sorrows who must go through death, and precursor of the glorious son of David.
Based on an oral tradition that, according to the Targums, dates back to a variable period between the 2nd century BC. and II AD, do not seem to be able to contribute anything useful to the criticism of the Masoretic text. These are frequently defective Aramaic versions in which the text is only rarely presented as a transcription in the classical sense of the term.
In general, the Targums are paraphrases, with the exception of most of the Onquelos and a good part of the Neofiti. Thus, they are not of great value as witnesses to the accuracy of the Hebrew text. of the OT.