A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

“We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God,” Acts 14:22

Genesis 19

¹ And there came two angels to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

— here came two angels; that is, two of the three that had just before been with Abraham, who were now sent to execute God’s purpose concerning Sodom;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The two angels came to Sedom in the evening, while Lot was sitting at the gate of Sedom. Lot saw them, and he got up to greet them, and he bowed with his face to the ground.

² and he said, “Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early and go on your ways.” And they said, “Nay, but we will remain in the street all night.”

— they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night; so they not only give Lot an opportunity of evincing the sincerity and cordiality of his invitation, it was their real intention to abide in the street, to manifest the great difference between Lot and the barbarous Sodomites;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, Behold [Please] now my lords, please [now] turn in to your servant’s house. Stay over night, bathe your feet, and get up early and continue on your way. They said, No, we will spend the night in the street.

³ And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him and entered into his house; and he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. — Lot’s invitation; at first declined, is at length accepted; and they entered his house;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He urged them greatly, and they turned in to him and came to his house. He made a feast for them, and baked matzos [for them], and they ate.

⁴ But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom — both young and old, all the people from every quarter —compassed the house around. — here were the old and young, all vile and from every quarter; for practices too shameful to be mentioned!

— the Targum Onkelos says

They had not yet lain down when the men of the city, the men of Sedom, surrounded the house—young and old alike—all the people from one end [of the city] to the other end.

⁵ And they called unto Lot and said unto him, “Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

— bring them out that we may know them; not who they were, or from whence they came; nor did they pretend anything of this kind to hide and cover their design from Lot, but they were open and impudent, and declared their sin without shame and blushing;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

And they cried to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who entered with thee tonight? Bring them out to us, and we will lie with them.

⁶ And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him — and Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot went out to them in front of the entrance, shutting the door behind him.

⁷ and said, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. — Lot pleaded, do not so wickedly; as to use ill a man’s guests, to abuse strangers, to break the laws and rules of hospitality, and especially to commit that unnatural sin they were bent upon;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, My brothers, please [now] do not act wickedly.

⁸ Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only unto these men do nothing, for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.”

— I have two daughters; this was unadvisedly and unjustifiably offered, probably through the great discomposure and perturbation which his mind was in;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Behold! I have two daughters who have never known a man, I will bring them out to you, and do with them as you please; only do nothing to these men, since after all, they came under the shelter of my roof.

⁹ And they said, “Stand back.” And they said again, “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will become a judge! Now will we deal worse with thee than with them.” And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

— and they said, stand back; turn on one side, get away from the door, that we may come to it;

— this one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge; this one man, and he a stranger and sojourner, not a citizen of this city, sets himself against the whole body of the inhabitants, and takes upon himself to be judge what is right and wrong;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They said, Step back out of the way! They said, This one came as an immigrant, and now he wants to be a judge. We will now deal worse with you than with them. They pushed hard against Lot, and came near to break the door.

¹⁰ But the men put forth their hands, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. — but the men, who were the two angels who had met Abraham, put forth their hand; they came to the door, and opened it, and put out their hands, one on one side the door, and the other on the other;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The men put out their hands, and pulled Lot to them, into the house, and closed the door.

¹¹ And they smote the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. — again the men, who were the two angels, smote the others with blindness;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The men who were at the entrance of the house, they struck with blindness—young and old alike—so that they wearied themselves trying to find the entrance.

¹² And the men said unto Lot, “Hast thou here any besides? Soninlaw, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou hast in the city — bring them out of this place. — the men said; these were the angels who had met Abraham earlier;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The men said to Lot, Who else do you have here—a son-in-law, your sons, your daughters? Whoever you have in the city, bring them out of his place.

¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has waxed great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.” — again, the “we” are the two angels; who said “we will destroy this place”

— might be clearer from the Message Bible:

^10-11 But the two men reached out and pulled Lot inside the house, locking the door. Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark.

^12-13 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other family here? Sons, daughters—anybody in the city? Get them out of here, and now! We’re going to destroy this place. The outcries of victims here to God are deafening; we’ve been sent to blast this place into oblivion.” Genesis 19:10-12 MSG

— the Targum Onkelos says

We are going to destroy this place, for the wailing concerning them has become great in the presence of Adonoy; and Adonoy has sent us to destroy it.

¹⁴ And Lot went out and spoke unto his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, “Up, get ye out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But he seemed as one who mocked unto his sons-in-law.

— Lot spoke to his sons-in-law; it is a possibilty that these sons-in- law had married other daughters of Lot; and according to Jewish sources, Lot had two other daughters that perished in Sodom;

— but according to Josephus (Antiquities. l. 1. c. 11. sect. 4) were espoused to men in the city, but not yet married; and on account of such espousals, as were usual in the eastern countries, Lot calls them his sons-in-law;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who had married his daughters. He said [to them], Get up! Get out of this place, for Adonoy is going to destroy the city! He appeared as a comedian in the eyes of his sons-in-law.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

“And Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, ‘Arise, go out from this place, for the Lord is destroying the city!’ But the word was like a wonder (absurdity), like a man who is mocking, in the eyes of his sons-in-law.”

¹⁵ And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, “Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters who are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” — when the morning arose; Lot had thus the night for making his preparations, part of this he spent in his visits to his sons-in-law;

— the Targum Onkelos says

At the break of dawn, the angels urged Lot on, saying, Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here [who are found to be faithful to you], lest you be swept away in the iniquity of the city.

¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him; and they brought him forth and set him outside the city.

— while he lingered; he did not make so much haste as the case required, and this would have been fatal to him, if the angels had not laid hold on his hand, and brought him forth. Herein the Lord was merciful to him; and if God had not been merciful to them, their lingering had been their ruin;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He hesitated, and the men grabbed his hand and the hand of his wife and two daughters, for Adonoy had pity on him. They brought him out and placed him outside the city.

¹⁷ And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth outside, that he said, “Escape for thy life! Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed!” — look not behind thee; they must not loiter by the way; stay not in all the plain;

— for it would all be made into one dead sea; he must not take up short of the place of refuge appointed him; escape to the mountain; such are the commands given to those who are delivered out of a sinful state: first, return not to sin and second, rest not in the world, for that is staying in the plain;

— the Targum Onkelos says

When they were brought out [of the city], he [the angel] said, Escape [Have pity] for your life! Do not look back! Do not remain anywhere in the valley [plain]. Escape to the mountain, lest you be swept away.

¹⁸ And Lot said unto them, “Oh, not so, my lord. — oh, not so, my Lord; that is, let me not be obliged to go so far as to the mountain;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot said to them, Please, not so my Master. [Please, now, my Master.]

¹⁹ Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die.

— lest some evil take me, and I die; or “that evil” the burning of Sodom, and the cities of the plain, lest that should overtake him before he got to the mountain;

— thus Lot had some distrust of the power of God to strengthen him to go thither, who had appeared so wonderfully for him in his present deliverance; and he might have assured himself, that he that brought him out of Sodom would never suffer him to perish in the destruction of it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Behold your servant has found favor in Your eyes [before You]. Great is your kindness [goodness] that you have done with me, to keep me alive. I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil attach itself to me and I die.

²⁰ Behold now, this city is near enough to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” — the MSG version says:

But Lot protested, “No, masters, you can’t mean it! I know that you’ve taken a liking to me and have done me an immense favor in saving my life, but I can’t run for the mountains—who knows what terrible thing might happen to me in the mountains and leave me for dead.

Look over there—that town is close enough to get to. It’s a small town, hardly anything to it. Let me escape there and save my life—it’s a mere wide place in the road.” Genesis 19:19-21 MSG

— the Targum Onkelos says

Behold, please, this city is near [enough] to flee there. It is insignificant. Let me escape there! It is insignificant, and my life will be saved.

²¹ And he said unto him, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city for which thou hast spoken. — the MSG version says:

“All right, Lot. If you insist. I’ll let you have your way. And I won’t stamp out the town you’ve spotted. But hurry up. Run for it! I can’t do anything until you get there.” That’s why the town was called Zoar, that is, Smalltown. Genesis 19:19-21 MSG

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said to him, See I have also given you consideration regarding this. I will not overturn the city that you mentioned [for which you have beseeched].

²² Hasten thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou hast come thither.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. — called Zoar in later times, probably first by Lot, from his use of the word “little” which was his request, which Zoar signifies; called Bela, see Genesis 14:2

— the Targum Onkelos says

Hurry, escape there, for I can do nothing until you get there. The city was therefore called Zoar.

²³ The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. — in haste; the ruin of Sodom was suspended till he was secure;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sun had risen upon the earth, when Lot came to Zoar.

²⁴ Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire, from the Lord out of heaven; — the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire; the Lord (Yehovah יְהוָ֖ה);

— from the Lord (Yehovah יְהוָ֖ה) out of heaven; this destruction was brought upon them by Yehovah the Son of God, who had appeared to Abraham in an human form, and gave him notice of it, and heard all he had to plead for those cities, and then departed from him to Sodom,

— and the Son, who was the author of this catastrophe; this amazing shower of fire and brimstone was re-inforced and rained by him from Yehovah his Father, out of heaven; as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem both call him, the Word of the Lord;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy caused to rain upon Sedom and Amorah—sulfur and fire—from [before] Adonoy, from heaven.

²⁵ and He overthrew those cities, and all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. — and he overthrew those cities; of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim: very probably at the same time that this fiery tempest was from the heavens; and all the plain; the plain of Jordan, and the cities on it, all but Zoar;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He overturned these cities, and the entire plain, and all those who lived in the cities and all that grew upon the ground.

²⁶ But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. — but his wife looked back from behind him; herein she disobeyed an express command; according to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, she was a native of Sodom; hence menories of her kinmen and sons-in-law; and she became a pillar of salt;

— the Targum Onkelos says

His [Lot’s] wife looked behind him; and she became a pillar of salt.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

“And his wife looked from behind the angel to know what would be the end of her father’s house, for she was of the daughters of the Sodomites; and because she had sinned with salt by revealing [the presence of] the poor, behold, she was made a pillar of salt.”

— the Targum Jerusalem says

“Because Lot’s wife was from the children of the children of the people of Sodom, she looked back from behind her to see what would be the end of her father’s house; and behold, she stands as a pillar of salt until the time when the Resurrection comes, when the dead shall live.”

²⁷ And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord; — stood before the Lord, and he looked toward Sodom; he has an extensive view spread out before him which would be the Dead Sea;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham got up early in morning [to return] to the place where he had stood before the Presence of Adonoy [to the place where he had served in prayer before Adonoy].

²⁸ and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld. And lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

— the violence of the fire is indicated by the last word, which is not the ordinary word for a furnace, but means a kiln, such as that used for burning chalk into lime, or for melting ores of metal;

— the smoke of a furnace; after the fiery shower was over, and the cities burnt down, the smoke ascended toward heaven, as the smoke of mystical Babylon will do, Revelation 19:3; like the reek of a boiling cauldron; or like the smoke of a lime kiln always burning;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He [Avraham] stared at Sedom and Amorah, and the whole land of the plain, and he saw the heavy smoke rising from the earth like the smoke of a furnace.

²⁹ And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. — the prayer or promise made by Abraham, Genesis 18:23-32, who doubtless in his promise for Sodom would not forget Lot;

— the Targum Onkelos says

When Elohim destroyed the cities of the plain; Elohim remembered Avraham, and He sent Lot out of the upheaval when He overturned the cities in which Lot had lived.

³⁰ And Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt on the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. — for he feared to dwell in Zoar; probably he found it as wicked as Sodom; and therefore concluded it could not survive long;

— and dwelt in the mountain; which the Lord had directed him to go to before, but was unwilling, and chose Zoar, and his two daughters with him; and they dwelt in a cave;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot went up from Zoar and lived in the mountain; and his two daughters went with him, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived in a cave, he and his two daughters.

³¹ And the firstborn said unto the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth. — the whole earth; for they thought the same deluge of fire which destroyed the four cities, and all other places;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The older girl said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man [left] on earth who will come into us in the normal manner.

³² Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.” — and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the seed of our father; have children by him, and propagate and preserve the human species; this incestuous copulations, they might think lawful;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Come let us urge our father to drink wine, and sleep with him; that we may give life to seed [children] from our father.

³³ And they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. — he perceived not; wherein there is nothing strange, it being usual with drunken men to do many things in that condition, which, when they come to themselves, they perfectly forget;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They urged wine upon their father that night; and the older girl went in and slept with her father. He was not aware that she lay down or got up.

~~~~

³⁴ And it came to pass on the morrow that the firstborn said unto the younger, “Behold, I lay yesternight with my father. Let us make him drink wine this night also, and go thou in and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

— the firstborn said to the younger, behold, I lay last night with my father; informed her, that what they had contrived succeeded according to her wish, and therefore, with her encouragement to go on, proposes to take the same method again;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The next day, the older girl said to the younger, Last night I slept with my father. Let us urge wine upon him tonight also, and you go in and sleep with him that we may give life to seed from our father.

³⁵ And they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. — and the younger arose, and lay with him following the bad example of her sister; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose;

— the Targum Onkelos says

That night also, they urged their father [to drink] wine. The younger went up and slept with him, and he was not aware that she lay down or got up.

³⁶ Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. — Lot’s daughters had so little feeling of shame in connection with their conduct, that they gave names to the sons they bore, which have immortalized their paternity;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot’s two daughters became pregnant from their father.

³⁷ And the firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. — his name Moab; the Moabites, who originally inhabited the country northeast of the Dead Sea, and afterward, they occupied the district east of the Salt Sea;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The older girl gave birth to a son and she named him Moav. He is the ancestor of the Moabite nation even to this day.

³⁸ And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Benammi; the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. — the Ammonites dwelt to the northeast of Moab, where they had a capital called Rabbah; they both ultimately merged into the more general class of the Arabs;

— and according to Deuteronomy 2:9, Deuteronomy 2:19, later on, Israel was ordered not to touch the territory of either of these tribes because of their descent from Lot, Abraham’s nephew;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The younger girl also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-Ami. He is the ancestor of the people of Ammon even to this day.

Genesis 20

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¹ And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur and sojourned in Gerar. — and Abraham sojourned in Gerar; in the southern border of Canaan which were occupied by the Philistines. We are not told upon what occasion he removed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham journeyed from there to the land of the Negev [south], and he lived between Kadeish [Rekem] and Shur [Chagar]. He lived for a while in Gerar.

² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. — she is my sister;

— twenty years before, Abraham had acted in the same way in Egypt, and Pharaoh had rebuked him; she was now ninety years of age, yet her naturally beauty had not faded;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham said regarding Sarah, his wife, She is my sister. Avimelech, king of Gerar sent [messengers] and took Sarah.

³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.”

— God came to Abimelech in a dream by night; put fear into his mind, by which he cautioned him against taking Sarah to be his wife; so careful was the Lord that no wrong should be done to such a godly and virtuous person, to which she was exposed through the weakness of her husband;

— and said unto him, behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; that is, God would punish him with death, unless he restored the woman, whom he had taken, to her husband; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim came to Avimelech [Word came from before Elohim to Avimelech] in a dream at night, and said to him, Behold, you shall die because of the woman you took, for she is a married woman [a man’s wife].

⁴ But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, wilt Thou slay also a righteous nation? — “Thou wilt die,” the point of death if he persisted; wilt thou also slay a righteous nation?

— he probably referred to the late destruction of Sodom and the cities of the plain, which, no doubt, must have caused great consternation; and or he knew that this had been usual for people to suffer for the crimes of their governors, or kings, if they sin;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avimelech had not come near to her. He said, My Master, will You also kill an innocent nation?

⁵ Said he not unto me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.” — in the integrity of my heart; not only does Abimelech assert this, but God himself (Genesis 20:6) admits the plea;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Did he not say to me, She is my sister? And she also said, He is my brother. With an innocent [upright] heart and clean [righteous] hands I did this.

⁶ And God said unto him in a dream, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart, for I also withheld thee from sinning against Me. Therefore I suffered thee not to touch her. — without any adulterous design in my heart, or outward actions tending to it, being wholly ignorant of what thou now informest him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said to him [Word from Elohim was said to him] in a dream, I also know [it is also revealed before me] that you did this with an innocent [upright] heart. I also prevented you from sinning against [before] Me. That is why I did not give you the chance to touch her.

⁷ Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live. And if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine.” — for he is a prophet; of course Abraham is a true prophet of God;

— to whom he communicates his secrets; is able to foretell things to come, as well as to interpret the mind of God, that he might pray for him and save his life, and threatened him with certain death to himself and all belonging to him in case he should refuse;

— a prophet is God’s spokesman, who speaks with authority the things of God Exodus 7:1; Exodus 4:15. This implies two things: first, the things of God are known only to him, and therefore must be communicated by him; secondly, the prophet must be enabled of God to announce in correct terms the things made known to him;

— these things refer not only to the future, but in general to all such matters as fall within the purpose and procedure of God, like Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7:1. They may even include things otherwise known or knowable by man, so far as these are necessary to the exposition of the divine will. Now Abraham has heretofore received numerous communications from God; this, also constitutes him a prophet;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet. He will pray for you and you will live. If you do not return her, you should know that you will surely die—you and all that is yours.

⁸ Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were sore afraid.

— and the men were sore afraid; lest they should be struck with death; and perhaps they might call to mind the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins, they had lately heard of, and might fear that some such calamity would befall them;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avimelech got up early in the morning, and called all his servants. He spoke all these words in their ears [before them], and the men were very frightened.

⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and said unto him, “What hast thou done unto us? And how have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? Thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.”

— thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done; in saying Sarah was his sister, and persuading her to say the same;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avimelech called Avraham and said to him, What have you done to us? What wrong did I do to you that you brought on me and upon my kingdom such a great sin? Deeds that ought not to be done, you have done to me.

¹⁰ And Abimelech said unto Abraham, “What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?” — that thou hast done this thing? he desires to know what he had observed, either in him or his people, that gave him any reason to conclude that they were a lustful people, lest they should kill him for his wife’s sake;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avimelech [then] said to Avraham, What did you see that you did such a thing?

¹¹ And Abraham said, “Because I thought surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they will slay me for my wife’s sake. — surely the fear of God is not in this place; this is a certain truth, which he thought might be depended upon, and taken for granted, since it was everywhere;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham said, Because I said [thought] there is no fear of Elohim in this place, and they will kill me [in order] to take my wife.

¹² And yet indeed she is my sister: she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. — and yet indeed she is my sister; in the same sense as Lot was his brother; for she was sister to Lot, and both were the children of Haran, the brother of Abraham;

— the Targum Onkelos says

In any case, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

¹³ And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, ‘This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me: at every place whither we shall come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

— at every place whither we shall come, say of me; or for the sake of me, in order to save me from the hands of wicked men, whom he feared would slay him for her sake: he is my brother; and so he hoped, instead of being ill used or killed, he should meet with favour and friendship on her account;

— the Targum Onkelos says

When Elohim caused me to wander from my father’s house [When the nations strayed after the works of their hands, Elohim brought me close to His worship from my father’s house], I said to her, this is the kindness [goodness] you shall do for me. At every place we come [go] to, say of me, He is my brother.

¹⁴ And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and menservants and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored to him Sarah his wife. — the Philistine gives atoning presents on restoring Sarah, and grants her husband permission to dwell in his land wherever it pleased him; this also implies that he had done Abraham a wrong;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avimelech took sheep, cattle, male and female slaves, and he gave them to Avraham. He [also] returned his wife Sarah to him.

¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before thee. Dwell where it pleaseth thee.” — and Abimelech said, behold, my whole land is before thee; instead of bidding him be gone, and sending him away in haste out of his country, as the king of Egypt did;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avimelech said, Behold, my land is before you. Live wherever you see fit.

¹⁶ And unto Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes unto all who are with thee and with all other.” Thus she was reproved.

— behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee; a protection of her chastity: so an husband, in our language, is said to be a cover to his wife, or that she is under a cover;

— the Targum Onkelos says

To Sarah, he said, Behold I have given to your brother a thousand pieces [shekalim] of silver. It will be for you a [compensational] eye covering for all who are with you, that you may face every one. [It will be for you a garment of honor, in return for my having sent for you, and taken you, and seeing you and all that is with you. And regarding everything that you said, you were just.]

¹⁷ So Abraham prayed unto God. And God healed Abimelech, and his wife and his maidservants; and they bore children, — and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants: who by reason of some disease were rendered unfit for and incapable of cohabitation with their husbands, and they with them;

— and they bare children; cohabited and conceived, bare and brought forth children, all which are comprehended in this expression;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham prayed to [before] Elohim, and Elohim healed Avimelech, his wife, and his female slaves, and they gave birth [and they were relieved].

¹⁸ for the Lord had closed up fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. — for the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech; with large tumours probably, so that they could not cohabit with their husbands and conceive;

— the Targum Onkelos says

For Adonoy had restrained every womb in the house of Avimelech according to the word of Sarah, Avraham’s wife.

Posted in Books of Moses

The Targum, which originated in the Aramaic language, is strongly linked to the work of Ezra, holds significance for shedding light on biblical concepts. When the Masoretic Text can be vague, uncertain, or unclear, the Targum often offers clearer meaning, broader insight, and deeper understanding.

Yes, sometimes the Targum clarifies metaphors and interprets idioms or difficult passages instead of translating them literally, which often makes no sense. Such an endeavor should be highly commended rather than criticized.

For example, the Targum interprets natural imagery—like cedars, cypresses, oaks, forests, and fire—as metaphors for political political and social structures, especially kings, rulers, governors, and wealthy elites. Such imagery can be sweeping: forests laid waste, lions roaring as their habitat is destroyed, and power structures crumbling. Fire symbolizes divine punishment, sweeping through defenses and dismantling the very foundations of their power.

Translating such natural imagery literally could convey limited information or even distort it, but Ezra was determined to share their true meaning. He was a righteous man, for God had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to follow it, and to teach the statutes and judgments in Israel Ezra 7:10.

“The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart; and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness” Deuteronomy 28:28-29

“The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has executed and until He has performed the intent of His thought; in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly” Jeremiah 23:20

Genesis 17

¹ And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, “I am the Almighty God. Walk before Me, and be thou perfect.

— Abram was ninety years old and nine; thirteen years, therefore, had passed by since the birth of Ishmael, who doubtless during this time had grown very dear to the childless old man;

— the Targum Onkelos says

When Avram was ninety-nine years old, Adonoy appeared [became revealed] to Avram and said to him: I am Almighty Shaddai, walk [worship] before Me and be perfect.

² And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” — and will multiply thee exceedingly; as he had before promised at several times, and now renews it, lest be should think that Ishmael was the promised seed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will give My covenant between Me [My Word] and you, and I will multiply you[r descendants] exceedingly.

³ And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying, — and Abram fell on his face while God was talking to him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram fell on his face. Elohim spoke with him, saying:

⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. — and thou shalt be a father of many nations: as he was of many Arabian nations in the line of Ishmael;

— and of the Midianites, and others, in the line of his sons by Keturah; and of the Israelites in the line of Isaac, as well as of the Edomites in the line of Esau; and in a spiritual sense the father of all that believe, in all the nations of the world, circumcised or uncircumcised;

— the Targum Onkelos says

As for Me, here is My covenant with you; you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

⁵ Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

— a multitude of nations and kings are to trace their descent from Abram; the twelve princes of Ishmael, of many Arab tribes; the twelve tribes of Israel; the dukes of Edom sprang from him; and Keturah’s descendants;

— the Targum Onkelos says

No longer shall your name be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham, for the father of a multitude of nations I have appointed you.

⁶ And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. — and I will make nations of thee; as the nations of Israel and Judah;

— of the Midianites and Edomites, of the Arabs, and and kings shall come out of thee; as the twelve princes of Ishmael, the kings of Edom and Midian, of the Arabs, and of Israel and Judah;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make you into nations [assemblies]; and kings [who rule over nations] will descend from you.

⁷ And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. — thy name shall be Abraham; it signified some new circumstance in the history, rank, or religion of the individual who bears it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will sustain My covenant between Me [My Word] and you, and between your descendants after you throughout their generations as an eternal covenant, to be a God to you, and to your descendants after you.

⁸ And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” — all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; this respects only the natural seed of Abraham, and those in the line of Isaac and Jacob;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your temporary residence, all the land of Canaan as an eternal possession, and I will be a God to them.

⁹ And God said unto Abraham, “Thou shalt keep My covenant, therefore, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations. — thou, and thy seed after thee, in their generations; in successive ages;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said to Avraham: And as for you, you must preserve My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

¹⁰ This is My covenant which ye shall keep between Me and you and thy seed after thee: every manchild among you shall be circumcised. — circumcision to be a sign of entering into a covenant, and especially into one to which children were to be admitted;

— and even until the new age, where the uncircumcised wouldn’t be allowed into his Sanctuary, Ezekiel 44:7, 9; if such requirement applied to strangers what more of the Israelites, especially those serving in the inner court;

— the Targum Onkelos says

This is My covenant which you must preserve between Me [My Word] and you, and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

¹¹ And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between Me and you. — the covenant of circumcision;

— as the rainbow, might have been in existence before it was adopted as the token of a covenant; is here said to be the covenant which Abraham and his seed must keep, as a copy or counterpart; it is a sign and a seal;

— the covenant is about the land; wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, that God would give to Abram and his seed for an everlasting possession; and every manchild among Abram and his seed shall be sealed into a covenant by being circumcised;

— the Targum Onkelos specifically says it is a sign

You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. This shall be the sign of the covenant between Me [My Word] and you.

— the Targum of Jonathan says the same

And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, as a sign of the covenant between My Word and you.

¹² And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every manchild in your generations, he that is born in the house or bought with money from any stranger who is not of thy seed. — any stranger who is not of thy seed, but want to live in the same land with the seed of Abram, shall be circumcised among you;

— the Targum Onkelos says

At the age of eight days every male among you must be circumcised, throughout your generations; he that is a house-born [slave] or one that was bought with money from any stranger who is not your descendant.

¹³ He that is born in thy house and he that is bought with thy money must be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. — the everlasting covenant is about the land that God was planning to bestow upon those who are part of the covenant; nothing about everlasting life that came later;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Your house-born slaves must be circumcised, and also those bought with your money. This shall be My covenant in your flesh as an eternal covenant.

¹⁴ And the uncircumcised manchild whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.” — this sealed only the covenant of the land of Canaan to Isaac’s posterity;

— the Targum Onkelos says

An uncircumcised male, who will not circumcise his foreskin, that soul [man] shall be cut off from its people; he has broken [changed] My covenant.

¹⁵ And God said unto Abraham, “As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. — Sarai is now formally taken into the covenant, as she is to be the mother of the promised seed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And Elohim said to Avraham [As for] Sarai your wife, do not call her by the name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.

¹⁶ And I will bless her and give thee a son also by her. Yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.” — a son of her: this is the first place where it was definitely promised that Abram’s heir should be Sarah’s own son;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will bless her, and I will also give you a son through her. I will bless her, and she will be [a mother] of nations [assemblies], kings of peoples [who rule over nations] will descend from her.

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear?”

— and laughed; not through distrust of the promise, as Sarah did (Genesis 18:12), for he staggered not at that through unbelief, but for joy at such good news;

— the Targum Onkelos says he laughed and “he rejoiced”

Avraham fell on his face and laughed [rejoiced]. He said in his heart: Can a hundred year old man have children? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old give birth?

¹⁸ And Abraham said unto God, “O that Ishmael might live before Thee!” — Abraham prays that Ishmael’s might be preserved, and that it might be spent in the fear, worship, and service of God; so the Targum of Jonathan says, “O that Ishmael might live and worship before thee,”

— the Targum Onkelos says

And Avraham said to [before] Elohim: May it be granted that Yishmael live before You.

¹⁹ And God said, “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed, and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

— Thou shalt call his name Isaac; that is, he laughs; the name was to be a perpetual memorial that Isaac’s birth was naturally such an impossibility as to excite ridicule;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said: Indeed, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Yitzchok. I will establish My covenant with him as an eternal covenant to his descendants after him.

²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

— the blessings of the covenant are reserved for Isaac, but common blessings were abundantly promised to Ishmael; or twelve sons of Ishmael, his son by Hagar; and, adds he, these going into Arabia;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And as for Yishmael, I have heard you [I have accepted your prayer]. I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful, and will increase him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.

²¹ But My covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” — but my covenant will I establish with Isaac, implying the covenant wasn’t with Ishmael;

— the Targum Onkelos says

But I will establish My covenant with Yitzchok, who Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.

²² And He left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. — and God went up from Abraham; from the earth, where he had been with Abraham, and ascended above him up to heaven;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And when He finished speaking with him, [the Glory of] Elohim ascended from Avraham.

²³ And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

— and Abraham took Ishmael his son; to circumcise him; he took his son first, to set an example to his servants; which were three hundred and eighteen when he rescued Lot from the kings, Genesis 14:14; and perhaps they might have increased;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham took his son, Yishmael, and all those that were born in his household, and all that he had bought with his money, every male member of Avraham’s household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day as Elohim had said to him.

²⁴ And Abraham was ninety years old and nine when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. — and Abraham was ninety years old and nine; when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

²⁵ And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. — Ishmael was thirteen years old; hence Arabs and Mohammedans defer circumcision until the thirteenth year;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And his son Yishmael was thirteen years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

²⁶ In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. — in the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son; this is repeated, that it might be taken notice of that both were circumcised according to the command of God, and on the very day in which it was given;

— the Targum Onkelos says

On that very day Avraham and his son Yishmael were circumcised.

²⁷ And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money from the stranger, were circumcised with him. — born in the house, or bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him; by their will, and with their consent; not forced on them;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the men of his household, those born in his household, and bought with money from a stranger, were circumcised with him.

Genesis 18

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” asked the Lord

¹ And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. — as Abraham was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day, reposing; then three “men” stood before him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy appeared [became revealed] to him in the groves [plains] of Mamrei and he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day.

² And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground — three men; these three men were three spiritual, heavenly beings, now assuming human shapes, that they might be visible to Abraham,

— the Targum Onkelos says

He lifted his eyes and saw, and behold three men were standing over him. He saw [them], and ran from the door of the tent to greet them, and he bowed down to the earth.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals that ministering angels are usually send with a single duty, says

“And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three angels in the likeness of men were standing before him, who were sent for the need of three specific things; for it is not the way of the ministering angels to be sent for more than one single matter.

One came to bring him the news that Sarah would bear a male son; one came to rescue Lot; and one came to overthrow Sodom and Gomorrah. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of the tent and bowed down to the ground.”

— the Targum Jerusalem says it more explicitly

“Three angels were sent to our father Abraham, and the three of them were sent for three [different] things; for it is not possible for one of the angels of the heights that more than one single matter should be sent by his hand.

The first angel was sent to announce to our father Abraham that Sarah would give birth to Isaac; the second angel was sent to rescue Lot from the midst of the overthrow; the third angel was sent to overthrow Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim.

Therefore, a word of prophecy from before the Lord was with Abraham the righteous, and the Memra (Word) of the Lord was revealed to him in the valley of vision while he was sitting at the door of the tent, warming himself from his circumcision in the heat of the day.”

³ and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. — my lord; Heb ‘donai, a term of simple respect, or denoting one having authority;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, My Master, if I have found favor in Your eyes [before you], please [now] do not bypass your servant.

⁴ Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree; — and wash your feet; which was very refreshing to travellers in hot countries, who walked barefoot or in sandals; and this he proposes to be done by one of his servants;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Let a bit of water be brought [They will take a bit of water] and wash your feet. Rest yourselves under the tree.

⁵ and I will fetch a morsel of bread and comfort ye your hearts. After that ye shall pass on, for therefor are ye come to your servant.” And they said, “So do, as thou hast said.” — and they said, so do as thou hast said; they agreed to it, that water should be fetched to wash their feet, and food for them to eat;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will get bread and you will sustain your heart. Afterwards you will continue on your way, since you have passed by your servant. They said, Fine, do as you have said.

⁶ And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.” — Sarah is tasked and occupied with the baking;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham hurried to Sarah’s tent and said, Hurry! [take] three measures of the finest flour; knead it and make cake-rolls.

⁷ And Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto a young man, and he hastened to dress it.

— Abraham and his servant are responsible for the selection and killing of a calf, the cooking of the meat, and the procuring of butter and milk from the herd; a meal in which meat is provided is a rarity in a Bedouin’s life, and is the sign of the offering of hospitality;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham ran to the cattle, and took a tender, choice calf. He gave it to the lad. and hurried to prepare it.

⁸ And he took butter and milk and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they ate. — and they did eat; or seemed to eat, though as they assumed bodies so animated as to be capable of talking and walking, why not of eating and drinking? as the Targum of Jonathan implies;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He took butter, milk, and the calf he had prepared, and set it before them. He stood over them [served them] under the tree, and they ate.

⁹ And they said unto him, “Where is Sarah thy wife?” And he said, “Behold, in the tent.” — Where is Sarah thy wife? by naming her, they gave intimation to Abraham, that though they seemed strangers, yet they well knew him and his family;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They said to him, Where is Sarah, your wife? He said Here, in the tent.

¹⁰ And he said, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.” And Sarah heard it from the tent door, which was behind him.

— Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him; the women’s place is in the back of the tent, normally divided by a thin partition from the men’s;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said I will return to you next year [at this time when you will be alive], and Sarah, your wife will have a son. Sarah was listening at the door of the tent, that was behind him.

¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. — and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women;

— her monthly visitors had left her, so that she was unfit for conception, and there could be no hope of it in a natural way;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham and Sarah were old, well on in years. Sarah no longer had the way of women.

¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” — Sarah laughed; not from joy and admiration, but from distrust and contempt, as if it were incredible;

— Heb; in her heart, that is, she secretly derided it, though none but herself, as she thought, knew it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sarah laughed to herself saying, Now that I am worn out [old], shall I have the pleasure [of a son] [youthfulness], my master being [also] an old man.

¹³ And the Lord said unto Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old?’ — which am old? suggesting there was no reason for it, and signifying his displeasure and indignation;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said to Avraham, Why did Sarah laugh saying, Can I really give birth when I am old?

¹⁴ Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” — at the time appointed will I return to thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son;

— such words are repeated not merely for the confirmation of Abraham’s faith, which staggered not, but to remove any of Sarah’s doubts;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Is anything too far removed [hidden] from [before] Adonoy? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time of life [when you will be alive], and Sarah will have a son.

¹⁵ Then Sarah denied, saying, “I laughed not,” for she was afraid. And He said, “Nay, but thou didst laugh.” — somewhat a lie, to say she did not laugh when she did; which she might be tempted to say in her confusion; for she was afraid;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sarah denied it saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. He said, Not so, for [but] you did laugh.

¹⁶ And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. — and looked toward Sodom; set their faces and steered their course that way, by which it appeared they intended to go thither;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The men stood up from where they were, and they gazed upon Sedom. Avraham went with them to send them [escort them] [on their way].

— the Targum of Jonathan says that he that brought the news to Sarah “ascended to high heavens,” and the other two looked toward Sodom; but it seems most likely, that, when the two went on their way to Sodom, Abraham went with them for a distance;

— and upon Abraham’s return, the first may have descended from the first atmosphere, which is the first heaven (not the highest heaven), and continue his discourse with Abraham;

¹⁷ And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, — and the Lord said; (וַֽיהֹוָ֖ה) Yehovah the Hebrew word we call Lord, shows that this angel was God himself: for this word Yehovah is God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said, Shall I conceal from Avraham what I am about to do?

¹⁸ seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham is indeed to become a great and mighty nation, and through him [and because of him] shall be blessed all the nations of the world.

— the Targum of Jonathan says: Abraham is to be a great and mighty people, and through him shall all the peoples of the earth be blessed.

¹⁹ For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.”

— this judgment upon Sodom is to be explained to him, that he may train his household to avoid the sins of this doomed city;

— “to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; and all this to the further intent that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what he hath spoken of him,” to do justice and judgment; to attend to all the laws, statutes, and judgments of God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

For I have given him special attention because he commands his children [For it is known to Me that he will command his children], and his household after him, and they will preserve the way of Adonoy [the ways that are good in the eyes of Adonoy], doing charity and justice, so that Adonoy will bring upon Avraham all that which He has spoken of him.

²⁰ And the Lord said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, — because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great; their sins were grievous; attended with very aggravated circumstances;

— the Targum Onkelos says

[Thus] Adonoy said, The wailing concerning Sedom and Amorah is so great, and their sin is so very grave.

²¹ I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which has come unto Me; and if not, I will know.” — their cry, which ascends to heaven, is an appeal for judgement or punishment;

— I will go down and see; these cities were to be made examples to all future ages of God’s severity; and therefore ample proof given that the judgment was neither rash nor excessive; but well considered by God himself, (Eze 18:23; Jer 18:7)

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will descend now and see [I will become revealed now and judge], if their wailing which has come to [before] Me is indicative of their conduct; destruction [shall come upon them] [I will destroy them]. If not I will know. [If they will repent, I will not punish them.]

²² And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. — but Abraham stood yet before the Lord; before the first person, whom Abraham now began to know more clearly;

— he stood before him with all reverence and humility, to hear what the Lord (Yehovah יְהוָֽה) had further to say to him, as well as to say something to him himself; he stood “yet” that is, he continued to stand after the departure of the two angels that were gone to Sodom. Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase it, “he ministered in prayer before the Lord.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

The men turned from where they were, and went toward Sedom. Avraham was still standing [serving with prayer] before Adonoy.

²³ And Abraham drew near and said, “Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? — Abraham prayed or pleaded earnestly that Sodom might be spared, if but a few righteous persons should be found in it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham came forward and said, Will You [actually] destroy the righteous with the wicked [in anger]?

²⁴ Perhaps there be fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? — within the city, within the pentapolis, which consisted of five cities;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Suppose [Perhaps] there are fifty righteous people in the midst of the city, will You still destroy it [in anger], and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people inside it?

— the Targum of Jonathan says,

“Perhaps there may be fifty righteous persons in the city who pray before thee, ten for every city, answerable to the five cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar:”

²⁵ That be far from Thee to do in this manner — to slay the righteous with the wicked; and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

— to slay the righteous with the wicked? which is true of temporal calamities but certainly not true of eternal punishment; shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? meaning the Lord, to whom he drew nigh, and was pleading with,

— even the Son of God in human form, who, as he made the world, was the Governor of it and Judge in it; and indeed, as Mediator, has all judgment committed to him, and is appointed to be Judge of quick and dead at the last day;

— the Targum Onkelos says

It would be sacrilege [Your judgments are true therefore it is impossible] [to attribute] to You such an act, to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. It would be sacrilege to attribute this to You [Your judgments are true]: Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?

²⁶ And the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” — then will I spare all the place for their sakes; not Sodom only, but the whole country, (Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar) of which Sodom was the chief;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said; If, in Sedom, I find fifty righteous within the city, I will bear with the entire place for their sake.

²⁷ And Abraham answered and said, “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, I, who am but dust and ashes. — but dust and ashes, yet he speaks as one amazed at his own boldness, and the liberty God graciously allowed him, considering God’s greatness;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avraham responded and said, Here I have begun to speak to [before] my Master, and I am but dust and ashes.

²⁸ Perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five?” And He said, “If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.” — and he asked, if l find there forty and five, I will not destroy it; that is, forty five righteous persons?

— the Targum Onkelos says

But suppose [perhaps] they lack five of the fifty righteous? Will You destroy all the city because of five? He said, I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.

²⁹ And he spoke unto Him yet again and said, “Perhaps there shall be forty found there?” And He said, “I will not do it for forty’s sake.” — and he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake; but spare them for their sake;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He [Avraham] continued to speak to [before] Him and said, Suppose [Perhaps] there are forty found there? He said, I will not do it [inflict destruction] for the sake of the forty.

³⁰ And he said unto Him, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Perhaps there shall thirty be found there.” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” — he said unto him, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak; this he feared, through his importunity, he should be wearisome to him and incur his displeasure;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, Let not my Master show anger and I will [continue] to speak. Suppose [Perhaps] thirty are found there? He said, I will not do it [inflict destruction] if I find thirty there.

³¹ And he said, “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Perhaps there shall be twenty found there.” And He said, “I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.” — and he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake; if there were no more in it, I would spare it for their sake;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, Here I wished to speak to [before] my Master. Suppose [Perhaps] twenty are found there? He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the twenty.

³² And he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Perhaps ten shall be found there.” And He said, “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.” — and he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake; though no more righteous persons were found in it;

— he ended at ten, perhaps because he supposed there were at least ten righteous persons in Lot’s family, Lot and his wife, and their four daughters, and their four husbands; but they forgot that two of Lot’s daughters were unmarried, and how many he had married is not known; ten they say make a congregation, and wherever there are ten righteous persons, a place is saved for their sakes;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, Let not my Master show anger [Let there not be anger before my Master], and I will speak just once more. Suppose [Perhaps] ten are found there? He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the ten.

³³ And the Lord went His way, as soon as He had finished communing with Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place. — and Abraham returned unto his place; to his tent in the plains of Mamre, waiting to observe or hear what would be the issue and event of things respecting Sodom and Gomorrah;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy departed [The glory of Adonoy ascended] when He finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.

Posted in Books of Moses

The Targum, which originated in the Aramaic language, is strongly linked to the work of Ezra, holds significance for shedding light on biblical concepts. When the Masoretic Text can be vague, uncertain, or unclear, the Targum often offers clearer meaning, broader insight, and deeper understanding.

“The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart; and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness” Deuteronomy 28:28-29

Genesis 15

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¹ After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.”

— up to this time Abram had received only general promises of offspring, and of the land being the possession of his seed; where is that land? and years were passing by, and the fulfilment of Abram’s hopes remained distant as ever;

— but the war with the Elamite king he had also made for himself powerful enemies; and though the immediate result was fortunate, yet many Canaanite nations may have witnessed with displeasure so remarkable an exhibition of the power and energy of an intruder, an “immigrant!”

— and thus the time had come when the patriarch needed and obtained more formal assurances, first, of the bestowal upon him of offspring (Genesis 15:1-6), and, secondly, of the future possession of that land, now called Palestine (Genesis 15:18-21);

— the Targum Onkelos says

After these events, the word of Adonoy came to Avram in a vision, saying: Fear not Avram, I am your shield [My Word is your strength], your reward is very great.

— the Targum of Jonathan (Jerusalem also) preambles the scene of Abraham’s personal worries, which prompt the Lord’s response, saying

“After these words, after the kings had gathered together and had fallen before Abram, and he had slain the four kings and turned back nine armies, Abram thought in his heart and said:

‘Woe to me! Perhaps now I have received the reward for my appointments in this world, and I will have no portion in the World to Come.
Or perhaps the brothers and relatives of those whom I killed will go and join themselves into legions and come against me.
Or perhaps at that [previous] time some small merit was found with me and therefore they fell before me, but at another time merit will not be found with me and the Name of Heaven will begin judgment against me.’

Then the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying:

‘Do not fear. Even though their warriors gather in legions and come against you, My Word will be your shield.
And even though they fell before you in this world, the reward of your good deeds is kept and prepared before Me for the world to come — very great.’”

² And Abram said, “Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” — Abram is still childless and landless;

— what wilt thou give me? there is a slight tone of complaint in these words. God promised Abram a “reward great exceedingly”

— Abram answers that no reward can really be great so long as he has no heir;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram said: My Master, God, what will You give me since I continue to be childless, and the manager of my household [this supplier who is in my house] is Eliezer of Damascus.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

“And Abram said: ‘O Lord God, many blessings You have given me, and many [more] are before You to give me; but what benefit is there to me, since I am passing from this world without children? And Eliezer, the son of my household’s steward—by whose hands miracles were performed for me in Damascus—expects to inherit me.'”

— Who was Eliezer, a servant of Abraham? Eliezer was Abraham’s most trusted servant and estate manager, Abraham says of him “the steward of my house is Eliezer of Damascus.” Some believe Eliezer is the unnamed servant in Genesis 24 whom Abraham sent to find a wife for Isaac.

³ And Abram said, “Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” — “What wilt thou give me?” Of what use will land or wealth be to me, the immediate reward specified by the promise?

— the Targum Onkelos says

And Avram said: Behold, You have not given me children, and thus one of my household will be my heir.

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, “This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own loins shall be thine heir.” — but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir; that is, one shall inherit all thou hast, that shall be begotten by thee;

— an own son of Abram’s, and not a servant born in his house; one that should spring out of his own loins: one “out of thy womb”, that is, out of his wife’s, which was his; the phrase designs a genuine and legitimate son, who would be legally his heir;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Suddenly the word of Adonoy came to him, saying: That one will not be your heir; only he that will come from within your body [a son that you will beget] will be your heir.

⁵ And He brought him forth outdoors and said, “Look now toward heaven and count the stars, if thou be able to number them.” And He said unto him, “So shall thy seed be.” — Abram’s seed according to the flesh were like the “dust of the earth,” Genesis 13:16, and his spiritual seed are like the stars of heaven;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He [then] took him outside and said: Look towards the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them. He then said to him: So [numerous] will your descendants be.

⁶ And he believed in the Lord; and He accounted it to him for righteousness. — Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He believed in [the Word of] Adonoy, and this He accounted to him for righteousness.

⁷ And He said unto him, “I am the Lord who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give thee this land to inherit it.” — the Lord next confirms and explains the promise of “the land” to Abram and further assurance was given tohim of “this land ” the land of Canaan for an inheritance;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said to him: I am Adonoy who brought you out of Ur Kasdim, to give to you this land as an inheritance.

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” — he asks for a sign, not out of distrust of God’s promise, for he was strong in faith, but for further assurance and confirmation;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And he said: My Master, God, how will I know that I will inherit it?

⁹ And He said unto him, “Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a shegoat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” — the sign to Abram is the sign of the covenant:

— take me an heifer; offer me a sacrifice, a occasion of great importance, when two or more parties join in a compact, they either observe precisely the same rites as Abram did, or, where they do not, they invoke the lamp as their witness;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said to him: Bring Me [Sacrifice before Me] three heifers, three goats and three rams, a dove, and a young pigeon.

¹⁰ And he took unto Him all these, and divided them in the midst and laid each piece one against another; but the birds divided he not. — divided them in the midst; that is, the three animals, the heifer, goat, and ram into two equal parts;

— laid each piece one against another, one half against the other, the left side against the right, shoulder against shoulder, and leg against leg, so that they might seem to join;

— partly in hope they would join together, that God would in his time put those parts together, and unite those dry bones, (to which the Israelites are compared, Ezekiel 37:1-28), and clothe them with flesh; and partly that the persons entering into covenant might pass between those parts, and so testify their union and conjunction in one and the same sacrifice.

— but the birds were not divided; but laid them one against another; as the birds used in sacrifice under the law were not to be divided, Leviticus 1:17; which may signify that when the Jewish people, in the latter day, are brought together into their own land, when they will better answer the character of turtles and doves than they ever did, will be no more divided and separated from each other;

— most preparation for an offering were then burnt, but this intended offerings were not burnt. Why not? Perhaps, God’s commitment of “I am thy shield!” is debatable; or conditional?

— the Targum Onkelos says

He brought [sacrificed] all these to [before] Him; he split them in the middle [into two equal parts], and placed each piece opposite the other. The bird, however, he did not split.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

“And he brought all these before Him, and he divided them in the middle, and he arranged each part opposite its fellow; but the birds he did not divide.”

¹¹ And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. — and when the birds of prey came down upon the carcases, Abram scared them away;

— had there been a sacrifice the fire would have kept the vultures from approaching; but the bodies lay exposed, and Abram therefore kept guard over them, lest the purpose of the ceremonial should be frustrated by any want of respect shown to the outward symbols;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Birds of prey [vultures] descended upon the carcasses, but Avram drove them away.

— in a standard sacrificial offering (Olah), the animals are slaughtered and burnt on an altar. However, here, Abraham cuts them in half and lays the pieces facing each other, but he does not light a fire;

— the Targum Jerusalem reveals that the birds of prey are “the kingdoms of the earth which are worshippers of idols,”

And when the birds descended, they came not nigh the divisions: those birds are unclean fowl, and those unclean fowl are the kingdoms of the earth which are worshippers of idols, and which counsel evil counsels against the sons of Israel; but the integrity of the righteous Abram hindered them.

— it’s worth noting that the Targums identify the fowls as birds of prey, or specifically the predatory vultures that came down, which symbolize their plundering neighbours, the “kingdoms of the earth.” Historically, these are: Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and the Ottoman empire, but during the endtime:

A) Ezekiel 4 – 390/40 Years Timeline

B) The Flaming Sword and Fire from the South!

C) A Psalm 83 Prophecy

D) A Greater “Out of Egypt” Exodus (another Exodus for the twelve tribes)

E) Return of the Whole House of Israel – Ezekiel 36-37 (stick of Judah to be joined to the stick of Joseph)

F) The Gog and Magog Prophecy (triumph of Ephraim finally)

In all these Abraham’s shooing off the birds of prey away during the endtime, as Gentile nations are trying to destroy the nation of Israel, Abraham’s act of “driving them away” was a fulfilment that it was his own endeavor to protect his descendants throughout their history; the Septuagint version says, “Abram sat by them;” he sat by the carcasses and watched them, that no hurt came to them;

— and it is important to note that it wasn’t God who drove the vultures away, but Abraham. And as the offering were not burnt and be accepted by God immediately, hence God’s initial promise of “Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward” is not quickly consumated. Or, for another explanation, that God had promise the Shield protection initially, but Abraham’s lack of faith by asking for a sign, and the burnt offering wasn’t consumated immediately;

And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before Me when they cut the calf in twain and passed between the parts thereof—

the princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— Jeremiah 23:18-19

— note that this covenant was meant to Abraham’s posterity who had transgressed God’s covenant, “who have not performed the words of the covenant,” reenforcing the theme that sinners need to go through numerous trials to purify themselves before God;

— and although the offering was not burnt and be accepted immediately, it should also be noted that later on, “a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces, v17;” synifying that at the end, God did accept the sacrifices ultimately. But then, this happened later, after Abraham had to shoo off the birds of prey through his own effort.

For more, see Sequence of Keystone Prophecies till the End

¹² And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. — when the sun was going down; the time described was the evening following the night on which he had received the assurance that his seed should be countless as the stars;

— the Targum Onkelos says

As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Avram; and behold, a dread of deep darkness fell upon him.

— the Targum Jerusalem reveals the four kingdoms; and that Edom is Rome

“And it was when the sun was going down to set, a deep and pleasant sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, Abram saw the four kingdoms that were destined to rise to enslave his children: Dread—which is Babylon; Darkness—which is Media; Great—which is Greece; Falling—which is the kingdom of Persia (Rome/Edom), which is destined to fall and shall have no rising again for ever and ever.”

¹³ And He said unto Abram, “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. — thy seed shall be strangers; so they were in Canaan first and afterward in Egypt: before they were lords of their own land, they were strangers in a strange land;

— only by entering under Joshua 400 years later would the land be theirs, otherwise they were only strangers to the land;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And He [Adonoy] said to Avram: Know for sure that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will enslave them and oppress them [for] four hundred years.

¹⁴ And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterward shall they come out with great substance. — that nation; had it been expressly revealed that the country that would afflict them was Egypt, the principal seat of their servitude, and the instrument of their sorest bondage;

— will I judge: that is, punish after judgement, which prediction was in due course fulfilled – and afterward shall they come out with great substance;

— the Targum Onkelos says

But also that nation whom they will serve I will judge; afterwards they will leave with great wealth.

¹⁵ And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried at a good old age. — and thou shall go to thy fathers in peace; or die, which is a going the way of all flesh;

— the Targum Onkelos says

You will join your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.

¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” — for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full; from this sentence we have much to learn:

— the Amorites in Amos 2:9, “whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from beneath.” Perhaps like Hamas today;

— first; the Lord foreknows the moral character of people; second, in his providence he administers the affairs of nations on the principle of moral rectitude; third, nations are spared until their iniquity is full; fourth, they are then cut off in retributive justice in due time;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The fourth generation will return here, for the sin of the Emorites will not be complete until then [now].

¹⁷ And it came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces. — behold a smoking furnace; this signified the affliction of his seed in Egypt: they were there in the furnace of affliction, and labouring in the very fire;

— a burning lamp; this speaks comfort in this affliction: and this God showed Abram at the same time with the smoking furnace. The lamp indicates direction in the smoke; God’s word was their lamp, a light shining in a dark place; synifying, perhaps, that at the end, God did accept the sacrifices ultimately;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sun set and it became very dark; and behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch had passed between these pieces.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

“And it came to pass, when the sun had set and there was darkness, behold, Abram saw Gehenna (Hell) emitting smoke and coals of fire, and kindling sparks of flame to judge the wicked within it; and behold, it passed between these divided pieces.”

¹⁸ On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the River Euphrates:

— from the river of Egypt; the river of Egypt is the Nile, which overflowed annually and made the basin fruitful; so the Targum of Jonathan calls it the Nile of Egypt; it was rendered, “from the Nile of Mizraim” or Egypt to the great river, Euphrates;

— Keil and Delitzsch: the river (נהר) of Egypt is the Nile, and not the brook (נחל) of Egypt (Numbers 34:5); the character of the promise, the two large rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates, are mentioned as the boundaries within which the seed of Abram would possess the promised land,

— and from hence to the river Euphrates, the eastern boundary, was the utmost extent of it in which it was ever possessed, as it was in the times of David and Solomon, II Samuel 8:3;

— the Targum Onkelos says

On that day Adonoy made a covenant with Avram, saying: To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the Euphrates.

— the Targum of Jonathan specifically identifies the river as the Nile of Egypt

“On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram—[decreeing] not to judge his children in [Gehenna] and to redeem them from the [oppression of] kingdoms—saying: ‘To your children I give this land, from the Nile of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.'”

¹⁹ the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites, — the Kenites; thought to be the Idumeans, who sprung from Kenaz of Esau’s posterity; found among the Amalekites in the south (1 Samuel 15:6); note that Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite (Judges 1:16); he was also the priest of Midian; and they dwelt among the Midianites; so they were very mixed by comparing Exodus 3:1 with Judges 1:16;

— the Kenizzites are also supposed by some to be the descendants of Kenaz, a grandson of Esau, Genesis 36:11; but then they must be so called here by anticipation, or  that is, the land they were anticipated to live there; since Kenaz was not then born; Caleb, the head of the tribe of Judah, was a Kenizzite, Numbers 32:12, Joshua 14:6;

and from Deuteronomy 2:5:

Meddle not with them [the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir]; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth, because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

— the Kadmonites; elsewhere the Kadmonites are never mentioned again; probably dwellers on the eastern desert frontier of the Jordan, an eastern or an ancient people, of whom we know nothing;

— besides, none of the land of the children of Esau, at least of those that dwelt about Mount Seir (Deuteronomy 2:5) was to be given to the children of Israel; henced could the Edomites or Idumeans (at least a portion of them had left, some remained) have moved away while the children of Israel were in Egypt?

— the Targum Onkelos says

[The lands of] the Kenites [Shalmites], Kenizites, Kadmonites,

²⁰ and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim, — the Hittites, who had their name from Heth, a son of Canaan, see Genesis 10:15; they dwelt about Hebron, in the south of the land of Canaan:

— the Perizzites and the Rephaim; probably these are included in the common name of Canaanites, those that lived in the land of Canaan; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

The Chittites, Perizites, the Refa’im [the mighty ones],

²¹ and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” —  v16 above; “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” but soon it would be full, like Hamas today;

— the Jebusites; who inhabited Jerusalem and its surroundings, which was first called Jebus, from the founder of this nation;

— in this and the previous verses ten nations are reckoned as occupying the land of Canaan at that time, whereas only seven are mentioned in the times of Moses and Joshua; Deuteronomy 7:1; Joshua 3:10;

— although the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the River Euphrates,” that seed were meant to be the whole house of Israel. Hence, during the Exodus, Moses was tasked of bringing the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, for “I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers” Exodus 6:4.

“When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee — the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou” Deuteronomy 7:1

And Joshua said, “Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites” Joshua 3:10.

and from MSG

When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses. That’s when God made a covenant with Abram: “I’m giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria—the country of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

— and from another perspective, the reason is given in the Book of Jubilees:

And Ham and his sons went into the land which he was to occupy, which he acquired as his portion in the land of the south.

And Canaan saw the land of Lebanon to the river of Egypt that it was very good, and he went not into the land of his inheritance to the west (that is to) the sea,

and he dwelt in the land of Lebanon, eastward and westward from the border of Jordan and from the border of the sea.

And Ham, his father, and Cush and Mizraim, his brothers, said unto him: “Thou hast settled in a land which is not thine, and which did not fall to us by lot:

do not do so; for if thou dost do so, thou and thy sons will fall in the land and (be) accursed through sedition;

for by sedition ye have settled, and by sedition will thy children fall, and thou shalt be rooted out for ever.

Dwell not in the dwelling of Shem; for to Shem and to his sons did it come by their lot.

Cursed art thou, and cursed shalt thou be beyond all the sons of Noah, by the curse by which we bound ourselves by an oath in the presence of the holy judge, and in the presence of Noah our father.”

But he (Canaan) did not hearken unto them, and dwelt in the land of Lebanon from Hamath to the entering of Egypt, he and his sons until this day.
And for this reason that land is named Canaan. Book of Jubilees Chapter 10:40-48

— again, the commitment earlier by an oath; from the Book of Jubilees:

And thus the sons of Noah divided unto their sons in the presence of Noah their father, and he bound them all by an oath, imprecating a curse on every one that sought to seize the portion which had not fallen (to him) by his lot.

And they all said, “So be it; so be it,” for themselves and their sons for ever throughout their generations Book of Jubilees Chapter 9:18-19

~~~~

— Deuteronomy 7:1; Joshua 3:10; and these three – the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites- were not among them. Perhaps they were all from the children of Esau, a posterity of Shem (whereas the others are mostly posterity of Ham, and of Canaan), and during this time interval of over 400 years, they had already moved north and eventually settled in Spain and then westward onto the New World;

— note, too, that in the New World, several states of the United States (namely Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and California) have the Spanish Mexicans settled there first, then later during the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, the American zionists took over, which accounted for a loss of 55% of Mexico’s territory;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The Emorites, Canaanites Girgashites and Yevusites.

— for a more indepth study of Esau or Edom, see Obadiah

Genesis 16

“The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has executed and until He has performed the intent of His thought; in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly” Jeremiah 23:20

¹ Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children; and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. —  the marriage of Hagar to Abram, who was his secondary wife; and though he may be excused, he cannot be justified; for from the beginning it was not so;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram’s wife Sarai had not borne him children. She had an Egyptian handmaid whose name was Hagar.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals Hagar as a daughter [from a concubine] of Pharaoh

“And Sarai, the wife of Abram, had not borne children to him; and she had an Egyptian handmaid whose name was Hagar, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom he [Pharaoh] had given to her as a handmaid at the time that he had taken her [Sarai], and he was struck by a word from before the Lord.”

² And Sarai said unto Abram, “Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing. I pray thee, go in unto my maid. It may be that I may obtain children by her.” And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

— Sarah, despairing of bearing a son herself, as she was now seventy-five, and had been ten years in Canaan, concluded that her heir was to be born of a substitute;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sarai said to Avram: See now, Adonoy has restrained me from having children; pray [now], come to my handmaid perhaps I will be built-up through her. Avram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

³ And Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. — after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan; so that he was now eighty five years of age;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sarai, the wife of Avram took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of ten years that Avram had lived in the Land of Canaan and gave her to Avram her husband to be his wife.

⁴ And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. — her mistress was despised in her eyes; thus began the ill consequences of Abram’s marriage to Hagar;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He came to Hagar and she conceived. When she realized that she was pregnant, her mistress became slighted in her eyes.

⁵ And Sarai said unto Abram, “My wrong be upon thee. I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between me and thee.”

— my wrong be upon thee; that is, may the wrong done to me be avenged upon thee; Sarai’s act had been one of self-denial for Abram’s sake, and now that it has led to her being treated insolently she makes Abram answerable for it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sarai said to Avram: The insult against me is your fault [I have a judgment against you]. I gave my maid to you and when she saw that she had conceived, I became slighted in her eyes. Let Adonoy judge between me and you.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals Sarai’s deep sense of betrayal but she didn’t acknowledged her role in asking Abram to lie with her maidservant Hagar; and that the Pharaoh was a son of Nimrod

“And Sarai said to Abram: ‘All my suffering is because of you! For I was confident that you would act with justice for me, as I left my land and my father’s house and came with you to a foreign land. And now, because I was not bearing children, I freed my handmaid and gave her into your embrace; but she saw that she had conceived, and my honor became despised in her sight.

And now, let my suffering be revealed before the Lord, and let Him spread His peace between me and you, and let the earth be filled from us, so that we shall not need the children of Hagar, the daughter of Pharaoh, the son of Nimrod—who cast you into the fiery furnace!'”

⁶ But Abram said unto Sarai, “Behold, thy maid is in thy hand. Do to her as it pleaseth thee.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her face. — do to her as it pleaseth thee: not giving her liberty to take away her life, nor to use her cruelly,

— but to deal with her as a mistress might lawfully do with a servant, or however exercise that power which a first wife had over a second;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram said to Sarai: [The fate of] your maid is in your hands, do with her as you see fit. Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she [Hagar] ran away from her.

⁷ And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. — by the fountain in the way to Shur; a place before or back to Egypt, from whence the wilderness had its name;

— the Targum Onkelos says

An angel of Adonoy found her by a spring of water in the desert, at the spring on the road to Shur [Chagar].

⁸ And he said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? And whither wilt thou go?” And she said, “I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.” — though she had became Abram’s wife, yet she was still Sarai’s maid;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And he said: Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, from where have you come and where are you going? She said: I am running away from my mistress, Sarai.

⁹ And the angel of the Lord said unto her, “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.” — the angel of the Lord interrogates her, and requires her to return to her mistress, and humble herself under her hands;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The angel of Adonoy said to her: Return to your mistress and submit yourself to her.

¹⁰ And the angel of the Lord said unto her, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” — the Hagarenes, Saracens, and various other tribes of Arabs were descended from Ishmael, and they have been, and still are, a great multitude of people;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The angel of Adonoy said to her: I will greatly multiply your descendants that they can not be counted because of their great number.

¹¹ And the angel of the Lord said unto her, “Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son and shalt call his name Ishmael [that is, God shall hear], because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. — Ishmael; that is, God will hear; and the reason is, because the Lord hath heard;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The angel of Adonoy said to her: Behold you will conceive, and give birth to a son. You shall name him Yishmael, for Adonoy has heard [accepted] your prayer.

¹² And he will be a wild man. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” — his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; signifying, that he would be of a quarrelsome temper and warlike disposition, continually engaged in fighting with his neighbours;

— and they with him in their own defence; and such the Arabs his posterity always have been, and still are, given to rapine and plunder, harassing their neighbours by continual excursions and robberies, and pillaging passengers of all nations, which they think they have a right to do;

— and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren; the sons of Abram by Keturah, the Midianites, and others; and the Edomites that sprung from Esau, the son of his brother Isaac; and the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, another son of Isaac; and his kinsmen the Moabites and Ammonites, upon all which he and his posterity bordered;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He will be a wild, uncivilized man [rebel against people]. His hand [will be] against everyone [He will need everyone] and everyone’s hand will be against him [and everyone’s hand will need him]; and in the presence of all his brothers he will dwell.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals his future relationship with his brothers

“And he will be like a wild ass among men; his hands will take vengeance of his adversaries, and the hands of his adversaries will be stretched out to do him evil; and he shall be mingled among all his brethren, and shall dwell [near them].”

¹³ And she called the name of the Lord who spoke unto her: “Thou God seest me.” For she said, “Have I also here looked upon Him that seeth me?” — looked after him that seeth me, that is, seen the face of my gracious God! That God should appear to me in my master’s house, that I should have such a favour;

— the Targum Onkelos says

She called [She prayed in] the Name Adonoy Who had spoken to her: [She said] You are Almighty Who sees [everything], for she said: Have I also seen here [a vestige] after my having seen? [Have I also began to see here [a vestige] after it was revealed to me?]

¹⁴ Therefore the well was called Beerlahairoi [that is, The well of Him that liveth and seeth me]. Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. — behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered; Kadesh is the same with Kadesh Barnea in the wilderness;

— the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call it Rekam, the same with Petra, the chief city of Arabia Petraea, near the wilderness of Kadesh, which in his times was inhabited by Saracens, inhabited in later times by the Nabathaeans, the posterity of Ishmael;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Therefore the well was called: Be’er Lachai Ro’i [the well at which a living angel appeared]; it is between Kadeish [Rekem] and Bared [Chagar].

¹⁵ And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called his son’s name, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. — and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael;

— that Hagar upon her return reported to Abram the whole of the conversation she had with the angel; wherefore Abram believing what she said, in obedience to the order and command of the angel, gave him this name;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Hagar bore Avram a son and Avram named his son, that Hagar bore him, Yishmael.

¹⁶ And Abram was fourscore and six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. — and Abram was eighty years old when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. Which is easily reckoned, for he was seventy five years of age when he left Haran, Genesis 12:4

— and he had been ten years in Canaan when Hagar was given him by Sarai for his wife, Genesis 16:3; and so must be then eighty five years of age, and of course must be eighty six when Ishmael was born;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Yishmael to Avram.

Posted in Books of Moses

The Targum, which originated in the Aramaic language, is strongly linked to the work of Ezra, holds significance for shedding light on biblical concepts. When the Masoretic Text can be vague, uncertain, or unclear, the Targum often offers clearer meaning, broader insight, and deeper understanding.

Yes, sometimes the Targum clarifies metaphors and interprets idioms or difficult passages instead of translating them literally, which often makes no sense. Such an endeavor should be highly commended rather than criticized.

For example, the Targum interprets natural imagery—like cedars, cypresses, oaks, forests, and fire—as metaphors for political political and social structures, especially kings, rulers, governors, and wealthy elites. Such imagery can be sweeping: forests laid waste, lions roaring as their habitat is destroyed, and power structures crumbling. Fire symbolizes divine punishment, sweeping through defenses and dismantling the very foundations of their power.

Translating such natural imagery literally could convey limited information or even distort it, but Ezra was determined to share their true meaning. He was a righteous man, for God had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to follow it, and to teach the statutes and judgments in Israel Ezra 7:10.

“The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has executed and until He has performed the intent of His thought; in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly” Jeremiah 23:20

Genesis 13

¹ And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

— ‘Get thee out from thy father’s house, and from thy country, and from thy kindred,’ was the command to Abram, and to most others called;

— and Lot with him; Lot accompanied him into Egypt, because he comes with him out of it; into the south; that is, into the Negev;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram went up from Egypt; he, his wife, and all that he had, together with Lot into the south.

² And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. — and Abram was very rich; he was rich; in cattle, in silver, and in gold; cattle are mentioned first, as being the principal part of the riches of men in those days, such as sheep and oxen;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram was very wealthy in livestock, silver and gold.

³ And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, — he went on to Bethel; because there he had formerly had an altar, and although the altar had fallen down,

— between Bethel and Ai, or Hai; thereafter was called Mount Ephraim, and was four miles from Jerusalem on the north; see Genesis 12:8

— the Targum Onkelos says

He continued on his travels from the south to Beis-Eil, until the place where he originally had [set up] his tent, between Beis-Eil and Ai.

⁴ unto the place of the altar which he had made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. — unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; when he first came to that place, and before he went down to Egypt;

— the Targum Onkelos says

To the site of the altar which he made there at first; and there Avram called [prayed] in the Name of Adonoy.

⁵ And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. — Lot; he, too, had possibly received presents in Egypt, for we find him rivalling his uncle in wealth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot who accompanied Avram also had sheep, cattle and tents.

⁶ And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

— both arises from a large increase of riches, that relations and friends are obliged to part; what one would think would make them more comfortable together, is the cause and occasion of their separation;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The land was unable to support them that they might dwell together, for their wealth was so great that they were unable to dwell together.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals deails about the Canaanites and the Perizzites

And contentions arose between the shepherds of Abram’s flock, and the shepherds of the flocks of Lot; for the shepherds of Abram had been instructed by him not to go among the Kenaanaee and the Pherizaee, who, as yet, had power in the land, and to restrain the cattle that they should make no depredation in going to the place of their pasture: but the shepherds of Lot would go and feed in the grounds of the Kenaanaee and Pherizaee who yet dwelt in the land.

⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle; and the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelled then in the land. — and there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle; not between the two masters, but between their servants;

— the Targum Onkelos says

There was a quarrel between the herdsmen of Avram’s flocks and the herdsmen of Lot’s flocks. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were then living in the land.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

And contentions arose between the shepherds of Abram’s flock, and the shepherds of the flocks of Lot; for the shepherds of Abram had been instructed by him not to go among the Kenaanaee and the Pherizaee, who, as yet, had power in the land, and to restrain the cattle that they should make no depredation in going to the place of their pasture: but the shepherds of Lot would go and feed in the grounds of the Kenaanaee and Pherizaee who yet dwelt in the land.

⁸ And Abram said unto Lot, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren. — for we be brethren, that is, both by nature near kinsmen, as the word brother is oft used, and in the faith and religion too, amongst whom contentions are very indecent and scandalous;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram said to Lot: Please [Now], let there not be strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.

⁹ Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Is not all the land before you? Please [Now] separate from me, if [you go] to the left [north], I [will go] to the right [south], and if [you go] to the right [south], I [will go] to the left [north].

— the Targum of Jonathan says, “if thou wilt go to the north, I will go to the south, or if thou wilt go to the south, I will go to the north:’

¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as thou comest unto Zoar.

— all the plain of Jordan; a great plain so called, because there the pleasant river Jordan divided itself into divers little streams or rivulets;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot raised his eyes and saw the entire Jordan Plain, that it was [an] abundantly watered [place]; before Adonoy destroyed Sedom and Amorah, it was like Adonoy’s garden, like the land of Egypt, going towards Zoar.

¹¹ Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves the one from the other. — and Lot journeyed east; and that part of the land on which Sodom and Gomorrah stood, were to the east of Bethel;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lot chose for himself the entire Jordan Plain; Lot journeyed from the east [before], and they separated one from another.

¹² Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. — Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; in that part of the land where the family of the Canaanites had their abode;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram lived in the land of Canaan; and Lot lived in the cities of the Plain, setting up his tents as far as Sedom.

¹³ But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. — the men of Sodom were wicked; exceeding great sinners, guilty of the most notorious crimes, and addicted to the most scandalous and unnatural lusts; and these they committed openly and publicly in the sight of God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The people of Sedom were wicked [with their property] and sinful [with their bodies] towards [before] Adonoy, exceedingly.

¹⁴ And the Lord said unto Abram after Lot was separated from him, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said to Avram after Lot had separated from him: Raise your eyes and look about from the place where you are, to the north, to the south to the east and to the west.

¹⁵ for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever. — on top of Mount Ephraim: all the land which thou seest; so extensive a survey of the country, in all directions,

— northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; all point in the neighborhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before the eyes of the solitary patriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation “like the dust of the earth in number”

— the Targum Onkelos says

For all the land that you see I give to you and to your descendants forever.

¹⁶ And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. — and to thy seed for ever; the meaning is, that he gave it to his posterity to be enjoyed; in the days of Solomon, and as they will be in the latter day;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will make your descendants [numerous] as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants too will be countable [just as it is impossible for a man to count the dust of the earth, so too your descendants will not be countable].

¹⁷ Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee.” — Arise, walk through the land; enter and take possession, for thy posterity; survey the land, and it will appear better than upon a distant prospect;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Rise, walk through the land—its length and breadth—for to you I will give it.

¹⁸ Then Abram removed his tent and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord. — the city Hebron was called Mamre; an ancient city built seven years before Zoan or Tanis in Egypt, Numbers 13:22

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram set up his tent, and he came and settled in the Plains of Mamrei which are in Chevron, and he built there an altar to [before] Adonoy.

Genesis 14

¹ And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, — and it came to pass, in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar; or Babylon, as Onkelos, says, where Nimrod began his kingdom,

— the Targum Onkelos says

This happened in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar [Babylon], Aryoch, king of Elasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Ailam, and Tidal, king of Goyim [king of peoples].

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals that Amraphel was Nimrod,

And it was in the days of Amraphel,–he is Nimrod, who commanded Abram to be cast into the furnace; he was then king of Pontos; Ariok, (so called) because he was (arik) tall among the giants, king of Thalasar, Kedarlaomer, (so called) because he had bound himself (or gone over) among the bondmen of the king of Elam, and Thidal, crafty as a fox, king of the peoples subjected to him,

² that these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. — the cities Sodom and Gomorrah were well established by then; even after the confusion of tongues and that they had dispersed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They waged war against Bera, king of Sedom, Birsha, king of Amorah, Shinav, king of Admah, Shemeiver, king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

³ All these were joined together in the Vale of Siddim, which is the Salt Sea. — the Salt Sea; as afterwards so called, not at this time, but the Dead Sea, being 1300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean; for then it would not have been fit for armies to be drawn up in battle array in it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All these joined together [assembled] at the valley of Siddim [the plain of the fields], which is [now] [the place of] the Salt Sea.

⁴ Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. — they served; that is, paid a yearly tribute in those days;

— the Targum Onkelos says

[For] twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, and for thirteen years they rebelled.

⁵ And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, — in the fourteenth year; after some pause and preparation, Chedorlaomer, in conjunction with his allies, set himself to punish the revolters;

— the Targum Onkelos says

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer came together with the kings that were with him and they defeated the Rephaim [the mighty ones] in Ashteros Karnayim, the Zuzim [the powerful ones] in Ham, the Aimim [the ones that incite fear] at Shaveh Kiryasayim,

⁶ and the Horites in their Mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. — the Horites were the aboriginal inhabitants of Mount Seir, where they dwelt in caves; such as are still to be seen in Petra and other places around; they were centuries later absorbed into the Edomites;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And the Chorites in their hills of Seir, as far as Eil [the Plain of] Paran which borders [is next to] the wilderness.

⁷ And they returned and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites, who dwelt in Hazezontamar. — flashing forward, the country of the Amalekites; they were later inhabited by the posterity of Esau;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat [the plain of compromise] which is Kadeish [Rekem], and they struck all the territory of Amaleik, as well as the Emorites who lived in Chazazon Tamar [Ein Gedi].

⁸ And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar), and they joined battle with them in the Vale of Siddim, — five kings came out and joined battle with the four in the dale of Siddim;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The king of Sedom set out, along with the king of Amorah, the king of Admah, the king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, and engaged them in battle in the Valley of Siddim [in the plain of the fields].

⁹ against Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and against Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar — four kings against five.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Against Kedorlaomer, king of Eilam, Sidal, king of Goyim [king of peoples], Amraphel, king of Shinar [Babylon], and Aryoch, king of Elasar; [there were] four kings against the five.

¹⁰ And the Vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell there, and those who remained fled to the mountain. — the five initiated the fight against the four but the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits, hence the four prevailed against the five;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The Valley of Siddim [The plain of the fields] was [full of] mortar pits [pits from which they raise up mortar]; [and when] the Kings of Sedom and Amorah fled they fell there [into the pits], while the remainder fled to the mountains.

¹¹ And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their victuals, and went their way. — and they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah; they entered these cities and pillaged them, and carried off everything valuable in them;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They took [captured] all the wealth of Sedom and Amorah and all their provisions and they went on their way.

¹² And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods and departed.

— the victors plundered the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and carried off Lot, who dwelt in Sodom, and all his possessions, along with the rest of the captives, probably taking the route through the valley of the Jordan up to Damascus;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They took [captured] Lot and his wealth. [Lot was] Avram’s nephew. Then they went on their way. He had been living in Sedom.

¹³ And there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt on the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abram.

— the plain of Mamre; these were confederate with Abram; probably there was also a league for mutual defence between him and them;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The one who had escaped came and told Avram the Ivri, who was living in the Plains of Mamrei the Emorite, the brother of Eshkol and Aneir. They were Avram’s allies.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals the one who had escaped as Og, the King of Bashan (modern-day Golan Heights and Hauran), saying

“And Og came, who had been saved from the giants who died in the Flood; he had ridden upon the top of the Ark and had a covering over his head, and was sustained by the food of Noah. It was not because of his merit that he was saved, but so that the inhabitants of the world might see the power of the Lord and say: ‘Behold, the giants who were of old rebelled against the Master of the world, and He destroyed them from the earth.’

And when these kings [the four kings vs. the five] waged war, Og was with them. He said in his heart: ‘I will go and tell Abram about the matter of Lot who has been captured, so that he will come to rescue him from the hands of the kings and fall into their hands.’

He arrived on the eve of the day of Passover; he found him [Abram] making unleavened cakes (Matzot). Then he told Abram the Hebrew, and he was dwelling in the plains of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, and they were the masters of Abram’s covenant.”

— according to this tradition, Og was a remnant of the Nephilim (giants). He survived the Great Flood by clinging to the outside of Noah’s Ark. Noah fed him through a hole in the side of the boat. The text clarifies that God didn’t save him because he was a “good guy,” but as a living monument to show that even the mightiest rebels are subject to God’s will.

— in the biblical text, a “fugitive” tells Abraham that his nephew Lot was captured. The Midrash identifies this fugitive as Og. However, his intent was malicious: he hoped Abraham would rush into battle, be killed by the powerful Mesopotamian kings, and then Og could marry Abraham’s beautiful wife, Sarah.

¹⁴ And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house (three hundred and eighteen), and pursued them unto Dan. — and when Abram heard that his brother; regard Lot as his brother’s son, or at the same time his brother-in-law; or just brother;

— the Targum Onkelos says

When Avram heard that his kinsman was taken captive, he armed his trained servants [lads] who were born in his household, three hundred and eighteen [men], and he pursued [them] until Dan.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

And when Abram heard that his brother was made captive, he armed his young men who were trained for war, grown up in his house; but they willed not to go with him. And he chose from them Eliezer the son of Nimrod, who was equal in strength to all the three hundred and eighteen; and he pursued unto Dan.

¹⁵ And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. — Hobah, on the left of Damascus, was over 200 miles toward the north from Hebron;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He divided [his men] against them at night, he and his servants and he attacked them. He pursued them until Chovah, which is to the left [north] of Damascus.

¹⁶ And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot and his goods, and the women also and the people. — he brought back all the goods which the victorious kings had taken from the princes and people mentioned earlier;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He brought back all the property. His kinsman [His brother’s son] Lot and his possessions he also brought back, as well as the women and the people.

¹⁷ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (which is the King’s Dale) after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and of the kings who were with him. — the king of Sodom, who had fled, came down from the mountain whither he had escaped, came down to meet Abram;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The King of Sedom went out to meet him after his return from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, to the Valley of Shaveh which is the King’s Valley [to the barren plain, which is the place of the racetrack of the king].

¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the Most High God. — and Melchizedek king of Salem; both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem say, this is Shem, the son of Noah;

— though it is highly probable Shem was living at this time, yet it is not easy to account for it why his name should be changed, or that he should reign in a country in the possession of his brother’s son; or that he should meet Abram, and congratulate him on the slaughter of one of his own descendants;

— some have thought him to be more than a mere man, even the Son of God himself, but he is manifestly distinguished from him in Hebrews 7:

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham, who was returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him.

To him also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, Melchizedek first being by interpretation “king of righteousness,” and after that also king of Salem, which means “king of peace.”

Without father, without mother and without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, he abideth a priest continually.” Hebrews 7:1-3

— the Targum Onkelos says

Malki Zedek, king of Shaleim [Yerushalayim], brought out bread and wine. He was a Kohein of [He was serving before] the Most High Almighty.

— the Targum of Jonathan identifies the mysterious priest-king Melchizedek

And Malka Zadika, who was Shem bar Noah, the king of Yerushalem, came forth to meet Abram, and brought forth to him bread and wine; and in that time he ministered before Eloha Ilaha.

“And the righteous king—he is Shem, the son of Noah, the king of Jerusalem—went out to meet Abram and brought out to him bread and wine; at that time, he was ministering before God Most High.”

¹⁹ And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth; — and Melchizedek blessed Abram, which was one part of his office as a priest; and said, blessed be Abram of the most high God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He blessed him and said: Blessed be Avram to the Most High, Almighty Possessor of heaven and earth.

²⁰ and blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.” And he gave him tithes of all. — and he gave him tithes of all; not Melchizedek to Abram, but Abram to Melchizedek, and these tithes were given not out of the goods that were recovered;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And blessed be the Most High Almighty Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. [Avram] gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹ And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for thyself.”

— Grive me the persons; to this day it is the custom among the people there, that, if a camp be plundered, his own subjects that had been taken and carried away by the four kings, anyone who recovers the booty gives up only the persons, and takes the rest for himself;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The King of Sedom said to Avram: Give me the people, and take the possessions for yourself.

²² And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, — I have lifted up my hand; this is a serious matter with Abram, either before, or then and there, he made an oath before God, that he would not touch the property of Sodom;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram said to the King of Sedom: I have lifted my hand [in prayer] to [before] Adonoy [before] the Most High Almighty, Possessor of heaven and earth.

²³ that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe strap, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say,‘I have made Abram rich’” — even to a shoelatchet; that is, from a thread used in sewing garments to, a shoelatchet, or the string which fastens the shoes to the foot,

— the Targum Onkelos says

Neither a thread nor a shoelace! And I will not take anything of yours, so you will not [be able] to say, I have made Avram wealthy.

²⁴ except only that which the young men have eaten and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” — the young men have eaten; his three hundred and eighteen trained servants, and those of his confederates;

— who having recovered the victuals taken away from the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, had eaten of it for their refreshment, as it was but just and right;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I am excluding myself; only what the lads have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aneir, Eshkol and Mamrei, they may take their portion.

Posted in Books of Moses

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to attack “economic centres and banks” related to US and Israeli entities in the region after an overnight attack on an Iranian bank, Bank Sepah, in Tehran, a financial institution reportedly connected to the country’s military establishment.

In view of our current turmoil in many cities, especially in the UK, the US and many Western cities, here’s a endtime Prophecy for reflection:

And to the others He said in mine hearing, “Go ye after him through the city and smite. Let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity.
Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” Then they began with the elder men who were before the house.
And He said unto them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go ye forth.” And they went forth and slew in the city. Ezekiel 9:5-7

Genesis 11

~~~~

¹ And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. — the whole earth; that is, all mankind at that time;

— after giving the connection of the various races of the then known world: consisting of Armenia, the regions watered by the Tigris and Euphrates, the Arabian peninsula, the Nile valley, with the districts closely bordering on the Delta, Palestine, the Levant, and the islands of Cyprus, Rhodes, and Crete;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The whole earth had one language, and conforming words.

— the whole earth was of one language; this even heathen writers acknowledge; and that language was, probably, the Hebrew; as the Targum of Jonathan says: “in the holy language spake they, that by which the world had been created at the beginning;”

— the Targum Jerusalem affirms, saying

And all the inhabiters of the earth were (of) one language, and of one speech, and one counsel: for they spake the holy language by which the world was created at the beginning.

² And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. — “from the east” or “they journeyed east” or another version (AMP) “and as people journeyed eastward”

— Josephus (Antiquities: book I, chapter 4, section 1) explained that God admonished them again to send out colonies; to cultivate a great part of the earth, but they, imagining the prosperity they enjoyed in the cities as before, did not obey him, began to build cities;

— the Targum Onkelos says

When they journeyed from the east, [at the beginning,] they found a valley in the land of Shinar [Babylon] and they settled there.

³ And they said one to another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. — let us make brick, for in that low and fat soil they had no quarries of stones; the heathen writers agree that Babylon’s walls were made of brick; and (Jonathan) slime for cement;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They said one to another, Come, let us mold [throw] bricks and bake them thoroughly [in a fire]. They then had bricks to use as stone, and the clay for mortar.

⁴ And they said, “Come, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” — whose top may reach unto heaven: not that they imagined such a thing could be literally be done;

— but that it should be raised exceeding high, like the cities in Canaan, said to be walled up to heaven, Deuteronomy 1:28 hyperbolically speaking;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Then they said, Come, we will build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach the [height of the] heavens. Thus we will make ourselves a name, so that we will not be scattered all over the face of the earth.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals their idol-worshipping inclinations, saying

And they said, Come, we will build us a city and a tower, and the head of it shall come to the summit of the heavens; and we will make us (an image for) worship on the top of it, and put a sword in his hand to act against the array of war, before that we be scattered on the face of the earth.

⁵ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built. — and the Lord came down to see the city; this is an expression after the manner of men; he knew it as clearly as men know that which they come upon the place to view;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy descended to see [Adonoy became revealed in order to punish them because of the building of] the city and the tower that the sons of man built.

⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, the people are one and they have all one language, and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be withheld from them which they have imagined to do. — nothing will be withholden from them; they will be baulked with no limits; if they mount up to heaven, their arrogance will soon make them endeavour to rival God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said, Behold, they are one people, all having one language, and this is their first undertaking. Now will nothing be unattainable for them, [to do] whatever they have a mind to do?

⁷ Come, let Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” — and the Lord said “let Us” not to the angels or to the spirit, but rather the Father to the Son;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Come, let us descend [let us be revealed] and jumble their language, that they will not understand one another’s language.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals God spoke to the 70 angels

And the Lord said to the seventy angels which stand before Him, Come, we will descend and will there commingle their language, that a man shall not understand the speech of his neighbour.

⁸ So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off building the city. — they brought upon themselves the very thing they feared, and that more speedily and more mischievously to themselves; for now they were not only divided in place, but in language too;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy scattered them from there all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals that each angel is over one nation and one language

And the Word of the Lord was revealed against the city, and with Him seventy angels, having reference to seventy nations, each having its own language, and thence the writing of its own hand:

and He dispersed them from thence upon the face of all the earth into seventy languages. And one knew not what his neighbour would say: but one slew the other; and they ceased from building the city. Jonathan

⁹ Therefore is the name of it called Babel [that is, Confusion], because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

— confound their language; it was a failure in utterance, occasioning a difference in dialect which was intelligible only to those of the same tribe;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Therefore He called its name, Bavel, for this was the place where Adonoy jumbled the language of all the earth; and from there, Adonoy scattered them all over the face of the earth.

¹⁰ These are the generations of Shem: Shem was a hundred years old and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood; — Shem was one hundred years old, and begat Arphexad two years after the flood; by which it is pretty plain that he was younger than Japheth;

— for Noah was five hundred years old when he began to beget sons, Genesis 5:32 he was six hundred when he went into the ark, Genesis 7:11 two years after the flood Shem begat Arphaxad, when he was one hundred years old, and Noah six hundred and two, Genesis 11:10 so that Shem must be born when Noah was five hundred and two years old;

— these are the generations of Shem; here also, as in Genesis 5, there is a very considerable divergence between the statements of the Hebrew, the Samaritan, and the Septuagint. According to the Hebrew, the total number of years from Shem to the birth of Abram was 390, according to the Samaritan, 1,040, and according to the LXX, 1,270 1,140

— Masoretic: Shem (100 Gen 11:10); Arphaxad (35 Gen 11:12); Salah (30 Gen 11:14); Eber (34 Gen 11:16); Peleg (30 Gen 11:18); Reu (32 Gen 11:20); Serug (30 Gen 11:22); Nahor (29 Gen 11:24); Terah (70 Gen 11:26); Abram = 390

— Septuagint: Shem (100 Gen 11:10); Arphaxad (135 Gen 11:12); Salah (130 Gen 11:14); Eber (134 Gen 11:16); Peleg (130 Gen 11:18); Reu (132 Gen 11:20); Serug (130 Gen 11:22); Nahor (179 Gen 11:24); Terah (70 Gen 11:26); Abram = 1,140

— Samaritan: Shem (100 Gen 11:10); Arphaxad (135 Gen 11:12); Salah (130 Gen 11:14); Eber (134 Gen 11:16); Peleg (130 Gen 11:18); Reu (132 Gen 11:20); Serug (130 Gen 11:22); Nahor (79 Gen 11:24); Terah (70 Gen 11:26); Abram = 1,040

— Targum of Jonathan: Shem (100 Gen 11:10); Arphaxad (35 Gen 11:12); Salah (30 Gen 11:14); Eber (34 Gen 11:16); Peleg (30 Gen 11:18); Reu (32 Gen 11:20); Serug (30 Gen 11:22); Nahor (29 Gen 11:24); Terah (70 Gen 11:26); Abram = 390

— Josephus (Antiquities l. 1. c. 6. sect. 5) his figures go along mostly with the Septuagint and the Samaritan:

I will now treat of the Hebrews. The son of Phaleg, whose father Was Heber, was Ragau; whose son was Serug, to whom was born Nahor; his son was Terah, who was the father of Abraham, who accordingly was the tenth from Noah, and was born in the two hundred and ninety-second year after the deluge; for Terah begat Abram in his seventieth year.

Nahor begat Haran when he was one hundred and twenty years old; Nahor was born to Serug in his hundred and thirty-second year; Ragau had Serug at one hundred and thirty; at the same age also Phaleg had Ragau; Heber begat Phaleg in his hundred and thirty-fourth year; he himself being begotten by Sala when he was a hundred and thirty years old, whom Arphaxad had for his son at the hundred and thirty-fifth year of his age. Arphaxad was the son of Shem, and born twelve years after the deluge.

Now Abram had two brethren, Nahor and Haran: of these Haran left a son, Lot; as also Sarai and Milcha his daughters; and died among the Chaldeans, in a city of the Chaldeans, called Ur; and his monument is shown to this day.

These married their nieces. Nabor married Milcha, and Abram married Sarai. Now Terah hating Chaldea, on account of his mourning for Ilaran, they all removed to Haran of Mesopotamia, where Terah died, and was buried, when he had lived to be two hundred and five years old; for the life of man was already, by degrees, diminished, and became shorter than before, till the birth of Moses; after whom the term of human life was one hundred and twenty years, God determining it to the length that Moses happened to live.

Now Nahor had eight sons by Milcha; Uz and Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Azau, Pheldas, Jadelph, and Bethuel. These were all the genuine sons of Nahor; for Teba, and Gaam, and Tachas, and Maaca, were born of Reuma his concubine: but Bethuel had a daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Laban. Josephus (Antiquities l. 1. c. 6. sect. 5)

— the Targum Onkelos says

These are the histories of Sheim. Sheim was one hundred years old, and he had Arpachshad two years after the Flood.

¹¹ and Shem lived after he begot Arphaxad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. — and Shem lived, after he begat Arphaxad, five hundred years; so that his whole age was six hundred years, and therefore must live to the times of Abraham; which only true if the Masoretic Text is considered;

— and even throughout the life of Abraham, or near the end of it; and if he was the same with Melchizedek, as is the general beliefs of the Jews, they would have interrelation with each other; but what if the Samaritan and the Septuagint is true instead? Then Melchizedek won’t live until Abraham’s birth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sheim lived after he had Arpachshad, five hundred years, and he had sons and daughters.

¹² And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years and begot Salah;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and had Shelach.

¹³ and Arphaxad lived after he begot Salah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Arpachshad lived, after he had Shelach, four hundred and three years, and he had sons and daughters.

¹⁴ And Salah lived thirty years and begot Eber;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Shelach lived thirty years and had Eiver.

¹⁵ and Salah lived after he begot Eber four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Eiver, Shelach lived four hundred and three years, and he had sons and daughters.

¹⁶ And Eber lived four and thirty years and begot Peleg;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Eiver lived thirty-four years and had Peleg.

¹⁷ and Eber lived after he begot Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Peleg, Eiver lived four hundred and thirty years, and he had sons and daughters.

¹⁸ And Peleg lived thirty years and begot Reu;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Peleg lived thirty years and had Re’u.

¹⁹ and Peleg lived after he begot Reu two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Re’u, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and had sons and daughters.

²⁰ And Reu lived two and thirty years and begot Serug;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Re’u lived thirty-two years and had Serug.

²¹ and Reu lived after he begot Serug two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Serug, Re’u lived two hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters.

²² And Serug lived thirty years and begot Nahor;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Serug lived thirty years and had Nachor.

²³ and Serug lived after he begot Nahor two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Nachor, Serug lived two hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

²⁴ And Nahor lived nine and twenty years and begot Terah;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Nachor lived twenty-nine years and had Terach.

²⁵ and Nahor lived after he begot Terah one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Terach, Nachor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and had sons and daughters.

²⁶ And Terah lived seventy years and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

— Terah was a idol-worshipper:

And Joshua said unto all the people, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. Joshua 234:2

— and here is an abridged story about Abraham’s righteousness: from Bereshit Rabbah 38

Abraham’s father, Terah was an idol manufacturer and worshipper. He operated a shop selling idols; and while he was away, Abraham was asked to look after the shop, but he took a hammer, smashed the idols and placed the hammer in the hand of the largest idol.

When Terah returned, he asked what happened to all the idols, Abraham told him that the idols fought among themselves and then the largest idol took the hammer and smashed all the others. When his father challenged him, saying, “That’s ridiculous, idols are only statues and cannot move!”

Abraham replied, “Then why do you worship them?”

— Josephus wrote:

“Terah, who was the father of Abraham, who accordingly was the tenth from Noah, and was born in the two hundred and ninety-second year after the deluge” (Antiquities: book I, chapter 6, section 5);

— that is, the year 1948 (according to Jewish reckoning).

— the Targum Onkelos says

Terach lived seventy years and had Avram, Nachor and Haran.

²⁷ Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. — and Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Abram, though named first, does not appear to be the eldest, but rather Nahor or more probably Haran;

— it seems pretty plain that Abram was not born until the 130th year of his father’s life, for Terah was 205 years old when he died, Genesis 11:32 and Abram was 75 of age when he went out of Haran to Canaan, Genesis 12:4 and that was after his father had died and buried there; so that if 75 years are taken out from 205, Terah would be 130, in which year Abram was born, assuming Abram journeyed on soon after Terah’s death;

And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. Genesis 11:32 

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. Genesis 12:4

— from here, Abram was born when Terah was 130 years, and not 70 as we believe; and secondly from this case, it proves that the names mentioned first in biblical genealogy may not necessarily be the eldest;

— hypothetically, if Abram’s departure from Haran had been delayed by, say, 2 years after his father’s death, then Terah would be 132 when Abram was born;

— the Targum Onkelos says

These are the histories of Terach. Terach produced Avram, Nachor, and Haran. Haran produced Lot.

²⁸ And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldeans. — Haran died in Ur before his father Terah; thus Abram took Lot as an orphan with him when they left Haran to go to Canaan;

— Abram’s brethren were, Nahor, out of whose family both Isaac and Jacob had their wives; and Haran, the father of Lot, who died before his father. Children cannot be sure that they shall outlive their parents. Haran died in Ur, before the happy removal of the family out of that idolatrous country;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Haran died during the lifetime of his father Terach, in the land of his birth in Ur Kasdim.

— the Targum of Jonathan reveals much more insight: that Haran hesitates, trying to hedge his bets: “If Nimrod wins, I’ll join him; if Abram wins, I’ll join him,”

And it was when Nimrod had cast Abram into the furnace of fire because he would not worship his idol, and the fire had no power to burn him, that Haran’s heart became doubtful, saying, If Nimrod overcome, I will be on his side: but if Abram overcome, I will be on his side.

And when all the people who were there saw that the fire had no power over Abram, they said in their hearts, Is not Haran the brother of Abram full of divinations and charms, and has he not uttered spells over the fire that it should not burn his brother?

Immediately (min yad, out of hand) there fell fire from the high heavens and consumed him; and Haran died in the sight of Terah his father, where he was burned in the land of his nativity, in the furnace of fire which the Kasdai had made for Abram his brother.

— fire falls from heaven and kills Haran, an unstable figure caught between them, exposing his wavering heart and punishing his opportunistic assumption. Contrast this with Abram: Abram’s unwavering refusal to worship idols is highlighted by Haran’s indecision.

— Jonathan incorporated detail trials of Abraham and Haran found in the Book of Jasher (endosed in the Masoretic Test: Joshua 10:13, II Samuel 1:18)

²¹ And they brought them both, Abram and Haran his brother, to cast them into the fire; and all the inhabitants of the land and the king’s servants and princes and all the women and little ones were there, standing that day over them.

²² And the king’s servants took Abram and his brother, and they stripped them of all their clothes excepting their lower garments which were upon them.

²³ And they bound their hands and feet with linen cords, and the servants of the king lifted them up and cast them both into the furnace.

²⁴ And the Lord loved Abram and he had compassion over him, and the Lord came down and delivered Abram from the fire and he was not burned.

²⁵ But all the cords with which they bound him were burned, while Abram remained and walked about in the fire.

²⁶ And Haran died when they had cast him into the fire, and he was burned to ashes, for his heart was not perfect with the Lord; and those men who cast him into the fire, the flame of the fire spread over them, and they were burned, and twelve men of them died. Jasher 12:21-26

²⁹ And Abram and Nahor took for themselves wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram and Nachor married. The name of Avram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nachor’s wife was Milkah, the daughter of Haran [who was] the father of Milkah and Yiskah.

³⁰ But Sarai was barren; she had no child. — Josephus says as Abram has no son of his own, he adopted Lot, his brother Haran’s son, and his wife Sarai’s brother; (Antiquities: book I, chapter 7, section 1)

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sarai was barren, she had no child.

³¹ And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran and dwelt there.

— Abram and Nabor his brother married their nieces. Nabor married Milcha and Abram married Sarai, both daughters of Haran, who died in Ur;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Terach took his son, Avram, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, the wife of his son, Avram. With them they departed from Ur Kasdim, to go to the land of Canaan. [When] they came to Charan [however], they settled there.

³² And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. — Terah was a idolator: “even Terah, the father of Abraham, served other gods” Joshua 24:2

— concerning Abram’s courage, Jewish writings say:

Now Abram had two brethren, Nahor and Haran: of these Haran left a son, Lot; as also Sarai and Milcha his daughters; and died among the Chaldeans, in a city called Ur of the Chaldees, where, he adds, his grave is shown to this day:

the Jews have a fable concerning the death of Haran; they say that Terah was not only an idolater, but a maker and seller of images; and that one day going abroad, he left his son Abraham in the shop to sell them, who, during his father’s absence, broke them all to pieces,

except one; upon which, when Terah returned and found what was done, he had him [Abram] before Nimrod, who ordered him [Abram] to be cast into a burning furnace, and he should see whether the God he worshipped would come and save him; and while he was in it, they asked his brother Haran in whom he believed?

he [Haran] answered, if Abraham overcomes, he would believe in his God, but if not, in Nimrod; wherefore, they cast him [Haran] into the furnace, and he was burnt; and with respect to this it is said, “and Haran died before the face of Terah his father”; but Abraham came out safe before the eyes of them all. Now Terah, hating what he had witnessed, and on account of his mourning for his son, they all removed to Haran of Mesopotamia. (Bereshit Rabbah 38);

— the Targum Onkelos says

The lifetime of Terach was two hundred and five years. Terach died in Charan.

Genesis 12

¹ Now the Lord had said unto Abram, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee. — Abram was expressly commanded to leave “his kindred and his father’s house,” but Nahor his other brother wasn’t asked to, so Nahor didn’t join Abram;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said to Avram, Go from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, [and go] to the land that I will show you.

² And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. — In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed; henceforward Abram and the nation sprung from him were to be the intermediaries between God and mankind;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing [and you will be blessed].

³ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” — and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed; that is, through his seed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you, I will curse; and through you [and because of you], will be blessed all the families of the earth.

⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. — and Lot, being an orphan, went with him; of his own accord, and he only, besides Adram’s wife Sarai and his servants, for Terah was dead, and Nahor and his family stayed behind;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram went as Adonoy had told him, and Lot went with him. Avram was seventy-five years old when he left Charan.

⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls whom they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came.

— into the land of Canaan they came; with all their substance that they had gathered; either in Ur of the Chaldees, or from Haran, or both;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram took his wife Sarai, Lot, his brother’s son, all their possessions they had acquired, and the souls [people] that they had made [converted] in Charan, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. They came to the land of Canaan.

⁶ And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. — Shechem; this name signifies “shoulder,” and was the name of the ridge uniting Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, the summits of which are about two miles apart;

— and the Canaanites were already then in the land; this simply implies that the land was not open for Abram to enter upon immediate possession without a challenge;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram passed [traveled] through the land until the place of Shechem, until the Plain of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.

⁷ And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” And there built he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. — Unto thy seed will I give this land; the whole of it inhabited by Canaanites and others; no place or condition can shut us out from God’s gracious gifts;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy appeared [became revealed] to Avram and said: To your descendants I will give this land. There he built an altar to [before] Adonoy Who had appeared [been revealed] to him.

⁸ And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

— and the life of God’s calling is ever a pilgrim life, and Bethel has soon to be the home instead of Shechem; here, too, Abram keeps outside the city, and pitches his tent;

— and there he builded an altar unto the Lord: as he had done at Shechem; for wherever he went he worshipped God, and offered sacrifice unto him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

From there he moved [ascended] to the mountain that was east of Beis-Eil and set up his tent. Beis-Eil was to the west and Ai was to the east. There he built an altar to [before] Adonoy, and he proclaimed the Name, [and he prayed in the Name,] Adonoy.

⁹ And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. — going on still toward the south; the southern part of the land of Canaan, which lay nearest Egypt, into which he is said to go next;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Avram journeyed, traveling steadily southward.

¹⁰ And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land. — there was a famine in the land; this famine must have happened within a few years after Abram reached Canaan;

— for he was seventy-five years of age on leaving Haran, and as Ishmael, his son by an Egyptian slave-woman, was thirteen years old when Abram was ninety-nine, only about eight years are left for the events recorded in Genesis 12-16

— the Targum Onkelos says

There was a famine in the land. Avram went down to Egypt to live there temporarily, for the famine was severe in the land.

¹¹ And it came to pass, when he had come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, “Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon. — though sixty five years of age, being ten years younger than her husband; yet might still be a fair woman, having a good complexion and comely features;

— Sarai’s complexion, coming from a mountainous country, would be fresh and fair compared with the faces of Egyptian women which were of unhealthy pale brown;

— the Targum Onkelos says

As he came near and was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, Behold, I now realize that you are a woman of beautiful appearance.

¹² Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. — Sarai then was sixty-five years of age and beauty does not vanish with middle age; but that Sarai’s age would be around twenty to thirty years in modern times,

— the Targum Onkelos says

It will happen when the Egyptians see you that they will say: This is his wife. They will kill me and let you live.

¹³ Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee.” — in his early years, Abraham was still a man of little faith, for he said to his wife, Say thou art my sister; as partly true in Scripture called brethren and sisters; as Genesis 13:8

— the Targum Onkelos says

Please [Now] say [therefore] that you are my sister, so that it will go well with me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you [through your words].

¹⁴ And it came to pass, when Abram had come into Egypt, that the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very fair. — the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very fair, meaning very beautiful; in the eyes of the Egyptians fairness also mean beautiful; as there were none of such fairness in Egypt;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And it was when Avram was entering Egypt, that the Egyptians beheld the woman, because she was very beautiful.

¹⁵ The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. — the woman was taken into the royal palace of Pharaoh; kings have for ages claimed the privilege of taking to their harem any unmarried woman whom they like;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh. The woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.

¹⁶ And he treated Abram well for her sake; and he had sheep and oxen and heasses, and menservants and maidservants, and sheasses and camels. — and he entreated Abram well for her sake; Pharaoh was very complaisant to him, showed him great respect,

— and bestowed many favours on him on account of Sarai, whom he took to be his sister, and which were done, that he would consent that she might be his wife; and Abram were given sheep, and oxen, and heasses, and menservants, and maidservants, and sheasses, and camels; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

He treated Avram well for her sake. He thus acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys and camels.

¹⁷ And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. — not only Pharaoh was plagued, but those of his household also, his courtiers and servants, who were accessary to the bringing of Sarai into his house; for all this was because of Sarai, Abram’s wife;

— Jewish writings and Rashi have a notion, that an angel stood by Sarai with a scourge in his hand, and when Sarai bid the angel to smite Pharaoh, he smote him; signifying not just Pharaoh but his courtiers as well; because she was taken by these courtiers and detained in Pharaoh’s house, and designed Sarai to be made his wife or concubine; and thus for evil intentions was this punishment inflicted to all involved;

— but Josephus says it slightly different:

“but God put a stop to his unjust inclinations, by sending upon him a distemper, and a sedition against his government. And when he inquired of the priests how he might be freed from these calamities, they told him that this his miserable condition was derived from the wrath of God, upon account of his inclinations to abuse the stranger’s wife.

He then, out of fear, asked Sarai who she was, and who it was that she brought along with her. And when he had found out the truth, he excused himself to Abram, that supposing the woman to be his sister, and not his wife, he set his affections on her, as desiring an affinity with him by marrying her, but not as incited by lust to abuse her.

He also made him a large present in money, and gave him leave to enter into conversation with the most learned among the Egyptians; from which conversation his virtue and his reputation became more conspicuous than they had been before.” (Antiquities l. 1. c. 8. sect. 1)

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy afflicted Pharaoh with severe plagues [brought severe plagues upon Pharaoh], and also his household, because of Sarai, Avram’s wife.

¹⁸ And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? — what is this that thou hast done unto me? to impose upon me, and deceive me after this manner, by giving out that Sarai was thy sister;

— when she is thy wife; by which means I have been led to prepare to take her for my wife, and have brought plagues upon myself and family? and thus he resented it as an injury done him, as he well might;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Pharaoh summoned Avram and said: What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife?

¹⁹ Why saidst thou, ‘She is my sister,’ so I might have taken her to me for a wife? Now therefore behold thy wife; take her and go thy way.” — now therefore, behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way; Sarai it seems was present at this interview, who was delivered to her husband untouched;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I should take her to myself for a wife? Now here is your wife, take [her] and go.

²⁰ And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. — and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had;

— they did not drive him out by force, or in any disgraceful manner, but being committed to a guard of men, appointed by the king, he had safe conduct out of the land, with his family, and all that he had; all that he brought with him, and all the increase he had made there, and all the gifts he had received of the king;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Pharaoh assigned men to him and they escorted him and his wife and all that was his.

Posted in Books of Moses

The Targum, which originated in the Aramaic language, is strongly linked to the work of Ezra, holds significance for shedding light on biblical concepts. When the Masoretic Text can be vague, uncertain, or unclear, the Targum often offers clearer meaning, broader insight, and deeper understanding.

Yes, sometimes the Targum clarifies metaphors and interprets idioms or difficult passages instead of translating them literally, which often makes no sense. Such an endeavor should be highly commended rather than criticized.

For example, the Targum interprets natural imagery—like cedars, cypresses, oaks, forests, and fire—as metaphors for political political and social structures, especially kings, rulers, governors, and wealthy elites. Such imagery can be sweeping: forests laid waste, lions roaring as their habitat is destroyed, and power structures crumbling. Fire symbolizes divine punishment, sweeping through defenses and dismantling the very foundations of their power.

Translating such natural imagery literally could convey limited information or even distort it, but Ezra was determined to share their true meaning. He was a righteous man, for God had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to follow it, and to teach the statutes and judgments in Israel Ezra 7:10.

Genesis 9

¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. — God blessed Noah and his sons; assuring them of his goodwill and his gracious intentions;

— and said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth; depopulated by the flood: this is a renewal of the blessing on Adam;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim blessed Noach and his sons. He said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

² And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

— and the fear of you and the dread of you; this not only reestablishes man’s dominion over the animals, but also incorporate the fear of humans into the lives of all living creatures;

— Jewish writings, however, say a new stage is reached where man hereafter is invested with the right to take the life of animals for food; perhaps this was also when certain animals or beasts became wild; lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, wolves and foxes;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Your fear and terror will be upon every wild beast of the earth, and upon every bird in the heavens. All that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are given into your hands.

³ Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. — the grant of sustenance is no longer confined to just vegetable, but extended to the animal kinds, with two solemn restrictions;

— animals were slain for sacrifice from the earliest times; but whether they were used for food before this time we are not certain; but now “every creeper that is alive” is granted for food.

— “every moving thing” is everything that moves with the body living, and therefore this seems to describe any animal, clean or unclean; the phrase “that is alive” seems to exclude animals that have died a natural death, or were killed by wild beasts, from being used as food;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Every moving creature that lives, shall be yours for food; like the green vegetation [which I gave previously] I have [now] given you everything [for food].

⁴ “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. — the animal must be slain before any part of it is used for food; and as it lives so long as the blood flows in its veins, the life-blood must be drawn before its flesh may be eaten;

— Gill explains it another way: not that the blood is of itself the life, but because it is a means of life, should not be eaten; but blood properly let out, and dressed, or mixed with other things, might be eaten, only that it could not to be eaten with the flesh, though it might separately;

— the Targum of Jonathan says, “but flesh which is torn of the living beast, what time the life is in it, or that torn from a slaughtered animal before all the breath has gone forth, you shall not eat.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Nevertheless, flesh with its lifeblood, you shall not eat.

⁵ And surely your blood of your lives will I require. At the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. — your blood of your lives; or your blood, which is for your souls;

— the Targum Onkelos says

However, of the blood of your souls, I will demand an account; from the hand of every beast will I demand it. From the hand of man, even from the hand of man’s own brother, [from the hand of a man who spills his brother’s blood,] will I demand an account of man’s soul.

⁶ Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man. — whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; that is, he that is guilty of wilful murder shall surely be put to death;

— in the image of God made he man; so that murder is not only an offence against man, but also an injury to God, and a contempt of that image of God which all men are obliged to reverence and maintain;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He who spills the blood of man, through man shall his blood be spilled, [by witnesses according to the word of judges shall his blood be spilled,] for in the image of Elohim, He made man.

⁷ And you, be ye fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.” — and you, be ye fruitful and multiply; instead of taking away the lives of men, the great concern should be to multiply them;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And now be fruitful and multiply, spread throughout the earth and multiply on it.

⁸ And God spoke unto Noah and to his sons with him, saying,

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said to Noach and to his sons with him, saying,

⁹ “And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your seed after you, — and God said, behold, I establish my covenant with you; my covenant of the preservation of the creatures in common, a promise that they should not be destroyed any more by a flood;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Behold, I am making a covenant with you and with your offspring after you.

¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you — of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you, from all that go out of the ark to every beast of the earth.

— of every fowl, of every cattle, and of every beast of the earth, but no dinosaur exist as living creatures today; hence the obvious conclusion is that the dinosaurs were not among these “cattles” or beasts; otherwise they would be alive today;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And with every living creature that is with you, with the birds, the animals, and all the beasts of the earth with you, all who departed from the ark, including every living creature on earth.

¹¹ And I will establish My covenant with you: Neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.”

— again, the obvious conclusion is that the dinosaurs were not among these “cattles” or beasts; otherwise, today, they would be in our zoos, or reserves, and not in our museums;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will keep My covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be cut off by flood waters, never again will flood waters destroy the earth.

¹² And God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: — the covenant is made between God and Noah (and his posterity) and every living creature that is with you;

— that is, any creature that have survived through the Flood, in the ark, would be alive today, but the dinosaurs are only bones and skeletons today; destroyed amass millions of years ago;

— the Targum of Jonathan says,

“I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your children after you; and with every living soul that is with you, of birds, and of cattle, and of every beast of the earth that is with you, of all that go forth from the ark, of every beast of the earth.

And I will establish my covenant with you, and will not again cause all flesh to perish by the waters of a flood; and there shall not again be a flood to destroy the earth.

And the Lord said, This is the sign of the covenant which I establish between My Word and between you and every living soul that is with you, unto the generations of the world.” Genesis 9:9-12 Jonathan

— the Message Bible says:

Then God spoke to Noah and his sons: “I’m setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you—birds, farm animals, wild animals—that came out of the ship with you. I’m setting up my covenant with you that never again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters; no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth.” Genesis 9:8-11 MSG

God continued, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth.

From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth.” Genesis 9:12-16 MSG

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, This is the sign of the covenant that I pledge between Myself [My Word] and you, and between every living creature that is with you, for the generations of all time.

¹³ I do set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. — I set my bow in the clouds; the rainbow, was seen in the clouds before, but was never a seal of the covenant till now;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I have set My [rain] bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Myself [My Word] and the earth.

¹⁴ And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud.

— that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; for the rainbow is always in a thin, not a thick cloud; after the heavy showers are fallen from the thick clouds, and a small thin one remains, then the rainbow is seen;

— the Targum Onkelos says

At a time when I bring clouds over the earth, the [rain] bow will be seen in the clouds.

¹⁵ And I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

— and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh; this is repeated to remove those fears which would be repeated as God would remember his covenant, which he can never forget;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I shall remember My covenant that is between Myself [My Word] and you, and between every living soul in all flesh, that never again will flood waters destroy all flesh.

¹⁶ And the rainbow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” — and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The [rain]bow shall be in the clouds, and I will see it to remember the eternal covenant between [the Word of] Elohim and between every living soul that is in all flesh that is on the earth.

¹⁷ And God said unto Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” — unfortunately, “all flesh” doesn’t include the dinosaurs, otherwise they would still be alive today, in our zoos or in the wild;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said to Noach, This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Myself [My Word] and between all flesh that is on the earth.

¹⁸ And the sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth; and Ham is the father of Canaan. — and the sons of Noah were Shem, Ham and Japheth, who are here again mentioned as the heads of the nations into which the family of man developed;

— and Ham is the father of Canaan; this is observed for the sake of the following history, concerning the behaviour of the one to Noah, and of the ultimate curse on Canaan;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Noach, who went out of the ark were Sheim, Yafes and Cham; Cham was the father of Canaan.

¹⁹ These are the three sons of Noah, and from them was the whole earth overspread. — these are the three sons of Noah; and his only ones; and if he had any more, they left no posterity behind them; and of them was the whole earth overspread, with inhabitants, by them and their posterity only;

— the Targum Onkelos says

These three were the sons of Noach, and from these, the whole world developed [was spread out].

²⁰ And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard. — Noah began to be an husbandman; or rather, Noah, being a husbandman, began to plant a vineyard;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach began to be a man of the soil [a man who worked the land] and he planted a vineyard.

²¹ And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. — wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented grape juice; it has played an important role in religion since antiquity,

— and has featured prominently in the cultures and arts for centuries; a wide variety of styles which are influenced by different varieties of grapes, growing environments, viticulture methods and production techniques;

— SDAs (Seventh-day Adventists, over twenty millions of them spread all over the world) claim the use of grape juice in ancient times were masquerading as wine;

— but have they ever come to their senses and ask themselves how could unfermented grape juice make Noah drunk? Having already two great disappointments in quick succession in the 1840s, such experience might make a third less disappointing and painful than the first two;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He drank of the wine and was intoxicated. He [then] uncovered himself in his tent.

²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brethren outside. — and Ham saw the nakedness of his father; he looked with pleasure and delight on his father’s nakedness; not offering to cover him; instead he just went off and told his brethren withside;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Cham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told it to his brothers [who were] Outside [in the marketplace].

²³ And Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

— and Shem and Japheth took a garment; they not only would not see it themselves, but provided that no one else might see it; herein setting an example of good deeds with reference to other men’s sin and shame;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sheim and Yafes took the cloak, placed it on their shoulders, and walked backwards, covering the nakedness of their father. They faced away from him, and did not see the nakedness of their father.

²⁴ And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. — now Ham was not the youngest son, but Shem; but only younger, compared to Japheth; and it is not Ham who is cursed, but Canaan, Ham’s fourth or youngest son;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach awoke from his wine [induced sleep] and he realized what had been done to him by his youngest son.

— the Targum of Jonathan says,

And Noach awoke from his wine, and knew, by the relation of a dream, what had been done to him by Cham his son, who was inferior in worth, on the account that he had not begotten a fourth son.

— it suggests Noah didn’t see it happen while awake, or being told by Shem and Japhet, but rather it was revealed to him in a prophetic dream while he slept; which elevates the episode from a family dispute to a divinely disclosed moral offense;

— the “fourth son” this suggests that Ham didn’t just mock his father’s nakedness, but physically castrated him or otherwise interfered with his procreative ability to prevent Noah from fathering a fourth son who would compete for the inheritance of the post-flood world;

— so as Ham deprived Noah of a fourth son, so Ham’s fourth son, Canaan, is cursed measure-for-measure; Jonathan interprets Ham’s act as an active wrongdoing, not merely seeing his father’s nakedness; hence framing Ham as “inferior in worth,” or lacking the righteousness expected of Noah’s household.

²⁵ And he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” — Cursed be Canaan; Noah declares a curse on Canaan, the son of Ham; perhaps this grandson of his was more guilty than the rest; a servant of servants, that is, the vilest and worst of servants; but why?

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, Cursed is Canaan. A slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers.

— the Targum of Jonathan says,

And he said, Accursed is Kenaan who is his fourth son, a serving servant shall he be to his brethren.

²⁶ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. — Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; Abraham and all his posterity were included in the descendants of Shem;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He then said, Blessed is Adonoy, God of Sheim; may Canaan be his slave.

²⁷ God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” — God shall enlarge Japheth; it is the God of the universe to enlarge Japheth with the most numerous posterity; as most of the inhabitants of northern and eastern parts of Asia are descended from Japheth;

— other definitions or meanings for “enlarge” pathah H6601 (2) to be spacious, wide or open: Genesis 9:27 may God make wide for Japhet (give him an extensive inheritance); (3) entice or seduces as a man seduces a virgin;

— and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; inhabit the countries belonging to the posterity of Shem; the Targum of Jonathan says “the Lord shall beautify the borders of Japhet, and his sons shall be proselyted and dwell in the schools of Shem;”

— or from a more modern version of Jonathan:

“May the Lord enlarge the territory of Japheth, and may his descendants convert and dwell in the study hall of Shem, and let Canaan be a servant to them.” ChatGPT

“The Lord shall beautify the borders of Japhet, and his sons shall be proselyted and dwell in the schools of Shem, and Canaan shall be a servant to them.” CoPilot

Voice: May God make plenty of room for Japheth’s family and give them homes among Shem’s tents.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim will enlarge Yefes, but He [His Shechina] will dwell in the tents of Sheim, and Canaan will be their slave.

²⁸ And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. — and Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years; so that he not only saw the old wicked world, and its destruction, but another wickedness again: the building of the tower of Babel;

— the Targum Onkelos says

After the Flood, Noach lived three hundred and fifty years.

²⁹ And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died. — Noah lived twenty years more than Adam did, and within nineteen of Methuselah, and his age must be called a good old age; and what is honourable of all the patriarchs is also applicable to him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Noach totaled nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

Genesis 10

~~~~

¹ Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and unto them were sons born after the flood. — this chapter shows concerning the three sons of Noah, where the whole population were spread from one of these seventy, has come;

— the Targum Onkelos says

These are the histories of Noach’s sons, Sheim, Cham and Yafes. Children were born to them after the Flood.

² The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. — the sons of Japheth; Japheth is placed first, because he was, the oldest brother: Genesis 9:24; Genesis 10:21; of seven sons and his descendants were the most numerous and most widely spread from the birthplace of mankind;

— they seem to have been settled north of the Caspian, and to have wandered north and east from that point;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Yafes were: Gomer, Magog, Modai, Yavan, Tuval, Meshech, and Tiras.

³ And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Gomer were: Ashkenaz, Riphas and Togarmah.

⁴ And the sons of Javan: Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Yavan were: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim.

⁵ By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided into their lands, every one after his own tongue, according to their families, into their nations. — from these were distributed the tribes of the islands of the Gentiles, every one according to his language, to his kindred in their nations.

— the grandchildren of Noah are identified according to Josephus (Antiquities 1:6.1):

Now they were the grandchildren of Noah, in honor of whom names were imposed on the nations by those that first seized upon them. Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons: they inhabited so, that, beginning at the mountains Taurus and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia, as far as the river Tansis, and along Europe to Cadiz; and settling themselves on the lands which they light upon, which none had inhabited before, they called the nations by their own names.

For Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls,] but were then called Gomerites. Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians. Now as to Javan and Madai, the sons of Japhet; from Madai came the Madeans, who are called Medes, by the Greeks; but from Javan, Ionia, and all the Grecians, are derived. Thobel founded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberes; and the Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians.

There is also a mark of their ancient denomination still to be shown; for there is even now among them a city called Mazaca, which may inform those that are able to understand, that so was the entire nation once called. Thiras also called those whom he ruled over Thirasians; but the Greeks changed the name into Thracians. And so many were the countries that had the children of Japhet for their inhabitants.

Of the three sons of Gomer, Aschanax founded the Aschanaxians, who are now called by the Greeks Rheginians. So did Riphath found the Ripheans, now called Paphlagonians; and Thrugramma the Thrugrammeans, who, as the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians.

Of the three sons of Javan also, the son of Japhet, Elisa gave name to the Eliseans, who were his subjects; they are now the Aeolians. Tharsus to the Tharsians, for so was Cilicia of old called; the sign of which is this, that the noblest city they have, and a metropolis also, is Tarsus, the tau being by change put for the theta.

Cethimus possessed the island Cethima: it is now called Cyprus; and from that it is that all islands, and the greatest part of the sea-coasts, are named Cethim by the Hebrews: and one city there is in Cyprus that has been able to preserve its denomination; it has been called Citius by those who use the language of the Greeks, and has not, by the use of that dialect, escaped the name of Cethim.

And so many nations have the children and grandchildren of Japhet possessed. Now when I have premised somewhat, which perhaps the Greeks do not know, I will return and explain what I have omitted; for such names are pronounced here after the manner of the Greeks, to please my readers; for our own country language does not so pronounce them: but the names in all cases are of one and the same ending; for the name we here pronounce Noeas, is there Noah, and in every case retains the same termination.

— the Targum Onkelos says

From these the nations were separated into islands, [set apart] in their own lands, each to its language, according to their families in their nations.

⁶ And the sons of Ham: Cush and Mizraim, and Put and Canaan.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Cham were: Cush, Mitzraim, Put and Canaan.

⁷ And the sons of Cush: Seba and Havilah, and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Cush were: Seva, Chavilah, Savtah, Raamah, and Savtecha. The sons of Raamah were: Sheva and Dedan.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

And the sons of Kush, Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raama, and Sabteka, and the name of their provinces, Sinirai, and Hindiki, and Semadi, and Lubai, and Zingai. And the sons of Mauritinos, Zmargad and Mezag.

⁸ And Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Cush produced [a son] Nimrod. He began to be [mighty and] powerful on earth.

⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

He was a mighty hunter [mighty and powerful] before Adonoy. It is therefore said, Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter [mighty and powerful] before Adonoy.

¹⁰ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, Erech, Akad and Kalneh in the land of Shinar [Babylon].

¹¹ Out of that land he went forth to Assyria, and built Nineveh and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

— the Targum Onkelos says

Asshur departed that land, and he built [The Assyrians departed that land and built] Nineveh, Rechovos Iyr and Kalach.

¹² and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; the same is a great city.

— the Targum Onkelos says

[He also built] Resen between Nineveh and Kalach. This was the great city.

¹³ And Mizraim begot Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim — Mizraim has seven sons, most of the descendants of Mizraim settled in Africa, with the exception of the Philistines, who migrated into the country to which they gave their name; Palestine;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Mitzraim produced [the following nations]: Ludim, Anamim, Lehavim and the Naftuchim.

¹⁴ and Pathrusim and Casluhim (out of whom came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.

— the Philistines; were originally Egyptians, since they descended from Mizraim; they sprung from both the Casluhim and the Pathrusim; Rashi says they exchanged the intimacy of their wives with one another, hence the Philistines sprung from them both;

— they had five principal cities – Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron; but today, they are still dominating the Gaza strip;

— the Targum Onkelos says

[Also] the Pasrusim, and the Kasluchim; from whom came the Plishtim and the Kaphtorim [Kaputkim].

¹⁵ And Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; — today a city of Sidon (or Zidon); the firstborn, and is in Lebanon; where Joshua smote them: Joshua 11:8, 19:28;

— and Tyre, for that was built by the Sidonians; today they are part of Lebanon, and both cities are dominated by the Hezbollah;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Canaan produced his first-born, Sidon, and Cheis.

¹⁶ and the Jebusite and the Amorite, and the Girgashite

— the Targum Onkelos says

[And] the Yevusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite,

¹⁷ and the Hivite, and the Arkite and the Sinite,

— the Targum Onkelos says

The Chivite, the Arkite, the Sinite [Antosite],

¹⁸ and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The Arvadite, the Tzemarite, and the Chamasite. Later, the families of the Canaanites [further] developed [were spread out].

¹⁹ And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; and as thou goest unto Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboiim, even unto Lasha.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The borders of the Canaanites were from Sidon toward Gerar until Gaza, toward Sedom, Amorah, Admah, and Tzevoyim, until Lasha.

²⁰ These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their tongues, in their countries and in their nations.

— the children of Ham are identified according to Josephus (Antiquities 1:6.2):

The children of Ham possessed the land from Syria and Amanus, and the mountains of Libanus; seizing upon all that was on its sea-coasts, and as far as the ocean, and keeping it as their own. Some indeed of its names are utterly vanished away; others of them being changed, and another sound given them, are hardly to be discovered; yet a few there are which have kept their denominations entire.

For of the four sons of Ham, time has not at all hurt the name of Chus; for the Ethiopians, over whom he reigned, are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites. The memory also of the Mesraites is preserved in their name; for all we who inhabit this country [of Judea] called Egypt Mestre, and the Egyptians Mestreans.

Phut also was the founder of Libya, and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself: there is also a river in the country of Moors which bears that name; whence it is that we may see the greatest part of the Grecian historiographers mention that river and the adjoining country by the apellation of Phut: but the name it has now has been by change given it from one of the sons of Mesraim, who was called Lybyos. We will inform you presently what has been the occasion why it has been called Africa also.

Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, inhabited the country now called Judea, and called it from his own name Canaan. The children of these [four] were these: Sabas, who founded the Sabeans; Evilas, who founded the Evileans, who are called Getuli; Sabathes founded the Sabathens, they are now called by the Greeks Astaborans; Sabactas settled the Sabactens; and Ragmus the Ragmeans; and he had two sons, the one of whom, Judadas, settled the Judadeans, a nation of the western Ethiopians, and left them his name; as did Sabas to the Sabeans: but Nimrod, the son of Chus, staid and tyrannized at Babylon, as we have already informed you.

Now all the children of Mesraim, being eight in number, possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, though it retained the name of one only, the Philistim; for the Greeks call part of that country Palestine. As for the rest, Ludieim, and Enemim, and Labim, who alone inhabited in Libya, and called the country from himself, Nedim, and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, and Cephthorim, we know nothing of them besides their names; for the Ethiopic war which we shall describe hereafter, was the cause that those cities were overthrown. The sons of Canaan were these: Sidonius, who also built a city of the same name; it is called by the Greeks Sidon

Amathus inhabited in Amathine, which is even now called Amathe by the inhabitants, although the Macedonians named it Epiphania, from one of his posterity: Arudeus possessed the island Aradus: Arucas possessed Arce, which is in Libanus. But for the seven others, [Eueus,] Chetteus, Jebuseus, Amorreus, Gergesus, Eudeus, Sineus, Samareus, we have nothing in the sacred books but their names, for the Hebrews overthrew their cities; and their calamities came upon them on the occasion following.

— the Targum Onkelos says

These are the sons of Cham according to their families, and their languages, in their lands and in their nations.

²¹ Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sons were also born to Sheim, father of the Children of the Other Side. He was the brother of Yefes, the elder.

²² The children of Shem: Elam and Asshur, and Arphaxad and Lud and Aram.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Sheim were: Elam, and Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

²³ And the children of Aram: Uz and Hul, and Gether and Mash.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of Aram were: Uz, Chul, Geser and Mash.

²⁴ And Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Arpachshad produced Shelach, and Shelach produced Eiver.

²⁵ And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Two sons were born to Eiver, the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth[’s inhabitants] were dispersed, and his brothers name was Yaktan.

²⁶ And Joktan begot Almodad and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth and Jerah,

— the Targum Onkelos says

Yaktan produced Almodad, Shelef, Chatzarmaves, and Yerach,

²⁷ and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah,

— the Targum Onkelos says

[also] Hadoram, Uval, and Diklah,

²⁸ and Obal and Abimael and Sheba,

— the Targum Onkelos says

[also] Oval, Avimaeil, and Sheva,

²⁹ and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

— the Targum Onkelos says

[also] Ophir, Chavilah, and Yovav. All these were sons of Yaktan.

³⁰ And their dwelling was from Mesha as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east.

— the Targum Onkelos says

Their dwelling place was from Meishah toward Sephor, the eastern mountain.

³¹ These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations.

— the children of Shem are identified according to Josephus (Antiquities 1:6.4):

Shem, the third son of Noah, had five sons, who inhabited the land that began at Euphrates, and reached to the Indian Ocean. For Elam left behind him the Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians.

Ashur lived at the city Nineve; and named his subjects Assyrians, who became the most fortunate nation, beyond others. Arphaxad named the Arphaxadites, who are now called Chaldeans. Aram had the Aramites, which the Greeks called Syrians; as Laud founded the Laudites, which are now called Lydians.

Of the four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus: this country lies between Palestine and Celesyria. Ul founded Armenia; and Gather the Bactrians; and Mesa the Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini.

Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews Hebrews. Heber begat Joetan and Phaleg: he was called Phaleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Phaleg among the Hebrews signifies division. 

Now Joctan, one of the sons of Heber, had these sons, Elmodad, Saleph, Asermoth, Jera, Adoram, Aizel, Decla, Ebal, Abimael, Sabeus, Ophir, Euilat, and Jobab. These inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asiaadjoining to it. And this shall suffice concerning the sons of Shem.

— the Targum Onkelos says

These are the sons of Sheim, according to their families and their languages, in their lands and in their nations.

³² These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and by these were the nations divided on the earth after the flood.

— the Targum Onkelos says

These are the families of the sons of Noach, according to their descendants and in their nations. From these the nations were separated on the earth after the Flood.

Posted in Books of Moses

The Targum, which originated in the Aramaic language and is strongly linked to the work of Ezra, holds significance for shedding light on biblical concepts. When the Masoretic Text can be vague, uncertain, or unclear, the Targum often offers clearer meaning, broader insight, and deeper understanding.

Yes, sometimes the Targum clarifies metaphors and interprets idioms or difficult passages instead of translating them literally, which often makes no sense. Such an endeavor should be highly commended rather than criticized.

For example, the Targum interprets natural imagery—like cedars, cypresses, oaks, forests, and fire—as metaphors for political political and social structures, especially kings, rulers, governors, and wealthy elites. Such imagery can be sweeping: forests laid waste, lions roaring as their habitat is destroyed, and power structures crumbling. Fire symbolizes divine punishment, sweeping through defenses and dismantling the very foundations of their power.

Translating such natural imagery literally could convey limited information or even distort it, but Ezra was determined to share their true meaning. He was a righteous man, for God had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to follow it, and to teach the statutes and judgments in Israel Ezra 7:10.

Genesis 7

¹ And the Lord said unto Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. — thou and all thy family; which consisted only of eight persons; Noah and his three sons, and their four wives, Genesis 6:18

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said to Noach, Come into the ark, you and your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me, in this generation.

² Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female; and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. — of every clean beast; of all clean cattle, thou shalt take to thee by sevens; or seven pairs;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Of every [ritually] clean animal, take to yourself seven pairs, male and its mate [female]. Of every animal that is not clean, [take] two, the male and its mate [female].

³ Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. — of every clean fowls; by sevens or seven pairs;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Also of the birds of the heaven, [take] seven pairs, male and female; to keep seed alive upon the face of the earth.

⁴ For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.” — yet seven days; or after seven days;

— and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights: this was not an ordinary but an extraordinary rain, and the quantity of water that fell;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Because in another [at the completion of another] seven days I will bring rain [I will cause rain to descend] on the earth [and it will rain] forty days and forty nights, and I will obliterate every living substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.

⁵ And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. — and Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him; he prepared for his entrance into the ark, and all the creatures with him; got everything ready for them, the rooms for their habitation, and food for their sustenance;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach did all that Adonoy commanded him.

⁶ And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. — Noah was six hundred years old; it follows that Shem was about one hundred years of age (Genesis 5:32), and his two brothers were all married, though apparently without children;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach was six hundred years old when the flood waters were on the earth.

⁷ And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. — and Noah went in, and his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark;

— within the space of the seven days, between the command of God to go into it, and the coming of the flood; or rather on the seventh day, on which it began to rain; when he saw it was coming on;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach went in, and his sons, his wife, and his son’s wives, with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the Flood.

⁸ Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, — there were no mention of a distinction between clean and unclean for food among the beasts, birds and the creeping things; or, perhaps, distinction were made but were not written down;

— the behemoth (H930 ḇə·hê·mō·wṯ), or known as as dinosaur in Job 40:15, is not mentioned in this verse or anywhere hereabout; indicating they were not in the ark;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Of the [ritually] clean animals, and the animals that are not [ritually] clean, of the birds, and of every thing that creeps on the earth.

⁹ there went in two by two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female as God had commanded Noah. — there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, being impressed with an instinct from God so to do; or by the ministry of angels;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Two by two they came to Noach into the ark, male and female, as Elohim had commanded Noach.

¹⁰ And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. — and it came to pass after seven days; were ended, or on the seventh day, after God had given the orders to Noah, to prepare for his going into the ark, with his family, and all the creatures;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Seven [complete] days had passed, and the flood waters were on the earth.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, that same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

— the second month; either of the one sacred, for the celebration of feasts, beginning in March; or the other civil, for men’s political or civil affairs, beginning in September;

— Masoretic, the Flood was 1656 after the creation of Adam: Seth (130 Gen 5:3); Enosh (105 Gen 5:6); Cainan (90 Gen 5:9); Mahalalee (70 Gen 5:12); Jared (65 Gen 5:15); Enoch (162 Gen 5:18); Methuselah (65 Gen 5:21); Lamech (187 Gen 5:25); Noah (182 Gen 7:28-29) Noah (600 Gen 7:6,11) = 1656

— Septuagint, the Flood was 2242 after the creation of Adam: Seth (230 Gen 5:3); Enosh (205 Gen 5:6); Cainan (190 Gen 5:9); Mahalalee (170 Gen 5:12); Jared (165 Gen 5:15); Enoch (162 Gen 5:18); Methuselah (165 Gen 5:21); Lamech (167 Gen 5:25); Noah (188 Gen 5:28-29); Noah (600 Gen 7:6,11) = 2242 (a difference of 586 years)

— Samaritan, the Flood was 1407 after the creation of Adam: Seth (130 Gen 5:3); Enosh (105 Gen 5:6); Cainan (90 Gen 5:9); Mahalalee (70 Gen 5:12); Jared (65 Gen 5:15); Enoch (162 Gen 5:18); Methuselah (65 Gen 5:21); Lamech (67 Gen 5:25); Noah (53 Gen 7:28-29) Noah (600 Gen 7:6,11) = 1407 (a difference of 249 years from the Masoretic Text)

— Targum of Jonathan and the Peshitta both went along with the Masoretic figures; whereas the Armenian largely went along with the Greek Septuagint; both are of Eastern Orthodox Christianity;

— the Targum Onkelos says

In the six hundredth year of Noach’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day, all the wellsprings of the great deep, burst open, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

¹² And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. — forty days and forty nights; so long it was falling upon it, after the windows of heaven were opened;

— the Targum Onkelos says

There was rain [descending] on the earth forty days and forty nights.

¹³ In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark

— a threefold description of the entrance of Noah and his retinue into the ark, first in the command, next in the actual process during the seven days, and, lastly, in the completed act on the seventh day;

— the Targum Onkelos says

On that very day, Noach came along with Sheim, Cham, and Yafes, the sons of Noach; Noach’s wife and the three wives of his sons, with them, into the ark.

¹⁴ they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

— they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind; all sorts of beasts and cattle, reckoned one hundred and thirty sorts, by some one hundred and fifty, including serpents;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They, and every beast of its kind, and every animal of its kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth of its kind; and every flying creature of its kind, every bird, every winged creature [every one that flies].

¹⁵ And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two by two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. — two by two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life; they that went by sevens; being seven couples, as they went by pairs;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They came to [with] Noach, to the ark, two by two of all the flesh in which there was a breath of life.

¹⁶ And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. — went in male and female of all flesh; that is, two by two;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Those that came were male and female, of all flesh they came, as Elohim had commanded him. Adonoy then [protectively] shut him in [the ark.] [Adonoy protected him.]

¹⁷ And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. — the flood was increasing for forty days; the waters rose so high, that the tops of the highest mountains were overflowed;

Orthodox Judaism says this happens in the year 1656 from Adam; but Josephus says 2656 from Adam, (Antiquities: book 1 chapter 3, section 3); a difference of a thousand years;

— a difference of a thousand years to reconcile;

— the Targum Onkelos says

There was a Flood on the earth for forty days. The waters increased and lifted the ark, and it rose [high] above the earth.

¹⁸ And the waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face of the waters. — it raised the ark above the earth and above the mountains, and, on the other, destroyed every living being upon the dry land, from man to cattle, creeping things and birds;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The waters were powerful and increased greatly over the earth, and the ark moved on the surface of the waters.

¹⁹ And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. — all the high hills, and the mountains were covered; there were hills and mountains before the flood, and that these were not caused by the deluge;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The waters were very powerful over the earth, and they covered all the high mountains which were under all the heavens.

²⁰ Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered. — fifteen cubits would be about twenty-two feet;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Fifteen amohs above them [the mountains] did the waters prevail and they covered the mountains.

²¹ And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: — all the men, women, and children, that were in the world, excepting those in the ark, died;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All flesh that moved on the earth perished; birds, animals, beasts, and all creeping creatures that creep on the earth and every man.

²² all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, all that was on the dry land, died. — all flesh, fowl, cattle, and creeping thing, died;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All that has a breath of the spirit of life—everything on dry land—died.

²³ And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle, and the creeping things and the fowl of the heaven, and they were destroyed from the earth. And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

— of the millions of creatures that were upon the earth (except those who dwell in the sea), none was left, the flood came and destroyed them all;

— the Targum Onkelos says

[He] obliterated every being that was on the surface of the ground; from man to animals, to creeping creatures, and to the birds of the heaven. They were obliterated from the earth. Only Noach and those with him in the ark survived.

²⁴ And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days. — fifty and a hundred days; these, and the forty days of rain, make one hundred and ninety days: about six lunar months and thirteen days;

— this number “one hundred and ninety days” coincides with Ezekiel 4 in the Septuagint version where Ezekiel was asked to sleep for the iniquity for Israel: for more, see Ezekiel Timeline – 190/40 Years

— the Targum Onkelos says

The waters were powerful over the earth for one hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8

¹ And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters were assuaged.

— Noah, who having heard nothing of him for five months, and having been perhaps longer in the ark than expected, might begin to think that he was forgotten of God; but God remembered him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim remembered Noach, and all the beasts and all the animals that were with him in the ark. Elohim caused a wind to blow over the earth and the water subsided.

² The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. — the subterraneous waters in great quantity upon the earth, and the clouds of heaven, which poured down water upon it like spouts, were stopped from sending forth any more;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The wellsprings of the deep were closed, and [so were] the windows of the heavens, and the downpour from the heavens was withheld.

³ And the waters returned from off the earth continually, and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. — the waters returned from off the earth; a vast wave from the sea had swept over the land, in addition to the forty days of rain; now it has return back to the ocean;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The water receded from the earth continually, and the waters diminished at the end of one hundred and fifty days.

⁴ And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. — the ark rested upon one of the mountains of Ararat; some, Josephus and the Targum of Jonathan, think one of those mountains in Armenia, or for other loose cannons, in Turkey;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat [Kardu].

⁵ And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. — the ark rested; it is stranded on some hill in Ararat; this country forms part of Armenia;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The waters continued to diminish until the tenth month. In the tenth [month], on the first of the month, the mountaintops became visible.

⁶ And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. — at the end of forty days; it is easy to imagine the ardent longing Noah and his family must have felt to enjoy again the sight of land as well as breathe the fresh air;

— the Targum Onkelos says

At the end of forty days, Noach opened the window of the ark which he had made.

⁷ And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. — Noah sent forth a raven; through the window of the ark; which wentback and forth; until the waters were dried up from the earth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He sent out the raven, and it went out, going to and fro until the water on the land dried up.

⁸ Also he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; — Noah sent forth the dove a second time, probably seven days after the first time, and the third time was after seven days too after the sending forth of the raven;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He [then] sent the dove to see if the water had subsided from the surface of the ground.

⁹ but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. — the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot; because the tops of the hills which then could not be landed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The dove found no [place to] rest her foot. She returned to him into the ark, for the water was upon the surface of the whole earth. He put out his hand and took her and brought her to him, into the ark.

¹⁰ And he stayed yet another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. — and he stayed yet other seven days; as he had stayed seven days between the sending out of the raven and the dove, so he stayed seven days more after he had sent out the dove, and it returned to him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He waited another seven days, and once again sent the dove out of the ark.

¹¹ And the dove came in to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

— so Noah knew the waters were abated from off the earth: by this he perceived not only that they were gone off the mountains, but the lower grounds, at least the hills on which olive trees delight to grow;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The dove came to him toward evening, and behold, [lying] in her mouth was a torn off olive leaf. Noach knew then that the water had subsided from the earth.

¹² And he stayed yet another seven days and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any more. — which returned not again unto him any more: the earth being dry, it found rest for the sole of its feet, sufficient food to eat; and liking to be at liberty in the open air, chose not to return to the ark;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove; it did not return to him again.

¹³ And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.

— and, behold, the face of the ground was dry; the ground or surface of the earth looked dry; but was not so dry and hard as to bear heavy bodies, or the foot to tread on it, being soft and tender;

— the Targum Onkelos says

It was in the six hundredth and first year, in the first [month], on the first of the month, that the water on earth [began] to dry. Noach removed the covering of the ark. He looked and behold the surface of the ground had dried.

¹⁴ And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. — Noah delays apparently another month, and, on the first day of the new year, ventures to remove the covering of the ark;

— the Targum Onkelos says

In the second month, on the twenty seventh day of the month, the earth was [completely] dry.

¹⁵ And God spoke unto Noah, saying, — and God spake unto Noah, saying; whether in a dream or vision, or by an articulate voice, appearing in an human form, or by an impulse on his mind, is not certain;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim spoke to [with] Noach, saying,

¹⁶ “Go forth from the ark, thou and thy wife, and thy sons and thy sons’ wives with thee. — Go forth of the ark; though the earth was dry and fit to be inhabited, yet they would not go out without orders, as he had to go in; which he waited for before he would, and now he has them;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Depart from the ark, yourself and your wife, your sons, and your son’s wives with you.

¹⁷ Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both of fowl and of cattle and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.”

— Question: how could these creatures which came out of the ark in Asia get thence to America, Australia, like the slow moving koalas or to the islands remote from the continent? A: perhaps with the help of angels;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Every living thing that is with you, of all flesh, [including] birds, animals, every creeping creature that creeps on the earth, let them depart with you. Let them spread over the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.

¹⁸ And Noah went forth, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. — and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: in all eight persons, and no more were saved in the ark;

— interestingly the Chinese symbol for “boat” or 船 is made of 舟 (which means vessel), 八 (meaning eight) and 口 (meaning mouth); 船 literally translate “eight people in the boat.” This character was used in the ancient Chinese story of Noah’s ark;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach departed [from the ark together with] his sons, his wife and son’s wives.

¹⁹ Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. — after their kind; not in a confused disorderly manner, mixing with one another; but as they went in by pairs, male and female of every sort, so they came forth in like manner;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Every living thing, every creeping creature, every bird, everything that creeps on the earth, departed from the ark according to their families.

²⁰ And Noah built an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. — Noah builded an altar; literally, “a high place” probably a mound of earth, on which a sacrifice was offered;

— the Targum Onkelos say

Noach built an altar to [before] Adonoy, and took of every [ritually] clean animal and of every [ritually] clean bird, and brought up burnt-offerings on the altar.

—the Targum of Jonathan reveals more details, saying

And Noah builded the altar before the Lord; that altar which Adam had builded in the time when he was cast forth from the garden of Eden, and had offered an oblation upon it; and upon it had Kain and Habel offered their oblations.

But when the waters of the deluge descended, it was destroyed, and Noah rebuilded it; and he took of all clean cattle, and of all clean fowl, and sacrificed four upon that altar. And the Lord accepted his oblation with favour:

²¹ And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in His heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

— the Lord said in his heart; same as “I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth” Isaiah 54:9

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy smelled the pleasing fragrance, [Adonoy accepted his offering with favor] and Adonoy said in His heart [with his Word], Never again will I curse the ground because of [the sins of] man, for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from [the time of] his youth. I will never again smite every living thing as I have done.

²² While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” — while the earth remaineth; literally, as yet, all the days of the earth, that is, henceforth, so long as the earth continues;

— the Targum Onkelos says

So long as the earth exists, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never be suspended.

Posted in Books of Moses

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. Psalm 25:14

Genesis 5

¹ This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him. — in the likeness of God; man is now a fallen being, yet these words are repeated to show that the Divine likeness was not lost, nor the primæval blessing bestowed at his creation revoked;

— the Targum Onkelos says

This is the book of the generations of man. On the day Elohim created man, He made him in the likeness of Elohim.

² Male and female created He them, and blessed them and called their name Adam in the day when they were created. — he called their name Adam; he gave this name both to the man and the woman, being at first one by nature, and afterward one by marriage, it was fit they should both have the same name in token of their union;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Male and female He created them. He blessed them and named them man [Adam] on the day that they were created.

³ And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth. — in his own likeness, after his image; that is, Adam handed down to his posterity that Divine likeness which he had himself received;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and he had a son in his likeness, as his image, and he named him Sheis.

— the Targum of Jonathan adds further insight of Cain not having the likeness of Adam

“And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and he begot Seth, who was like his image and his likeness; for before this, Eve had given birth to Cain, who was not like him, and Abel was killed by his hands, and Cain was banished—and his [Cain’s] descendants were not recorded in the book of the genealogy of Adam; but after this, he [Adam] begot one who was like him, and he called his name Seth.”

⁴ And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters.

— and the days of Adam, after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years; the Septuagint has it as seven hundred; probably counting a hundred years later where Adam began to have other children; which Josephus agrees (Antiquities of the Jews: book I, chapter 2, section 3)

— and he begat sons and daughters; not only after the birth of Seth, but before, though we have no account from the Scriptures of any; and what their number is, either before or after;

— but Josephus says the number of children Adam had, according to the old tradition, was thirty three sons and twenty three daughters. Joseph: Antiquities of the Jews: book I, chapter 2, section 3, footnote 8

— below is from Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews: book I, chapter 2, section 3:

Now Adam, who was the first man, and made out of the earth, [for our discourse must now be about him,] after Abel was slain, and Cain fled away, on account of his murder, was solicitous for posterity, and had a vehement desire of children, he being two hundred and thirty years old; after which time he lived other seven hundred, and then died. He had indeed many other children,⁸ but Seth in particular.

As for the rest, it would be tedious to name them; I will therefore only endeavor to give an account of those that proceeded from Seth. Now this Seth, when he was brought up, and came to those years in which he could discern what was good, became a virtuous man; and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave children behind him who imitated his virtues. 

All these proved to be of good dispositions. They also inhabited the same country without dissensions, and in a happy condition, without any misfortunes falling upon them, till they died. They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order.

And that their inventions might not be lost before they were sufficiently known, upon Adam’s prediction that the world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire, and at another time by the violence and quantity of water, they made two pillars, the one of brick, the other of stone: they inscribed their discoveries on them both, that in case the pillar of brick should be destroyed by the flood, the pillar of stone might remain, and exhibit those discoveries to mankind; and also inform them that there was another pillar of brick erected by them. Now this remains in the land of Siriad to this day.

— the Targum Onkelos says

The days of Adam after he had Sheis were eight hundred years, and he had sons and daughters.

⁵ And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. — he was from thence sentenced the sentence of death, and liable to it; yea, death seized upon him till it brought him to the dust of it; his life, though so long protracted, was a dying life, and at last he submitted to the stroke of death, as all his posterity ever since;

— the MSG has these verses as:

When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was just like him, his very spirit and image, and named him Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Adam lived a total of 930 years. And he died. Genesis 5:3-5 MSG

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

⁶ And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. — and Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos. Not that this was his firstborn, no doubt but he had other children before this time; but this is only mentioned, because it carried the lineage and descent directly from Adam to Noah;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Sheis lived a hundred and five years and he had a son, Enosh.

⁷ And Seth lived after he begot Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. — and begat sons and daughters; very probably both before and after Enos was born; but how many is not said;

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Enosh, Sheis lived eight hundred and seven years, and he had sons and daughters.

⁸ And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. — and all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years;

— Seth, according to Josephus (Antiquities: book 1, chapter 2, section 3), was a very good man, and brought up his children well, who trod in his steps, and who studied the nature of the heavenly bodies; and that the knowledge of these things they had acquired might not be lost, remembering a prophecy of Adam, that the world should be destroyed both by fire and by water;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Sheis were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

⁹ And Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. — and Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan, but according to the Septuagint, a hundred and ninety years;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Enosh lived ninety years and he had a son, Keinan.

¹⁰ And Enosh lived after he begot Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters. — and Enos lived, after he begat Cainan, eight hundred and fifteen years; the Septuagint is seven hundred and fifteen;

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Keinan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and he had sons and daughters.

¹¹ And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. — he died in the year of his age nine hundred and five; and according to Gill, is AM 1340, and was buried in the holy mountain; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

¹² And Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalaleel. — and Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel; here the Septuagint adds an hundred years, as before;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Keinan lived seventy years and he had a son, Mahalaleil.

¹³ And Cainan lived after he begot Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begot sons and daughters. — eight hundred and forty years; the Septuagint has seven hundred and forty, which, when added to the years given him before, makes the same sum;

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Mahalaleil, Keinan lived eight hundred and forty years, and he had sons and daughters.

¹⁴ And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Keinan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

¹⁵ And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begot Jared. — and Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared. A hundred and sixty, according to the Septuagint version;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Mahalaleil lived sixty-five years and he had a son, Yered.

¹⁶ And Mahalaleel lived after he begot Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Yered, Mahalaleil lived eight hundred and thirty years, and he had sons and daughters.

¹⁷ And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years; and he died.

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Mahalaleil were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

¹⁸ And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and he begot Enoch. — and Jared lived an hundred and sixty two years, and he begat Enoch. Here the Septuagint agrees with the Hebrew text, and the Samaritan version differs, reading only sixty two;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Yered lived one hundred and sixty-two years and he had a son, Chanoch.

¹⁹ And Jared lived after he begot Enoch eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. — and Jared lived, after he begat Enoch, eight hundred years; and so, the Septuagint version, but the Samaritan is seven hundred and eighty five;

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Chanoch, Yered lived eight hundred years and he had sons and daughters.

²⁰ And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years; and he died.

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Yered were nine hundred sixty-two years, and he died.

²¹ And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begot Methuselah. — and Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah; here the Septuagint version adds again an hundred years;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Chanoch lived sixty-five years and he had a son, Mesushelach.

²² And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. — and Enoch walked with God, after he begat Methuselah, three hundred years; the Septuagint version is two hundred;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Chanoch walked with [the fear of] Elohim, after he had Mesushelach, [for] three hundred years, and he had sons and daughters.

²³ And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years. — their lives a getting shorter, and now approximately half the age of those older patriarchs;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Chanoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

²⁴ And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. — the phrase “and he was not, for God took him” is vague;

— the Targum Onkelos says

“And Enoch walked in the fear of the Lord; and he was not [there], for the Lord did not cause him to die.”

— the Targum of Jonathan clarifies that Enoch was withdrawn and ascended to another world;

“And Enoch served in truth before the Lord; and behold, he was not with the sojourners of the earth; for he was withdrawn, and he ascended to the firmament by the Word before the Lord, and he called his name Metatron, the Great Scribe.”

— besides being withdrawn and ascended, Jonathan adds another revelation: the title “Great Scribe” fits his role in divine administration and heavenly record‑keeping. Thus instead of the mournful refrain when one died, we have here an early removal into another world, suggesting Enoch, in this special case, may have the highest form of blessing;

— “another world” may mean into heaven, where God’s throne is, where he is with the holy angels and other saints; Revelation: he could be one of the 24 Elders in Revelation?

Who are the 24 Elders in Revelation?

²⁵ And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begot Lamech. — and Methuselah lived an hundred and eighty and seven years, and beget Lamech; the Septuagint version is an hundred and sixty seven;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Mesushelach lived one hundred and eighty-seven years and he had a son Lemech.

²⁶ And Methuselah lived after he begot Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begot sons and daughters. — and Methuselah lived, after he begat Lamech, seven hundred eighty and two years; but the Septuagint version is eight hundred and two years, and so makes the sum total of his life the same;

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Lemech, Mesushelach lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and he had sons and daughters.

²⁷ And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years; and he died. — and all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty nine years, and he died; this was the oldest man that ever lived, no man ever lived to a thousand years;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Mesushelach were nine hundred and sixty-nine, and he died.

²⁸ And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begot a son. — and Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat son; according to the Septuagint version he was an hundred and eighty eight years old; 

— Josephus says after the seventh generation, his posterity turned into wickedness:

Now this posterity of Seth continued to esteem God as the Lord of the universe, and to have an entire regard to virtue, for seven generations; but in process of time they were perverted, and forsook the practices of their forefathers; and did neither pay those honors to God which were appointed them, nor had they any concern to do justice towards men. But for what degree of zeal they had formerly shown for virtue, they now showed by their actions a double degree of wickedness, whereby they made God to be their enemy. (Antiquities: book 1, chapter 3, section 1),

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lemech lived one hundred and eighty-two years and had a son.

²⁹ And he called his name Noah, saying, “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.” — the Lord hath cursed; because of the ground, which the Lord hath cursed;

— this he spake, foreseeing what his son would be, and of what advantage to him and his family, and to the world: the earth was cursed for the sin of man immediately after the fall, and continued under it to this time, bringing forth thorns and thistles in great abundance of itself, which occasioned much trouble to root and pluck them up, and nothing else, without digging, and planting and sowing;

— the Message version is:

When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. He named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us a break from the hard work of farming the ground that God cursed.” After Lamech had Noah, he lived another 595 years, having more sons and daughters. Lamech lived a total of 777 years. And he died. Genesis 5:28-30 MSG

— the Targum Onkelos says

He named his son Noach, saying, This one will bring us rest from our work and the anguish [toil] of our hands, from the soil which Adonoy has cursed.

³⁰ And Lamech lived after he begot Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begot sons and daughters. — and Lamech lived, after he begat Noah, five hundred ninety and five years; the Septuagint version is five hundred and sixty five;

— the Targum Onkelos says

After he had Noach, Lemech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and he had sons and daughters.

³¹ And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years; and he died. — and all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years, and he died; the Septuagint version he lived but seven hundred and fifty three;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the days of Lemech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.

³² And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. — and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth; not together, but one after another;

— Shem was an hundred years old two years after the flood, Genesis 11:10 he must be born in the five hundred and second year of his father’s age; so that it seems most probable that Japheth was the eldest.

— for more, see Japheth, the Eldest

— discrepancies of dates in Jospehus (Antiquities: book 1, chapter 3, section 3): “and this was two thousand six hundred and fifty-six [one thousand six hundred and fifty-six] years from Adam, the first man.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach was five hundred years old, and Noach produced Sheim, Cham, and Yafes.

Genesis 6

¹ And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, — and it came to pass, when men began to multiply upon the face of the earth; either mankind in general, or rather the posterity of Cain;

— or the the posterity of Seth, or a mixture of the two; but then again, Josephus says the number of children Adam had, was thirty three sons and twenty three daughters;

— the Targum Onkelos says

It came to be when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, that daughters were born to them.

² that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took for themselves wives of all whom they chose. — the sons of God saw the daughters of men; by the former, from God’s point of view, is meant the family of Seth, who were of good dispositions, virtuous and professedly religious;

— by the latter, the descendants of apostate Cain, the daughters of men; from God’s point of view, mixed marriages between parties of opposite principles and practice were necessarily sources of evils and corruption;

— persons of greatest eminency for place and power, for such are called gods, and children of the Most High, Psalm 82:6 ‘I have said, “Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High,”’ where, in contrast, also they are opposed to men, Genesis 6:7, that is, to meaner men;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The sons of the rulers saw that the daughters of man were fair and they took for themselves wives from whomever they chose [wanted].

— the Targum Jonathan amplifies with additions: cosmetics, curled hair, exposed flesh, deliberate imagination

“And the sons of the great ones (nobles/angels) saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they painted their eyes with stibium (kohl) and braided their hair, and walked with flesh revealed, with imaginations of wickedness; and they took for themselves wives from all whom they chose.”

³ And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh; yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.”

— my spirit shall not always strive with man; indicating his spirit strives with man up to a certain point; and there will a certain point beyond which he will not go; hence God reduced their days and it shall be an hundred and twenty years; given to them to repent;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said, My spirit will not continue to judge man forever [this evil generation shall not exist before me forever], since he is nothing but flesh [since they are flesh and their deeds are evil]. His days shall be a hundred and twenty years [I will give them a period of a hundred and twenty years for them to repent].

— the Targum Jonathan amplifies the role of God’s Holy Spirit, which empower them to do good deeds, yet they rebelled against them

“And the Lord said by His Word: All the wicked generations that are to arise shall not be judged according to the order of the judgment of the generation of the Flood, to be destroyed and annihilated from the midst of the world. Did I not place My Holy Spirit in them so that they might perform good deeds? And behold, they have made their deeds evil. Behold, I have given them a delay (a long term) of one hundred and twenty years, so that they might perform repentance—but they did not.”

⁴ There were giants on the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

— there were giants on the earth in those days; before those intermarriages were beginning to take place, and these intermarriages bare children unto them, or giants unto them;

— the same became mighty, which were of old: like those that were of old before; hence, perhaps, there were now two sets of giants?

— or a third set, from the evil angels: as Josephus says:

“For many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants.” This notion, that the fallen angels were, in some sense, the fathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of antiquity; (Antiquities: book 1, chapter 3, section 1).

— the Targum Onkelos says

There were giants on the earth in those days, and also later, when the sons of the rulers came to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mightiest ones who ever existed. [They were] men of renown.

— the Targum Jonathan discloses the names of angels that sinned

“Shamhazai and Uziel—they are the ones who fell from heaven and were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of the great ones came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; and they are called the mighty men of old, men of renown (men of names).“

— Jewish angelic tradition idenfies Shamhazai (or Shemhazai) as Azael / Azazel (sometimes confused with “Uziel”). In 1 Enoch, he is called Semjaza (Shemihazah) and is the chief of the “Watchers” — angels who descended to earth, took human wives, and taught forbidden knowledge;

— their ultimate fate:

Shamhazai; he repented (in some versions) and suspended himself upside down between Heaven and Earth. He remains there, in the constellation of Orion (Kesil), as a sign of eternal penance;

Uziel / Azazel; he remained defiant; was bound and cast into the darkness of the desert (Dudael). This, as some believed, is linked to the Scapegoat ritual on Yom Kippur, where a goat was sent to “Azazel” in the wilderness to carry away sins.

⁵ And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagining of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

— and God saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth; that it spread throughout the earth, wherever it was inhabited, both among the posterity of Cain and Seth, who now were mixed together;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy saw that man’s wickedness had increased on the earth, and that every inclination of his heart was only for evil, all day long.

⁶ And the Lord repented that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart. — and it repented the Lord; not in the sense the Lord wished he haven’t created man, since he was able to declare the end from the beginning; but that it grieved him at his heart to see man sinned;

— Rashi: it was a consolation to Him that He had created him [man] of the earthly beings, for had he been one of the heavenly beings, he would have caused them to rebel;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy was comforted [regretted in His Word] that He had made man on the earth, and He grieved in His heart [and He said with His word to break their strength in accordance with His Will].

⁷ And the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for I repent that I have made them.” — for I repent that I have made them; same in the sense that he was able to declare the end from the beginning; but that God grieved that his creation had sinned;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said, I will obliterate mankind which I have created from the face of the earth, from man to beast, to the creeping things and to the birds of heaven, for I regret [with My word] that I made them.

⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. — but Noah found grace; this is evidence that grace found in the Old Testament; that is, Noah obtained mercy and favour from the Lord;

— the Targum Onkelos says

But Noach found favor [mercy] in the eyes of [before] Adonoy.

⁹ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. — Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations; “Just” is, literally, righteous, one whose actions were sufficiently upright to exempt him from the punishment inflicted upon the rest of mankind;

— the Targum Onkelos says

These are the progeny of Noach. Noach was a righteous man, flawless in his generations; Noach walked with [the fear of] Elohim.

¹⁰ And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. — Shem was an hundred years old two years after the flood, Genesis 11:10 he must be born in the five hundred and second year of his father’s age;

— so that it seems most probable that Japheth was the eldest; and born in the five hundred and first year of his age; though Shem is usually mentioned first, because of his superior dignity: Abraham and from whom king David and the Messiah was to spring from;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach fathered three sons, Sheim, Cham and Yafes.

— for more, see Japheth, the Eldest

¹¹ The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. — and the land was corrupt, abominable, and other enormous crimes; in contrast with Noah, the rest of the race were corrupt; entirely depraved by sin;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The earth was corrupt before Elohim, and the earth was filled with violent crime.

¹² And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. — the land was corrupt; the earth was filled with violence, with their uncleanness and wickedness of various sorts;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim saw the earth and beheld that it was corrupt, for all flesh [of man] had corrupted its way on the earth.

¹³ And God said unto Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. — the end of all flesh is come before me; that is, it was determined to put an end to the lives of all men, and of all cattle, and fowl and creeping things on the earth;

— before an order is executed the case is presented to the sovereign, that it may finally be examined, and if approved, receive the judgement, upon which it becomes a decree: “I will destroy them with the earth.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said to Noach, The end of all flesh has come before Me. For the earth is filled with violent crime because of them [their evil deeds], and so, I will destroy them with the earth.

¹⁴ Make thee an ark of gopherwood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt cover it within and without with pitch. — make thee an ark, or chest; an oblong box; not capable of sailing, but intended merely to float; the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Make for yourself an ark of cedar wood. Make the ark into compartments and caulk the inside and outside with tar.

— the Targum of Jonathan adds more details, saying

“Make thee an ark of the wood of cedars; a hundred and fifty cells shalt thou make to the ark in its left side, and thirty and six in its breadth; and ten cabins in the midst, to lay up in them provision; and five repositories on the right, and five on the left; and thou shalt protect it within and without a pitch.”

¹⁵ And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. — the cubit is the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger;

— as, further, it was regarded as one-fourth of a man’s height, we may safely compute it at eighteen inches, except where the sacred or longer cubit is expressly mentioned; thus the ark was 450 feet long, 75 broad, and 45 in depth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

This is how you should make it; the ark’s length shall be three hundred amos, its width fifty amos, and its height thirty amos.

¹⁶ A window shalt thou make for the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

— it is not necessary to suppose that Noah and his three sons built this vast vessel with their own hands; he was probably a powerful chieftain, and many of the Sethites may have given him aid;

— the highest story was for men and birds; the second for provision for the brute creatures; the lowest for the beasts, under which was the bottom of the ark, which most probably was made sloping on both sides;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Make a skylight [light] for the ark, and finish it to one amoh at the top. Place the opening of the ark in its side. Make a lower deck, a second and a third deck.

¹⁷ And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from under heaven; and every thing that is on the earth shall die.

— every thing that is in the earth shall die; this limitation that the fishes are not included in the destruction because they did not live in the same element wherein men lived and sinned;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Behold I am bringing the flood waters on the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under the heavens. Everything that is on the land will perish.

¹⁸ But with thee will I establish My covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife and thy sons’ wives with thee. — my covenant; there had been no covenant with Adam or with the Sethites, but in the higher state of things it began with Noah;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I established My covenant with you. You shall go into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your son’s wives, with you.

¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. — and of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark; that is, of fowls, cattle, and creeping things,

— the Targum Onkelos says

From all living things, from all flesh, two of each shall you bring to the ark, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.

²⁰ Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive. — they shall be male and female; not any two, but one male and one female, they are to come in pairs for propagation;

— the Targum Onkelos says

From the birds of their kind, from the animals of their kind, from every creeping thing of the earth of its kind, two of each will come to you to be kept alive.

²¹ And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be food for thee and for them.” — and take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten; by man and beast;

— the Targum Onkelos says

You shall take for yourself from all [the] foods that are eaten, and gather it to yourself, and it will be food for you and for them.

²² Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. — thus did Noah as he began without delay to prepare the colossal fabric, and in every step of his progress faithfully followed the divine directions he had received;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Noach did so. All that he was commanded by Elohim, he did.

Posted in Books of Moses

The Targum, which originated in the Aramaic language and is strongly linked to the work of Ezra, holds significance for shedding light on biblical concepts. When the Masoretic Text can be vague, uncertain, or unclear, the Targum often offers clearer meaning, broader insight, and deeper understanding.

This study would incorporate the Targum, whose origin was in the Aramaic language, could be traced to Ezra speaking to the returning exiles who couldn’t understand Hebrew, but was expounded to them in a language they could understand.

Translating such natural imagery literally could convey limited information or even distort it, but Ezra was determined to share their true meaning. He was a righteous man, for God had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to follow it, and to teach the statutes and judgments in Israel Ezra 7:10.

Genesis 3

¹ Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God (יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים) had made. And he said unto the woman, “Yea, hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” — the compound name ‘Lord God’ continues but the singular ‘God’ is used as a third person;

— the serpent was more subtle, or crafty, by its manipulation of God’s Words and its loathly form, is the natural symbol of such a deceiver of man;

— the tempter appreared unto the woman as the more susceptible and unguarded of the two creatures he would betray; and ventures upon a half-questioning, half-insinuating remark;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Adonoy Elohim made; and it said to the woman, Did Elohim even [truly] say that you should not eat from all the trees of the Garden?

² And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, — the woman said, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; indicating, Eve extolled the large extent of liberty they enjoyed in ranging at will amongst all the trees, except one;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The woman said to the serpent, From the fruit of the trees of the Garden we may eat.

³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’”

— but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden; this tree, is highly probable, stood near the tree of life, since that is described in the same “midst of the garden,” Genesis 2:9

— the Targum Onkelos says

But of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the Garden, Elohim said, You shall not eat from it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die; — ye shall not surely die; the serpent proceeded, in direct contradiction to divine command, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The serpent said to the woman, You certainly will not die.

⁵ for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” — your eyes shall be opened; his words meant more than met the ear “your eyes shall be opened”

— and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil: as “Elohim” which word is sometimes used of judges or magistrates, sometimes of angels, or “the mighty angels” as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the word; and sometimes of God himself, and of the divine Persons in the Godhead;

— knowing good and evil; or, as God, like unto God himself in that their knowledge should be enlarged, knowing more than just good and evil as many are being deceived with a new version today: “and you’ll go to heaven”

— the Targum Onkelos says

For [it is revealed before] Elohim (knows) that on the day you will eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will become as gods [great ones], knowing what is good and what is evil.

⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and ate, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he ate.

— the prevailing motive to influence her to eat: pleasant to the eyes, of a beautiful colour, and very inviting to the taste; succumbed to the lust of the flesh;

— and a tree to be desired to make one wise; which promised not only what she perceived by the discourse she had with the serpent, which she believed that this would be the consequence of eating this fruit, which looked very desirable, and she concluded to justify herself to eat;

— and gave also to her husband with her; that he might eat as well as she, and partake of the same benefits and advantages she hoped to reap from hence;

— and he did eat; an emphasis upon his eating lies the fate of his posterity; not the woman for the man was the federal head, and he sinning, all his posterity sinned in him, and died in him; through this offence judgment came upon all to condemnation; all became sinners, and subject to death;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was tempting [healing] to the eyes, and that the tree was appealing [to look at] as a means of [obtaining] wisdom. She took of its fruit and she ate, and she also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate.

⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves things to gird about. — the eyes of them both were opened that they were naked; the consciousness of guilt striked upon them as soon as they had broken God’s commandment by eating of the forbidden fruit;

— and they sewed, or platted fig leaves together; to cover at least part of their shame one from another, made themselves aprons;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. They sewed together fig leaves, and made for themselves loincloths.

⁸ And they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. — the voice of the “Lord God,” the coumpound name returns, walking seems like he appears as of the same kind;

— Adam and his wife hid themselves: being sensible of God’s approach, filled with shame and conscience of their own guilt, and dread of judgment; instead of flying to God for mercy, they foolishly attempted to run away from him, whom it was impossible to avoid;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They heard the voice of [the Word of] Adonoy Elohim moving in the Garden at the breeze [in the evening] of the day. The man and his wife hid themselves from [the Presence of] Adonoy Elohim among the trees of the Garden.

⁹ And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, “Where art thou?” — the question, “Where art thou?” implies that the Lord was aware of their endeavor to hide themselves from him to face the consequence;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim called to the man, and He said, Where are you?

¹⁰ And he said, “I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” — Adam was afraid, because he was naked;

— he confesses his nakedness, which was evident; but makes no mention of his sin; this he wished rather to hide, feeling the shameful effects of himself;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said, I heard Your voice [the voice of Your Word] in the Garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.

¹¹ And He said, “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”

— hast thou eaten of the tree; though God knows all our sins, yet he will know them from us, and requires from us an ingenuous confession of them, not that he may be informed, but that we may be humbled;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And He said, Who told you that you were naked? From the tree whereof I commanded you not to eat of it, have you eaten?

¹² And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” — the woman gave me; he shifts the blame to God; since the woman had been given him for his companion and help, he had eaten of the tree from her;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The man said, The woman that You gave to be with me—she gave me of the tree and I ate.

¹³ And the Lord God said unto the woman, “What is this that thou hast done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.”

— the serpent beguiled me; that is, a spirit in the serpent, which she took for a good one, but proved a bad one, with lying words and deceitful language imposed upon her; thus similarily laying the blame on otheers;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim said to the woman, What is this that you have done? She said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

¹⁴ And the Lord God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. — upon thy belly shalt thou go; thus “no longer on thy feet, or half erect,” but thou shalt crawl along, thy belly cleaving to the earth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim said to the serpent, Because you did this, cursed are you from among all animals and beasts of the field. On your belly you shall crawl. And dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

— the Targum of Jonathan adds more insights:

And the Lord God brought the three unto judgment; and He said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou of all the cattle, and of all the beasts of the field: upon thy belly thou shalt go,

and thy feet shall be cut off, and thy skin thou shalt cast away once in seven years; and the poison of death shall be in thy mouth, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” — I will put enmity between thee and the woman; and the man too, but the woman alone is mentioned, for the devil’s greater confusion;

— she conceived an antipathy against it, and which is become natural between the serpent and man; man abhors the sight of a serpent, and the serpent the sight of man; and are poison to each other;

— the Targum Onkelos says

I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall strike you on the head, and you shall strike him on the heel. [He will remember you, what you did to him from the beginning, and you will expect him at the end].

¹⁶ Unto the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

— multiplies “her sorrow and her conception,” that is, her sorrow generally, but especially in connection with pregnancy, when with anguish and peril of life she wins the joy of bringing a man into the world;

— the Targum Onkelos says

To the woman He said, I will greatly increase your sorrow and your pregnancy. You will give birth to children with pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.

¹⁷ And unto Adam He said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, ‘Thou shalt not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

— cursed is the ground for thy sake; it shall now yield both fewer and worse fruits, and not even those without more care and trouble to thy mind, and the minds of thy posterity, and more labour to your bodies than otherwise would have been requisite;

— in sorrow shall thou eat of it all the days of thy life, meaning that with much toil and trouble, in manuring and cultivating the earth, he should get his living out of the produce of it, though with great difficulty; and this would be his case as long as he was in it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

To the man He said, Because you listened to your wife, and ate from the tree which I commanded you, saying, Do not eat from it; the soil will be cursed because of you. In sorrow [With toil] you shall eat from it all the days of your life.

¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. — thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; to give him more trouble, and cause him more fatigue and sorrow to root them up;

— and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; not the fruits of the garden of Eden, but only the common herbs of the wild, such as even the beasts of the earth fed upon: to such a low condition was man, the lord of the whole earth; and this was according to the law of consequence effect, of eating the forbidden fruit should be deprived of them all;

— the Targum Onkelos says

It will grow thorns and thistles for you; and you will eat the herbs of the field.

¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

— in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread; sweat appearing chiefly on the forehead, from whence it trickles down by the nose in persons employed in hard labour;

— for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return; his body was composed of the dust, was of the earth, earthly, and should be reduced to that again by death;

— the Targum Onkelos says

By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, until you return to the ground for from it [the ground] were you taken [created]. For you are dust and to dust you shall return.

²⁰ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. — Adam called his wife’s name Eve; named “Ishah” a woman, because taken from the man; for through her alone could human life be continued, and the “woman’s seed” be obtained who was to raise up man from his fall;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The man called his wife’s name Chavah [Eve], because she had become the mother of all living [people].

²¹ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. — coats of skins; animals, therefore, were killed not just for food, but also for clothing, to defend them from the heat and cold, and other injuries of the air to which they were now to be exposed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And Adonoy Elohim made for Adam and his wife leather coats [garments of honor on the skin of their flesh] and He clothed them.

²² And the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become as one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever”

— behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil; we are now prepared to understand the nature of the two trees which were in the midst of the garden;

— the tree of knowledge of good and evil; if man had obeyed, he would have come to this knowledge in a legitimate way; and to partake of the Divine nature of God;

— as one of us, if it concerning the angels, it is an unreasonable conceit that the great God should level himself with the angels, and give them a kind of equality with himself, as this expression indicates. To know all things, both good and evil; no, the “Us” incorporates just the Father and Son; see John 1:1-3

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim said, Behold, the man has become like one of us [unique. It is for him] to know [what is] good and [what is] evil. Now he must be prevented from reaching out his hand and also taking from the Tree of Life and eat [from it] and live forever.

²³ therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. — therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden; gave him orders to depart immediately; sent or put him away as a man does his wife, when he divorces her;

— to till the ground, from whence he was taken: either the earth in general, out of which he was made, and to which he must return, and in the mean while must labour hard, in digging and ploughing, in planting and sowing, that so he might get a livelihood;

— the Targum Onkelos says

[Therefore] Adonoy Elohim sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he was taken [created].

— the Targum of Jonathan adds a specific detail, “and he went and dwelt in Mount Moriah, to till the ground from which he had been created.”

²⁴ So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

— so God drove out the man; this signified the exclusion of Adam and his posterity from contact with God which was the bliss and glory of paradise;

— cherubim, armed with a dreadful and irresistible power, represented by flaming swords which turned every way; on that side the garden which lay next to the place where Adam was sent, to keep the way that led to the tree of life;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He banished the man [from the Garden] and at the east of [before] the Garden of Eden He stationed the Cherubim and the flame of the rotating sword, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

Genesis 4

¹ And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” — Eve calls Cain “a man,” Hebrew, ish, a man;

— Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters, Genesis 5:4 “And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters,” but Cain and Abel seem to have been the two eldest;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The man knew his wife, Chavah. She conceived and she gave birth to Kayin, and she said, I have obtained a man with [the help of] Adonoy.

— Adam names his wife Chavah because she is “the mother of all living” (Gen 3:20)

² And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. — Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground; as Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born (Genesis 5:3), there was a long period for the increase of Adam’s family (comp. Genesis 4:14-17);

— the Targum Onkelos says

She gave birth again, to his brother Hevel. Hevel became a shepherd, but Kayin was a worker of the soil.

³ And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. — in process of time; might be after a harvest, or after a long indefinite period, shown by the age of Adam at the birth of Seth to have been something less than 130 years;

— the Targum Onkelos says

In the course of time, Kayin brought some fruit of the soil as an offering to Adonoy (יְיָ)

— the symbol יְיָ (a double Yod) is a a shorthand for יהוה (YHVH); a specialized placeholder for the Tetragrammaton—the sacred, four-letter Name of God: יהוה (YHVH));

— the Targum of Jonathan says “it was at the end of days, on the fourteenth of Nisan,” as it was already the Passover since the sacrifice was offered on the late afternoon or evening of the fourteenth;

— remember, the Targum, whose origin was in the Aramaic language, could be traced to Ezra speaking to the returning exiles who couldn’t understand Hebrew, but was expounded to them in a language they could understand.

⁴ And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; — and the Lord God had respect to Abel and to his offering; and God showed his acceptance of his offering;

— Rashi adds more details: “Fire descended and consumed his offering”

— the Targum Onkelos illuminates the fats as the best, saying

Hevel also brought from the firstborn of his flock, from the best thereof. [There was favor before Adonoy] Adonoy paid regard to Hevel and to his offering.

⁵ but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. — and Cain was very angry, his countenance fell; a feeling of resentment, and a sense of disappointment and condemnation take possession of Cain’s heart; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

But to Kayin and his offering He paid no regard [there was no favor]. Kayin became very angry and depressed.

⁶ And the Lord said unto Cain, “Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? — Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? the Lord does not yet give up Cain but make an efford to deal with him;

— if thou do well, shalt thou not be accepted? to do well is to retrace his steps, to consider his ways, and find out wherein he has been wrong, and to amend his offering and his intention accordingly;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said to Kayin, Why are you angry? Why are you depressed?

⁷ If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” — if thou doest well; but he (Cain) didn’t do well, hence Cain couldn’t qualify the last phase: “and thou shalt rule over him.”

— and unto thee shall be his desire; to whom do the pronouns “his” and “him” refer? Perhaps it should be read as: “And as to thy brother, unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over thee with all the right of the first born,” which is misleading since this clause is subjected to the first clause, “If thou doest well,”

— perhaps this verse could have been restructured this way: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted; and thou shalt rule over him? But if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; and unto thee shall be his desire.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Is this not so—if you improve [your actions], there is forgiveness [for you], but if you do not improve [your actions], sin rests at the opening [your sin will be kept for the Day of Judgement]. Its desire is unto you, but you can dominate it. [For in the future, it will be exacted from you if you do not repent. And if you repent, there is forgiveness.]

⁸ And Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. — And Cain talked with Abel his brother; under the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder;

— the Targum of Jonathan adds some step-by-step details:

And Kain said to Habel his brother, Come, and let us two go forth into the field.

And it was that when they two had gone forth into the field, Kain answered and said to Habel, I perceive that the world was created in goodness, but it is not governed (or conducted) according to the fruit of good works, for there is respect to persons in judgment; therefore it is that thy offering was accepted, and mine not accepted with good will.

Habel answered and said to Kain, In goodness was the world created, and according to the fruit of good works is it governed; and there is no respect of persons in judgment; but because the fruits of my works were better than thine, my oblation, before thine, hath been accepted with good will.

Kain answered and said to Habel, There is neither judgment nor Judge, nor another world; nor will good reward be given to the righteous, nor vengeance be taken of the wicked.

And Habel answered and said to Kain, There is a judgment, and there is a Judge; and there is another world, and a good reward given to the righteous, and vengeance taken of the wicked.

And because of these words they had contention upon the face of the field; and Kain arose against Habel his brother, and drave a stone into his forehead, and killed him.

— or for a more modern version:

“And Cain said to Abel his brother, ‘Let us go out to the field.’

And when they were in the field, Cain said to Abel, ‘I perceive that the world is created by mercy, but it does not operate according to good deeds; therefore, your offering was accepted while mine was not.’

Abel answered Cain, ‘The world is indeed created by mercy and operates according to good deeds; because my deeds were better than yours, my offering was accepted.’

Cain replied to Abel, ‘There is no judgment, no judge, no other world, no reward for the righteous, and no punishment for the wicked.’

Abel responded, ‘There is judgment, there is a judge, there is another world, there is reward for the righteous, and there is punishment for the wicked.’

And as they argued about these matters, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and struck him with a stone in his forehead, and killed him.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Kayin said [something] to his brother Hevel, and it happened when they were in the field, that Kayin rose up against his brother, Hevel, and killed him.

⁹ And the Lord said unto Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” And he said, “I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?” — it seems that Cain went away, scarcely conscious of the seriousness of his crime; thus in Cain, like the devil, was both a murderer and a liar from the beginning;

— then the voice of God repeated it in his own heart, Where is Abel, thy brother! Not that God was ignorant where he was, but to inquire into the causes, and hear the accused speak for themselves, before passing sentence;

— am I my brother’s keeper? Why dost thou inquire of me concerning him who is of age to look to himself? Is he such a stripling that he needs a guardian? Or didst thou ever make me his guardian? all which was very saucily and impudently thought of in his harden heart;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy (יְיָ) then said to Kayin, Where is your brother, Hevel? [Kayin] said, I know not, am I my brother’s keeper?

¹⁰ And He said, “What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground. — thy brother’s blood crieth unto me; the sight God has seen tells him that the blood he has shed calls aloud for judgement and vengeance;

— the Targum Onkelos says

He said [to Kayin], What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood [the blood of the descendants that were destined to come from your brother] cries out to [before] Me from the ground.

¹¹ And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. — and now art thou cursed from the earth; from receiving its benefit and enjoying its fruits as before;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Now you are cursed from the ground that had to open its mouth to accept your brother’s blood from your hand.

¹² When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be on the earth.” — a fugitive; condemned to perpetual exile; a degraded outcast; the miserable victim of an accusing conscience;

— “a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be on the earth” a vagabond shalt thou be, banished from thy own land and kindred; reminds us of the Gypsies; who are they?

— the Targum Onkelos says

When you work the ground, it will no longer give you of its strength. You will be unsettled, and a wanderer on the earth.

¹³ And Cain said unto the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. — my punishment is greater than I can bear; what an overwhelming sense of misery; but no sign of repentence, nor cry for pardon;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Kayin said to Adonoy (יְיָ), My sin is too great to bear.

— he is driven, not “from the face of the earth,” which was impossible, but from the adâmâh, his dear native soil, banished from which, he must go into the silence and solitude of an earth unknown and untracked;

¹⁴ Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth. And it shall come to pass that every one who findeth me shall slay me.”

— whosoever findeth me, shall slay me; implies that the family of Adam had now become numerous. Not only sons and daughters, but their children and grandchildren may have been growing up when Cain was sent into exile; but in his present terror even an excited fancy suggested an enemy at every turn;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Behold, today You have banished me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I am to be hidden [from before You it is impossible to be hidden]. I am to be unsettled and a wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me, will kill me.

¹⁵ And the Lord said unto him, “Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

— sevenfold; Cain’s punishment was severe, because his crime was the result of violent passions, but his life was not to be taken because God wanted the earth to be populated;

— and the Lord set a mark upon Cain; to distinguish him from the rest of man; what the mark was, God has not told us: therefore any conjectures of men are just conjectures; and the Targum of Jonathan says: “Behold now, any one who killeth Kain, unto seven generations vengeance shall be taken of him,”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy said to him, Therefore, whoever kills Kayin, [after seven generations] revenge will be taken on him [Kayin] sevenfold. Adonoy placed a mark on Kayin, so that whoever would find him would not kill him.

¹⁶ And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod to the east of Eden. — Cain, on migrating from the whole land of Eden, regarded himself as beyond the range of the sight of his fellow humans and from God;

— the land of Nod; read the word Nod with different set of vowels, the place could well be India! The Sacred Text in its original doesn’t have any vowel; they were added later, so the possibility is there;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Kayin exited from the Presence of Adonoy and settled in the land of Nod [in the land of exile and wandering], east of Eden [which was made for him before the Garden of Eden].

¹⁷ And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

— he calls his son Henok (Enoch), and his city after the name of his son; the same word is employed in the lines of Seth Genesis 5:18, of Midian Genesis 25:4, and of Reuben Genesis 46:9

— the Targum Onkelos says

Kayin knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Chanoch. [Kayin] was building a city, and he named the city after his son Chanoch.

¹⁸ And unto Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech. — and unto Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begat Mehujael, and Mehujael begat Methusael; and Methusael begat Lamech;

— God, “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,” Isaiah 46:10 hence he, by preserving Cains despite his sin, wants this line to be preserved;

— the Targum Onkelos says

To Chanoch was born Irad. Irad had a son Mechuyael, Mechuyael had a son Mesushael, and Mesushael, had a son Lemech.

¹⁹ And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. — Lamech took unto him two wives; contrary to the first institution of marriage, whereby only one man and one woman were to be joined together, and become one flesh, Genesis 2:24

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lemech married two women, the first was named Adah, and the name of the second was Tzillah.

²⁰ And Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents, and of those who have cattle. — the father of such as dwelt in tents, and of such as have cattle: though his posterity might succeed the same business; since he was the first inventor of tents or movable habitations, which could be carried from place to place;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adah gave birth to Yaval. He was the father [master] of those who live in tents, and breed cattle.

²¹ And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who handle the harp and organ. — he was the father of all such that handle the harp and organ: he was the inventor of instrumental music, both of stringed instruments;

— the Targum Onkelos says

His brother’s name was Yuval. He was the father [master] of all who handle [play] the harp and [who know the song of the lute and the] flute.

²² And Zillah, she also bore Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron; and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. — an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron; he taught men the way of melting metals, and of making armour and weapons of war, and other instruments, for various uses;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Tzillah also gave birth to Tuval Kayin, who sharpened everything which cuts copper and iron [who was the master of all who know the craft of copper and iron]. The sister of Tuval Kayin was Naamah.

²³ And Lamech said unto his wives, “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech! For I have slain a man for my wounding, and a young man for my hurt.

— and Lamech (Josephus says he had 77 children) said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah; besides confessing what he had done, he self boasting what he would do should he be attacked; as this he wasn’t backed by God; but acting as if he were God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Lemech said to his wives, Adah and Tzillah, hear my voice, wives of Lemech listen to my speech; have I have killed a man by my own wounding and a child by my own hurting? [I did not kill a man, that on his account I should bear the sin, and I did not even wound a child, that on his account my seed should be cut off].

²⁴ If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.” — the Septuagint has it “seventy times seven” which may also seem probable; in view of his boasting; like Nebuchadnezzar, saying, “Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?”

— the line of Cain is traced no further than the seventh generation from Adam, as Josephus says “the posterity of Cain became exceeding wicked, every one successively dying, one after another, more wicked than the former.” We cannot tell whether there were any more in that line before the flood; the other line through Noah and Abraham is from Seth; and from them the Messiah would descend;

— perhaps the seven generation in verse 15 above, the Targum of Jonathan: “Behold now, any one who killeth Kain, unto seven generations vengeance shall be taken of him,” may mean that Cain’s posterity would be protected only till the seventh generation;

— the Targum Onkelos says

If Kayin shall be avenged sevenfold [If Kayin’s punishment shall be suspended for seven generations], then for Lemech, his son, it shall be seventy-seven fold [for seventy-seven generations].

²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son and called his name Seth. “For God,” said she, “hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” — another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew; Cain, the firstborn, and Abel, who had outstripped him in prosperity, were both lost to Adam;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adam knew his wife again, and she gave birth to a son, and named him Sheis, Because Elohim has granted me another offspring in place of Hevel, for Kayin had killed him.

²⁶ And to Seth also there was born a son, and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. — then began men to be called by the name of the Lord; to pray unto God, to worship God; or to call themselves by the name of the Lord;

— now Cain and those that had deserted God had built a city, they began to err, and they made themselves idols, and surnamed their idols by the name of the Lord; and begun to declare for themselves the sons of men. Those that adhered to God began to declare for him and his worship, and called themselves the sons of God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

To Sheis also was born a son, and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call [idols] [men stopped praying] by the name Adonoy.

Posted in Books of Moses

Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none other; I am God, and there is none like Me,

declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ Isaiah 46:9-10

This study would incorporate the Targum, whose origin was in the Aramaic language, could be traced to Ezra speaking to the returning exiles who couldn’t understand Hebrew, but was expounded to them in a language they could understand.

Genesis 1

¹ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. — God; Heb. Elohim; a word plural in form (Father and Son), but joined with a verb singular; created; the idea of creating them out of nothing;

— created; not formed or made from any pre-existing materials, but created out of nothing; in the beginning of this sidereal system, of which our sun, with its planets; of this material, visible, and temporal world; not the the spiritual, invisible and eternal world;

— the Targum Onkelos says

In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.

² And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. — and the earth; the conjunction “and” (וְ) negatives the well-meant attempt to harmonise geology and Scripture while studying Genesis 1:1

— and the earth was/became (hā·yə H1961 could be translated as “became” in some versions (GW, EASY, ISV, NOG, NIV, VOICE as in CEV Genesis 3:20) without form and void; it just doesn’t make sense that God created something that is already in a state of decay (bohû and tohû); more sense that it became bohû and tohû;

— this process of hā·yə could have taken many years, perhaps thousands, or even million, the details we’re not given; we’re only given the gist of it only; hence today, many trace marks could be gathered to prove that the earth is very old;

— one example is the Tibetan Plateau, sometimes called the “roof of the world,” and according to Bradley Hacker, a professor of geological sciences at the University of California, “the plateau dates back 13.5 million years and has reached a maximum average height of five kilometers.”

— a second example is the Hawaiian chain of islands; more from Britannica; “The origin of Hawaii’s islands, islets, and seamounts can be traced to at least 70 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous Period (145 million to 66 million years ago);”

— a third evidence is the absence of the creation of the dinosaurs in Genesis chapter two, indicating they were created and destroyed millions of years before another creation in Genesis 1:1

— both the Targums of Jonathan and Onkelos paraphrase it, a waste and desert, empty and destitute of both men and beasts;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The earth was unformed and desolate, and (there was) darkness [was spread] over the surface of the abyss. The breath of [from before] Elohim hovered [blew] above the surface of the water.

³ And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. — God said, Let there be light; he willed it, and at once there was light. Oh, the power of the Word of God!

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let there be light. and there was light.

⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. — divided between the light and between the darkness; God then separates light and darkness, by assigning to each its relative position in time and space; which refers to the division of day and night;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim saw that the light was good, and Elohim divided the light from the darkness.

⁵ And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. — and the Evening and the Morning were the first day: the evening, the first and second part of the evening; about the space of twelve hours;

— and the morning, which is also the second part of the night, and the second morning, in the light, in all together they make the opposite space from Evening; and both form one natural day, consisting of twenty four hours; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim called the light day, and the darkness He called night. It became evening and it became morning, one day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” — a firmament; an extension, or a space; or place extended or stretched out, and spread abroad like a tent or curtain, it indicates something solid;

— and let it be dividing between water and water; it appears that the water in the atmosphereic sphere was in contact with another mass of water ion the earth; hence the Targum of Jonathan says “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between the waters above and the waters beneath.”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let there be a canopy in the midst [middle] of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters.

⁷ And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. — the waters under the firmament are seas, rivers, lakes, fountains, and other waters in the bowels of the earth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim made the canopy, and divided the waters which were beneath the canopy, from the waters which were above the canopy, and it was so.

⁸ And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. — God called the firmament (the expanse) heaven; and means something heaved up; including the starry and airy heavens; being above the earth, and reaching to the third heaven;

— and the evening; and the morning were the second day; these together made up the space of twenty four hours, which was another natural day; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim called the canopy heaven. It became evening and it became morning the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. — unto one place; the ocean bed. We must add the vast depth of the ocean to the height of the mountains before we can rightly estimate the intensity of the forces at work on the third day;

— and let the dry land appear: clear of the waters, dried by the expanded air, hardened by the fiery light, and as yet without any herb or tree upon it: and it was so; immediately done;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dryness be seen. It was so.

¹⁰ And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas; and God saw that it was good. — he called them not sea, but seas; because of the differing quantity and nature both of several seas, and of the rivers, and other lesser collections of waters, all which the Hebrews call seas;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim called the dryness, earth, and the gathering of the waters, He called seas, and Elohim saw that it was good.

¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth”; and it was so. — and God said, Let the earth bring forth grass; which had been impregnated by the spirit of God that moved upon it when a fluid; and though now become dry land;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let the earth sprout grass, seed-yielding herbs, fruit trees bearing fruit of its own kind, with its seed within it, upon the earth. And it was so.

— the Targum of Jonathan says

And the Lord said, Let the earth increase the grassy herb whose seed seedeth, and the fruit-tree making fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so.

¹² And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that it was good. — and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind; as apples, pears, plums, apricots, nectars, peaches, oranges, lemons, and more;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed of its kind, and trees bearing fruit which has in it seeds of its kind; and Elohim saw that it was good.

— the Targum of Jonathan implies their fruit shall be for food and leaves for healing

“And the earth brought forth greenery: herbs whose seed is sown, and trees producing fruit according to their kind; and the Lord saw that it was good.”

— in the ancient world, many medicines were “topical” (applied to the skin) or brewed as teas, making the “leaf” the natural symbol for pharmaceutical power; but in the Targum of Jonathan it emphasizes that the leaves are but designed by the Creator as a pharmacy;

“And by the river shall grow on its bank, from this side and from that side, every tree for food; its leaves shall not wither, and its fruit shall not fail; month by month it shall produce fruit, because its waters issue forth from the Sanctuary; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaves for healing (לְאַסוּתָא – L’asuta).” Ezekiel 47:12 Jonathan

— this often implies that the creation of plants was not just for food, but to provide for all human needs; and that’s including health and healing.

¹³ And the evening and the morning were the third day. — the space of twenty four hours ran out, and were measured, either by the rotation of the body of light and heat around the earth, or of the earth upon its axis;

— the Targum Onkelos says

It became evening and it became morning, the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years; — and God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven; in the upper part of it, commonly called the starry heaven;

— and let them be for signs and the times of the feasts, and to reckon with them the number of days, and, sanctify the beginnings of the months, and the beginnings of the years;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let there be lights in the canopy of heaven to divide between the day and the night, and they will serve for signs for seasons, [and to count] (for) days and (for) years [with them].

— the Targum of Jonathan adds “and let them be for signs and for festival times.”

¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth”; and it was so. — to give light upon the earth and their inhabitants when formed, and it was so;

— the Targum Onkelos says

They will be for lights in the canopy of heaven to illuminate the earth. And it was so.

¹⁶ And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. — the great light, the sun, which is really and considerably greater than the moon with the little light from man’s point of view, are insignificant; and the stars;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim made the two great lights, the large light to rule the day, and the small light to rule the night, and the stars

¹⁷ And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, — and God set them in the firmament of the heaven; he not only ordered that there they should be, and made them that there they might be,

— but he placed them there with his own hands; and they are placed, particularly the sun, at such a particular distance as to be beneficial and not hurtful: had it been set nearer to the earth, its heat would have been intolerable; in the one case we should have been scorched with its heat, and in the other been frozen up for the lack of it;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim set them in the canopy of the heaven to illuminate the earth,

¹⁸ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. — in the fourth day’s work, the creation of the sun, moon, and stars is accounted for; all by the works of God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

to rule in the day and the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness; and Elohim saw that it was good.

¹⁹ And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. — the fourth day, made by the rotation of the earth on its own axis, in the space of twenty four hours; twelve hours each, the evening includes the afternoon;

— the Targum Onkelos says

It became evening and it became morning, the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” — moving creature; all oviparous animals, both among the finny and the feathery tribes, remarkable for their rapid and prodigious increase: fowl, which means every flying thing;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth, in the open canopy of the heaven.

²¹ And God created great whales and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and God saw that it was good. — great whales; those vast sea monsters known by that name, though elsewhere this word be applied to great creatures of the earth, or under the seas;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And thus Elohim created the great whales, and every living creature that creeps, with which the waters teem, of its kind, and every winged bird of its kind; and Elohim saw that it was good.

²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth.” — be fruitful, and multiply; this blessing shows that the earth was replenished with animal life from a limited number of progenitors, and probably from a small number of centres, both for the flora and for the fauna;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.

²³ And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. — the evening and the morning were the fifth day; the sun now in the firmament, where it was fixed the day before, having gone round the earth, or the earth about that, in the space of twenty four hours; 

— the Targum Onkelos says

It became evening and it became morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth after his kind”; and it was so. — “cattle” which seem to design domestic cattle, and such as are for the use of man, either for carriage, food,

— or clothing, as horses, asses, camels, oxen, sheep and “creeping” things, which are different from the creeping things in the sea before mentioned, are such as either have no feet, and go upon their bellies, or are very short, and seem to do so, whether greater or lesser, as serpents, worms, ants and more;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each of its kind, animals [of pasture], creeping things, and beasts of the earth, each to its kind. And it was so.

²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and God saw that it was good. — and God saw that it was good; that every creature he had made would some way or other be for his glory, and for the benefit of man;

— the Behemoth (H930 ḇə·hê·mō·wṯ), or known as as dinosaur in Job 40:15, is a different word from Cattle (H929 bə·hê·māh) used in this verse and elsewhere; the word “dinosaur” was coined only in 1841 by an Englishman named Sir Richard Owen, hence most translations today continue to use the antiquated word Behemoth;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And thus Elohim made the beasts of the earth, each of its kind, the animals [of pasture] each of its kind, and everything that creeps on the ground, each of its kind, and Elohim saw that it was good.

²⁶ And God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

— in our image, in our form; after our likeness; with the ability to understand and to discern; these Words “let us” indicates the plurality of God (Elohim); are spoken by God the Father to the Son; hence the “US” and “OUR” plural form of a singuar God;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Let us make man in our image, as our likeness, and let him dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, the animals, all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

²⁷ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. — in our image, that is, in our form; after our likeness; with the ability to understand and to discern, showing man’s superior glory and dignity to the rest of the creations;

— and the parallel revealing of the Word by apostle John

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. John 1:1-3

— the Jerusalem Targum says,

And the Word of the Lord created man in His likeness, in the likeness of the presence of the Lord He created him, the male and his yoke-fellow He created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

— so God created man in his own image; and with man’s superior intelligence, to subdue and have dominion over them;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.

²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

— to you it shall be for meat: which is generally thought to be the food; as the Hebrew word “meat” is an old English term for “food;” compares this Luke 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, “Have ye here any meat?”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim said, Behold, I have given you all seed-yielding herbs that are on the surface of the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit; to you it shall be for food.

— the Targum Jonathan says

And the Lord said, Behold, I have given you every herb whose seed seedeth upon the face of all the earth, and every unfruitful tree for the need of building and for burning; and the tree in which is fruit seeding after its kind, to you it shall be for food.

³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat;” and it was so. — and to every beast, and to every fowl and every thing that creepeth, are likewise for food;

— the Targum Onkelos says

And for every animal of the earth, for every bird of the heaven, and for everything that creeps on the ground, in which there is a living spirit, all vegetational herbs shall be [their] food. And it was so.

³¹ And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. — it is affirmed here everything is good that flesh and meat as well as herbs and fruits, are granted to the first men for food;

— and therefore we are safe to ignore any false shepherds who came along later and preached derogatively the eating of meat as if eating corpses; it is sufficient for us that it was expressly allowed here; as was instructed to righteous Noah in Genesis 9:3 (except the blood);

— and Ellen G White is thus a false prophetess; for she wrote derogatively of eating meat as if eating corpses:

From the light God has given me, the prevalence of cancer and tumors is largely due to gross living on dead flesh.

I sincerely and prayerfully hope that, as a physician, you will not forever be blind on this subject, for blindness is mingled with a want of moral courage to deny our appetite, to lift the cross, which means, to take up the very duties which cut across the natural passions.

Feeding on flesh, the juices and fluids of what you eat pass into the circulation of your blood, and, as we are composed of what we eat, we become animalized; thus a feverish condition is created, because the animals are diseased, and by partaking of their flesh, we plant the seeds of disease in our own tissue and blood.

Then when exposed to the changes in a malarious atmosphere, these are more sensibly felt; also when we are exposed to prevailing epidemics and contagious diseases the system is not in condition to resist the disease. TSDF 68.11

I have the subject presented to me in different aspects. The mortality caused by meat-eating is not discerned; if it were, we would hear no more arguments and excuses in favor of the indulgence of the appetite for dead flesh. We have plenty of good things to satisfy hunger without bringing CORPSES upon our table to compose our bill of fare. TSDF 68.12

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so. And what will ye do in the end thereof? Jeremiah 5:31

 For they prophesy falsely unto you in My name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 29:9

— the Targum says

Elohim saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good [completely prepared]. It became evening and it became morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 2

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. — the host of them; that is, the creatures contained therein; the host of heaven, in Scripture language, sometimes signifies the stars and sometimes the angels;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim completed by the seventh day His work which He had made, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. — God ended his work; not all work (John 5:17), but the work of this specific creation;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim completed by the seventh day His work which He had made, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

³ And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made. — God blessed the seventh day, by conferring special honours and privileges upon it above all other days, that it should be a day of solemn rest and rejoicing and celebration of God and his works;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He abstained from all His work, which Elohim had created to do.

⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God (יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים) made the earth and the heavens, — this is the first time God’s name YHVH יְהוָה was introduced; but introduces as a compound name, LORD God;

— these are the generations of the heavens and the earth, when they were created; that is, the above account is a history of the creation of the heavens and earth, and of all things, creatures and animals; their creation being a sort of birthday;

— the Targum Onkelos translates יְהוָה as Adonoy but it could have being ‘Yehovah,’ or LORD, saying

This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, on the day when Adonoy Elohim made earth and heaven.

— from this verse on, the Onkelos consistently uses the divine name as “Adonoy Elohim,” that is, the text uses יְיָ אֱלֹהִים which could be translated as the “Lord God,” not just “God.” The symbol יְיָ (a double Yod) is a a shorthand for יהוה (YHVH); a specialized placeholder for the Tetragrammaton—the sacred, four-letter Name of God: יהוה (YHVH));

⁵ and before every plant of the field was in the earth, and before every herb of the field grew; for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

— for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth: so the plants and herbs could not grow owing to that; since on the third day, when they were made, there was no sun to exhale and draw up the waters into the clouds, in order to be let down again in showers of rain;

— and there was not a man to till the ground; who was not created till the sixth day, and therefore could have no concern in the cultivation of the earth, and of the plants and herbs in it; but these were the produce of almighty power;

— the Targum Onkelos says

All the plants of the field were not yet on the earth, and all the herbal vegetation of the field had not yet sprouted, for Adonoy Elohim had not brought rain [down] upon the earth, and there was [yet] no man to work the soil.

⁶ But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. — a mist; this mist, as we learn from Job 36:27, where the same word is translated vapour, is the measure and material of the rain;

— the Targum Onkelos says

A mist rose up from the earth, and it watered the entire surface of the soil.

⁷ And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. — and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground; literally, formed the man (adam) dust from the ground;

— became a living soul, that is, a living man: not only capable of performing the functions of the animal life, of eating, drinking, walking and more; and of thinking, reasoning, and discoursing as a rational creature;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim then formed the man, dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the breath of life. And so man became a living [speaking] soul.

⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. — and the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; or “had planted” for this wasn’t done before the creation of man;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and there He placed the man He had formed.

⁹ And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

— so called the tree of life because of assuring him of the continuance of life and happiness, on condition of his persevering in obedience; because God had given the fruit of it a singular virtue for the support of nature, the prolongation of life, and the prevention of all diseases, infirmities, and decays through age;

— the tree of knowledge of good and evil; to man, who by the use of it would know, to his cost, how great and good things he did enjoy, and might have kept by his obedience, and how evil and bitter the fruits of his disobedience were to himself and all his posterity; thus knowing both the good and evil;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim made grow out of the soil every tree that is pleasant to look at, and good for [producing] food; the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden, and the Tree (of) [from which the fruit if eaten gives] Knowledge [of what is] good and evil.

¹⁰ And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became four heads. — the Targum of Jonathan says And a river went forth from Eden, to water the garden, and from thence was separated, and became four heads of rivers (or four chief rivers)

— the Targum Onkelos says

A river went out of Eden to water the Garden, and from there it separated and became four headwaters.

¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. — the first is Pishon; or Pison, perhaps an eminent branch of the river Tigris, probably that called by others Pasi-tigris, or Piso-tigris;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The name of the first is Pishon which surrounds all the land of Chavilah, where there is gold.

¹² And the gold of that land is good, and there is bdellium and the onyx stone. — there is the bdellium, and the onyx stone; the first of these is either an aromatic gum; the tree is black, and is of the size of an olive tree, has the leaf of an oak;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The gold of that land is good. Also found there is bdellium and onyx stones.

¹³ And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. — Gihon, the second river, flows by the land of Kush; there is one other Gihon mentioned in 1 Kings 1:33, and in II Chronicles 32:30;

— the rivers Pishon and Gihon may have been greatly altered or even effaced by the deluge and other causes over time;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The name of the second river is Gichon. It surrounds all the land of Kush.

¹⁴ And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. — of the “Hiddekel” and “Euphrates” there high probability the former is the Tigris, or Tigres;

— and the fourth river is Euphrates; which retains its name till modern time as we know it today;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The name of the third river is Chidekel[Diglas], which flows to the east of Ashur. The fourth river is P’ras.

¹⁵ And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. — to dress the Garden and to keep it; the first word literally means to work it; for though a paradise, yet the garden had to be tilled and planted; seeds must be sown and the cultivated plots kept in order;

— the other word, “to keep it,” implies, however, some difficulty and danger, though no unpropitious weather, nor blight nor mildew, spoiled the crop, yet apparently it had to be guarded against the incursion of wild animals and birds, and protected even against the violence of winds and the burning heat of the sun;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim took the man, and put him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and to preserve it.

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; — saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: a very generous, large, and liberal allowance this: or “in eating thou mayest eat”

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim commanded the man, saying, You may certainly eat from every tree in the Garden.

¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” — the tree of knowledge of good and evil; a consequence to humanity of how evil and bitter the fruits of his disobedience were to himself and all his posterity; thus knowing both the good and evil;

— for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die; man became at once a mortal creature; but had he obeyed by eating of the tree of life, he would have lived an immortal life;

— the Targum Onkelos says

But from the Tree (of) [from which the fruit if eaten gives] Knowledge of what is good and evil, you shall not eat from it, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.

¹⁸ And the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet for him.” — a new and final need of man is stated, a helper;  she is formed to be social, to hold converse, not only with her superior, but also with him, a co-worker;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim said, It is not good [fitting] for the man to be alone. I will make a helper for him.

¹⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

— whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof; his powers of perception and intelligence were supernaturally enlarged to know the characters, habits, and uses of each species that was brought to him;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim formed from the ground, every beast of the field, and every bird of the heaven, and brought them to the man, to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called [each] living creature, that is its name.

²⁰ And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper meet for him. — power and dominian over the creatures were also given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The man gave names to every animal, to the birds of the heaven, and to every beast of the field, but the man did not find a helper for himself.

²¹ And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. — the deep sleep as divine anesthesia, a precise anatomical miracle;

— that opening of his side and the taking away of his rib might be no grievance to him; while he knows no sin, God will take care that he shall feel no pain;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim caused unconsciousness to fall upon the man and he slept. He took one of his ribs and closed over [filled] flesh in its place.

— this is a classic example of the Targum adding specific details that aren’t in the original Hebrew; the Targum of Jonathan specifies that God “took one of his ribs; it was the thirteenth rib of his right side:”

And the Lord God threw a deep slumber upon Adam, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, it was the thirteenth rib of the right side, and closed it up with flesh.

— according to Jewish thoughts, man was created with 13 ribs on each side, totaling 26. In Gematria (Jewish numerology), 26 is the numerical value of the Tetragrammaton (the four-letter name of God, YHVH). By taking one rib to create woman, the text suggests that the divine “wholeness” of the human being is achieved only when man and woman, each with 24 ribs, are joined back together.

²² And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman and brought her unto the man.

— the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he woman; was not made from the superior part of man, that she might not be thought to be above him, and have power over him; nor from any inferior part, as being below him, and to be trampled on by him; but out of his side;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Adonoy Elohim built the rib that He took from the man into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

²³ And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” — she shall be called Woman (Ishah), because she was taken out of Man (Ish); from hence the suffix ish is derived from: British (English, Scottish), Irish, Danish, Swedish, Finnish; indicating they are of Hebraic origin;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The man said: This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This shall be called Woman, for from Man [husband] was she taken.

²⁴ Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. — one flesh; the human pair differed from all other pairs, that by peculiar formation of Eve, they were one; the man and his wife;

— the Targum Onkelos says

Therefore, a man shall leave [the house where] his father and his mother [sleep], and cling to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

²⁵ And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. — and they were both naked, the man and his wife, but were not ashamed;

— the Targum Onkelos says

The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they were not ashamed.

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