Overview
Summary
Targum Onkelos on Genesis is the most literal of the Palestinian-Babylonian targum traditions, yet still reshapes the text at critical theological junctures. The creation narrative, patriarchal encounters with God, and the blessings of Jacob all receive careful interpretive adjustment to guard divine transcendence while preserving covenantal intimacy.
Notable Renderings
The Memra (Word) of the LORD appears as the active agent of creation, covenant, and revelation. Anthropomorphic descriptions of God walking, resting, and appearing are systematically replaced with language of glory, presence, or Memra. The Aqedah (Genesis 22) subtly emphasizes Isaac's willing participation. Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49:10 introduces explicit Messianic expectation.
Theological Themes
Anti-anthropomorphism is pervasive: God does not walk, descend, or regret in human fashion. The Memra serves as a theological buffer between the transcendent God and the created world, anticipating later Logos theology. Shekinah language appears wherever God's indwelling presence is described. Messianic readings surface in the patriarchal blessings.
Hebrew (MT)
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Targum (Aramaic)
beqadmin bera Adonai yat shemayya veyat ar'a
Targum Rendering
In the beginning the LORD created the heavens and the earth.
Onkelos consistently renders Elohim as 'the LORD' (using the divine name) rather than a generic 'God,' reinforcing monotheistic theology against polytheistic readings of the plural Elohim.
Hebrew (MT)
וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם
the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְרוּחָא מִן קֳדָם יְיָ מְנַשֵּׁבָא עַל אַפֵּי מַיָּא
Targum Rendering
the Spirit from before the LORD was hovering over the face of the waters.
Pre-Nicene Tier S. The creation-Spirit is recast 'from before the LORD' — anti-anthropomorphism + mediation. Pseudo-Jonathan adds 'the Spirit of mercies of the LORD,' Neofiti reads 'the Memra of the LORD.' Pre-Nicene Jewish foundation for Trinitarian creation theology (cf. John 1:3, Heb 1:2).
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ
And God said: let us make humanity in our image, after our likeness.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'amar Adonai na'aveid enasha betzalmanna kidmutanna
Targum Rendering
And the LORD said: let us make a human in our image, in our likeness.
The plural na'aveid ('let us make') is preserved in Onkelos but Elohim is rendered with the divine name, defusing any polytheistic reading. Rabbinic tradition (Bereshit Rabbah 8:8) explains the plural as the divine address to the heavenly court — a reading consistent with the Targum's monotheistic framing.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ
And God created man in his image; in the image of God he created him.
Targum (Aramaic)
uvera Adonai yat adam betzalmeih betzelem Adonai bera yateih
Targum Rendering
And the LORD created man in his image; in the image of the LORD he created him.
Onkelos preserves 'image' (tzelem) without alteration here, unlike some later targum traditions that soften it. The rendering is notably literal, suggesting Onkelos understood tzelem as spiritual likeness rather than physical form.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי
And God finished on the seventh day his work which he had made, and he ceased on the seventh day.
Targum (Aramaic)
veshallem Adonai beyoma shevi'a'ah avideiteih di avad venach beyoma shevi'a'ah
Targum Rendering
And the LORD completed on the seventh day his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day.
Onkelos retains 'rested' (nach) but the Aramaic carries more the sense of 'ceased activity' than physical rest, subtly guarding against implying divine fatigue.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים
And he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Targum (Aramaic)
unefach be'appoi nishmeta dechayye
Targum Rendering
And he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Onkelos preserves the anthropomorphic language of God breathing, one of the few places where the intimacy of the act overrides the anti-anthropomorphic tendency.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת־קוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden.
Targum (Aramaic)
ushemi'u yat qal Memra daAdonai Elohim demihalekh beganneta
Targum Rendering
And they heard the voice of the Memra of the LORD God walking in the garden.
Classic Memra substitution: it is not God himself who walks in the garden but the Memra (Word) of the LORD. This is one of the earliest and most theologically significant Memra insertions in Onkelos, distancing God from physical locomotion.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאֵיבָה אָשִׁית בֵּינְךָ וּבֵין הָאִשָּׁה וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ וּבֵין זַרְעָהּ הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Targum (Aramaic)
udevavu ashvei beinakh uvein itteta uvein benakh uvein benaha hu yehei mesakkei lakh berisha ve'at tehei nakeit leih be'iqveih
Targum Rendering
And enmity I will set between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall lie in wait for you at the head, and you shall bite him at the heel.
The protoevangelium — the first messianic prophecy. Christian tradition reads 'her offspring' Christologically as Christ. The Targum's literal preservation matches MT closely; the messianic-typological reading is developed across Jewish (Pseudo-Jonathan adds Mary-Eve typology) and Christian receptions (Rom 16:20, Rev 12:17).
Hebrew (MT)
הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע
Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.
Targum (Aramaic)
ha adam hava yechida'i be'ar'a kema dehu yachid bishemayya leminda' tav ubishu
Targum Rendering
Behold, man has become unique on earth as [God] is unique in heaven, knowing good and evil.
Onkelos eliminates the troublesome plural 'one of us' (which could imply a divine council or plurality in God) by rendering it as a comparison of uniqueness: man is unique on earth as God is unique in heaven.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְגָרֶשׁ אֶת־הָאָדָם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן מִקֶּדֶם לְגַן־עֵדֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִים
And he drove out the man, and he placed east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetarekh yat adam ve'ashri miqqedem leganeta de'Eden yat keruvayya
Targum Rendering
And he drove out the man, and he caused his Shekinah to dwell from of old, east of the Garden of Eden, with the cherubim.
Onkelos introduces 'Shekinah' for God's dwelling presence east of Eden, transforming a narrative of placement into a theology of divine indwelling. God does not merely station guards; he establishes his presence.
Hebrew (MT)
הֲלוֹא אִם תֵּיטִיב שְׂאֵת וְאִם לֹא תֵיטִיב לַפֶּתַח חַטָּאת רֹבֵץ
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.
Targum (Aramaic)
ha la im teitiv av'idakh ve'im la teitiv le'idana detuv chatakh netir
Targum Rendering
If you do good, your work is acceptable; if you do not do good, your sin is set aside until the time you turn back.
Divine warning to Cain. The Targum's interpretive expansion shifts the 'sin crouches at the door' image to 'your sin is set aside until the time you repent' — a more hopeful, repentance-oriented reading. Foundational text for biblical responsibility and free will.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן אֶל הֶבֶל אָחִיו
Cain said to his brother Abel.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'amar qayin lehavel achuhi
Targum Rendering
And Cain said to Abel his brother.
The fratricide narrative. Cited at 1 John 3:12 ('we should not be like Cain') and Heb 11:4. Foundational for biblical sibling-violence theology.
Hebrew (MT)
אָז הוּחַל לִקְרֹא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה
Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
beidayin sheri litzalaya bishma daAdonai
Targum Rendering
Then men began to pray in the name of the LORD.
Onkelos interprets 'calling on the name' as formal prayer (tzelota), reading the origin of worship back into the earliest generations and connecting it to synagogue practice.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וְאֵינֶנּוּ כִּי לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Targum (Aramaic)
vahallikh chanokh beqodam Adonai veleitohi arei la nasivteih Adonai
Targum Rendering
And Enoch walked before the LORD, and he was no more, for the LORD took him.
Enoch's mysterious removal. Cited at Hebrews 11:5 ('by faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death') as the OT prototype of resurrection-without-death. Also foundational for 1 Enoch (the apocalyptic literature attributed to him; see /1-enoch on the TCR site).
Hebrew (MT)
לֹא־יָדוֹן רוּחִי בָאָדָם לְעֹלָם בְּשַׁגַּם הוּא בָשָׂר
my Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh.
Targum (Aramaic)
לָא יִתְקַיֵּים דָּרָא בִישָׁא הָדֵין קֳדָמַי לְעָלָם בְּדִיל דְּהוּא בִסְרָא
Targum Rendering
this evil generation shall not abide before me forever, for it is flesh.
Pre-Flood divine-decree. Targum recasts 'my Spirit shall not abide in man' as 'this evil generation shall not abide before me' — anti-anthropomorphism + ethical reframing. The 120-year span becomes a covenantal-extension to repent.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּנָּחֶם יְהוָה כִּי־עָשָׂה אֶת־הָאָדָם בָּאָרֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל־לִבּוֹ
And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetav qodam Adonai arei avad yat adam be'ar'a ve'amar bimemreih lemimcha yathon
Targum Rendering
And it was pleasing before the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and he said by his Memra to destroy them.
Onkelos radically reworks this verse to eliminate divine regret and grief. God does not change his mind or experience emotional pain; rather, it 'was pleasing before him' (a reverential circumlocution), and he resolves through his Memra to act. This is one of the strongest anti-anthropomorphic moves in Genesis.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנֹחַ מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
venoach ashkach rachamin qodam Adonai
Targum Rendering
And Noah found grace before the LORD.
The 'Noah found grace' formula. Foundational for biblical grace theology — first OT use of chen ('grace, favor').
Hebrew (MT)
נִבְקְעוּ כָּל מַעְיְנוֹת תְּהוֹם רַבָּה
All the fountains of the great deep burst forth.
Targum (Aramaic)
iv'qa'u kol meqorei tehoma rabba
Targum Rendering
All the springs of the great deep burst open.
The flood-source description. Echoed at 2 Peter 3:5-6 in the eschatological-judgment argument.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּמַח אֶת כָּל הַיְקוּם
He blotted out every living thing.
Targum (Aramaic)
umechei yat kol qayyam
Targum Rendering
And he wiped out all that existed.
The flood-judgment universal-erasure. Echoed at 2 Pet 3:6, 7 in the eschatological-judgment argument.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיָּרַח יְהוָה אֶת־רֵיחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ
And the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma.
Targum (Aramaic)
veqabbel Adonai bereva qorbaneih
Targum Rendering
And the LORD received with favor his offering.
God does not 'smell' in Onkelos. The physical act of smelling is replaced with the abstract concept of favorable reception, removing any implication that God has a sense of smell or physical nostrils.
Hebrew (MT)
שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.
Targum (Aramaic)
ashed dema de'enasha bo'enasha dameih yittashed
Targum Rendering
Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human his blood shall be shed.
The Noahic capital-punishment law — grounded in the imago Dei. Foundational for biblical jurisprudence and for theology of human dignity.
Hebrew (MT)
זֹאת אוֹת־הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי נֹתֵן בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם
This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and you.
Targum (Aramaic)
da at keyama di ana yahev bein Memri uveineikhon
Targum Rendering
This is the sign of the covenant which I give between my Memra and you.
The covenant is not between God directly and humanity but between God's Memra and humanity. The Memra mediates the covenant relationship, a pattern that becomes foundational for understanding covenant theology in the targum tradition.
Hebrew (MT)
הוּא־הָיָה גִבֹּר־צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה
he was a mighty hunter before the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
הוּא הֲוָה גִבָּר תַּקִּיף קֳדָם יְיָ
Targum Rendering
he was a mighty hunter before the LORD.
Nimrod. The 'before YHWH' (קֳדָם יְיָ) is preserved verbatim — Nimrod's prowess is recognized but located 'before' the divine presence rather than implying he hunted with God.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרֶד יְהוָה לִרְאֹת אֶת־הָעִיר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּל
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli Adonai lemechza yat qarta veyat migdala
Targum Rendering
And the LORD revealed himself to see the city and the tower.
God does not 'come down' physically. Onkelos replaces descent with revelation (itgeli), preserving God's transcendence: God does not move through space but reveals himself where he wills.
Hebrew (MT)
הָבָה נֵרְדָה וְנָבְלָה שָׁם שְׂפָתָם
Come, let us go down and confuse their language there.
Targum (Aramaic)
hava itgelei venabelbel taman lishanehon
Targum Rendering
Come, let me reveal myself and confuse there their language.
The plural 'let us go down' is eliminated, removing any suggestion of a divine council or plurality. God alone reveals himself and acts. This parallels the handling of Genesis 1:26.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי שָׁם בָּלַל יְהוָה שְׂפַת כָּל הָאָרֶץ
Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei tamman balbel Adonai lishan kol ar'a
Targum Rendering
For there the LORD confounded the language of all the earth.
The Babel-confounding etiology. Reversed at Pentecost (Acts 2).
Hebrew (MT)
לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ
Go from your country and your kindred.
Targum (Aramaic)
izel lakh me'ar'akh umimoldatakh
Targum Rendering
Go for yourself from your land and from your kindred.
Abraham's call. Cited at Acts 7:3 by Stephen as the foundational call of God's people. Foundational for Christian discipleship-leaving theology (Mark 10:28-30, Heb 11:8-10).
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרָא יְהוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם
And the LORD appeared to Abram.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli Adonai le'Avram
Targum Rendering
And the LORD revealed himself to Abram.
Throughout Genesis, 'appeared' (vayera) is rendered 'revealed himself' (itgeli), shifting from visual perception to divine self-disclosure. God is not seen; he makes himself known.
Hebrew (MT)
שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה
Lift up your eyes and look.
Targum (Aramaic)
zeqof kean einakh uchazi
Targum Rendering
Lift up your eyes and see.
The Abrahamic land-promise expansion. Foundational for biblical inheritance theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּצֵא דָוִד וַיָּרֶק אֶת חֲנִיכָיו
And he led forth his trained men.
Targum (Aramaic)
uvazei va'azein yat avdei
Targum Rendering
And he led out his trained men.
Abraham's rescue raid for Lot. Foundational for OT-and-NT military-typology readings.
Hebrew (MT)
וּמַלְכִּי צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם הוֹצִיא לֶחֶם וָיָיִן וְהוּא כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)
Targum (Aramaic)
umalki-tzedeq malka dishelem appiq lechem vechamar vehu meshammesh qodam el ila'a
Targum Rendering
And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and he ministered before God Most High.
MARQUEE: the Melchizedek pericope is foundational to Hebrews 5-7's Christological argument that Christ's priesthood is according to the order of Melchizedek (citing Ps 110:4). The Targum's meshammesh ('ministered'/'served') for kohen ('priest') reflects the rabbinic understanding of priestly service rather than office.
Hebrew (MT)
אַל־תִּירָא אַבְרָם אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ
Fear not, Abram; I am a shield for you.
Targum (Aramaic)
la tidchal Avram Memri maggen lakh
Targum Rendering
Fear not, Abram; my Memra is a shield for you.
God's Memra, not God himself directly, is the shield. This Memra usage in a covenantal promise to Abraham is theologically significant — the Word of God is the protective agent in the covenant relationship.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהֶאֱמִן בַּיהוָה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ צְדָקָה
And he believed in the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Targum (Aramaic)
veheimin beMemra daAdonai vachashvah leih lezakhu
Targum Rendering
And he believed in the Memra of the LORD, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Abraham's faith is directed toward the Memra of the LORD, not toward God abstractly. This is one of the most theologically loaded Memra passages in the Torah, directly relevant to Paul's citation in Romans 4 and Galatians 3. The object of saving faith is the Word of God.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּמְצָאָהּ מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה עַל עֵין הַמָּיִם
The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'ashkechah malakha deAdonai al ein dimayya
Targum Rendering
And the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water.
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.
Hagar's wilderness encounter. The Targum preserves malakha deAdonai literally — but in v. 13, Hagar names YHWH 'You are El-Roi' (the God who sees me), implying the angel IS YHWH. The Targum preserves both the angel-language AND the YHWH-naming, leaving the identification ambiguous — characteristic of the older reading.
Hebrew (MT)
וַתִּקְרָא שֵׁם־יְהוָה הַדֹּבֵר אֵלֶיהָ אַתָּה אֵל רֳאִי
And she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, 'You are the God who sees me.'
Targum (Aramaic)
vetqerat shema daAdonai dimalil immah att Elaha dechazyan qodam
Targum Rendering
And she called the name of the LORD who spoke with her, 'You are God before whom all is seen.'
Onkelos reverses the direction of seeing: it is not God who sees Hagar (implying eyes) but God before whom all is visible. Divine omniscience replaces anthropomorphic vision.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרָא יְהוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי־אֵל שַׁדַּי
And the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty.'
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli Adonai le'Avram va'amar leih ana El Shadday
Targum Rendering
And the LORD revealed himself to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty.'
Standard Onkelos pattern: 'appeared' becomes 'revealed himself.' The divine name El Shaddai is preserved without interpretation.
Hebrew (MT)
וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ
And I will establish my covenant between me and you.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'aqim yat keyami bein Memri uveinakh
Targum Rendering
And I will establish my covenant between my Memra and you.
Again the covenant is mediated through the Memra. The Abrahamic covenant is not a bare divine-human agreement but one established through the Word — a consistent Onkelos pattern for all covenant formulations.
Hebrew (MT)
הִמּוֹל לָכֶם כָּל זָכָר
Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Targum (Aramaic)
limhal lekhon kol dechara
Targum Rendering
Every male among you shall be circumcised.
The circumcision command. Cited at Acts 7:8 (Stephen) and Gal 5:2-3 (Paul) — foundational for biblical covenant-marker theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא
And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli leih Adonai bemesharei Mamre
Targum Rendering
And the LORD revealed himself to him in the plains of Mamre.
The theophany at Mamre is rendered as revelation rather than appearance. Onkelos does not elaborate on the three visitors, maintaining focus on the divine self-disclosure.
Hebrew (MT)
הֲיִפָּלֵא מֵיְהוָה דָּבָר
Is anything too hard for the LORD?
Targum (Aramaic)
ha yithkasei min qodam Adonai pitgam
Targum Rendering
Is anything hidden from before the LORD?
The divine-power axiom. Echoed at Luke 1:37 (Gabriel's annunciation: 'nothing will be impossible with God') and Matt 19:26 ('with God all things are possible').
Hebrew (MT)
אֵרְדָה־נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה
I will go down and see.
Targum (Aramaic)
itgelei kevan ve'echzei
Targum Rendering
I will reveal myself now and see.
God does not descend to Sodom; he reveals himself. The same anti-anthropomorphic principle applied at Babel (11:5) operates here.
Hebrew (MT)
הֲשֹׁפֵט כָּל הָאָרֶץ לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?
Targum (Aramaic)
hadayyana dekhol ar'a la ya'aveid dina
Targum Rendering
Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?
Abraham's bargaining over Sodom. The 'Judge of all the earth' epithet. Foundational to Pauline-Lukan reception (Acts 17:31 'he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed').
Hebrew (MT)
וַיהוָה הִמְטִיר עַל־סְדֹם וְעַל־עֲמֹרָה גָּפְרִית וָאֵשׁ מֵאֵת יְהוָה מִן־הַשָּׁמָיִם
And the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD from heaven.
Targum (Aramaic)
vaAdonai achit al Sedom ve'al Amora kavritha venura min qodam Adonai min shemayya
Targum Rendering
And the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from before the LORD from heaven.
Onkelos adds 'from before' (min qodam), a reverential circumlocution. The fire comes not directly 'from the LORD' but 'from before the LORD,' maintaining distance between God and the physical act of destruction.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיָּבֹא אֱלֹהִים אֶל־אֲבִימֶלֶךְ בַּחֲלוֹם הַלָּיְלָה
And God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'ata pitgama min qodam Adonai levat Avimelekh bechelma deleilya
Targum Rendering
And a word came from before the LORD to Abimelech in a dream of the night.
God does not 'come' to Abimelech. Instead, a word (pitgama) comes from before the LORD. The physical movement is replaced with verbal communication, and the reverential 'from before' (min qodam) adds distance.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְהִי אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הַנַּעַר
And God was with the lad.
Targum (Aramaic)
vahava Memra daAdonai besiyyeih de'ulema
Targum Rendering
And the Memra of the LORD was in the help of the lad.
God's presence with Ishmael is mediated through the Memra. 'God was with' becomes 'the Memra of the LORD was in the help of,' specifying that divine accompaniment operates through the Word.
Hebrew (MT)
אֱלֹהִים עִמְּךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עֹשֶׂה
God is with you in all that you do.
Targum (Aramaic)
meimra deAdonai besaadakh bekhol de'at avid
Targum Rendering
The Memra of the LORD is at your side in everything you do.
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.
Abimelech's recognition of God's presence with Abraham. The MT 'God is with you' is rendered 'the Memra is at your side' — establishing the Memra-as-God's-presence-with-the-faithful pattern that runs through the patriarchal narratives.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהָאֱלֹהִים נִסָּה אֶת־אַבְרָהָם
And God tested Abraham.
Targum (Aramaic)
vaAdonai nissi yat Avraham
Targum Rendering
And the LORD tested Abraham.
The Aqedah begins with Onkelos rendering straightforwardly, but the targum tradition surrounding this chapter expands significantly in other targum recensions. Onkelos is restrained here but sets the stage for theological interpretation.
Hebrew (MT)
קַח נָא אֶת בִּנְךָ אֶת יְחִידְךָ אֲשֶׁר אָהַבְתָּ אֶת יִצְחָק
Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love.
Targum (Aramaic)
deber kean yat birakh yat yichidakh dirchimt yat yitzchak
Targum Rendering
Take now your son, your only one, whom you love — Isaac.
The Aqedah opening. Cited (in the LXX echo) at John 3:16 'his only Son' (ton huion ton monogenē) and Hebrews 11:17 ('Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac... his only-begotten son'). Foundational for Christian only-begotten-Son theology.
Hebrew (MT)
אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה־לּוֹ הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה בְּנִי
God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.
Targum (Aramaic)
Adonai yitmin leih immar le'alata beri
Targum Rendering
The LORD will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.
Onkelos renders 'see/provide' (yir'eh) as 'provide' (yitmin), making the provision explicit. The ambiguity of the Hebrew — which could mean 'God will see to it' — is resolved into definite provision.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם
But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven.
Targum (Aramaic)
uqra leih malakha deAdonai min shemayya
Targum Rendering
And the angel of the LORD called to him from the heavens.
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 — Aqedah angel intervention. The angel-of-the-LORD halts Abraham's hand. Christian tradition reads this Christologically (the Son intervenes); rabbinic tradition (b. Rosh Hashanah 16a) sees Abraham's merit, not the angel's identity, as the saving force. The Targum preserves the angel-of-the-LORD form.
Hebrew (MT)
אַיִל אַחַר נֶאֱחַז בַּסְּבַךְ
A ram, caught in a thicket.
Targum (Aramaic)
dichra batar de'achid bechorsha
Targum Rendering
A ram afterward caught in the thicket.
The ram-substitute at the Aqedah. Foundational for biblical substitutionary-sacrifice theology — Christian readings see the ram as anticipating Christ. The Lamb-of-God language at John 1:29 draws on this typology.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵׁם־הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא יְהוָה יִרְאֶה
And Abraham called the name of that place 'The LORD will provide.'
Targum (Aramaic)
uqra Avraham shem attra hahu qodam Adonai hakhah yitmin
Targum Rendering
And Abraham called the name of that place 'Before the LORD here it shall be provided.'
The place-name YHWH-Yireh is interpreted as 'Before the LORD here it shall be provided,' pointing to the Temple mount in rabbinic tradition. The 'before the LORD' circumlocution is characteristic of Onkelos.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה אֶל אַבְרָהָם שֵׁנִית מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven.
Targum (Aramaic)
uqra malakha deAdonai le'avraham tinyanut min shemayya
Targum Rendering
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from the heavens.
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.
Second angel-call after the Aqedah. The angel speaks the post-binding blessing IN THE FIRST PERSON ('by myself I have sworn,' v. 16) — a striking case where the angel uses divine self-reference. The Targum preserves the angel-form; the divine first-person speech is theologically loaded.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֲךָ
I will surely multiply your offspring.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'asgaa asgi yat banakh
Targum Rendering
I will surely multiply your offspring.
The post-Aqedah multiplication-promise. Foundational for biblical numerical-blessing theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִתְבָּרְכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ
And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
Targum (Aramaic)
veyitbarkun bedil benakh kol amemei ar'a
Targum Rendering
And in your seed shall all the peoples of the earth be blessed.
The Abrahamic blessing-of-the-nations promise. Cited at Galatians 3:8, 16, 29 in Paul's argument that the singular zar'a (offspring) refers to Christ as the seed-of-Abraham. The Targum's bedil benakh ('through your seed') preserves the singular form Paul exegetes.
Hebrew (MT)
נְשִׂיא אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה בְּתוֹכֵנוּ
You are a prince of God among us.
Targum (Aramaic)
rabba qodam Adonai at beinanna
Targum Rendering
A great one before the LORD you are in our midst.
The Hittites' recognition of Abraham as nasi elohim ('prince of God').
Hebrew (MT)
מַלְאָכוֹ יִשְׁלַח לְפָנֶיךָ
He will send his angel before you.
Targum (Aramaic)
yithtegei malakhei qodamakh
Targum Rendering
His angel shall be commissioned before you.
The angel-before-Abraham's-servant. Connects to the broader Angel-of-the-LORD tradition (cf. Exod 23:20, Deut 32:8). The Targum's yithtegei ('shall be commissioned') frames the angel as agent-by-divine-decree.
Hebrew (MT)
אַתְּ הֲיִי לְאַלְפֵי רְבָבָה
Be the mother of thousands of ten thousands.
Targum (Aramaic)
att tehevin le'alfin verivvavan
Targum Rendering
May you become thousands of myriads.
Rebekah's blessing. The numerical-multiplication formula echoes the Abrahamic promise.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַיהוָה לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ
And Isaac entreated the LORD on behalf of his wife.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetzalli Yitzchaq qodam Adonai leqoveil ittetheih
Targum Rendering
And Isaac prayed before the LORD on behalf of his wife.
Onkelos renders 'entreated' as formal prayer (tzalli), consistent with its pattern of reading liturgical practice into the patriarchal narratives.
Hebrew (MT)
וְרַב יַעֲבֹד צָעִיר
And the older shall serve the younger.
Targum (Aramaic)
verabba yifelach lize'ira
Targum Rendering
And the older shall serve the younger.
The Esau-and-Jacob oracle. Cited at Romans 9:11-13 by Paul as the OT proof-text of divine sovereign election. The Targum preserves the literal formula.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאֶהְיֶה עִמְּךָ וַאֲבָרְכֶךָּ
I will be with you and will bless you.
Targum (Aramaic)
vihei meimri besaadakh va'avarkhinakh
Targum Rendering
And my Memra shall be at your side, and I will bless you.
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.
Divine promise to Isaac. The 'I will be with you' (ehyeh imekha) becomes 'my Memra shall be at your side' — explicitly hypostatic divine presence. Notably, the verb still has YHWH as the subject of blessing, but the presence-with is mediated by Memra.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶת זַרְעֲךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם
I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'asgei yat banakh kekhokhevei shemayya
Targum Rendering
And I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven.
Reaffirmation of the Abrahamic covenant to Isaac. Same multiplication-promise vocabulary.
Hebrew (MT)
עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע אַבְרָהָם בְּקֹלִי
Because Abraham obeyed my voice.
Targum (Aramaic)
chalaf disha'me avraham qodam meimri
Targum Rendering
Because Abraham obeyed before my Memra.
Pre-Nicene Tier S — Abraham obeyed the Memra. Pre-Nicene framing: faith and obedience are directed at the divine Word.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה
And the LORD appeared to him.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgli leih meimra deAdonai
Targum Rendering
And the Memra of the LORD revealed himself to him.
Pre-Nicene Tier S. Memra-revelation to Isaac. Same pattern as the patriarchal-revelation series.
Hebrew (MT)
וְיִתֶּן לְךָ הָאֱלֹהִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ וְרֹב דָּגָן וְתִירשׁ
May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.
Targum (Aramaic)
veyitten lakh Adonai mit'tala dishemayya umittuva de'ar'a vesaggi'i ovira vechamar
Targum Rendering
And the LORD give you of the dew of the heavens, and of the goodness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and wine.
Isaac's blessing on Jacob, mistakenly transferred from Esau. The blessing's three-fold pattern (heavens-earth-produce) becomes the structural template of patriarchal blessing throughout Genesis. The Targum's Adonai for Elohim follows the standard Onkelos divine-name handling.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba and went toward Haran.
Targum (Aramaic)
unefaq Ya'aqov miBe'er Sheva ve'azal leCharan
Targum Rendering
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba and went to Haran.
Onkelos renders this verse literally, setting the stage for the Bethel theophany that follows.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה
And behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven.
Targum (Aramaic)
veha sulma qa'em be'ar'a ureisheih mati ad shemayya
Targum Rendering
And behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven.
Jacob's ladder. Cited at John 1:51 in Jesus' identification of himself with the heaven-earth connecting point ('you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man'). The Christological reading makes Jesus the ladder.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִנֵּה יְהוָה נִצָּב עָלָיו
And behold, the LORD stood above it.
Targum (Aramaic)
veha yeqar Adonai mitmanna aloi
Targum Rendering
And behold, the glory of the LORD was appointed over him.
God does not 'stand' above the ladder. Onkelos replaces physical posture with 'the glory of the LORD' (yeqar Adonai), one of the most common anti-anthropomorphic substitutions in the targum.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִנֵּה אָנֹכִי עִמָּךְ
And behold, I am with you.
Targum (Aramaic)
veha Memri besiyyakhah
Targum Rendering
And behold, my Memra is in your help.
The promise of divine presence to Jacob is mediated through the Memra. God's 'being with' someone is consistently rendered as the Memra being in one's help, providing both intermediary theology and practical specificity.
Hebrew (MT)
אִם־יִהְיֶה אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי... וְהָיָה יְהוָה לִי לֵאלֹהִים
If God will be with me... then the LORD shall be my God.
Targum (Aramaic)
im yehei Memra daAdonai besiyyai... viyehei Memra daAdonai li l'Elah
Targum Rendering
If the Memra of the LORD will be in my help... then the Memra of the LORD shall be my God.
Jacob's vow at Bethel places the Memra at the center of the covenant relationship. The Memra is simultaneously God's agent and the object of Jacob's devotion — a remarkable theological formulation.
Hebrew (MT)
אִם יִהְיֶה אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי
If God will be with me.
Targum (Aramaic)
im yehei meimra deAdonai besaadi
Targum Rendering
If the Memra of the LORD is at my side.
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.
Jacob's vow at Bethel. Even the human-side of the formula uses Memra: Jacob conditions his vow on whether 'the Memra is at my side.' The Memra has become the ordinary Jewish way of speaking about divine presence — pre-Nicene Jewish prayer and vow language was already two-stage.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי־רָאָה יְהוָה בְּעָנְיִי
because the LORD has looked upon my affliction.
Targum (Aramaic)
אֲרֵי גְּלֵי קֳדָם יְיָ עַקְתִּי
Targum Rendering
for my affliction is revealed before the LORD.
Leah names Reuben. Anti-anthropomorphism: God doesn't 'see' in human-fashion; Leah's affliction is revealed to him. Standard Onkelos handling of divine perception.
Hebrew (MT)
הָבָה לִּי בָנִים וְאִם אַיִן מֵתָה אָנֹכִי
Give me children, or I shall die.
Targum (Aramaic)
hav li venin ve'im la maita ana
Targum Rendering
Give me children, or else I am dead.
Rachel's barrenness lament. Foundational for biblical barrenness-as-distress motif.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־יַעֲקֹב שׁוּב אֶל־אֶרֶץ אֲבוֹתֶיךָ
And the LORD said to Jacob, 'Return to the land of your fathers.'
Targum (Aramaic)
va'amar Adonai leYa'aqov tuv le'ar'a da'avahathakh
Targum Rendering
And the LORD said to Jacob, 'Return to the land of your fathers.'
Onkelos renders this command literally. Direct divine speech is generally preserved without Memra mediation when God is quoted using first-person address.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים בַּחֲלוֹם
And the angel of God said to me in the dream.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'amar li malakha deAdonai bechelma
Targum Rendering
And the angel of the LORD said to me in a dream.
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.
Jacob's report of his dream. Critical: in v. 13, the angel says 'I am the God of Bethel.' The angel SELF-IDENTIFIES as the God of Bethel. The Targum preserves this — making it one of the clearest 'angel speaks as God' passages. Justin Martyr cites this exact passage as a Christophany proof in Dial. 58.
Hebrew (MT)
אָנֹכִי הָאֵל בֵּית אֵל
I am the God of Bethel.
Targum (Aramaic)
ana elaha de'itgliti lakh bevet el
Targum Rendering
I am the God who revealed himself to you at Bethel.
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 'angel speaks as God.' The angel of God (v. 11) self-identifies AS the God of Bethel. The Targum's expansion 'who revealed himself' (de'itgliti) softens the identity but preserves the divine self-claim. This passage was central to Justin Martyr's Christophany argument: the same divine being who appeared at Bethel is the one who appeared to Jacob — and in Christian reading, ultimately to humanity in Christ.
Hebrew (MT)
אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם וּפַחַד יִצְחָק
The God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac.
Targum (Aramaic)
elaha de'avraham udedachil yitzchaq
Targum Rendering
The God of Abraham and the One whom Isaac fears.
The pachad yitzchaq ('Fear of Isaac') divine epithet. Unique to Genesis 31.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר
a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְאִתְכַּתַּשׁ גַּבְרָא עִמֵּיהּ עַד דִסְלִיק קְרִיצְתָא
Targum Rendering
a man wrestled with him until the breaking of dawn.
Pre-Nicene Tier S — Jacob at Peniel wrestling 'a man' who is also identified as 'God' (v. 30). One of the strongest Two-Powers loci in the Tanakh. Targum preserves the human-figure designation, allowing the pre-Nicene 'angel/God' ambiguity to stand. b. Sanhedrin 38b cites this as a problem text.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר
And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'ishtaddal gavra immeih ad deseliq tzafra
Targum Rendering
And a man wrestled with him until the rising of the dawn.
Onkelos preserves the mysterious 'man' (gavra) without identifying him as an angel or divine being, maintaining the deliberate ambiguity of the Hebrew. The identification is left to the reader.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי שָׂרִיתָ עִם אֱלֹהִים וְעִם אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָל
For you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei rabba at qodam Adonai ve'im uvarei na ukhpilta
Targum Rendering
For you are great before the LORD, and with men you have prevailed.
Jacob's name-change to Israel ('one who strives with God'). The Targum softens the striving-with-God language to 'great before the LORD' — typical anti-anthropomorphic move. The MT's bold 'striven with God' is preserved at Hos 12:3-4 ('he strove with the angel and prevailed').
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי רָאִיתִי אֱלֹהִים פָּנִים אֶל פָּנִים וַתִּנָּצֵל נַפְשִׁי
For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei chazeitti malakha deAdonai apin ba'apin
Targum Rendering
For I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face, and my life has been delivered.
Onkelos resolves the theological problem of seeing God by identifying Jacob's wrestling adversary as 'the angel of the LORD,' not God himself. The same anti-anthropomorphic reflex appears throughout Onkelos's handling of theophany passages.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי־רָאִיתִי אֱלֹהִים פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים
For I have seen God face to face.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei chazeiti malakha daAdonai appei be'appei
Targum Rendering
For I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.
Onkelos cannot allow Jacob to claim he saw God directly. 'God' is replaced with 'the angel of the LORD,' maintaining divine transcendence while preserving the drama of the encounter.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיַּצֶּב שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ
There he erected an altar.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'aqim tamman madbecha
Targum Rendering
And he set up there an altar.
Jacob's altar at Shechem. Foundational for Israel's altar-tradition.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶל־יַעֲקֹב עוֹד
And God appeared to Jacob again.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli Adonai leYa'aqov tuv
Targum Rendering
And the LORD revealed himself to Jacob again.
Standard Onkelos rendering of theophany: 'appeared' becomes 'revealed himself.'
Hebrew (MT)
אֲנִי אֵל שַׁדַּי פְּרֵה וּרְבֵה
I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply.
Targum (Aramaic)
ana el shaddai puru udsegu
Targum Rendering
I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply.
The El Shaddai self-revelation. Foundational for the patriarchal divine epithet.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת עֵשָׂו הוּא אֱדוֹם
these are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).
Targum (Aramaic)
וְאִלֵּין תּוֹלְדָת עֵשָׂו הוּא אֱדוֹם
Targum Rendering
these are the generations of Esau — that is, Edom.
Edomite-genealogy header. Targum identifies Esau with Edom — significant because Edom recurs as covenantal-counterpoint throughout Tanakh (Mal 1:2-3, Rom 9:13).
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִנֵּה תְסֻבֶּינָה אֲלֻמֹּתֵיכֶם וַתִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶיןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִי
And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.
Targum (Aramaic)
veha mistachara mishechayyikhon umasged lemiscchatti
Targum Rendering
And behold, your sheaves were turning and bowing down to my sheaf.
Joseph's first dream. The bowing-down imagery anticipates the Joseph-as-vizier scenes of chapters 42-44 and the broader Joseph-as-Christ-typology in patristic exegesis (cf. Acts 7:9-16's summary of the Joseph cycle).
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי אֵרֵד אֶל בְּנִי אָבֵל שְׁאֹלָה
For I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei eichat lebari ke'aval beit qeburi
Targum Rendering
For I will go down to my son in mourning to the place of my burial.
Jacob's grief-vow. The Targum's 'place of my burial' softens MT's Sheol — a typical Targumic move on death-realm passages.
Hebrew (MT)
וְיַבֵּם אֹתָהּ וְהָקֵם זֶרַע לְאָחִיךָ
Perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her and raise up offspring for your brother.
Targum (Aramaic)
viyabbem yatah ve'aqim zar'a le'achukh
Targum Rendering
And perform the levirate duty to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.
The Levirate-marriage law. Cited at Mark 12:19 / Matt 22:24 / Luke 20:28 in the Sadducees' resurrection question. The Targum's yibbem (Aramaic for the Hebrew technical term) confirms the standardized terminology.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְהִי יְהוָה אֶת־יוֹסֵף
And the LORD was with Joseph.
Targum (Aramaic)
vahava Memra daAdonai besiyyeih deYosef
Targum Rendering
And the Memra of the LORD was in the help of Joseph.
God's presence with Joseph is mediated through the Memra, following the same pattern as with Ishmael (21:20) and Jacob (28:15). The Memra is the consistent mode of God's companionship with individuals.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאֵיךְ אֶעֱשֶׂה הָרָעָה הַגְּדוֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְחָטָאתִי לֵאלֹהִים
How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'eikhdein a'aveid bishta rabba haden vechivit qodam Adonai
Targum Rendering
How can I do this great evil and sin before the LORD?
Joseph's resistance to Potiphar's wife — the foundational sin-against-God-not-just-humans formulation. Echoed at Ps 51:4 ('against you only have I sinned').
Hebrew (MT)
וַיְהִי יְהוָה אֶת־יוֹסֵף וַיֵּט אֵלָיו חָסֶד
And the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love.
Targum (Aramaic)
vahava Memra daAdonai besiyyeih deYosef umatei leih chisda
Targum Rendering
And the Memra of the LORD was in the help of Joseph and extended mercy to him.
Even in prison, the Memra accompanies Joseph. The targum emphasizes that divine mercy (chisda) is an active quality of the Memra's help, not merely passive accompaniment.
Hebrew (MT)
הֲלוֹא לֵאלֹהִים פִּתְרֹנִים
do not interpretations belong to God?
Targum (Aramaic)
הֲלָא מִן קֳדָם יְיָ פִּשְׁרָנֵי חֶלְמַיָּא
Targum Rendering
do not the interpretations of dreams come from before the LORD?
Joseph in prison. Anti-anthropomorphism: dream-interpretation 'belongs to' God recast as coming 'from before the LORD' — divine wisdom is mediated, not located 'in' God.
Hebrew (MT)
אֱלֹהִים הִגִּיד לְפַרְעֹה
God has revealed to Pharaoh.
Targum (Aramaic)
Adonai chivvi lepar'oh
Targum Rendering
God has shown to Pharaoh.
Joseph's interpretation introduction. Establishes prophetic-revelation theology in foreign-king context.
Hebrew (MT)
הֲנִמְצָא כָזֶה אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים בּוֹ
Can we find a man like this, in whom is the spirit of God?
Targum (Aramaic)
ha nashkach kedein gevar deruach nevua min qodam Adonai veih
Targum Rendering
Can we find anyone like this — a man in whom is the spirit of prophecy from before the LORD?
Pharaoh's recognition of Joseph as spirit-bearer. The Targum specifies ruach nevua ('spirit of prophecy') for the MT's general ruach elohim — a typical interpretive sharpening that distinguishes prophetic-revelation Spirit from creation-Spirit.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי נַשַּׁנִי אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל עֲמָלִי
For God has made me forget all my hardship.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei ansheyani Adonai yat kol li'utti
Targum Rendering
For God has made me forget all my toil.
Joseph's naming of Manasseh. The 'God-makes-me-forget' theme of providence.
Hebrew (MT)
אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים אֲנִי יָרֵא
I fear God.
Targum (Aramaic)
מִן קֳדָם יְיָ אֲנָא דָחֵיל
Targum Rendering
I fear before the LORD.
Joseph to his brothers. 'Fear of God' standardized to 'fear before the LORD' (מִן קֳדָם — anti-anthropomorphism). Even Joseph's pagan-cover rhetoric in Egypt is given Targum's reverent reframe.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאֵל שַׁדַּי יִתֵּן לָכֶם רַחֲמִים לִפְנֵי הָאִישׁ
may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְאֵל שַׁדַּי יִתֵּן לְכוֹן רַחֲמִין קֳדָם גַּבְרָא
Targum Rendering
may El Shaddai give you mercy before the man.
Jacob sending his sons back to Egypt with Benjamin. The Genesis-divine name El Shaddai preserved — covenantal Patriarchal name retained even in the family-crisis prayer.
Hebrew (MT)
אַל־יִחַר אַפְּךָ בְּעַבְדֶּךָ
do not let your anger burn against your servant.
Targum (Aramaic)
לָא יִתְקֵיף רוּגְזָךְ בְּעַבְדָּךְ
Targum Rendering
let not your anger be strong against your servant.
Judah's plea for Benjamin — the most rhetorically powerful speech in Genesis. The 'burning anger' Aramaic-idiomized but preserved.
Hebrew (MT)
וְעַתָּה אַל תֵּעָצְבוּ וְאַל יִחַר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם כִּי מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי לְמִחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶם
Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Targum (Aramaic)
ukhe'an la titz'avu vela yithra' beineikhon arei zabbinttun yati hakha arei lekayyamuta shelach yati Adonai qodameikhon
Targum Rendering
Now do not be grieved, and let it not be displeasing in your eyes that you sold me here, for the LORD sent me before you for preservation.
Joseph's reconciliation speech. The classic OT statement of providence-overcoming-evil: the brothers' malice is woven into divine preservation. Anticipates Genesis 50:20 ('you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good') and Romans 8:28.
Hebrew (MT)
לִשׂוּם לָכֶם שְׁאֵרִית בָּאָרֶץ
To preserve for you a remnant on earth.
Targum (Aramaic)
lemishvavekhon she'eira be'ar'a
Targum Rendering
To set for you a remnant in the land.
The remnant-preservation theology. Foundational for the prophetic remnant tradition (Isa 10:21, Rom 11:5).
Hebrew (MT)
אָנֹכִי אֵרֵד עִמְּךָ מִצְרַיְמָה
I will go down with you to Egypt.
Targum (Aramaic)
Memri yechot immakh leMitzrayim
Targum Rendering
My Memra will go down with you to Egypt.
God does not descend to Egypt. The Memra descends, maintaining divine transcendence while assuring Jacob of accompanied presence. The pattern of Memra-mediated divine companionship extends to the descent into exile.
Hebrew (MT)
מְעַט וְרָעִים הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי
Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life.
Targum (Aramaic)
ze'irin uvishin havu yomei shenei chayai
Targum Rendering
Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life.
Jacob's reflection before Pharaoh. Foundational for biblical wisdom about life's brevity (cf. Ps 90).
Hebrew (MT)
הָאֱלֹהִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי
The God who has been my shepherd.
Targum (Aramaic)
Adonai dezan yati
Targum Rendering
The LORD who has fed me.
Jacob's blessing of Joseph's sons. The shepherd-God formula. Foundational for John 10's Good-Shepherd Christology.
Hebrew (MT)
הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי מִכָּל־רָע יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־הַנְּעָרִים
the angel who has redeemed me from all evil — may he bless the boys.
Targum (Aramaic)
מַלְאֲכָא דְּפָרֵיק יָתִי מִכָּל בִּישָׁא יְבָרֵךְ יָת טַלְיָא
Targum Rendering
may the angel who has redeemed me from all evil bless the boys.
Pre-Nicene Tier S — Jacob's blessing on Ephraim and Manasseh invokes 'the angel who redeems' as parallel to 'the God who has been my shepherd' (v. 15). The angel-Redeemer is a distinct-yet-identified-with-God figure. Foundation of pre-Nicene angel-Christology in Justin Martyr.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהָיָה אֱלֹהִים עִמָּכֶם
But God will be with you.
Targum (Aramaic)
vihei meimra deAdonai besaadkhon
Targum Rendering
And the Memra of the LORD shall be at your side.
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.
Jacob's deathbed promise to Joseph's sons. The Memra-presence formula passes from Jacob to the next generation — establishing the Memra as a perpetual covenant promise.
Hebrew (MT)
לֹא־יָסוּר שֵׁבֶט מִיהוּדָה וּמְחֹקֵק מִבֵּין רַגְלָיו עַד כִּי־יָבֹא שִׁילֹה
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes.
Targum (Aramaic)
la ye'addei alit shultana mideveith Yehudah vesafra mibenei benoi ad de'yeitei Meshicha dedalei hi malkhuta
Targum Rendering
The ruler shall not depart from the house of Judah, nor the scribe from his children's children, until the Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom.
This is the most important Messianic rendering in Onkelos on Genesis. The enigmatic 'Shiloh' is rendered explicitly as 'the Messiah, whose is the kingdom.' This shows that pre-Christian Jewish tradition read Genesis 49:10 as a prophecy of a coming Messiah from the tribe of Judah.
Hebrew (MT)
אֹסְרִי לַגֶּפֶן עִירֹה וְלַשֹּׂרֵקָה בְּנִי אֲתֹנוֹ
Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine.
Targum (Aramaic)
yiskechor le'ireh Yisrael leqarteih yashvei qirvin le'arteih
Targum Rendering
Israel shall surround his city; the peoples shall build his temple; the righteous shall be round about him.
Onkelos allegorizes the agricultural imagery of Jacob's blessing to Judah into a vision of the Messiah's kingdom: the city of Israel, the temple, and the gathering of the righteous. The literal vine and donkey become symbols of restoration.
Hebrew (MT)
לִישׁוּעָתְךָ קִוִּיתִי יְהוָה
For your salvation I wait, O LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
lefurqanakh savveit Adonai
Targum Rendering
For your redemption I wait, O LORD.
Onkelos renders yeshu'ah as 'redemption' (furqan), a term with eschatological and Messianic overtones in Aramaic. Placed amid the tribal blessings, it reinforces the Messianic expectation of the passage.
Hebrew (MT)
מִשָּׁם רֹעֶה אֶבֶן יִשְׂרָאֵל
From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.
Targum (Aramaic)
mitamman parnes taqif deYisrael
Targum Rendering
From there the strong shepherd of Israel.
'Stone of Israel' is rendered 'strong one of Israel,' interpreting the metaphor as messianic leadership rather than literal stone imagery.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאַתֶּם חֲשַׁבְתֶּם עָלַי רָעָה אֱלֹהִים חֲשָׁבָהּ לְטֹבָה
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'atton chashavton alai bishta min qodam Adonai itchashivat letava
Targum Rendering
And you intended evil against me, but from before the LORD it was reckoned for good.
The attribution of planning to God is softened: it was not God who 'intended' but rather 'from before the LORD it was reckoned,' using the reverential circumlocution to distance God from the appearance of causing evil.
Hebrew (MT)
פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֱלֹהִים אֶתְכֶם
God will surely visit you.
Targum (Aramaic)
midkar yidkar Adonai yathkhon
Targum Rendering
God will surely visit you.
Joseph's deathbed promise. The 'visit you' formula recurs throughout the Joseph-Moses transition (Exod 3:16, 4:31). Echoed at Luke 1:68 (Zechariah's prophecy: 'he has visited and redeemed his people').