Guide
Translating the Scriptural Reading in Real Time
1st–6th Centuries
Restricted
According to rabbinic sources, the public reading of scripture was accompanied by a real-time translation of the reading into Aramaic. Conventionally, this would be done verse by verse, with one individual reading from a scroll in Hebrew and another translating orally, although there seem to have been some variations in the practice. These rabbinic texts codify how the reading and translation are to be carried out, with stricter regulations for the reading of the Torah than for the reading of the Prophets and Writings, but it is likely that the procedure they lay out was not always followed precisely.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
The Tosefta on Translating the Scriptural Reading
20. [ . . . ] One [person] reads from the Torah [at a time] and one [person] translates. There should not be one reading and two translating, nor two reading and one translating, nor two reading and…
Primary Source
The Mishnah on Translating the Scriptural Reading
4. One who reads the Torah [in public] may not read less than three verses. And he should not read to the translator more than one verse [at a time], but [if reading from the book of a] prophet, [he…
Primary Source
The Palestinian Talmud on Translating the Scriptural Reading
R. Samuel bar R. Isaac went to a synagogue. A man stood up to translate while leaning on a pillar. He [R. Samuel] said to him, “This is forbidden to you; just as it was given in trembling and fear, so…
Primary Source
The Babylonian Talmud on Translating the Scriptural Reading
It was taught: [This] is not the case with regard to [reading] the Torah, [which may be read only by a single person]. The sages taught: [When reading from] the Torah, one [person] reads and one may…
Related Guide
Reading of Scripture and Prayer in the Early Synagogue
1st–6th Centuries