Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Schmuel <schmuel AT escape.com>]

Hi b-hebrew,

Ken Penner,
>>4. I am hesitant to think of Targumim as simply "repositories of exegetical
>>traditions" rather than primarily translations. Too much of them read as
>>very direct translation, with very little exegesis.

Trevor
>Well, yes and no. I'm most familiar with Onqelos & Jonathan, which are 
>probably the most susceptible to this charge of being "very direct 
>translation, with very little exegesis," 

Schmuel
Hi Trevor.. Please allow me to jump in with a question...

I am a little surprised here about the reference to Targum Jonathan,
although not at all to Onqelos.

Since Targum Jonathan to the Prophets (not Pseudo-Jonathan which 
is later and Pentateuch) is well-known for the Messianic exegesis,
per the Samson Levey book, and the rather commentary-ish nature
of its Isaiah 53 translation, I am puzzled by your statement here :-)

Any assistance on how one looks at such a passage as the TJ 
Isaiah 53 as "very direct translation, with very little exegesis" 
would be much appreciated.

Shalom,
Steven Avery
Queens, NY
www.messiahresearch.com

>so my remarks should not be taken as 
>applicable to the others. But the translation method in these early targums 
>seems to have some distinctive features. One is that every word in the 
>Hebrew 
>text has to be represented somehow. This is not quite the same as 
>word-for-word, since a word can be represented by more than one word in 
>Aramaic. In fact, there are places, particularly in poetic material, where 
>whole sentences or paragraphs are used to amplify the understood meaning of 
>one word. But even in the non-poetic sections, an interpretive trend can be 
>seen. Distinctions are introduced that are not apparent in the language of 
>the 
>Hebrew text. Two different words will be used on various occasions to 
>translate an individual Hebrew word, with a significant distinction made 
>between their meanings. I'm not saying I can substantiate the claim that was 
>made about what Targums are and what they aren't. But I think these are some 
>issues to take into consideration before assuming they are just direct 
>translation.