Overview
Summary
Targum Onkelos on Leviticus addresses the sacrificial and purity systems with attention to anti-anthropomorphism (God does not 'smell' offerings), Shekinah theology (the divine presence sanctifies and inhabits the Tabernacle), and halakhic clarification. Because Leviticus is primarily legal material, Onkelos' interpretive activity focuses on cultic language, divine speech formulas, and the Holiness Code's promise of divine indwelling.
Notable Renderings
The 'pleasing aroma' formula is systematically replaced with 'received with favor.' God's walking among Israel (26:12) becomes Shekinah presence. The lex talionis is interpreted as monetary compensation rather than literal bodily punishment. The Holiness Code's blessings and curses receive careful theological treatment.
Theological Themes
Anti-anthropomorphism in sacrificial language (God does not smell); Shekinah indwelling as the goal of holiness; halakhic interpretation of legal provisions; the covenant relationship as mediated through cult and presence.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד
The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.
Targum (Aramaic)
uqra le-moshe umallel Adonai imei mimashkan zimna
Targum Rendering
And the LORD called to Moses and spoke with him from the tent of meeting.
The opening of Leviticus — and the foundational divine address that opens the priestly cult — is preserved literally. The 'tent of meeting' (mishkan zimna) is the locus of divine-human meeting in priestly theology, the prototype of the temple.
Hebrew (MT)
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering.
Targum (Aramaic)
veyismokh yadeih al reisha de'alta
Targum Rendering
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering.
The hand-laying gesture. Foundational for OT sacrificial-substitution theology and for Christian theology of imputation.
Hebrew (MT)
רֵיחַ נִיחוֹחַ לַיהוָה
A pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
letaqbalah bereva qodam Adonai
Targum Rendering
To be received with favor before the LORD.
This formula appears dozens of times in Leviticus. Onkelos consistently replaces 'a pleasing aroma' with 'to be received with favor' (letaqbalah bereva), removing the implication that God smells sacrifices. The shift is from sensory perception to divine acceptance.
Hebrew (MT)
אִשֵּׁה רֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ לַיהוָה
A fire offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
qurbana letaqbalah bereva qodam Adonai
Targum Rendering
An offering to be received with favor before the LORD.
Onkelos renders 'fire offering' (issheh) as 'offering' (qurbana), and again replaces the aroma formula. The entire sensory dimension of sacrifice is reframed as a relational act of divine acceptance.
Hebrew (MT)
אִם הַכֹּהֵן הַמָּשִׁיחַ יֶחֱטָא
If it is the anointed priest who sins.
Targum (Aramaic)
im kahana rabba dirvei lemehevei mesummun yechti
Targum Rendering
If the great priest who is to be appointed sins.
The 'anointed priest' (kohen ha-mashiach). The same root as 'Messiah' — the OT origin of priestly-Messianic theology. The Targum's interpretive expansion clarifies the priest-as-Messiah-archetype.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי־תֶחֱטָא וְשָׁמְעָה קוֹל אָלָה
if anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration.
Targum (Aramaic)
וֶאֱנָשׁ אֲרֵי יֵיחוֹב וְיִשְׁמַע קָל מוֹמָתָא
Targum Rendering
if anyone sins by hearing the voice of an oath.
Witness-oath law — failing to testify under adjuration constitutes sin. Foundation of Jewish testimony-ethics.
Hebrew (MT)
אֵשׁ תָּמִיד תּוּקַד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא תִכְבֶּה
fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
Targum (Aramaic)
אֶשָּׁתָא תְדִירָא תְהֵי יָקְדָא עַל מַדְבְּחָא לָא תִטַּפֵי
Targum Rendering
a perpetual fire shall burn on the altar; it shall not be quenched.
Perpetual altar-fire instruction. The fire that descends from the divine Presence (Lev 9:24) is to be kept perpetually — material continuity of the Shekinah's first manifestation.
Hebrew (MT)
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת־מִשְׁמֶרֶת יְהוָה
you shall keep the charge of the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְתִטְרוּן יָת מַטְּרַת מֵימְרָא דַייָ
Targum Rendering
you shall keep the charge of the Memra of the LORD.
Ordination of Aaron's sons. Priestly charge mediated through the Memra — the priests serve the Word, not abstract deity.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי הַיּוֹם יְהוָה נִרְאָה אֲלֵיכֶם
For today the LORD will appear to you.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei yoma den Adonai itgeli lakhon
Targum Rendering
For today the LORD will reveal himself to you.
The promise of theophany at the Tabernacle's inauguration is rendered as revelation rather than appearance, consistent with all Onkelos theophanies.
Hebrew (MT)
וְיֵרָא אֲלֵיכֶם כְּבוֹד יְהוָה
And the glory of the LORD will appear to you.
Targum (Aramaic)
veyitgeli lakhon yeqara daAdonai
Targum Rendering
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed to you.
Even when the Hebrew already specifies 'glory' (kavod) rather than God directly, Onkelos still changes 'appear' to 'be revealed.' The consistent verbal substitution reinforces that all divine manifestation is revelation, not physical appearance.
Hebrew (MT)
וַיֵּרָא כְבוֹד־יְהוָה אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם
And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'itgeli yeqara daAdonai lekhol amma
Targum Rendering
And the glory of the LORD was revealed to all the people.
At the climactic moment of the Tabernacle's inaugural service, the glory is 'revealed' (itgeli) rather than 'appeared.' This is the culmination of the Shekinah theology running through Exodus into Leviticus.
Hebrew (MT)
וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה
And fire came out from before the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
venafqat esha min qodam Adonai
Targum Rendering
And fire went out from before the LORD.
Onkelos preserves 'from before the LORD' (min qodam Adonai), which the Hebrew already provides (millifnei YHWH). The deaths of Nadab and Abihu are narrated with minimal interpretive adjustment.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי
Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetitqaddeshun utehevon qaddishin arei qaddish ana
Targum Rendering
Sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy.
The holiness imperative — the central refrain of the Holiness Code (Lev 17-26). Cited at 1 Peter 1:16 ('be holy, for I am holy') as the basis of Christian holiness ethics.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם
For I am the LORD who brought you up.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei ana Adonai de'asseiqit yathkhon
Targum Rendering
For I am the LORD who brought you up.
The Exodus-as-grounding-of-holiness formula. Recurs throughout Leviticus 11-26.
Hebrew (MT)
בָּדָד יֵשֵׁב מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה מוֹשָׁבוֹ
he shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
Targum (Aramaic)
בִּלְחוֹדוֹהִי יִתֵּב מִבְּרָא לְמַשְׁרִיתָא יְהֵי מוֹתְבֵיהּ
Targum Rendering
he shall dwell alone — outside the camp shall be his dwelling.
Leprous-isolation law. Cited in Mark 1:40-45 (Jesus' touching the leper). The leper's exclusion is the cultic background for Jesus' inclusion-miracles.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל־אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה
when you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession.
Targum (Aramaic)
אֲרֵי תֵעֲלוּן לְאַרְעָא דִכְנָעַן דַּאֲנָא יָהֵיב לְכוֹן לְאַחֲסָנָא
Targum Rendering
when you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving to you for a possession.
Leprous-house instruction preface. Land-grant preserved literally — even purity laws are framed within the covenantal land-promise.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי בֶּעָנָן אֵרָאֶה עַל־הַכַּפֹּרֶת
For I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei be'anana itgeli yeqari al kappureta
Targum Rendering
For in the cloud my glory will be revealed upon the mercy seat.
God's presence above the mercy seat on Yom Kippur is rendered as the revelation of his glory (yeqar) in the cloud. The High Priest encounters the glory, not God's unmediated self.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנָתַן אַהֲרֹן עַל שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִם גֹּרָלוֹת גּוֹרָל אֶחָד לַיהוָה וְגוֹרָל אֶחָד לַעֲזָאזֵל
And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.
Targum (Aramaic)
veyitten aharon al terein tzefirayya advayya ada le-shema deAdonai ve'ada le-azazel
Targum Rendering
And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats: one lot for the name of the LORD and one lot for Azazel.
Onkelos preserves the enigmatic name 'Azazel' (lit. 'goat of departure' or possibly the name of a wilderness demon) untranslated. The first lot is rendered 'for the name of the LORD' (le-shema deAdonai) — a typical Targumic substitution of 'name' for direct divine reference. 1 Enoch 6-11 develops Azazel into a leader of the fallen Watchers; rabbinic tradition (b. Yoma 67b) identifies him variously as a wilderness peak, demon, or merely the goat itself.
Hebrew (MT)
וְסָמַךְ אַהֲרֹן אֶת שְׁתֵּי יָדָו עַל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר
Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat.
Targum (Aramaic)
veyismokh aharon yat tartein yadohi al reisha detzefira
Targum Rendering
And Aaron shall lay his two hands on the head of the goat.
The Yom Kippur scapegoat-laying-of-hands. Foundational for biblical substitutionary-atonement theology. Echoes at 1 Pet 2:24 ('he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree').
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם
For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei beyoma haden yekhapper aleikhon ledakka'a yathkhon
Targum Rendering
For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you.
The Yom Kippur atonement formula. The Hebrew yekhapper ('he shall atone') uses the verbal root that also produces kapporet ('mercy seat'). Christian atonement theology (esp. Romans 3:25 hilastērion) draws explicitly on this priestly vocabulary.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר בַּדָּם הִוא וַאֲנִי נְתַתִּיו לָכֶם עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְכַפֵּר עַל נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei nafsha devisra bedema hi va'ana yehavtei lekhon al madbacha lekhappara al nafshatkhon
Targum Rendering
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your lives.
The foundational atonement-by-blood theology. Cited at Hebrews 9:22 ('without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins') as the basis of Christian sacrificial theology. The Targum preserves the substantive identification of life (nefesh) with blood.
Hebrew (MT)
אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם
Which if a man does them, he shall live by them.
Targum (Aramaic)
di ya'avid yathon enasha veyeqayyam behon
Targum Rendering
Which if a man does them, he shall live by them.
Onkelos renders this verse literally — a verse that becomes central to Paul's argument in Galatians 3:12 and Romans 10:5. The targum does not qualify or condition the promise of life through obedience.
Hebrew (MT)
קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Targum (Aramaic)
qaddishin tehevun arei qaddish ana Adonai Elahakhon
Targum Rendering
You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.
The foundational holiness command is rendered literally. Onkelos treats divine holiness as a non-anthropomorphic attribute that requires no adjustment — holiness is God's essential character, not a physical quality.
Hebrew (MT)
לִפְנֵי עִוֵּר לֹא תִתֵּן מִכְשֹׁל
Before the blind you shall not put a stumbling block.
Targum (Aramaic)
qodam suma la tetein takkala
Targum Rendering
Before the blind do not put a stumbling block.
The lifnei iver (stumbling-block-before-the-blind) prohibition. Foundational for biblical ethics of not-tempting-others. Echoed at Rom 14:13.
Hebrew (MT)
לֹא תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ
You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people.
Targum (Aramaic)
la tehekh kurtzin be'ammakh
Targum Rendering
You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people.
The slander prohibition. Foundational for biblical speech-ethics. Echoed at James 4:11 ('do not speak evil against one another').
Hebrew (MT)
לֹא תִשְׂנָא אֶת אָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ
You shall not hate your brother in your heart.
Targum (Aramaic)
la tisni yat achukh belibbakh
Targum Rendering
You shall not hate your brother in your heart.
The hate-thy-brother prohibition. Cited at 1 John 2:9-11 / 4:20 ('whoever hates his brother is in darkness'). Foundational for Christian fraternal-love theology.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Targum (Aramaic)
veterachem lechavarakh kevatakh
Targum Rendering
And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The Second Great Commandment — cited by Jesus at Matt 22:39 / Mark 12:31 / Luke 10:27 as the second-greatest commandment of the Law, alongside the Shema. Also cited at Rom 13:9, Gal 5:14, James 2:8 as the love-fulfillment-of-the-law summary.
Hebrew (MT)
וְאָהַבְתָּ לוֹ כָּמוֹךָ
You shall love him as yourself.
Targum (Aramaic)
veterachem leih kevatakh
Targum Rendering
And you shall love him as yourself.
The love-the-stranger command. Pairs with v. 18 (love-the-neighbor). Foundational for biblical hospitality-and-immigrant ethics.
Hebrew (MT)
וַאֲנִי אֶתֵּן אֶת־פָּנַי בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא
And I will set my face against that man.
Targum (Aramaic)
va'ana ashavvei yat rug'zi begavra hahu
Targum Rendering
And I will set my anger against that man.
'Setting my face against' becomes 'setting my anger against.' God does not turn a physical face; he directs his wrath. The anthropomorphic face is replaced with the anthropopathic but less physical 'anger.'
Hebrew (MT)
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־פָּנַי בַּנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא
And I will set my face against that soul.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'ashavvei yat rug'zi benafsha hahi
Targum Rendering
And I will set my anger against that soul.
Repeated pattern: 'face' becomes 'anger' in contexts of divine judgment. Onkelos consistently applies this substitution in Leviticus' penalty clauses.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים
Consecrate yourselves and be holy.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetitqaddeshun utehevon qaddishin
Targum Rendering
Sanctify yourselves and be holy.
The double-imperative holiness command. Variation of Lev 11:44 / 1 Pet 1:16.
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי־קָדֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם
for I am holy, I the LORD who sanctifies you.
Targum (Aramaic)
אֲרֵי קַדִּישׁ אֲנָא יְיָ מְקַדִּשְׁכוֹן
Targum Rendering
for I, the LORD who sanctify you, am holy.
Priestly holiness. The Holiness Code refrain preserved literally — divine holiness is the ground of Israelite holiness.
Hebrew (MT)
אֲנִי יְהוָה מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים
I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God.
Targum (Aramaic)
ana Adonai meqaddeshkhon de'appeiqit yathkhon me'ar'a deMitzrayim lemehevei lakhon l'Elah
Targum Rendering
I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God.
The Exodus-holiness-covenant formula is rendered literally, underscoring that Onkelos treats the covenant relationship itself as requiring no intermediary language.
Hebrew (MT)
וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם
You shall count for yourselves.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetimnun lekhon
Targum Rendering
And you shall count for yourselves.
The Counting of the Omer command. Foundational for the Jewish liturgical period between Passover and Shavuot. The fifty-day count is observed by the Christian Pentecost-seven-weeks parallel.
Hebrew (MT)
בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם שַׁבָּתוֹן זִכְרוֹן תְּרוּעָה
In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets.
Targum (Aramaic)
beyarcha shevi'a'ei bechad leyarcha yehei lekhon nyacha dukhrana deyavva
Targum Rendering
In the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a Sabbath of remembrance, a memorial of the trumpet blast.
The biblical foundation of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). The Targum preserves the trumpet-memorial language; the rabbinic identification of this as the day of judgment and creation-anniversary is a later development.
Hebrew (MT)
בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
You shall dwell in booths for seven days.
Targum (Aramaic)
bemattilei tetvun shiv'a yomin
Targum Rendering
In booths you shall dwell seven days.
The Feast of Booths (Sukkot) command. Echoed at John 7-8 (Jesus' Sukkot teachings) and Rev 7:9-17 (the eschatological Sukkot).
Hebrew (MT)
לִפְרֹשׁ לָהֶם עַל־פִּי יְהוָה
Until the decision of the LORD should be clear to them.
Targum (Aramaic)
lefash lehon al meimart Adonai
Targum Rendering
To clarify for them according to the decree of the LORD.
'The mouth of the LORD' (pi YHWH) becomes 'the decree/word (meimra) of the LORD,' replacing the anthropomorphic 'mouth' with the more abstract 'word/decree' — a variant of the Memra concept applied to legal decisions.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנֹקֵב שֵׁם יְהוָה מוֹת יוּמָת
Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death.
Targum (Aramaic)
udemepiq shema deAdonai itqettal yithqettal
Targum Rendering
And he who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death.
The blasphemy law. Cited (in concept) at Mark 14:64 / Matt 26:65 / John 19:7 in the trial of Jesus.
Hebrew (MT)
שֶׁבֶר תַּחַת שֶׁבֶר עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן
Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.
Targum (Aramaic)
demei tevirata chalaf tevirata demei eina chalaf eina demei shinna chalaf shinna
Targum Rendering
The value of a fracture for a fracture, the value of an eye for an eye, the value of a tooth for a tooth.
Onkelos inserts 'the value of' (demei) before each injury, interpreting the lex talionis as monetary compensation rather than literal physical retaliation. This aligns with rabbinic halakhah in the Talmud (Bava Kamma 83b-84a).
Hebrew (MT)
וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֹר בָּאָרֶץ לְכָל יֹשְׁבֶיהָ
And you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.
Targum (Aramaic)
uteqarrun cherut be'ar'a lekol yatevayya
Targum Rendering
And you shall proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants.
The Jubilee freedom proclamation — inscribed on the Liberty Bell. The same word cherut ('freedom') is foundational to Jesus' Nazareth manifesto (Luke 4:18, citing Isa 61:1 with its similar liberation vocabulary).
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי גֵרִים וְתוֹשָׁבִים אַתֶּם עִמָּדִי
For you are strangers and sojourners with me.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei deyarin vetatavin atton qodamai
Targum Rendering
For you are sojourners and dwellers before me.
The land-belongs-to-God axiom. Foundational for biblical theology of land-stewardship. Echoed at 1 Pet 2:11 ('I urge you as sojourners and exiles').
Hebrew (MT)
כִּי עֲבָדַי הֵם
For they are my servants.
Targum (Aramaic)
arei avdai innun
Targum Rendering
For they are my servants.
The slaves-belong-to-God formula. Foundational for biblical anti-slavery theology and for Pauline 'slave of Christ' identity (Rom 1:1, Phil 1:1).
Hebrew (MT)
אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ... וְנָתַתִּי גִשְׁמֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם
If you walk in my statutes... I will give your rains in their season.
Targum (Aramaic)
im beqayamai tehalkhun... ve'eittein mitreichon be'iddanehon
Targum Rendering
If you walk in my statutes... I will give your rains in their season.
The blessings of the Holiness Code are rendered literally, reflecting Onkelos' straightforward treatment of conditional covenant promises.
Hebrew (MT)
וּפָנִיתִי אֲלֵיכֶם
And I will turn toward you.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'afnei Memri lakhon
Targum Rendering
And I will turn my Memra toward you.
God's turning toward Israel is mediated through the Memra. The covenantal blessing of divine attention operates through the Word.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנָתַתִּי מִשְׁכָּנִי בְּתוֹכְכֶם
And I will set my dwelling among you.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'eittein Shekhineti beineikhon
Targum Rendering
And I will set my Shekinah among you.
The Hebrew mishkan ('dwelling/tabernacle') is rendered Shekinah, making explicit what the Hebrew implies: the mishkan is the locus of the Shekinah. God's 'dwelling' is his Shekinah-presence.
Hebrew (MT)
וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים
And I will walk among you and will be your God.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'eittein Shekhineti beineikhon ve'ehei lakhon l'Elah
Targum Rendering
And I will set my Shekinah among you, and I will be your God.
God does not 'walk' among Israel. The anthropomorphic 'walking' is replaced with Shekinah indwelling. This is the covenant-presence promise in its fullest Levitical expression, and Paul cites it in 2 Corinthians 6:16.
Hebrew (MT)
וְנָתַתִּי פָנַי בָּכֶם
And I will set my face against you.
Targum (Aramaic)
ve'ashavvei rug'zi bekhon
Targum Rendering
And I will set my anger against you.
In the curses section, 'face' again becomes 'anger,' mirroring the pattern in Leviticus 20. The contrast is stark: in the blessings (26:9), God turns his Memra; in the curses (26:17), God sets his anger.
Hebrew (MT)
וְגָעֲלָה נַפְשִׁי אֶתְכֶם
And my soul will abhor you.
Targum (Aramaic)
vetarchiq Memri yatkhon
Targum Rendering
And my Memra will distance you.
God does not have a 'soul' (nefesh) that can 'abhor.' Onkelos replaces the anthropopathic expression with the Memra distancing Israel — divine rejection is described in relational rather than emotional terms.
Hebrew (MT)
וְלֹא גְעַלְתִּים... לְהָפֵר בְּרִיתִי אִתָּם כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם
And I did not abhor them... to break my covenant with them, for I am the LORD their God.
Targum (Aramaic)
vela racheiqit yathon... lebattala keyami immehon arei ana Adonai Elahehon
Targum Rendering
And I did not distance them... to break my covenant with them, for I am the LORD their God.
Even in the depths of the curses, God did not fully 'distance' (Memra language) Israel. The covenant endures. Onkelos renders the promise of ultimate covenant faithfulness with the same substitution pattern, maintaining theological consistency.
Hebrew (MT)
אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וְהַתּוֹרֹת אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהוָה בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
These are the statutes and the judgments and the laws which the LORD gave between himself and the children of Israel.
Targum (Aramaic)
ilein qayamayya vedinayya ve'orayata di yehav Adonai bein Memreih uvein benei Yisrael
Targum Rendering
These are the statutes and the judgments and the laws which the LORD gave between his Memra and the children of Israel.
The laws are given between God's Memra and Israel, not between God directly and Israel. The entire Torah is a Memra-mediated covenant — the Word stands between God and his people as the medium of revelation and relationship.
Hebrew (MT)
וְכָל־מַעְשַׂר הָאָרֶץ קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוָה
every tithe of the land is holy to the LORD.
Targum (Aramaic)
וְכָל מַעְשַׂר אַרְעָא קוּדְשָׁא קֳדָם יְיָ
Targum Rendering
all the tithe of the land is holy before the LORD.
Tithe-law. Holiness of tithe rendered 'holy before the LORD' (קֳדָם — anti-anthropomorphism). The tithe doesn't belong 'to' God in a property sense; it is sanctified in his presence.