The Targums: A Critical Introduction

8. The Pentateuchal Targums in Rabbinic Literature

131 One of the odd features of the Pentateuchal Targums, at least when we consider them in comparison to rabbinic literature, is that they contain no attributions. Although in the Mishnah, the Tosefta, the two Talmuds and the Midrashim, acknowledged quotations from named rabbinic figures is a salient feature, nothing like this shows up in the Targums. The Targums consequently contain no direct evidence that links them to people and the countries in which they live. Dialect remains the only internal targumic feature that helps scholars identify the geographical origins of the Targums. External evidence may reveal additional information about the location of each Targum’s origin. If the rabbinic literature of the Land of Israel or the Land of Babylonia contains explicit references to targumic texts, or contains citations of specific Targums, then that may give further evidence of origins, or at least usage. Why divide our search through rabbinic literature for information about specific Targums into evidence from Galilee and evidence from Babylonia? The primary reason is that Galilee and Babylonia formed centers of separate Jewish communities, which in turn developed under different empires, Rome and Persia, and under two different dominant languages, Greek and Aramaic. Although there was some movement between the two, evidenced by a few rabbis and by the Babylonian Talmud ’s use of the Palestinian Talmud, there was not enough back-and-forth contact to permit them to develop completely in tandem. We should not then be surprised that the profile of external evidence about the Pentateuchal Targums in these two regions differs significantly. In Palestine rabbinic literature reveals no remarks about specific Targum texts. The few passages that cite Aramaic renderings from biblical verses indicate that all three main types of Pentateuchal Targums were known 8 The Pentateuchal Targums in Rabbinic Literature 132 — The Targums: A Critical Introduction in Palestine: the Palestinian Targums, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and Targum Onqelos (or Proto-Onqelos). In Babylonia the evidence points to the conclusion that only a single Targum was known, Targum Onqelos. However, the foundation for that conclusion is less secure than it was a century ago. It is widely acknowledged that some rabbinic texts are difficult to date, especially the later ones. To accommodate this difficulty, we will restrict our study to the better-known texts whose dating is more certain. In Palestine we will examine the rabbinic documents written prior to the end of the fifth century. These include the Mishnah (published around 200 CE), the Tosefta (generally dated to about 250), and the Yerushalmi (i.e., Palestinian Talmud, which was completed sometime between 400 and 450). In addition, we will look at the earlier midrashim (composed in Palestine prior to the end of the 5th century). These include the halakhic midrashim of the late second or third century, such as the Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael to Exodus, the Sifra to Leviticus, the Sifré to Numbers, and the Sifré to Deuteronomy. We will also consider the aggadic midrashim composed in the early fifth century, the same time as the Yerushalmi—specifically, the Midrash Rabbah to Genesis, to Leviticus, and to Lamentations. It turns out, however, that the midrashim seem rather uninterested in discussing specific Targums or their translations. For Babylonia, the only text we will examine will be the Babylonian Talmud, since none of the earlier midrashim were composed there. targums In the raBBInIc lIterature of the lanD of Israel When we examine the books of the rabbis of the Land of Israel written prior to the end of the fifth century, we discover surprisingly little evidence about specific Targums or their readings. There is some discussion of the use of Targums in the synagogue liturgy, as we have seen, and a few remarks about the use of Targums in study, both of which we shall examine in chapter 14. But the Palestinian rabbinic texts mention no named Aramaic Targums, nor do they discuss creating or translating Targums (even to mention the original translator), nor do they indicate knowledge of any history of any known Targum texts. One passage in the Palestinian Talmud might be understood as addressing the composition of a Torah Targum, but close examination makes clear that, although the passage deals with Torah translation, it refers to a Greek translation rather than an Aramaic one. The passage appears in y. Meg. 71c, and is based upon m. Meg. 1:8/9, which debates whether Scripture may be translated into any language, or only into Greek. While the main opinion holds that...