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(1963) 344-345.
8 Lit. c passed through the sieve > (nput, from the verb np': to fan,
heavens ... holy upon earth ... holy for endless ages certainly is )),
..
mascus Document (5:l) quotas also Gen 7:9: a Two and two they Went
into the ark Downloaded from btb.sagepub.com at CMU Libraries - library.cmich.edu on October 17, 2015
TARCUMIC LITERATURE AND NT INTERPRETATION
251
-
by Tj I1 for Gen 1:27: ((male and his mate (partner) - zwgyh
he created them n.
If this Palestinian interpretation of Gen 1:27 forms the
background of Mt 19, then the force of the argumentation
appears even more clearly: the institution of the couple (in
Greek kata dzeugos means in pairs I ) ) , the union of one man
((
20 For the use of thts text in the interpretation of porneia (Mt l9:Q)
see L., Ramaroson, <Une nouvelle interprbtatim de la dausule de Mt
19:9>,SE 23 (1971) 247-251.
21 ZNW 49 (1931) 240.
2. Pauline Writings
J3 The Aramaic term used here has the same double 6-b as the
Latin mernbrurn. There is therefore an explicit allusion to the partial
SacrlfiW which Cdraumicislon represents. This conception oan serve to
Illustrate Jn 7:23 ( g curing a w h d e man on the gabbath - Cf. SB I1
488) aNd Col 2:11 in context8 dealing with cirmnxdslon (see the BJ
Note ad Zoc.). For the ogpositicm between a member af the body arrd the
whole body see also Mekhflta Ex 31:12; Sartlhedrin 89b.
34 Being unable to disauss this prOWm~here, even briefly, we
refer to STJ 193-227; NP 131-212: "I'PT 164-168. See also A. Jaubert.
Symbales et figures christologiques clans le judaIsme >, RSR 47 (1973)
Akedah? ( R m 8:32) .,
380-385; N.A. D&, ( T h e Atonement - an Adequate Reward for the
in Neotestamentfca et Semdtica, Stuaes... M. Black
(Edtnburgh 1969) 15-29. The best study 09 the Jewish 6-8 is that
off S. Sprlegel, The L m t Trlal ( N e w York 1967).
TNT 183.
aa NTPT 168-177.
mentary P. Billerbeck (111, 625) only refers to Eph 5:2 (ibid. 605)
€or the expression osmd euddias. He writes: Die Targumim
meiden den Ausdruck beim Opfer; sie iibersetzen zB Ex 29,18:
Ein Brandopfer ist es vor Jahve, um mit Wohlgefallen aufgenom-
men zu werden n. This is in fact the readng of 0 and Tj I.
But N translates: ((It is a holocaust to the name of the Lord
for a pleasing odour; it is an offering before the Lord D. But
it is particularly interesting to note that dl the predicates used
by Paul are equivalently found in T Lev (N) in connection with
the sacrifices. Their origin is perhaps traceable to a traditional
list of epithets. Thus do we read in Lev 1:9,,13,17;2:9;3:5 etc.:
(( A burnt offering, an offering (qorban/LXX: thysia) acceptable
(dmtqbl) as an odour of good pleasure (lryh dr=w’/LXX: O S m -
euodias) before the Lord D. -
'* The end of the verse coincides with 0, where the (intentiond?)
absence of any mantian of the spirit of God has to be noted.
4 3 W e believe there is an haplography here (of. Tj II), the word
flame out of his mouth ... like tongues of fire - bliny 'Sh D".
Apropos of Acts 151:14, God first concerned himself with
((
taking from the Gentiles a people for his name J. Dupont had )),
The Apocalypse
For what regards the Apocalypse, M. McNamara5’ has shown
that numerous passages may be related in some way t o popular
5 o See NTP 227-250 and TT 148-159 for the rcndet-fng of < kinqdorn
of priests a by c k i n w alld priests > and for the comparison with Apoc
1:6;5:10, whCrQ thrcc privilcjics are also mentiomd. For the formula
c a pmplc for his Namc ,, soc also Dcut 4 : 2 0 ( N ) ; 26:18 ( N and Tj
11); 76 ( N ) .
” KvT 17 (1957) 399-404.
5 2 Eludes ... 365. Dtyiont adds: ( T h e same idea would be rendered
very normally in Aramaic: < and they will be n people for my name > 2 .
1Sxcellcnt conjccturc: we hnvc seen that t h c rcacting c you shall b e
hcfors me > at E x 19:s is proper to Onkelos. There is no G u n d for
sulrprisc to see the T:irgum to the Prophets, of the same tradition as
0 , fo,Ilow an idontioal lesson. IJnfort~rnatcly, we clo not have, for this
passage, a Palcslirnian Lm-gurn to the Prophets, which would make it
possible to restore with certainty thc reading c for y o u Name > Df
the PT.
mnfirnud by the midrash Sifra (ad loc., fol., 93d): c If you arc
that
The interpretation of T Lev 20:26 i s
...
scparatcd from thc nations then you (belong) to my Name >. Thc
t,u-gunlfc phrascology niiikes us think that Acts 15:14 draws from a
curront formiiln, uscd by thc author to summiarizc the thcme of the
q u o t a t i o n from A m o s vWch follows (especially v. 17, \vhere the w o r d s
e t l m d , < nations >, and o?Lo?na, e name >, are read).
5 4 NTPT 189-237.See also in P. Nickels’ bibliography the numerous
R 1 L J N T 56. TjII: c His face was uplifted in prayer unto h9s Father
333: V. H ~ n p Der
, B e g r l f a W o r t > in &en aramliischen Blbe2Ubeersetzwr-
pen (Mm.ich 1938); M. McNamara, c L o p s in the Fourth GosPea and
Memm of the Palestinian Targium (Ex 12:42)
117; TT 101-105; NP 215; D. MuAaz L&n, Dios Palabra, *I. I
ExpT 79 (1968) 115- .,
1974): Summary of his thesis cam be in the edition Of Neolrhyti 1,
vol. 111 (Madrid-Barcehui 1971) 70-83,and the objectiom presented by
V. Hamg in BZ 17 (1973) 309-310.
P. Borgen, in Ms study a Logos was the True Li&t >, NT 14 (1972)
115-130,has not nra& sufficient st? of the theme Mmra-Limt.
We wish to note - it is not possible to develop this point here -
mkt when the N T speaks 0.f God it uses expsessfo- and P a m P m m
well attested I n the targunk phraseology: pasave form,
(enopion) etc. See R. Harris, a Traces O@ Tergtudsm... '; A Dfez M d O ,
Lc Targum paJestinien >, 202; Neoplhytt 1, Vol. Iv, 53.
creation :
The first night ( w s ) when the Lord was mvealed
above the world to Create it73.The world was void and
empty and darkness was sprfxd over the face of the
abyss. And the M m r a of the Lord iuas the light and it
s h on.e14.
has a long time ago drawn attention to this fact, and had‘ even
observed that one verse of J n 1:14 had combined, to affirm the
fundamental mystery of the Incarnation, the three appellatives
the Targum uses the most to speak of the divinity: ((And the
word was made flesh, and placed his Dwelling among us and
we saw his Glory)); ((0 logos ist Memra, eskenosen vertritt
shekinta, d o m steht fur yeqara 1). He added with reason that
the terms were thus reutilized with a meaning contradicting
their original SellSe*’.
Many have explained the inaugural week of Jesus’ ministry
(Jn 1:19 - 2:12) as an intentional replica of the seven days
of the creation of the worldRZ.Others have suggested that this
week should rather be set in relation to the week of preparation
which, according to the Jewish tradition, has preceded the gift
of the Law at Sinai”. Tj I (Ex 19) even enumerates the events
of the week, like the Gospel of John: in both cases the principal
manifestation (gift of the Torah, glorification of Jesus) is placed
on a third day D. Jesus would appear as a new Moses, initiating
((
We have to remember that the term tdya has the double mean-
ing of son and of lamb (cf. English kid
(( )) (( )) This text, ((
lamb sacrifice, and especially the Passover lamb and the Tamid
offering, was a memorial of the Akedah with its effects of de-
liverance, forgiveness of sin and messianic salvation us*. The
Targum of Gen 2223 (N) reads: ((From before the Lord a lamb
has been prepared0*.If not, you are the lamb of the holocaust 1).
It is not only said that Isaac was offered like a lamb (cf. T Lev
g:3;22:27) but that he is the lamb of sacrifice, the lamb prepared
by God,therefore in a way the lamb of God.
Tradition will insist on the perfect dispositions of the two
protagonists of the Akedah, some targumic recensions of Lev
22:27 even noting that Isaac tied himself to the altar. If one
bears in mind the popularity of the Akedah in the ancient
Jewish tradition, the fact that the episode was formerly con-
s. Spiegel, The Last Trial: A. Jaubert, 4 Symboles et figures > 380-385 ...
(she proposes to see an intentional allusion to the Akedah, < tdndng ,,
& Isaac in Jn 18:12,24); J.E. Wood, Isaac Typology In the NT >, NTS
14 (1968) 583-589. S. Thomas also mentions Gen 22:8 in his C o r n . in
l o . 1:29. For E. Cothcnet it is the Isaac typology which should be can-
sicbred in first place (SDB V111 1257).
91 On this translation see NP 158. Cf. G. Kretschmar, s Chdstliches
Passa im 2.Jahrhmdert und die Ausbdldung der christlichen Theoloele a ,
RecSR 60 (1972) 295.
Living Water
The OT theme of water and wells, as developed in the
targumic paraphrases, has been utilized to illustrate various
passages of the Johannine gospel, in particular Jn 4 and 7:38;
19:34.
For her comment on the scene of Jn 4, which takes place
near Jacob's we11 D, A. Jaubert has drawn from a collection of
((
.,
101 M.E. Boismard, c D e son ventre wuleront des fleuves d'eau
(Jo.,VII, 38) RB 65 ( 1 9 5 8 ) 522-548.
102 P. Grelot, RB 66 (1959) 369-374. See the answer of Bdsmard,
sion of N:
And from there the wdl was #ven to them (V. 16) ...
And after the well was given to them as a @ft ( = Mat-
tanah), it became for them strong overflowing streams
- nhlyn mtgbryn (v. 19).
The well, which evidently gives living water - the Targum does
not say so explicitly1oa,becomes rivers (of living waters) ... If
17; see also 16:18ff). I n this case we find that the Onkelos
Targum is the closest to this tradition and to John (((Abraham
fell on his face and rejoiced - zvahedi I ) ) , while the PT uses
the verb tamah: to wonder, to be astonishedii4.
1 1 4 A.T. Hanson, Sludfes 57, does not mention this text. Taking into
n m t this paraphrase of 0, a retrovorsion of Jn 8:56 In A d C
The long discussion of Jesus with the Jews about the true
children of Abraham (&:37-45) can also be illustrated by tar-
gumic traditions115.Jesus said:
I reaJize you are of Abraham's stock. Nonetheless, You
are trying to kill me... You do what you have heard
from your father... Were God your Father you would
l w e me... The father you spring from is the devil, and
willingly you carry out his wishes. He w a s a murderer
f roni the begjnning.
Eve (T Gen 3:6; see also T Job 28:7) and will be explicitly
identified with Satan in the later Jewish tradition118. If a tra-
ation of this type lies behind J n 8:44 one readily understands
that Jesus can state that the devil is the father of the Jews (( )),
On the ralatim between temple, high priwt, anki holy Spirit (Or
S d d t of prophecy), see P. SchPfer, Die VorsteZZ~ng135-139. T a r W d c
Prove that it was &d w r i t of hoUness B ( = h d y spirit,
rwh qwdd’) or 4 spirit ot the sanctuary > ( r u b tq/t qwdg’). P. somfer
(and J. Hdnemamn, Kyrlath Sewer 48, 1973, 434-37) Bays wmWY
that b y t qwd.4’ (spirit of the sanctuary) can cm5y be fomd in the
P r i d e d editions of Tj 11: following Ginsburger he notes that neither
the Paris manuscript (IIO), nor that of the Vatican Library (4401,nor
that Of Leipzig (1) havie this Eadng. It is unfortunate that he could
not mwuIt the edftfoprinceps of vdce (1517-181,or at least Walton’s
PolYglotta, which follows the traditim of manvscript 1 of Nurembere,
where one re-: brwh byt qwdd[ ’ 1. Therefore thls reading, of which
corre~hlyunderlines the interest, is better attested thmn 1s
W P m t . Remarkably, the Qumran Targum to Leviticus ( 4 Q T g L e v ) has
a but qwd? in substitute for h,a-q&ef (MT, Lev. 16:20). Cf. A. Diez
Macho, El Targum 75.
lZ2 On this text, cf. R. Le Deaut, ~ r m r n n ll o r the St&y of Juddsm
1 (1970) 46. It would be possible to paraphrase: e As he was Ugh
..
priest that gear he hod to d e At a seminar at the University of Hull
( E n g a d ) Prof. R.N. Whybray 8ugmsted to us to compare ailso this
text with the words of Ceiaphas: c It is more to your interest that
one man ehould die for the people... > (Jn 11:51). we woitld then be
in presence of this trrtsic irOnY of n Neh priest who recbmmends the
mirder of an innocent for the whole people, whereas, nccordng to
me tradtltion, any murder in Israel shou3d entail his o w n death1
The uncertain dallw af the tmditlm 03 Ti I docs not dlow us to RD
beyond suppoditlons. There are few rabbinic p a a l e l s : one only
(Mzkkoth lla) S e c m ~ ,in our view, to s u m z c the s m e W t i o n in
tl context signifiaant for Jn 11:51, anvl perham d s o for Heb 9:llff
(atoning death of the hlgh priest).
j Z 3 Sir 50; Heb 9: c!. the various treatises Yoma in the Mishnah
and the Tdmuds.
1 2 4 We wish to mention d s o tho utiuzation of tho Targums (Lev
2 4 : 1 2 ; Num 9:8;15: 34;27:5,where the fudges are asked to be S b W
in executing capital sentences) mado by A. Jmbert to sUPP~~ the
llypothesis of a long chronology of the Passion: c Les &anceg du
SanhCdrin et &9tS do la pnssbn >, RHR 166 (1964) 143-169; 167
(1967) 1-33; also a The Calendar of Qumran and. the Passion Nanative
in Jdm>, In John and Quonran 62-75.
iuid. 63-92; LJNT 51. Note that the Moses at Acts 7 is no longer the
stamnicring and fearful Moses Of the Exod'us narratives,
1:*1 R. Bloch, c Ju&asengeoldra Phares et Zara, deTharnw - Matth.
Targcim van Job uft Grot X I uan Qwmr8n (Diss. Groningien 1970) the
Teacher of Righteousness served as the mode3 for the flgure of Job
in the Targum.
Conclusion
good for food and that it was a remedy - 'asa The allusion
to Etz 47:12 is easily recognized. A similar tradition on the tree
of life may have served as intermediary between Ekekiel and the
author of Apocalypse who would have borrowed also from other
texts, like Zech 14:8 (for the expression living waters).
This is not to say that the Targum should become the
infallible panacea, We believe though that it should be granted
a greater share in exegesis than in the past, and this without
yielding to the temptation of pan-targumi~m'~~, the way the
enthusiasm over the discovery of the DSS has produced, during a
certain period, a sort of pan-Qumranism.
' w Cf. G.Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English (1962) 17.
141 We do not raise here the problem of the TeStf??am#u. WhiCh
perhaps aonstitutes only a particrullar aspect of the more general fact
wY? are eVOklng. The paired Pauline quotation of faith (Gen 15:6 and
Hab 2 : 4 ) Oan be found in Mel&Ut;r Ex 14:31 in a beautiful collection
ot quotations on ram.
A. Vanhoye, L'utFlisation db livre d'Ez6ChieL dans 1'Apo~lYP-
m ~ Bib
, 43 (1962) 459 and 471.
The s a n e expression is found in T Ez 47:12. The els tlper&a*1
(LXX: hyaietan) of Apoc. is dose to the MT m d CO the Targum.
N P 375.