Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Genesis

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, an Aramaic translation of the Bible often known in Hebrew as the Jerusalem Targum (Targum Yerushalmi), apparently acquired its name through a misreading of the Hebrew abbreviation of its title (the words Jonathan [Yonatan] and Jerusalem [Yerushalmi] start with the same Hebrew letter). Strikingly, some of the halakhic content of this work does not agree with rabbinic traditions. Much of it draws on ancient material, but it also refers to events that followed the Arab conquests, so it must have been completed after the seventh or eighth century. In Genesis 49, the patriarch Jacob, in the final moments of his life, offers sometimes-cryptic blessings to his sons. The Targumist here integrates messianic imagery into the interpretation of Jacob’s blessings, in line with many midrashic motifs. Many legends that appear in this text are also found in the Palestinian midrashic collection Genesis Rabbah. One interesting element of this text is its references to the memra of God, an Aramaic term that means “word.” Several Targums use the term to denote the divine presence (commonly referred to in Hebrew as the shekhinah) or even a celestial intermediary between God and Israel. Some interpreters have viewed the memra as a parallel to the Greek logos, prominent in Philo and the Christian Gospels, but it seems primarily meant to curtail biblical anthropomorphism. The italics indicate where the Targum varies from a literal translation of the original Hebrew.