The Targums

Abstract

This introductory article acquaints the reader with a fascinating, ancient translation of the scroll of Esther, the so-called ‘Targum to Esther’. This translation exists in several versions, and therefore it is better to use the plural and speak of the ‘Targums to Esther’. The language and setting in life of these Targums will be discussed, their history will be traced, and some representative examples will be given to show the distinctive character of these translations. Introduction to Targum In Ancient Judaism the Hebrew and Aramaic term ‘targum’, meaning ‘translation, version’, referred to written translations in any language in general, and to the rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures in particular. So the Greek Septuagint could be called a ‘targum’. However, Targum (in the plural: Targums or Targumim) became the specific designation for the Jewish Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible. The Targums are fascinating because they are not only translations but also expositions of the Bible. Due to their paraphrastic nature, Targums can be quite long compared to the Hebrew source text. In the course of the Second Temple period Aramaic gradually replaced Hebrew as the spoken language in the Jewish communities of Palestine and Babylonia. We are left in the dark as to when exactly this change in the Jewish vernacular gave rise to the Targumic practice, which was very much, although not exclusively, tied to the synagogue service. Judging from the Mishnaic rulings, the Targum had probably entered the Palestinian synagogal liturgy at the start of the rabbinic era. Classic rabbinic sources prescribed that during the Scripture reading an interpreter, the so-called ‘meturgeman’, should translate and interpret the biblical verses into Aramaic. In the case of the Pentateuch reading, the Aramaic translation followed after one verse, and with the portion from the Prophets the respective Targum was recited after three verses. The rendering into Aramaic had to be done by heart because never should the impression be given that the meturgeman was reading the Targum from a scroll. Subsequently, the Scripture reading and the recitation of the Targum had to be Dr Alinda Damsma is affiliated to Leo Baeck College and the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College London.