Overview
Summary
Targum Onkelos on Exodus shapes the narrative of redemption through consistent theological lenses: the Memra initiates and executes liberation, anti-anthropomorphism governs all theophanies (burning bush, Sinai, the cleft of the rock), and Shekinah language defines God's dwelling among Israel. The Poem of Four Nights at Exodus 12:42 is a unique targum composition linking creation, Abraham, Exodus, and Messiah.
Notable Renderings
The burning bush theophany is rendered as revelation rather than appearance. The Song of the Sea celebrates the Memra. Sinai's thunder is the voice of the Memra. Moses' request to see God's glory is carefully managed — he sees the Shekinah's aftereffect, never God's face. The Poem of Four Nights (12:42) is the most distinctive Onkelos/Palestinian targum addition in the entire Torah.
Theological Themes
Memra as the agent of liberation and covenant; Shekinah as God's tabernacling presence (directly connected to the Tabernacle construction); anti-anthropomorphism at every theophany; the eschatological Poem of Four Nights linking Exodus typology to Messianic expectation.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת חַיֵּיהֶם בַּעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה
They made their lives bitter with hard service.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'amriru yat chayehon befulchana qashya
Targum Rendering
And they made their lives bitter with hard labor.
The bondage-narrative summary. Foundational for biblical Exodus theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת־נַאֲקָתָם וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת־בְּרִיתוֹ
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant.
Targum (Aramaic)
ushtamia' qodam Adonai yat tzan'athon udekhir Adonai yat keyameih
Targum Rendering
And it was heard before the LORD their groaning, and the LORD remembered his covenant.
Onkelos uses the passive 'it was heard before the LORD' rather than God actively hearing, a circumlocution that avoids implying God has ears while preserving the theological reality that Israel's cries reached heaven.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה אֵלָיו בְּלַבַּת־אֵשׁ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה
And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itchazi leih malakha daAdonai beshalhoveita de'esha migo'o de'asna
Targum Rendering
And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush.
Onkelos preserves the angel as the visible agent at the burning bush, maintaining the intermediary that the Hebrew text itself provides.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו אֱלֹהִים מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה
And God called to him from the midst of the bush.
Targum (Aramaic)
uqra leih Adonai migo'o de'asna
Targum Rendering
And the LORD called to him from the midst of the bush.
Onkelos does not insert Memra here — God's direct speech from the bush is preserved, consistent with the pattern of allowing first-person divine address.
Hebrew (MT)
אָנֹכִי אֱלֹהֵי אָבִיךָ אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם
I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham.
Targum (Aramaic)
ana elaha de'avukh elaha de'avraham
Targum Rendering
I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham.
PRE-NICENE TIER S — Angel of YHWH passage. The 'angel of the LORD' (mal'akh YHWH) speaks and acts AS God across the Hebrew Bible. The Greek fathers (Justin Martyr, Dial. 56–60; Tertullian; Eusebius) read these passages as Christophanies — pre-incarnate appearances of the Son. The Targum's interpretive choices represent the Jewish counter-position. Some passages preserve the angel-as-YHWH reading; some smooth toward 'an angel sent BY YHWH.' The variation is itself the data.
MARQUEE: cited verbatim by Jesus at Matt 22:32 / Mark 12:26 / Luke 20:37 in the Sadducees' resurrection question. Jesus argues from this passage that since God is the God OF Abraham (present tense), Abraham must be alive — implying resurrection. The Targum preserves the formula precisely.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ
For I will be with you.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei Memri yehei besiyyakhah
Targum Rendering
For my Memra will be in your help.
The promise of divine presence to Moses is mediated through the Memra, following the patriarchal pattern (Gen 28:15, 39:2). The Memra is the mode of God's accompaniment with his appointed leaders.
Hebrew (MT)
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
I Am Who I Am.
Targum (Aramaic)
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh
Targum Rendering
I Am Who I Am.
Onkelos preserves the divine name revelation without interpretation, treating it as too sacred to paraphrase. This is remarkable given Onkelos' general willingness to interpret — the Name itself is beyond targum.
Hebrew (MT)
וַאֲנִי אֲחַזֵּק אֶת לִבּוֹ וְלֹא יְשַׁלַּח אֶת הָעָם
But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'ana atqef yat libba vela yishlach yat amma
Targum Rendering
And I will strengthen his heart, and he will not let the people go.
The hardening-of-Pharaoh's-heart formula. Cited at Romans 9:17-18 in Paul's argument about divine sovereignty. The Targum's atqef ('strengthen') is a euphemistic alternative to the Hebrew chazaq ('harden, make strong'); rabbinic theology debates whether the hardening was punitive or causal.
Hebrew (MT)
בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל
Israel is my firstborn son.
Targum (Aramaic)
beri bukhri yisrael
Targum Rendering
Israel is my firstborn son.
The 'Israel as firstborn son' formula. Foundational for the New Testament's typological extension to Christ as 'firstborn over all creation' (Col 1:15) and 'firstborn from the dead' (Col 1:18, Rev 1:5).
Hebrew (MT)
חֲתַן דָּמִים אַתָּה לִי
Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.
Targum (Aramaic)
chatan dimin attah li
Targum Rendering
A bridegroom of blood are you to me.
Zipporah's mysterious circumcision episode. One of the strangest passages in the Pentateuch. Targum tracks MT.
Hebrew (MT)
מִי יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר אֶשְׁמַע בְּקֹלוֹ לְשַׁלַּח אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל
who is the LORD that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?
Targum (Aramaic)
לָא אִתְגְּלִי לִי שְׁמָא דַייָ דַּאֲקַבֵּיל לְמֵימְרֵיהּ לְשַׁלָּחָא יָת יִשְׂרָאֵל
Targum Rendering
the name of the LORD has not been revealed to me, that I should receive his Memra to send Israel away.
Pharaoh's defiant question. Targum recasts: 'I do not know YHWH' becomes 'YHWH's name has not been revealed to me' — Pharaoh's ignorance is more politely stated, and 'voice' becomes 'Memra' as object of obedience.
Hebrew (MT)
אֲנִי יְהוָה וָאֵרָא אֶל־אַבְרָהָם... בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי יְהוָה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם
I am the LORD. And I appeared to Abraham... as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I was not known to them.
Targum (Aramaic)
ana Adonai ve'itgeleiti le'Avraham... be'El Shadday ushmei Adonai la hodeiti lehon
Targum Rendering
I am the LORD. And I revealed myself to Abraham... as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.
The theophany to the patriarchs is rendered as self-revelation (itgeleiti), and knowledge of the Name is described as God's active disclosure (hodeiti) rather than passive recognition.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלֹת מִצְרַיִם
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'appeq yatkhon mitechot fulchana demitzra'ei
Targum Rendering
I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt.
The four 'I will' deliverance promises (vv. 6-7). Foundational for the Passover seder's four-cups symbolism.
Hebrew (MT)
אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂאתִי אֶת יָדִי לָתֵת אֹתָהּ
Which I swore to give.
Targum (Aramaic)
diqayyemit bemeimri lemittan yatah
Targum Rendering
Which I established by my Memra to give to it.
PRE-NICENE TIER S: Memra-as-mediator passage. The Memra ('Word') functions as a quasi-hypostatic mediator — God acts on his behalf through his Word. This pattern across Onkelos's ~150 Memra passages forms the Jewish theological substrate from which John 1:1's Logos Christology emerges. After the post-Nicene 'Two Powers in Heaven' rabbinic polemic, Jewish theology suppressed these readings; the Targum preserves the older pre-Nicene substrate.
The land-promise oath. The Hebrew 'I lifted up my hand' (the gesture of swearing) is replaced with 'I established by my Memra' — the Memra is the divine guarantor of covenantal promise. This is theologically important: Pre-Nicene Jewish theology had a way to speak of divine self-binding through a hypostatic Word, anticipating Hebrews 6:13-18's 'God swore by himself' covenant theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וְיָדְעוּ מִצְרַיִם כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה
The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
veyidd'un mitzra'ei arei ana Adonai
Targum Rendering
And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.
The 'know that I am the LORD' formula — runs through the Exodus narrative as the goal of the plagues. Foundational for biblical knowledge-of-God theology.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי־אֵין כַּיהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ
that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.
Targum (Aramaic)
אֲרֵי לֵית כַּייָ אֱלָהֲנָא
Targum Rendering
there is none like the LORD our God.
Moses to Pharaoh re: frogs. Strict monotheism affirmation preserved — even mid-plague, the theological assertion holds.
Hebrew (MT)
וּלְמַעַן סַפֵּר שְׁמִי בְּכָל־הָאָרֶץ
in order that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
Targum (Aramaic)
וּבְדִיל לְאִשְׁתָּעָאָה שְׁמִי בְּכָל אַרְעָא
Targum Rendering
in order that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
YHWH to Pharaoh through Moses. Cited Romans 9:17 — Paul's election theology rests on this verse. Divine purpose for Pharaoh's resistance is the public declaration of YHWH's name.
Hebrew (MT)
וּלְמַעַן תְּסַפֵּר בְּאָזְנֵי בִנְךָ וּבֶן־בִּנְךָ
and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson.
Targum (Aramaic)
וּבְדִיל דִּתְשַׁעֵי קֳדָם בְּרָךְ וּבַר בְּרָךְ
Targum Rendering
in order that you may recount before your son and your son's son.
Locust-plague pedagogical purpose. 'In your son's hearing' → 'before your son' — anti-anthropomorphism applied even to inter-human storytelling. The plagues are the foundation of the Pesach-recital tradition.
Hebrew (MT)
אֲשֶׁר יַפְלֶה יְהוָה בֵּין מִצְרַיִם וּבֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל
That the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
Targum (Aramaic)
deyafresh Adonai bein mitzra'ei uvein yisrael
Targum Rendering
That the LORD distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.
The distinction-between-Egypt-and-Israel formula. Foundational for biblical election theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וְעָבַרְתִּי בְאֶרֶץ־מִצְרַיִם... אֲנִי יְהוָה
And I will pass through the land of Egypt... I am the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgelei be'ar'a deMitzrayim... ana Adonai
Targum Rendering
And I will reveal myself in the land of Egypt... I am the LORD.
God does not 'pass through' Egypt like a traveler. Onkelos replaces physical movement with divine self-revelation, consistent with the theology that God acts without spatial displacement.
Hebrew (MT)
וְרָאִיתִי אֶת־הַדָּם וּפָסַחְתִּי עֲלֵכֶם
And I will see the blood and I will pass over you.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'echzei yat dema ve'echush aleikhon
Targum Rendering
And I will see the blood and I will have mercy upon you.
Onkelos interprets 'pass over' (pasach) as 'have mercy' (echush), shifting from a physical action (skipping over houses) to a theological one (exercising mercy). This deepens the Passover from spatial movement to divine compassion.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהָיָה הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לָכֶם לְזִכָּרוֹן
This day shall be for you a memorial day.
Targum (Aramaic)
vihei yoma haden lekhon ledukhran
Targum Rendering
And this day shall be a memorial to you.
The Passover-memorial command. Echoed at Luke 22:19 / 1 Cor 11:24-25 ('do this in remembrance of me') — the Christian Eucharist as Passover-memorial extension.
Hebrew (MT)
וְלֹא יִתֵּן הַמַּשְׁחִית לָבֹא אֶל־בָּתֵּיכֶם
And he will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses.
Targum (Aramaic)
vela yitten malakha demachei le'me'al levatekhon
Targum Rendering
And he will not allow the destroying angel to enter your houses.
The 'destroyer' (mashchit) is identified as 'the destroying angel' (malakha demachei), an angelic agent rather than an impersonal force. This clarifies the agent of the plague while distancing God from direct destruction.
Hebrew (MT)
לֵיל שִׁמֻּרִים הוּא לַיהוָה
It was a night of watching for the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
leilya denetira hu qodam Adonai... arba'a leilavvan
Targum Rendering
It is a night of watching before the LORD... four nights [are recorded in the memorial book].
This is the Poem of Four Nights, the most famous unique composition in the targum tradition. Onkelos (and more fully Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti) expands this verse into a cosmic four-night schema: (1) the night of creation when God's Memra illuminated the darkness, (2) the night of Abraham's covenant/Aqedah, (3) the night of the Exodus, and (4) the night of the Messiah's coming. This links all of salvation history into a single nocturnal typology.
Hebrew (MT)
וְכָל עָרֵל לֹא יֹאכַל בּוֹ
But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
Targum (Aramaic)
vekhol arel la yeikhul beih
Targum Rendering
And no uncircumcised man shall eat of it.
The Passover circumcision-requirement. Establishes that Passover participation is bound to covenant inclusion. Echoes through 1 Cor 5:7-8 ('Christ our Passover... let us keep the feast').
Hebrew (MT)
קַדֶּשׁ לִי כָל בְּכוֹר
Consecrate to me all the firstborn.
Targum (Aramaic)
aqdesh qodamai kol bukhra
Targum Rendering
Sanctify before me every firstborn.
The firstborn-redemption command. Cited at Luke 2:23 in the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Foundational for the Jewish pidyon ha-ben (firstborn-redemption) ritual and the Christian theology of Christ as the firstborn redeemer.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהָיָה לְךָ לְאוֹת עַל יָדְכָה וּלְזִכָּרוֹן בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ
And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes.
Targum (Aramaic)
vihei lakh le'at al yedekh ul'idkar bein einakh
Targum Rendering
And it shall be for you a sign on your hand and a memorial between your eyes.
Foundational text for the tefillin (phylacteries) tradition.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיהוָה הֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם יוֹמָם בְּעַמּוּד עָנָן
And the LORD was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud.
Targum (Aramaic)
vaAdonai madbar qodamehon bimama be'amuda da'anana
Targum Rendering
And the LORD was leading before them by day in a pillar of cloud.
'Going' (holekh) becomes 'leading' (madbar), shifting from physical locomotion to purposeful guidance. God does not walk but directs.
Hebrew (MT)
הִתְיַצְּבוּ וּרְאוּ אֶת יְשׁוּעַת יְהוָה
Stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
tit'attadu vechazu yat purqana deAdonai
Targum Rendering
Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD.
The classic stand-still-see-salvation formula. Foundational for biblical theology of divine intervention.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּסַּע מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים הַהֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵי מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּלֶךְ מֵאַחֲרֵיהֶם
the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them.
Targum (Aramaic)
וּנְטַל מַלְאֲכָא דַייָ דִּמְהַלֵּךְ קֳדָם מַשְׁרִיתָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲזַל מִבָּתְרֵיהוֹן
Targum Rendering
the angel of the LORD who was going before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them.
Pre-Nicene Tier S. The Red Sea theophany — the angel of YHWH and the pillar of cloud act in concert as divine military protection. Cited 1 Cor 10:1-4 (Paul: 'all were under the cloud') as typological-baptism.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיּוֹלֶךְ יְהוָה אֶת הַיָּם בְּרוּחַ קָדִים עַזָּה
And the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'ovil Adonai yat yamma beruach qiddum taqqifa
Targum Rendering
And the LORD led the sea with a strong east wind.
The Red Sea crossing. Foundational for OT exodus-typology and for Christian baptismal typology (1 Cor 10:1-2).
Hebrew (MT)
וַיַּרְא יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַיָּד הַגְּדֹלָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה בְּמִצְרַיִם
And Israel saw the great hand which the LORD had wielded against Egypt.
Targum (Aramaic)
vachaza Yisrael yat gevurta rabbeta da'avad Adonai beMitzrayim
Targum Rendering
And Israel saw the great power which the LORD had wrought in Egypt.
'The great hand' becomes 'the great power' (gevurta rabbeta), removing the anthropomorphic image of God's hand and replacing it with an abstract attribute.
Hebrew (MT)
אָז יָשִׁיר־מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַיהוָה
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
bedain shabbach Mosheh uvenei Yisrael yat tushbechta hada qodam Adonai
Targum Rendering
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song of praise before the LORD.
The Song of the Sea is described as praise (tushbechta) offered 'before the LORD' (qodam Adonai), aligning the Exodus celebration with synagogue worship patterns.
Hebrew (MT)
עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה
The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.
Targum (Aramaic)
tushbechti vetiqfi Adonai vahava li lefurqan
Targum Rendering
My praise and my strength is the LORD, and he has become for me redemption.
Salvation (yeshu'ah) is rendered as redemption (furqan), the same Aramaic term used in messianic contexts, linking the Exodus redemption typologically to eschatological deliverance.
Hebrew (MT)
יְהוָה אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה יְהוָה שְׁמוֹ
The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.
Targum (Aramaic)
Adonai gevur qaravayya Adonai shemeih
Targum Rendering
The LORD is a warrior in battle; the LORD is his name.
'Man of war' (ish milchamah) becomes 'warrior in battle' (gevur qaravayya), removing the word 'man' (ish) from any description of God while preserving the martial imagery.
Hebrew (MT)
יְמִינְךָ יְהוָה נֶאְדָּרִי בַּכֹּחַ
Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power.
Targum (Aramaic)
yeminakh Adonai meshabbachta becheilah
Targum Rendering
Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power.
Onkelos preserves 'right hand' in the poetic Song of the Sea, treating it as established liturgical language. The targum tradition is more tolerant of anthropomorphism in poetry than in narrative.
Hebrew (MT)
מִי־כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם יְהוָה מִי כָּמֹכָה נֶאְדָּר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ
who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness?
Targum (Aramaic)
לֵית בַּר מִנָּךְ אַתְּ הוּא אֱלָהָא יְיָ לֵית בַּר מִנָּךְ אַדִּיר בְּקוּדְשָׁא
Targum Rendering
there is none beside you — you are God, O LORD! There is none beside you, glorious in holiness.
Song of the Sea. Hebrew 'gods' (אֵלִם) softened to monotheistic affirmation: 'there is none beside you.' Standard Targum handling — strict monotheism at every textually-permissible point.
Hebrew (MT)
הִנְנִי מַמְטִיר לָכֶם לֶחֶם מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם
Behold, I am going to rain bread from heaven for you.
Targum (Aramaic)
ha ana machet lekhon lachma min shemayya
Targum Rendering
Behold, I will rain bread for you from the heavens.
The manna-from-heaven promise. Cited at John 6:31 ('he gave them bread from heaven to eat') in Jesus' bread-of-life discourse. The Targum's literal preservation matches the form Jesus quotes.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּקְרְאוּ בֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת שְׁמוֹ מָן
And the house of Israel called its name 'manna.'
Targum (Aramaic)
uqro veit yisrael yat shemei manna
Targum Rendering
And the house of Israel called its name 'manna.'
The naming of manna. Cited extensively at John 6 in Jesus' Bread of Life discourse, and at Heb 9:4 (the golden urn of manna in the ark).
Hebrew (MT)
הִנְנִי עֹמֵד לְפָנֶיךָ שָּׁם עַל הַצּוּר בְּחֹרֵב וְהִכִּיתָ בַצּוּר וְיָצְאוּ מִמֶּנּוּ מַיִם
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it.
Targum (Aramaic)
ha ana qa'em qodamakh tamman al kefa bechorev vetimchei bekhefa veyippeqan minneih mayya
Targum Rendering
Behold, I will be standing before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall flow out from it.
MARQUEE: cited at 1 Corinthians 10:4 ('they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ'). Paul develops the rabbinic legend of the well-of-Miriam — that the rock followed Israel through the wilderness — into a Christological allegory. The Targum preserves the literal episode.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יָרִים מֹשֶׁה יָדוֹ וְגָבַר יִשְׂרָאֵל
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed.
Targum (Aramaic)
vahava kad arim moshe yadohi mit'gabber yisrael
Targum Rendering
When Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed.
The Amalek-battle prayer. Foundational for biblical theology of intercessory prayer affecting historical outcomes.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי־יָד עַל־כֵּס יָהּ מִלְחָמָה לַיהוָה בַּעֲמָלֵק
For a hand upon the throne of the LORD — war for the LORD against Amalek.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei bishevuah min qodam kurseih deyeqara daAdonai qerav laAdonai ba'Amaleq
Targum Rendering
For by an oath from before the throne of the glory of the LORD, the LORD will wage war against Amalek.
The cryptic 'hand upon the throne of Yah' is interpreted as a solemn oath from before God's glorious throne. Onkelos transforms a physical gesture into a juridical act, and introduces the 'glory' (yeqar) as a buffer for direct reference to God's throne.
Hebrew (MT)
עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּי גָדוֹל יְהוָה מִכָּל הָאֱלֹהִים
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods.
Targum (Aramaic)
kean yaddait arei rav Adonai mikol elahin
Targum Rendering
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods.
Jethro's confession. Foundational for the OT 'gods' / 'God' distinction. Echoes the Egyptian-magicians' 'this is the finger of God' (Exod 8:19).
Hebrew (MT)
וּמֹשֶׁה עָלָה אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה מִן־הָהָר
And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain.
Targum (Aramaic)
uMosheh seliq leqodam Adonai uqra leih Adonai min tura
Targum Rendering
And Moses went up before the LORD, and the LORD called to him from the mountain.
Moses goes up 'before the LORD' (leqodam Adonai) rather than 'to God,' using the reverential circumlocution that avoids implying God is spatially located on the mountain.
Hebrew (MT)
וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל הָעַמִּים
And you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.
Targum (Aramaic)
utehevon qodamai chavviva mikkol amemmayya
Targum Rendering
And you shall be precious before me from among all the peoples.
The covenant-treasure formula (segullah). Cited at Titus 2:14 and 1 Pet 2:9 (laos eis peripoieisin) as the Christian-people identification. The Targum's chavviva ('precious, beloved') captures the affective sense of segullah.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'atton tehevon qodamai malkhin kahanin ve'amma qaddisha
Targum Rendering
And you shall be before me kings, priests, and a holy people.
MARQUEE: cited at 1 Peter 2:9 ('you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession') and Revelation 1:6, 5:10. The Targum's expansion to malkhin kahanin ('kings, priests') anticipates the rabbinic reading of Israel-as-collective-royalty-and-priesthood.
Hebrew (MT)
הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בָּא אֵלֶיךָ בְּעַב הֶעָנָן
Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud.
Targum (Aramaic)
ha ana mit'gle alakh be'iv anana
Targum Rendering
Behold, I shall be revealed to you in the thick cloud.
The Sinai-cloud-theophany announcement. Foundational for biblical cloud-Shekinah theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיּוֹצֵא מֹשֶׁה אֶת־הָעָם לִקְרַאת הָאֱלֹהִים מִן־הַמַּחֲנֶה
And Moses brought the people out to meet God from the camp.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'appeiq Mosheh yat amma le'araa shekhinteih daAdonai min mashrita
Targum Rendering
And Moses brought out the people to meet the Shekinah of the LORD from the camp.
Israel does not meet God directly but the Shekinah of the LORD. This is one of the most significant Shekinah passages in Onkelos — the Sinai theophany is an encounter with God's indwelling presence, not God's essence.
Hebrew (MT)
מִפְּנֵי אֲשֶׁר יָרַד עָלָיו יְהוָה בָּאֵשׁ
Because the LORD descended upon it in fire.
Targum (Aramaic)
min qodam de'itgeli aloi Adonai be'esha
Targum Rendering
Because the LORD revealed himself upon it in fire.
God does not 'descend' upon Sinai. The descent is replaced with revelation (itgeli), preserving divine transcendence even at the most dramatic theophany in the Torah.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרֶד יְהוָה עַל־הַר סִינַי
And the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli Adonai al tura deSinai
Targum Rendering
And the LORD revealed himself upon Mount Sinai.
Repeated rendering: every instance of divine descent at Sinai is transformed into divine revelation. Onkelos is systematic and consistent in this substitution.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֵת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה
And God spoke all these words.
Targum (Aramaic)
umalil Adonai yat kol pitgamayya ha'ilein
Targum Rendering
And the LORD spoke all these words.
At the giving of the Ten Commandments, Onkelos uses 'the LORD' rather than Elohim, emphasizing that the covenant God of Israel (YHWH) — not a generic deity — delivers the commandments.
Hebrew (MT)
לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת שֵׁם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַשָּׁוְא
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Targum (Aramaic)
la teimei beshema deAdonai elahakh lemaggana
Targum Rendering
You shall not swear by the name of the LORD your God in vain.
PRE-NICENE TIER S: Memra-as-mediator passage. The Memra ('Word') functions as a quasi-hypostatic mediator — God acts on his behalf through his Word. This pattern across Onkelos's ~150 Memra passages forms the Jewish theological substrate from which John 1:1's Logos Christology emerges. After the post-Nicene 'Two Powers in Heaven' rabbinic polemic, Jewish theology suppressed these readings; the Targum preserves the older pre-Nicene substrate.
The third commandment. Onkelos interprets 'taking the name in vain' as 'swearing in the name in vain' — narrowing the scope to the false-oath sense. This interpretive choice shapes the rabbinic understanding of the commandment as primarily about oath-keeping.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה יְהוָה
For in six days the LORD made.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei shitta yomin avad Adonai
Targum Rendering
For in six days the LORD made.
The Sabbath creation-rationale (the Exodus version, expanded vs Deut 5's Egypt-deliverance rationale). DSS 4QDeutⁿ harmonizes by combining BOTH rationales.
Hebrew (MT)
וְכָל־הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹת
And all the people were seeing the thunderings.
Targum (Aramaic)
vekhol amma chazin yat qalayya
Targum Rendering
And all the people were seeing the thunderings.
Onkelos preserves the synesthetic 'seeing the thunderings,' which rabbinic tradition interprets as the people seeing the voice of God — each commandment emerging as visible fire.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיַּעַמְדוּ מֵרָחֹק... וְאַל־יְדַבֵּר עִמָּנוּ אֱלֹהִים פֶּן־נָמוּת
And they stood afar off... and let not God speak with us, lest we die.
Targum (Aramaic)
veqamu merachiq... vela yitmalal immana min qodam Adonai dilma nemut
Targum Rendering
And they stood afar off... and let not [a word] be spoken with us from before the LORD, lest we die.
The people's fear of God speaking directly is rendered as fear of speech 'from before the LORD,' adding the reverential circumlocution even in the people's own words.
Hebrew (MT)
עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.
Targum (Aramaic)
ein chalaf ein shin chalaf shin
Targum Rendering
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.
The lex talionis. Cited (and reframed) by Jesus at Matt 5:38-39 ('you have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye... but I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil').
Hebrew (MT)
אֱלֹהִים לֹא תְקַלֵּל וְנָשִׂיא בְעַמְּךָ לֹא תָאֹר
you shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
Targum (Aramaic)
דַיָּנָא לָא תְקַלֵּל וְרַבָּא בְעַמָּךְ לָא תְלוּט
Targum Rendering
you shall not curse the judge, nor curse the ruler of your people.
Targum interprets אֱלֹהִים here as 'judge' (דַיָּנָא) — the rabbinic understanding that this verse protects human authorities, not (as Acts 23:5 cites) God's high priest. Cited Acts 23:5 (Paul before the council).
Hebrew (MT)
לֹא תְבַשֵּׁל גְּדִי בַּחֲלֵב אִמּוֹ
You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Targum (Aramaic)
la teikhul besra bachalva
Targum Rendering
You shall not eat meat in milk.
The kid-in-mother's-milk law — foundational for the Jewish kosher prohibition on mixing meat and dairy. The Targum's interpretive expansion ('you shall not eat meat in milk') makes the rabbinic application explicit.
Hebrew (MT)
הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ מַלְאָךְ לְפָנֶיךָ
Behold, I send an angel before you.
Targum (Aramaic)
ha ana shaleach malakha qodamakh
Targum Rendering
Behold, I am sending an angel before you.
The angel-of-the-LORD passage. Onkelos preserves malakha ('angel') against speculative identifications. Christian tradition reads the malakha across the OT as Christophanies; the Jewish reading sees a created angel.
Hebrew (MT)
הִנֵּה דַם הַבְּרִית
Behold the blood of the covenant.
Targum (Aramaic)
ha dam qeyama
Targum Rendering
Behold, the blood of the covenant.
MARQUEE — cited verbatim by Jesus at Matt 26:28 / Mark 14:24 / Luke 22:20 in the institution of the Eucharist ('this is my blood of the covenant'). Foundational for Christian Eucharistic theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּרְאוּ אֵת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
And they saw the God of Israel.
Targum (Aramaic)
vechazo yat yeqara de'Elaha deYisrael
Targum Rendering
And they saw the glory of the God of Israel.
This is one of the most critical anti-anthropomorphic moves in all of Onkelos. The elders cannot have 'seen God' — they saw 'the glory (yeqar) of the God of Israel.' No human sees God directly; they see the kavod/yeqar.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ
And they beheld God, and they ate and drank.
Targum (Aramaic)
vechazo yat yeqara daAdonai vechadiu be'qorbanehon de'itqabilu keilu akhalu veshatiu
Targum Rendering
And they saw the glory of the LORD, and they rejoiced in their offerings which were accepted as though they ate and drank.
Onkelos cannot allow the casual statement that the elders saw God and then had a meal. The seeing is redirected to God's glory, and the eating/drinking is reinterpreted as joy over accepted sacrifices — transforming a covenant meal into a liturgical celebration.
Hebrew (MT)
וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם
And let them make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.
Targum (Aramaic)
veya'avdun qodomi maqdasha ve'ashrei Shekhineti beineihon
Targum Rendering
And let them make before me a sanctuary, and I will cause my Shekinah to dwell among them.
The foundational Tabernacle verse: God does not dwell among Israel directly but causes his Shekinah to dwell among them. This establishes the Shekinah as the mode of divine indwelling in sacred space — the theological heart of the Tabernacle.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁם
There I will meet with you.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'azammen lakh tamman memreih
Targum Rendering
And I will appoint my Memra to meet you there.
Pre-Nicene Tier S — the Memra meets-with-Moses at the mercy-seat. Foundational for OT atonement-encounter theology. The mercy-seat (kapporet) becomes the Greek hilastērion at Romans 3:25 — Paul's title for Christ.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִבְדִּילָה הַפָּרֹכֶת לָכֶם בֵּין הַקֹּדֶשׁ וּבֵין קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים
the curtain shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy place.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְתַפְרֵישׁ פָּרוֹכְתָּא לְכוֹן בֵּין קוּדְשָׁא וּבֵין קוֹדֶשׁ קוּדְשַׁיָּא
Targum Rendering
the curtain shall divide for you between the holy place and the most holy place.
Tabernacle veil instruction. Literal preservation — the architecture of holiness is preserved exactly because the Holy of Holies is where the Shekinah dwells.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנָתַתָּ אֶל־חֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶת־הָאוּרִים וְאֶת־הַתֻּמִּים
you shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְתִתֵּן בְּחֹשֶׁן דִּינָא יָת אוּרִים וְיָת תּוּמִּים
Targum Rendering
you shall put into the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim.
Urim and Thummim instruction. The priestly-divination instruments preserved by name — these are the sole sanctioned means of seeking divine guidance. Pre-Nicene relevance: institutional mediation of divine will.
Hebrew (MT)
וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהָיִיתִי לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים
And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'ashrei Shekhineti bego benei Yisrael ve'ehei lehon l'Elah
Targum Rendering
And I will cause my Shekinah to dwell among the children of Israel, and I will be their God.
Repeated Shekinah formula: God's indwelling is consistently expressed through the Shekinah. The covenant formula 'I will be their God' is preserved without mediation — the relationship is direct even if the mode of presence is the Shekinah.
Hebrew (MT)
וְיָדְעוּ כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְשָׁכְנִי בְתוֹכָם
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them.
Targum (Aramaic)
viyeid'un arei ana Adonai Elahehon de'appiqit yathon me'ar'a deMitzrayim le'ashraah Shekhineti beineihon
Targum Rendering
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, to cause my Shekinah to dwell among them.
The purpose of the Exodus is Shekinah-dwelling. Onkelos ties liberation directly to divine presence: God freed Israel so that his Shekinah could tabernacle in their midst.
Hebrew (MT)
לִפְנֵי הַכַּפֹּרֶת אֲשֶׁר עַל־הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אִוָּעֵד לְךָ שָׁמָּה
before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.
Targum (Aramaic)
קֳדָם כַּפּוּרְתָּא דִי עַל סָהֲדוּתָא דַּאֲזַמֵּן מֵימְרִי לָךְ תַמָּן
Targum Rendering
before the mercy seat that is upon the Testimony, where I will appoint my Memra to you.
Incense altar instruction. The 'meeting place' between God and Moses is recast as 'where my Memra will be appointed for you' — divine encounter mediated through the Word, not direct presence.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי אוֹת הִוא בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם
For it is a sign between me and you.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei ata hi bein Memri uveineikhon
Targum Rendering
For it is a sign between my Memra and you.
The Sabbath sign, like the rainbow sign (Gen 9:12), is placed between the Memra and Israel rather than between God directly and Israel. Covenant signs are mediated through the Word.
Hebrew (MT)
בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ
On the seventh day he ceased and was refreshed.
Targum (Aramaic)
beyoma shevi'a'ah shevat venach
Targum Rendering
On the seventh day he ceased and rested.
The Hebrew vayinnafash ('was refreshed,' from nefesh/soul) is softened to 'rested' (nach), removing any implication that God needed refreshment or has a soul that required restoration.
Hebrew (MT)
וְעַתָּה הַנִּיחָה לִּי וְיִחַר־אַפִּי בָהֶם
Now therefore let me alone, that my anger may burn against them.
Targum (Aramaic)
ukh'an sh'voq min qodamai viyitqaf rug'zi behon
Targum Rendering
And now, desist from before me, and let my anger be strong against them.
'Let me alone' becomes 'desist from before me,' and 'anger burning' becomes 'anger being strong' (yitqaf) — Onkelos subtly adjusts the metaphors to reduce the anthropomorphic intensity while preserving the drama of the Golden Calf crisis.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּנָּחֶם יְהוָה עַל־הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת לְעַמּוֹ
And the LORD relented concerning the evil which he had spoken of doing to his people.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetav qodam Adonai al bishta di malil leme'bad le'ammeih
Targum Rendering
And it was good before the LORD concerning the evil which he had spoken to do to his people.
God does not 'relent' or 'change his mind' in Onkelos. The anthropopathic verb nacham is replaced with 'it was good before the LORD,' a reverential formula that preserves divine immutability.
Hebrew (MT)
לֻחֹת כְּתֻבִים מִשְּׁנֵי עֶבְרֵיהֶם
Tablets that were written on both sides.
Targum (Aramaic)
luchei ketivin mittarin trein ittarehon
Targum Rendering
Tablets written on both their sides.
The double-sided Decalogue tablets. Rabbinic tradition (b. Shabbat 104a) reads this as miraculous engraving.
Hebrew (MT)
וְעַתָּה אִם תִּשָּׂא חַטָּאתָם וְאִם אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא מִסִּפְרְךָ אֲשֶׁר כָּתָבְתָּ
But now, if you will forgive their sin... but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.
Targum (Aramaic)
ukhe'an im shevoq lechovehon ve'im la machei na yati misifrakh dikhtavt
Targum Rendering
Now if you will forgive their sin... but if not, blot me, I pray, from your book that you have written.
Moses' intercessory offer of substitution. Echoed at Romans 9:3 ('I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers'). The 'book' becomes the eschatological Book of Life (Phil 4:3, Rev 3:5, 13:8, 20:12, 21:27).
Hebrew (MT)
וְדִבֶּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה פָּנִים אֶל פָּנִים
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face.
Targum (Aramaic)
umallel Adonai im moshe mamlel im mamlel
Targum Rendering
And the LORD spoke with Moses speech with speech.
The intimate 'face to face' is replaced with mamlel im mamlel ('speech with speech'), avoiding the anthropomorphic claim of seeing God's face. The rabbinic tradition reconciles this with Numbers 12:8 ('mouth to mouth') by interpreting both as direct prophetic communication, not visual encounter.
Hebrew (MT)
פָּנַי יֵלֵכוּ וַהֲנִחֹתִי לָךְ
My presence shall go, and I will give you rest.
Targum (Aramaic)
Shekhineti tehakh ve'anikha lakh
Targum Rendering
My Shekinah shall go, and I will give you rest.
'My face' (panai, literally 'my faces') is rendered 'my Shekinah.' God's face — the most intimate anthropomorphism — becomes the Shekinah, the divine presence that accompanies Israel without compromising God's transcendence.
Hebrew (MT)
הַרְאֵנִי נָא אֶת כְּבֹדֶךָ
Please show me your glory.
Targum (Aramaic)
achzini kean yat yeqarakh
Targum Rendering
Show me, I pray, your Glory.
MARQUEE — Moses' request to see God's Glory. The Targum's yeqarakh ('your Glory') matches MT's kavod. v. 19 specifies that what Moses sees is God's GOODNESS, not God himself; v. 20 explicitly says 'no human shall see me and live.' Foundational for the Christian distinction between vision-of-essence and vision-of-glory (developed in Eastern Orthodox theology of theosis).
Hebrew (MT)
לֹא תוּכַל לִרְאֹת אֶת־פָּנָי כִּי לֹא־יִרְאַנִי הָאָדָם וָחָי
You cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live.
Targum (Aramaic)
la tikdar lemechzei yat appai arei la yechzinnani enasha veyeqayyam
Targum Rendering
You are not able to see my face, for no man shall see me and live.
Remarkably, Onkelos preserves 'my face' here rather than substituting Shekinah or glory. The point is prohibition: no one can see God's face. The literal rendering reinforces the impossibility of direct vision of God, which is the very principle that drives Onkelos' anti-anthropomorphism everywhere else.
Hebrew (MT)
וְרָאִיתָ אֶת־אֲחֹרָי וּפָנַי לֹא יֵרָאוּ
And you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetechzei yat di vatrai ve'appai la yitchazun
Targum Rendering
And you shall see what is behind me, but my face shall not be seen.
'My back' becomes 'what is behind me' (di vatrai), subtly shifting from a body part to a spatial/temporal concept — what follows after God's passing, not God's physical backside.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרֶד יְהוָה בֶּעָנָן
And the LORD descended in the cloud.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli Adonai be'anana
Targum Rendering
And the LORD revealed himself in the cloud.
God does not descend into the cloud but reveals himself in it. The cloud remains the medium of theophany, but divine movement is replaced with self-disclosure.
Hebrew (MT)
יְהוָה יְהוָה אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן
The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious.
Targum (Aramaic)
Adonai Adonai Elaha rachama vechanina
Targum Rendering
The LORD, the LORD, God compassionate and gracious.
The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are rendered with minimal change. Onkelos treats this divine self-description as authoritative and does not adjust the attributive language — these qualities describe God's character, not his body.
Hebrew (MT)
יֵלֶךְ־נָא אֲדֹנָי בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ
Let the Lord go in our midst.
Targum (Aramaic)
tehakh ke'an Shekhinteih daAdonai begavvana
Targum Rendering
Let the Shekinah of the LORD go now in our midst.
Moses' plea for God's presence is a plea for the Shekinah. God does not 'go' in Israel's midst — the Shekinah does. This is one of the clearest Shekinah passages in Exodus.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי קָרַן עוֹר פָּנָיו בְּדַבְּרוֹ אִתּוֹ
The skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei sagi yeqar mishekh apohi bememaleluteih imei
Targum Rendering
For the splendor of his face was great as he spoke with him.
Moses' shining face. The Targum interprets karan ('horned/shone') as 'splendor.' Cited at 2 Cor 3:7-18 by Paul in his glory-of-Moses-vs-glory-of-Christ contrast.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְמַלֵּא אֹתוֹ רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים בְּחָכְמָה בִּתְבוּנָה
and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְאַשְׁלֵים עֲלוֹהִי רוּחָא דִנְבוּאָה מִן קֳדָם יְיָ בְּחֻכְמְתָא בְסוּכְלְתָנוּ
Targum Rendering
the spirit of prophecy from before the LORD filled him with wisdom and understanding.
Bezalel's gifting for the tabernacle. Even craft-skill is 'spirit of prophecy from before the LORD' — anti-anthropomorphism: God doesn't directly fill, the Spirit comes from his presence.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיַּעַשׂ בְּצַלְאֵל אֶת הָאָרֹן
Bezalel made the ark.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'avad betzaltzel yat arona
Targum Rendering
And Bezalel made the ark.
The Spirit-filled craftsman Bezalel. Foundational for biblical theology of artistic vocation as Spirit-gift.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן אֶת־אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּכְבוֹד יְהוָה מָלֵא אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּן
And the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.
Targum (Aramaic)
vekhassa anana yat mashkan ziman viyeqara daAdonai malei yat mishkena
Targum Rendering
And the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.
At the climax of Exodus, Onkelos renders 'glory' (kavod/yeqar) literally. The glory filling the Tabernacle is the culmination of the Shekinah theology developed throughout the book — God's presence has come to dwell among his people.
Hebrew (MT)
וְלֹא־יָכֹל מֹשֶׁה לָבוֹא אֶל־אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד כִּי־שָׁכַן עָלָיו הֶעָנָן
And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it.
Targum (Aramaic)
vela yakhil Mosheh le'me'al lemashkan zimna arei sherat aloi anana
Targum Rendering
And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it.
The verb sherat ('settled/rested') replaces shakhan ('dwelt'), using a term that emphasizes the cloud's tangible presence. The Shekinah is so powerfully manifest that even Moses cannot enter.