(Aramaic Bible, Vol 8)
Translated, with Apparatus, and Notes
By Bernard Grossfeld
Michael Glazier Books (1988), 171 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0814654873
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The Targum Onqelos to Leviticus and Numbers (Aramaic Bible, Vol 8) Translated, with Apparatus, and Notes By Bernard Grossfeld Michael Glazier Books (1988), 171 pages ISBN-13: 978-0814654873 |
Reviewed by Israel Drazin - July 12, 2010
See my reviews of the Michael Glazier books on Genesis and Exodus for an explanation of Targum Onqelos, also spelt Onkelos, and the purpose and limited role of the Michael Glazier series on the Aramaic translations of all the books of the Hebrew Bible. The Aramaic translators, as pointed out there, made many changes in the biblical text. The following is one kind of alteration.
The Aramaic translators usually substitute the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God, y-h-v-h, for Scripture's Elohim, "God." The Aramaic translations were composed for the general population, and the targumist wanted to replace the plural form of Elohim, even though it denotes the majestic plural. (The singular form is "el.") They were most likely concerned that the people would mistakenly suppose that the plural form suggests that there are many gods.
Since the Onkelos translator substituted Elohim with the Tetragrammaton - he does so 204 times in his translation of the Pentateuch – it is obvious that polytheism was a problem during the late fourth century when he composed his translation. However, the Torah itself is not troubled that the public would think that Elohim is anything but a name or description of God since the Torah used the term.
