The Targums: A Critical Introduction

3. The Seven Rules of Targum

39 In the previous chapter, we defined the Targums. A good definition identifies the category to which an item belongs—in this case, translation— and then identifies what makes it distinctive within that category. For the Targums it is their smooth combination of highly literal translation with additional material. But a definition is not a description. A description lays out the common features of an item, whether distinctive to it or shared with similar items. Targums share some characteristics with other kinds of translation, and the most common of these should be noted. For example, Targums often change the nuances of words they are translating, and even the words themselves—just as other translations do. Moreover, some translation practices appear as standard in the Targums but are not necessary to them—and so do not belong in a definition. The best way to describe key targumic features is to spell out what we shall call the “Rules of Targum.” There are seven of them, and together they provide solid grounding in the most common translation practices that occur in the Targums. Some of these appear in all Targums, while others appear in most of them. Some occur most often in a particular genre of writing, such as poetry rather than narrative or legal codes. The rules are composed generally, which means that they are designed to describe a range of translation and compositional activities. Different rules will apply more frequently and more aptly to some Targums than others. By formulating these features as rules, we can encapsulate them in cogent descriptions, which can then be explained and provided with examples so that you can then apply them in your studies. The first two rules capture the key points of our definition of Targums in the previous chapter. We consider them to be Primary Rules, since they are characteristic of all Targums. 3 The Seven Rules of Targum 40 — The Targums: A Critical Introduction Rule 1: When a Targum translates or presents the original text, it does so literally. Rule 2: When a Targum adds material into the translation, it integrates the addition smoothly so as not to interrupt its flow. The remaining five rules are Secondary Rules, because they apply frequently throughout the Targums, but they are neither constitutive nor necessary. That is, their occurrence is a matter of style or choice on the part of a Targum’s composer(s). Those choices influence the interpretation or presentation of the particular passage in which they appear, but they do not alter the overall character of the Targum itself. All seven rules are given in the following table, and the remainder of the chapter will explain the five secondary rules, since the previous chapter deals with the primary rules. Rules of Targum Primary Rules Rule 1: When a Targum translates or presents the original text, it does so literally. Rule 2: When a Targum adds material into the translation, it integrates the addition smoothly so as not to interrupt its flow. Secondary Rules Rule 3: A word or phrase may be substituted for one in the original without disturbing the form of the surrounding translation. Rule 4: An addition may be drawn from, imitate, or relate to material elsewhere in the work. Rule 5: A large addition may be placed near the beginning or end of a narrative to emphasize its message. Rule 6: Poetic passages are often expanded rather than translated. Rule 7: Occasionally some words of the original text may be ignored or left out. The targumic rendering smoothly adapts to this loss. RULE 3 A word or phrase may be substituted for one in the original without disturbing the form of the surrounding translation. Substitutions of one word for another, as opposed to additions, are quite common in translations of all kinds and languages. Sometimes the substitution is rather slight, perhaps shading a nuance but not affecting the basic meaning of a sentence. Other times a substitution changes the meaning The Seven Rules of Targum — 41 directly and may even provide an interpretive shift. Frequently a substitution takes a Hebrew sentence that contains a metaphor and makes that metaphor concrete. The first example of substitution comes from Isaiah 2:4. Here the changes are obvious but not meaningful. Some words are made more specific , while others more general. The Hebrew reads: He shall judge between the nations (‫ם‬ִ‫ּגֹוי‬ ַ ‫ה‬), and shall arbitrate for many peoples (‫ים‬ ִ ‫ּמ‬ ַ ‫ע‬); they shall beat...