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  • From: Schmuel <schmuel AT escape.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] When did Hebrew cease to be a commonly spoken language?
  • Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 11:17:12 -0400

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.






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