Targum

Place in Scripture

The Targum (Targum) is a body of Jewish literature that translates and paraphrases the Hebrew Old Testament into Aramaic. Scripture does not mention a document called a "Targum." However, Ezra 4:7 states that a letter sent to the king of Persia was "written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue," and the Hebrew text there uses a word from the same root. The Talmud and other Jewish traditions have interpreted Nehemiah 8:8, where the book of the law was read aloud and the readers "gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading," as the origin of the Targum. Because the text itself does not describe this as translation, however, the connection is a later interpretation.

Background

The word means "translation" or "interpretation." After the Babylonian exile, Aramaic became the common language of the region, and a growing number of Jews were unfamiliar with Hebrew. A custom therefore developed in the synagogue in which, after the Hebrew text was read, an interpreter rendered it orally into Aramaic. These oral translations were later committed to writing. The principal Targums are as follows:

• Targum Onkelos: A translation of the Pentateuch that tends toward a literal rendering.
• Targum Jonathan: A translation of the Prophets, traditionally associated with the name of Jonathan ben Uzziel.
• Palestinian Targums: These include Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and Targum Neofiti, which add considerable commentary and traditional material to the Pentateuch.
• Targums of the Writings: Translations of books such as Psalms and Job.

Fragments of Aramaic translations of Job and Leviticus have also been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Targums sometimes use terms such as Memra ("Word") to avoid expressions that portray God directly in human terms.

Significance in the Broader Biblical Context

Aramaic was the everyday language of Judea in the time of Jesus. The cry "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" in Mark 15:34 is Psalm 22:1 spoken in Aramaic. Scholars note that Mark 4:12, which reads "and their sins should be forgiven them," differs from the Hebrew text of Isaiah 6:10, "and be healed," and resembles the wording of the Targum of Isaiah. Targum Jonathan renders the "servant" of Isaiah 52:13 as "my servant the Messiah," and it is therefore frequently cited as an example of Jewish interpretation that understood the Suffering Servant as the Messiah. Some scholars have also linked the Memra of the Targums with the Logos of John's Gospel.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Dating: The extant Targums are generally thought to have been edited after the New Testament period. For this reason, some scholars urge caution in using them as background material for the New Testament. Others hold that they preserve older oral interpretations.
• Status: In Judaism the Targums have been respected as an interpretive tradition tied to synagogue reading. Protestants and Catholics treat them not as canonical but as resources for textual study and for the history of interpretation.
• Distinguishing later embellishments: It is sometimes claimed that Jesus read from a Targum in the synagogue, but Luke 4 records only that he read from the book of Isaiah.
• Relationship to Selah: The Targum of Psalms is known to render Selah with a word meaning "forever," and it is therefore mentioned in discussions of the meaning of Selah.

In the Korean Church

The Targums are studied mainly in seminary courses on Old Testament background and in original-language studies. In preaching, they are mentioned chiefly when explaining the history of interpretation of messianic prophecy or the background of synagogue worship.