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Onkelos on the Torah: Understanding the Bible Text: Genesis

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Here it is in a beautiful English Translation along with the original Hebrew, one of the earliest and greatest explanations of the Torah. The first two books are out with more to come. Onkelos is quoted and requoted by just about all of the great Talmudic scholars and commentators and appears in most texts. Here he is for the Hebrew challenged. This is one of the fundamental works of the Jewish Faith.

Well written and informative. This is a translation worth reading. It is the english translation of the aramaic version of the Hebrew bible. In it are the Hebrew, Aramaic and English translations with commentary.
Nice binding and clear type! So far three of the five biblical books of Moses are available. They are Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. All written in the same wonderful style.
Must have editions for those who really want to know the meaning of the original bible.

Having read through the Bible over twenty times, I am always fascinated that each time it is fresh. How precious then is it, when we have an excellent Aramaic translation to draw richer insights and meaning! I appreciate the "Highlights" and "Beyond the Text", but most of all, simply having this translation to compare with others makes the joy of discovery and insight all the more profound!

This five volume work will be complete later this year with the publication of the Deuteronomy volume. It is handsomely published, using quality materials, and thus surprisingly affordable.

A targum is an ancient translation of a portion of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic (a Semitic language spoken by many people, including many Jews, in the ancient world). Some targumim (pl.) are highly interpretive paraphrases, e.g. the Isaiah Targum. But Targum Onkelos on the Torah (Pentateuch) is more literal, staying closer to the Hebrew original. Still, it has many interesting interpretive touches. One example will do: In Genesis 2:7, where the Hebrew text says that God blew the breath of life into the nostrils of the man, "and the man became a living soul," Targum Onkelos says, "and it [the breath of life] became in man a speaking spirit." This seems to suggest that man's capacity for rational speech is central to what makes us spiritual beings. It is interesting to compare this to the way some ancient Jews and many ancient Christians described man's being made "in the image of God" (Gen. 1:26-27) in terms of LOGOS (rationality and linguistic capacity).

Despite their title, these volumes contain much more than Targum Onkelos, however. A wealth of material is presented on facing pages in a clear format. On the upper part of the right-hand page a fully vocalized Hebrew text is given in a large and very clear Hebrew font. Right below this, the medieval commentary of Rashi is given in a much smaller font. Here the Hebrew script is the traditional "Rashi Hebrew Script," which is not easy to read until you've gotten used to the way the letters are formed. (See the wikipedia article on "Hebrew alphabet" for a conversion chart.) At least the text of Rashi's commentary is vocalized, which is helpful.

On the upper part of the left-hand page, directly across from the corresponding Hebrew text, we have the text of Targum Onkelos, both in Aramaic and in an English translation. The Hebrew-Aramaic font used here is clear but rather small. For older eyes, a magnifying glass may be necessary. The Aramaic text is vocalized with Masoretic-like vowel points (not the Aramaic system of vocalization used in Sperber's edition). The English text is much larger, and in an attractive font. Certain phrases within it are printed in bold face. These phrases are the subject of commentary (in English), which runs along the bottom of both pages. The commentary draws upon numerous traditional Jewish resources and commentators (mostly ancient and medieval, with a few moderns). Though the commentary is directly correlated with the Aramaic text (that is, with its English translation), ultimately the point of all this is to illuminate the Hebrew text.

For the devout Jewish reader, these volumes provide access to an esteemed and authoritative interpretive tradition. For the non-Jewish reader, they provide a wonderful opportunity to explore this very rich tradition and thus to grow in appreciation of the traditional Jewish approach to the Torah/Pentateuch.