SCRIPTA MINORA

REGIAE SOCIETATIS HUMANIORUM LITTERARUM LUNDENSIS

Studier utgivna av Kung!. Humanistiska Vetenskapssarnfundet i Lund
2000-2001: 1

PASSOVER
IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS
THE CONNECTION OF
EARLY BIBLICAL EVENTS WITH PASSOVER
IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN
IN A SYNAGOGUE SETTING
By PER A BENGTSSON

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Publications of the Royal Society of Letters at Lund:

Monographs (Acta), Papers (Scripta Minora), Annual Report (Arsberittelse)
Editor: Professor Bo Holmberg
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Bredgatan 4, SE-222 21 Lund- Sweden
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2001 Per A BengtSson och Kungl. Humanisciska Vetenskapssamfundet, Lund
LUND2001

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ISBN 91-22-01927-8

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Contents
L Introduction
L Aim and Outline
!.Aim

2. Outline
2. Delimitations
3. The Interpretation of the Bible in the Ancient Synagogue
1. The Reading of the Bible
2. The Interpretation of the Bible
The setting of Jewish exegesis
The purpose of Jewish exegesis
1. Increased intelligibility
L Strange words
2. Texts lacking in detail
3. Contradictions in need of harmonization
2. Adjustment to tradition
1. Converse translation
2. Protecting the honour of the Ancestors
3. Relevance to contemporary use
Summary
4. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and its Targumic Context
1. The Targumic Context
2. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
1. Midrashic and Talmudic influences
2. The Story of Cain and Abel
1. Interpretation of Gen 4:1-16
1. Birth of Cain and Abel and Their Occupations (verses lf.)
2. Offerings (verses 3-5)
3. Warning (verses 6f.)
4. Fratricide (verse 8)
5. Judgment (verses 9-12)
6. Repentance (verses 13f.)
7. Protection (verse 15)
8. Exile (verse 16)
2. Interpretation of Gen 4:3-5
3. Conclusions
1. The Thematic Theological Explanation
2. Offerings of Firstlings
3. The Temporal Expression in the HT

5-31
5
5
6
6
7
7
10
11
12
12
13
13
16
17
17
18
19
20
21
21
25
29
32-48
32
32
34
34
35
38
39
40
41
42
44
44
44

45

r
I

PER A BENGTSS ON

4. The Cycle of Torah Readings

5. Abel Offered as a Firstling

47
47

3. The Circumcision of Abraham

I. Interpretation ofGen 17:23-27
2. Interpretation ofGen 17:26
3. Conclusions

49-55
49
50
54

4. The Visit of the Angels to Abraham

I. Interpretation ofGen 18:9-15
I. The Promise of a Son (verses 9f.)
2. Too Old (verses l l f.)
3. Confmnation of Promise (verses 13f.)
4. Sarah's Defence (verse 15)
2. Interpretation ofGen 18:14
3. Conclusions

56-64
56
56
59
60
62
62
63

5. Isaac's Blessing
I. Interpretation ofGen 27:1-13
I. Isaac's Plans for Esau (verses 1-4)
2. Rebekab's Plans for Jacob (verses 5-13)
2. Interpretation ofGen 27:1, 6, 9
I. Gen 27:1
2. Gen 27:6
3.Gen 27:9
3. Conclusions

65-73
65
65
66
68
69
71
72
73

6. Summary and Concluding Remarks

74-76

Abbreviations
Bibliography
1. Sources
2. Literan.ue

77
79-88
79
81

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1. Introduction

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1.1. Aim and Ontline

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l.l.l.Aim
The aim of this study is twofold--:first, to investigate the connection of important
events in Genesis with Passover in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Ps-J); secondly, to
relate this interpretation to the hermeneutic activity in the ancient Synagogue.1
The phenomenon of connecting certain events taking place long before the
Exodus from Egypt with Passover in Ps-J is examined in this study. What kind
of reasons may have inspired these connections? The reinforcement of an
existing temporal expression in the HT; or an interpretation in accordance with
rabbinic literarure? Were there similar interpretational mechanisms in the ancient
Synagogue, explaining why a certain Biblical event was understood in the light of
Passover? What evidence is there that the explicit dating of certain events in
Genesis and their connection with Passover, found in Pseudo-Jonathan alone of
all the Pentateuch Targums, has its setting in the ancient Synagogue? The
question of what effect the interpretational mechanism connecting certain events
with Passover had in the ancient Synagogue is of great interest; it is, however,
beyond the scope of this study.
It should, however, be pointed out right from the outset that Targum Pseudo
Jonathan is not unique among the Palestinian Targums in connecting Biblical
events with Passover. Connecting events with Passover is attested in other
Palestinian Targums as well, such as the Targums of the Song of Songs and of
Ruth. Also, there are events in Genesis connected with Passover in the other
1The present work is part of an interdisciplinary research project at Lund University entitled

The Ancient Synagogue-Birthplace of Two World Religions, and directed by the New

Testament Professor (in Lund), Birger Olsson. The project was financed by Riksbankens

Jubileumsfond (The Bank ofSweden Tercentenary Foundation), for which I want to express
my gratirude. I am also indebted for the efforts of my two supervisors, the above-mentioned
Birger Olsson, and Bo Holmberg, Professor of Semitic Languages at Lund University. Dr.
Bengt Ellenberger has amended my English, for which I am very grateful. Thanks to the

sponsorship of Kung!. Hu.manistiska Vetenskapssamfundet i Lund (The Royal Society of

Leners at Lund), the work could be evaluated by Professor Jan RetsO of GOteborg, to whom
I am greatly indebted. Finally, I am most obliged to The Royal Society ofLetters at Lund for
accepting my work and publishing it in their Scripta Minora series.

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONAlHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

Palestinian Pentateuch Targums, but not in Ps-J, such as the "Binding of Isaac"

Biblical history, and especially its connecting such early events with Passover.2

in Gen

Among events calendrically specified in this way in Ps-J of Genesis should be

22. What is unique in Ps-J among the Palestinian Pentateuch Targums is

the explicit dating of events in Genesis and, especially, the choice of events

mentioned the datings of the Flood given in Gen

connected with Passover:

explicitly supplies the

There are four texts examined in this work (Gen

In three of these (Gen

4:3; 17:26; 18: 14; 27:1, 6, 9).

4:3; 17:26; 18:!4) the HT contains vague temporal

expressions which in their Targum.ic rendering have been reinforced into Passover
connections. In the fourth text (Gen

27:1, 6, 9), on Isaac's blessing, there is no

temporal expression present in the HT. The story is connected with Passover by
the interpretation of Rebekah's request to Jacob in verse
choice kids" as a meal for the dying Isaac.

9 to slaughter "two

The Targumic rendering of that

phrase that one of these two animals is the Passover offering, and the other one
the supplementary animal for the Passover meal is the key to the Passover
connection of the whole story.

1.1.2. Outline
The aim of this study being twofold, one would expect both parts to be given
equal treatment, and both parts to be afforded equal interest and space. The
analysis in the hermeneutic activity of the ancient Synagogue of the mechanism
connecting events with Passover might be expected to be given equal space in
this study with that of the textual analysis. Nevertheless, the focus of this study is
on the first part, the analysis of texts presented in Chapters

2-5. The second

part, the henneneutic analysis, is summarily presented in subsection 1.3.2.

The texts investigated in this study are presented in four chapters. In each
chapter each event is presented in its context The whole text is briefly analysed,
unit by unit, consisting of one single verse, or a group of verses forming a unit.
The analysis of each unit opens with its rendering in PsJ and English translation.
Deviations from the HT are marked by italics in the translation.

I
f

numbered.

names

7:11; 8:4, 5, 13, 14, 22. Ps-J

of the months, while in the HT they were simply

Genesis is chosen because connections of events with Passover are

relevant only in events taking place before the Exodus from Egypt.
Moreover, this material does not include all the events in Genesis which were
dated to the 14th of Nisan/Passover in Ps-J, but only passages in which events
are directly connected with Passover. "A new, self-contained story ..

possessing its own internal logic"3 added to an event, like for instance the added

who was making unleavened cakes

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After the

story of

'Og as

included.

the man who had escaped in Gen

( 'ugot)

14:13, and came to Abraham

on the eve of Passover, are not

Nor is the haggadic addition in Ps-J Exod

covenant with Abraham "between the pieces" (Gen

12:40, referring to the

15:17f.) and its Passover

setting, included in this material. Only events themselves connected with Passover
will be treated. Peculiarly enough, the compiler of PsJ does not explicitly make

this connection in his rendering of the passage itself. Nor does he connect the
'Aqedah in Gen 22 with Passover in his rendering of that passage, a connection

known from ancient sources, such as Jubilees. That event is, however, referred

to in Ps-J Gen

27:1, with an allusion to Isaac's blindness caused by his looking at

the angels when he was bound to the altar. The Passover setting of that pericope
in Ps-J thus indirectly connects the

'Aqedah with Passover.

1.3. The Interpretation of the Bible in the Ancient

Synagogue

1.3.1. The Reading of the Bible

analysis of the units of the whole text the central verse/group of verses will be
subjected to a more comprehensive investigation.Parallels or sources in Jewish

There is ample evidence that, in the first century CE the Torah was a regularly

literanrre will be given in these sections. Tentative explanations to the connection

read in the morning worship every Sabbath in the synagogues of Palestine, as

of the events with Passover will be offered.

well as in those of the Diaspora.4 Josephus and Philo both testify to a regular
custom of reading the Torah during this period.5 In the Acts of the Apostles as
2See below, 1.3.2.1.2. Cf. Maher, Genesis, 31, n. 6.

1.2. Delimitations
This study is restricted to the interpretation peculiar to Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
of a number of events presented in texts in Genesis. The choice among the
Targums of PseudoJonathan is due to its specification of dates of events in early

::

;;.0

'Shinan, Palestinian, 77. This is a definition of what Shinan calls "Internal unity".
4See Crocket, 18-21; Heinemann, 41; Perrot, 137. The report in this section is mainly based
on Heinemann, Shlnan, Sermons, and Perrot. McKay fmds this early dating of the Syn

agogue highly questionable. See McKay, Sabbath and Synagogue: The Question of Sab

bath Worship in Ancient Judaism Leiden 1994.

5See Crocket, 18f.; Perrot, 137; Elbogen, 132.

T
PER

A BENGTSSON

well this reading practice is mentioned as a custom well established since generations.6
Acts 15:21 says: "For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those
who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every sabbath in the synagogues."
Finally, the inscription of Theodotos, dating from before 70 CE, mentions "the
reading of the Law and the teaching of the commandments" as the essential
function of the Synagogue that Theodotos had built on the original site of the

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AC is strictly annual.13

readings were taken from the Torah-not randomly chosen by the person doing

The scientific study of the TC had its starting point at the end of the 19th

the reading but following the order of the Biblical text 8 Chosen passages from

century. The most important pioneering works in this field are the works of

some of the Prophets were also read in the Synagogue, not for their own sake,
i'-

this idea was Aileen Guilding in her book

It is commonly held that the original lectionary cycle was the

Several scholars were convinced by her arguments, and used them in their
own research, but critical analyses of her theories would soon be published. In

sedarim. On every Sabbath one of these

the early 1960s, two independent investigations of her hypothetical constructions

sedarim was read in the morning liturgy,11 and after approximately three years

were presented: one by Leon Morris in 1964,17 and another by Larrimore

the reading of the whole Torah had been completed. It was, however, not a

Crocket in 1966.18

unifonn cycle common to all the synagogues in Palestine; rather, the choice of

In 1968 Joseph Heinemann published his article on the TC.19 Heinemann did

sedarim varied from one synagogue to another. The continuity of the readings
in the lectionary cycles was interrupted by special readings on Festivals and other

12See Heinemann, 42f.; Sternberger, 24lf.

occasions. Thus, the number of available sabbaths during a three-year period

>see Perrot, 138, 148; Sternberger, 242.

Consequently, the

14Biichler reconstructed the TC according to a calendar of three consecutive years. Readings

started the first year on the 1st of Nisan, and ended the third year on the 7th of Adar.

triennial period cannot have corresponded to exactly three years, but rather to

1 sLike BUchler, Mano saw the TC as sttictly aligned with the calendar, but whereas BUchler had
the theory of a cycle beginning in Nisan, Mann claimed that the cycle started inTishri. See

6See Crocket, 19; Perrot, ibid.; Elbogen, ibid.

7See Perrot, ibid. This early dating of the Theodotos inscription is, however, not undisputed.
L.I. Levine and many other scholars date the inscription to before 70 CE. H.C. Kee, in ''The
Transformation of the Synagogue after 70 CE.: Its Import for Early Christianity." NTS 36
(1990) 1-24, questions this dating. He dates the inscription no earlier than the 4th c. CE.
in
For a survey of various attempts at dating the inscription, see Riesner, R., "Synagogues
Vol.
C
Jerusalem." The Book ofActs in Its First- entury Setting I ed. by Richard Bauckham.
4, The Book ofActs in Its Palestinian Setting. Michigan 1995, 179-211. Cf. McKay.

The Fourth Gospel and Jewish

Worship from 1960.16

Triennial Palestinian Cycle (TC). In this lectionary cycle the Torah was divided

sedarim in the Torah.

The idea of a regular lectionary cycle of exactly three years, already fixed and
BUchler and Mann by various scholars. One of the most prominent advocates of

In the course of time more or less defmed lectionary cycles evolved in the

was smaller than the number of

Adolf BUchler at the end of the 19th century,14 and of Jacob Mann in 1940.15
universally accepted in the first century, or even earlier, was adopted from

length as the Torah readings, but they became shorter as time passed.10

into a number of pericopes called

As early as Mishnaic time there was a need to concentrate the Torah reading
cycle to one year only. This divergence in custom led to the evolvement of the

Palestine as well, and eventually replaced the TCs. In contrast to the TCs, the

reading of the Torah in its entirety developed. Before that period only selected

Synagogue.

fixed date in this early period. The TC survived in Palestine until the late geonic
period (around 1000 CE), but was never standardized.12

the late Talmudic period (ca. 6th c.). It became the official lectionary cycle in

at this early period. It was probably not until the second century that a continuous

ashlemata 'achievement', 'accomplishment') of the Torah texts,

after these readings were completed.9 Originally the haft.arot were of the same

three and a half to four years. Thus the TC was initially not aligned with the
calendar, and it is impossible to ascribe the reading of any particular passage to a

roots in Palestine, but the AC would be refined and developed in Babylonia in

There is, however, not sufficient evidence for any unifonnity in reading practices

or Aramaic

two lectionary cycles, the TC and the Annual Cycle (AC). Both cycles had their

inscription.1

but as complements to and fulfllments (haft.arot 'conclusions'. 'words of farewell';

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

Morris, 18f.; Crocket, 14; Heinemann, 48.

'

16Guilding presumed the existence of a fixed triennial cycle at an early date. Not only was the
TC fully developed by the time of Jesus, it also influenced the final arrangement of the

Pentateuch. See Guilding, 44. Cf. Morris, 20; Crocket, 24. Like BUchler and Mann,

Guilding believed in an exact TC, aligned to the calendar. Many scholars after her accepted
the idea of a regularTC. However, Guilding's monograph has, not quite unexpectedly,
encountered criticism.

&see Perrot, 137f., 156.

17The purpose of Morris' book was "primarily to inquire into the factual basis of lectionary

9See Perrot, I53f., 156-- 159; Sternberger, 242f. The first mention of readings from the
Prophets is probably 2 Maccab 15:9, according to Perrot, 153.

1s-rbe purpose of Crocket's article was to weigh the evidence for and against a fully developed

10See Perrot, 140f.

11The words 'liturgy'I' liturgical' are in the present work used in a very broad sense.

theories". See Morris, v.

TC as early as New Testament times. See Crocket, 14f.
1 hile Morris and Crocket had questioned the evidence of Guilding's work, and were not

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATiiAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

10

not question the regular Sabbath reading from the Pentateuch and the Prophets
in the flrst century; what he questioned was, firstly, the uniformity of readings in
all the Palestinian synagogues; secondly, whether the cycle was completed within
a fixed period; and thirdly, whether such a period was exactly three years long,
implying that the readings were aligned with the calendar.20
The more likely view is that at some point in history, there has, at least in
some of the Palestinian synagogues, been a TC, aligned with the calendar,
completed within three years, and beginning each triennial period with Gen 1 on
the same date, probably on the 1st of Nisan. Such a regular TC, however, could
not have been universal. Nevertheless, there were probably aspirations for an
increase in regularity of the reading cycles. According to Gerald Friedlander, in
his translation of

Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer,

one reason why Cain's offering was

connected with Passover in Jewish tradition was that every third year the reading
of Gen 4 (in a Nisan-oriented TC) took place during Passover week.21 This is
supported by the existence of ancient Jewish traditions dating important Biblical
events to Passover.22

11

rabbinic inteipretation of the Bible: the Talmudim, the Midrashim, and the Aramaic
Targumirn. The present work, however, concentrates on the interpretation of the
Bible in the Aramaic Targumim.25 In their interpretation of narrative texts, the

Targums, especially the Palestinian Targums, add extensive quantities of haggadic

material, thus revealing their close connection with the Midrashim?6
The Aramaic Targumirn convey quite disparate translations of the Biblical text.
There is a mixture of literal and paraphrastic renderings. The Targums could
largely be regarded as interpretations rather than plain translations. To some
extent this holds true for any translation/7 but while ordinary translations can be
regarded as interpretations merely in the sense of being renderings of texts
according to the frames of reference of the translator, the Targums are interpretations
in the sense of exegetic and explanative renderings of the Bible according to
Jewish tradition.
The Biblical exegesis described in the present work is restricted to the material
from the early post-Biblical period between the 3rd century BCE and the 4th
century CE.

Also the ancient interpretative Bible translations, such as the

Septuagint, the Palestinian Targumim, and, to some degree, the Peshitta, form
part of this exegetical material.28

1.3.2. The Interpretation of the Bible

Biblical interpretation had its beginnings in the Bible itself, even before the

The purpose of the survey of Jewish Biblical exegesis presented below is not to
describe all kinds of processes, only the most important ones, and those relevant
for the passages studied in the present work. There will be no complete covering.

canonization process was completed. Jewish Biblical exegesis was not restricted
to the post-Biblical period only.23 In some parts of the HT there are repeated
exhortations to "meditate on, recite and rethink the Law. It was no doubt a
midrashic process such as this which was partly responsible for the formulation
of the more recent legal codes."24

In the ancient Synagogue there were three main categories of literature conveying
convinced, Heinemann went one step further: He denied the existence of a single generally
accepted TC in the fust century, and regarded weekly readings aligned to the calendar as
unfounded speculation. See Heinemann, 41.
2orleinemann pointed out that it was the Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 29b), from the third, or
fifth, century CE that contained the earliest testimonies of a TC. He indicated that the phrase
'three years' used in this text might be an abbreviation. See Heinemann, 4lf. He also
presented evidence from various sources in Jewish literature that the completion of the TC
took at least three years and a half, and further, that there was no unity on what pericopes
were read in the various districts. See Heinemann, 42-44.

The setting ofJewish exegesis

The question of the setting of Jewish exegesis in general, and Targum in particular,
has been debated lately. Was the setting liturgical, or was it academic? Several
scholars, among them Renee Bloch,29 and Roger Le Deaut,30 have claimed that
Jewish exegesis had a liturgical setting.

Both these scholars emphasized the

homiletic character of exegesis. 31

25For further infonnation on the Biblical interpretation in the Talmudim and the Midrashim, see
Sternberger. Regarding the strong influences from the homiletical midrashim on Targum
Pseudo-Jonathan, see further below, 1 .4.2.
26See Bloch, 1265, ll.2; Le Deaut, Phenomene, 50?.
27Klein, Aramaic Targumim, 317.
28See Vermes, Bible, 202f .
29See Bloch, 1265, U.2.

21See Friedlander's translation of PRE. 153, n. l. Cf. below, 2.3.4.

30See Le Deaut, Phenomene, 506, 510.

22See Venues, Targumic Ve rsions, 99.

31The character of Jewish exegesis is claimed not to be academic, a product of learned study;

23See Venues, Bible, 199; McNamara, Targums, 858; Shinan!Zakovitch, 257, 262. For further
detail, see Robert, A., "Les attaches litt6raires bibliques de Prov. i-ix." RB 43 (1934), 42-68,
172-204, 374-384; 44 (l935), 344-365, 502-525; "Le genre litt6raire de Cantique des

cantiques." Vivre et Penser (1944), 192-2 1 3; "Genres littraires." DBS V, 405-421.

24Verrnes,Bible, 199.

but rather a popular exegesis originating in the liturgical reading of the Torah. The Palestini

an Targums cannot be seen as independent of this liturgical reading; rather, they seem to

reflect the homilies following the lectionary readings. See Bloch, ibid.; Le Deaut,
Phenomene, 506, 510, 515, 516f.; Perez Fernandez, 100f. In the context of the popular
character of the exegesis presented in the Targwns Le Deaut also stresses the spontaneous

12

PER

A BENGTSSON

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

A scholar who discards the notions both of the liturgical origin and the popular
nature of Targumic exegesis is Etan Levine, who flnds that the Targums more

s, relevant

13

to people living in a changed society, generations after it had been

likely originated in the academies than in the Synagogue liturgy.32

Philip Alexander also criticizes those who overstress the liturgical function of

the Targums. He does not, however, deny the liturgical function of the Targums.
Their primary setting was the Synagogue?' What he opposes is the unbalanced
view disregarding the originally twofold-liturgic and academic-setting of the
Targums. The Targums are learned versions, they are not popular in origin, no
folk-literature. Nor were they rendered spontaneously in the Synagogue, but
rather in accordance with tradition, and to a great extent predeterrnined?4

As to my own opinion, I see with Alexander, a risk in overemphasising the

liturgical, popular, and spontaneous function of the Targums. The Targums did
indeed originate in the Synagogue liturgy, but they were also elaborated through

. Increased intelligibility

first type of problem consists of linguistic and philological problems in the

text itself. The solution to this type of problem leads to increase
d
;,;._;intelligibility, the prime object of Biblical exegesis.36 If there is a philological
: di fficulty in the Bible text, the language is modified.

-,-.,.l. .J:.t.l.l. Strange words

fLSUange words were explained:37

learned study. Their language was not a vulgar form but rather a literary form
of Aramaic. The meturgeman was not allowed to recite from a written translation
of the Bible text, he had to translate spontaneously.

On the other hand, his

translation had to be in accordance with accepted theology. This could not be

achieved without the thorough knowledge of theology that was founded on the

Ifi
It

1:
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An unfamiliar foreign word in the Biblical text

not just transliterated, but was either analysed as if it were a Hebrew word,
translated according to the immediate context of the sentence in which the
is found.38

A number of examples should be given of the treatment of unusual or archaic

t;_Hebrew idioms, such as the elliptical use of the word nNtO "lifting up" in Gen

in God's warning to Cain: "If you do well, nNtO. But if you do not do well
is lurking at the door." Vermes lists three attempts at explaining the word
1. a sacrificial rite: 'If you make an of
f ering (=an uplifting) rightly'

diligent academic study of the written and oral Torah. As to Targum Pseudo
Jonathan, however, this Targum was originally not intended for ordinary uneducated
Jews in the Synagogue liturgy; it was rather a literary work addressed to intellectual

implicitly adding

God lifts his face in approval to Cain, rewarding

im (Aquila, Theodotion, Pesh, Vulg, Gen R 22,6); 3. implicit supplement of 1

readers of the academies.35

The purpose ofJewish exegesis

its message to the people. The transmission of such an ancient message was,

a haggadic addition: "in the land of the wandering of his exile

which had
made on his account from the beginning in the Garden of Eden.

however, faced with several problems, to which solutions were offered in the

exegetical literature.
in the Biblical text

"40

There were three main types of problems in need of

solutions. The exegetes had to render obscurities, vague expressions, contradictions

intelligible

to its recipients; they had to

adjust offensive

passages to Jewish tradition and belief; and they had to make the Word of God

and unarranged nature of this exegetic material. See Le Deaut, Phinomene, (Title), 525.

nsee Levine, Targums, 324.

f:_;:;:U.L.Ll. Texts lacking in detail

"' .

second type of difficulties within the Bible text is found

in texts lacking in
in which only an outline is given and many questions
are left unanswered.41
In the texts examined in the present work there are several
examples of texts
Vermes, Haggadah, 169; Bible, 203-220; Le Deaut, Phinomen
e, 5f17, 510; McNamara,
30; Klein, Aramaic Targumim, 318, 328. Cf. Bloch, 1265,
II.3; Sperber, (f) 55.--.--6 1 .
Bible, 203-205; L e Deaut, Phinomene, 5 1 0-512; Levine,
Targums, 326 a . Cf.
I265,ll.3.

'See Alexander, 238f. Cf. Clarke, 389; Kasher, 75-S5; Shinan, Sermons, 1 04f.
34See Alexander, 248.

>ssee Alexander, 219; Maher, Genesis, 3-8, with further references. Cf. Hayward, Date, 8.
For further infonnation, see below, 1.4.1.1.

nNW:

to lift, pardon, Cain's sin (Pal Tgs, Symmachus, Onq).39

Another
example of a Targumic explanation of a strange word is the treatmen
t of the
,>Hebrew word 1U, the name of the land in which Cain settled according
to Gen
"in the land of Nod, east of Eden". In Ps-J the phrase has been
explained

S sin to

Jewish Biblical exegesis was finnly based on Scripture; its purpose was to transmit

(LXX);

C,l. face:

Cf. below, 2.1.3.

or the rendering of the phrase in Ps-J, and further conunentaries, see

:,Deaut, Phenomene,
511.

below, 2.1.8. Cf. Le

Vermes, Bible, 205-209; Levine, Characteristics,

9 1 b ; Study, 34 b ; Sperber, (e) 5 1-55.

PER

14

'

<

A BENGTSSON

lacking in detail. The first example we may refer to is Cain's missing words to
Abel in Gen 4:8: "Cain said to his brother Abel,[-] And when they were in the
field". In early translations and in Jewish exegesis this lacuna has been met with
various forms of supplements. Most early translations supply the exhortation
"Let us go to the field!". In Jewish exegesis lengthy theological discussions are
inserted, such as the discussion in the Targums on God's omnipotence, as
opposed to His mercy. 42
From the demand of intelligibility stems the tendency of glossing, of various
forms of explanations.43 The Targums are not plain translations; but explained
translations. This makes the translator an exegete and the paraphrase a midrash.44
These explanations are often meant to answer questions evoked by the text, such
as 'How could Cain have known that Abel's offering had been accepted?' (Gen
4:4-ll)."
There are several examples of glossing in the passages examined in the present
study. The first example to be referred to is the dubious origin of Cain according
to Ps-J Gen 4:1: Cain was not Adam's son, it was Sammael who was Cain's
father.% In Ps-J Gen 4:3 the contents of Cain's offering is specified as flaxseed,
rendering Cain's offering offensive.47 In these two examples from Gen 4 the
interpretations given in Ps-J serve to answer the question why Abel's offering
was accepted, but not Cain's.
In Gen 4:15, Ps-J identifies the mysterious 'mark' God put on Cain as a letter
of the Tetragrammaton.48 In Ps-J Gen 27:1 Isaac's visual handicap is explained
as due to the vision he had when he was tied to the altar as a boy. 49 In Gen 27:5
Ps-J explains how Rebekah could overhear the conversation between Isaac and
Esau-According to Jewish tradition, Rebekah had a prophetic gift through the
Holy Spirit. 50 In Gen 27:9 Rebekah tells Jacob to slaughter "two choice kids"
for the preparation of a meal to Isaac. Keeping in mind that Isaac was a dying
man, how could he possibly eat two well-fed kids all by himself? This question
was quite natural to the Jewish exegetes. Ps-J, with parallels in midrashic
literature, offers one possible answer to the question, explaining the slaughter of

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-jONATHAN GENESIS

the two kids as a twofold Passover offering." In Gen 27:l la, fmally, Ps-1 adds
an explanatory gloss to the words "But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah". Ps-J
changes the beginning of the verse into: "Because Jacob feared sin, he was afraid
that his father might curse him; and he said". 52
Vague temporal expressions are specified in Jewish exegesis, especially in the
Targums.53 As to the temporal phrase :l,n nl1 "about this season/according to
the time of life", etc. (Gen 18:10, 14; 2 Kgs 4:16f.), this expression has been
interpreted in various ways by both Jewish exegetes, and modem scholars.54
The Targumic precisions of calendar could be compared to the corresponding
activity already present in the final redaction of the HT.55 There are, particularly
in Ps-J, a number of calendrical precisions,56 among them the connection of
Biblical events with Passover which is the subject of this study.57 The importance
of the month of Nisan dates far back in Biblical times, and continued for
centuries to be regarded as the holiest and most important month. During the
centuries around the turn of the eras this month was regarded as the only fitting
time to include the memorials of the great events.58 There was a general
tendency in ancient Judaism (2nd c. BCE-2nd c. CE) to date important Biblical
events to Passover.59 The author of the Book of Jubilees (Jub) had the intention
of proving the patriarchal origin of the Jewish feasts. This interest is not peculiar
to him; certainly it represents a tradition well established in the ancient Synagogue.60
There are three examples of events with vague temporal phrases becoming
specified into datings connecting the events with Passover. The first example is
Ps-J Gen 4:3, in which the phrase "at the end of days" is rendered "at the end of
days, on the fourteenth of Nisan".61 The second example is Gen 17:26, on the
circumcision of Abraham, in which the temporal phrase "that very day" has
been expanded into a specified dating: "that very day, on the fourteenth <of
s1See below, 5.1.2., 5.2.
52See below, 5. 1.2. Cf. below, 1.3.2.2.2.
Hsee Le Deaut, Phinomene, 515. Cf. Klein, Aramaic Targumim, 327.
54For details, see below, 1.3.2.1.3. (end); 4.1.3.
5sSee Le Deaut, Phinomene, foe. cit. Cf. Goudoever, 54-61.

42See below, 2.1.4. See also Alexander, 232,2.

4;For some examples of explanative words added to texts, see Le D6aut, Phinomene, 513-516.
44See Le Deaut, Phinomene, 513.
45For further information, see below, 2.1.4. Cf. Vermes, Bible, 205; Le Deaut, Phinomene,

513!.
46See below, 2.1.1.
47See below, 2.l.2., 2.2.
48See below, 2.1.7. Cf Alexander, 232,4.
49See below, 5.1.1., 5.2.
50See below, 1.3.2.2.2., 5.1.2.

15

56Le Deaut explicitly refers to the calendrical precisions in Ps-J. See Le Deaut, Phinontene,

515; Maher, Genesis, 31, n. 6; Petermann, 55. However, the other Pal Tgs connect the
'Aqedah with Passover in the enumeration of the Four Nights in their rendering of Exod
12:42, a haggadic element abbreviated in Ps-J, eliminating the Passover cOnnection. See
below, 5.2.1.

57See above, 1.1. 1.; below, 2-5. The three examples given below are all of them Targumic
doublets. See below, 1.3.2.1.3, end.
58See Vermes, Scripture, 214f.
59See Guiiding, 34; Vermes, Scripture, 214-217; Targumic Versions, 99.
60See Vermes, Scripture, 215.
61For further details, see below, 2.1 .2., 2.2., 2.3.3.

16

PER

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

A BENGTSSON

Nisan>".62 In the third example, Gen

18:14, the temporal expression, "at the set

time" is rendered "at the time of the feast .... at this time", the word 'feast'

parallel element in another, the parallel elements are combined.69

called

1.3.2.1.3. Contradictions in need of harmonization

One cause for rewriting the Biblical text in early Jewish exegesis are contradictions
These passages often have diverse historical and

geographical origins.64 According to Jewish tradition, the Bible, in its infallibility,

could not contain contradictions. Therefore, a text had to be interpreted against
its literal meaning to eliminate contradictions between texts. Parallel passages
had to be interpreted through the terms they shared. The Bible was regarded as
an entirety, and the Bible was-explained by the whole Bible, so that a text could

be illustrated by means of future events mentioned in other passa es, occurring

in a text detached from its historical setting.65
There are also passages-not contradictory, but similar-that are harmonized

,:.=
l:t

:t
E

One of the

examples mentioned is the mutual association between Gen 4:2 in which Cain is

:11:l1K 1::J.,l1 "a tiller of the soil", and Gen 9:20 in which Noah is
:11:l1K W' "a man of the soil". In Ps-J both passages are rendered ,::J.l

described as

most probably referring to Passover.63

in need of harmonization.

17

N1N n? "a man tilling the soil"."

Another variety of associative translation is the Targumic doublet. It consists

. of the rendition of a single verb or noun by a translational doublet.71

The

following examples of the Targumic doublet are found in the texts of the present
work: In Gen

4:3 the phrase "at the end of days" is rendered as the doublet "at
In Gen 17:26 the phrase "that

the end of days, on the fourteenth of Nisan".

very day" is rendered as the doublet "that very day, on the fourteenth <of
Nisan>".

In Ps-J Gen

18:10, 14 the phrase il'n n:l is paraphrased in two

ways-in Gen 18:10 it is rendered by the doublet "in the coming year, and you
will (still) be alive", giving both the temporal aspect of the phrase, and the literal
meaning of the word il'n. In Gen

18:14, however, the phrase is rendered only in

in part. The t\Vo related techniques of Associative and Complementary Translation

the literal sense of the word: "and you shall (still) be alive". Also, in Gen 18:14

are methods of interpreting texts that share features with other texts. Without

the phrase "at the set time" is rendered "at the time of the feast .... at this

being aware of it the meturgeman associates the text he is interpreting with

another similar text.66
Associative Translation is performed unwittingly. Often the influence of the
parallel text is subconscious, and there is no deliberate harmonization. Sometimes,
however, the association is more deliberate. The duplication, even triplication, of

time".n Sometimes a whole phrase is involved, such as Gen 4:4 ;, ,;,, l1TO',
'7;,-?N "And the Lord had regard for Abel", which in Ps-J reads N11 :11:11

:Jii::J. l'P ,:101

C1i'

"It was pleasing before the Lord, and he turned a

friendly face towards Abel".73

phrases and passages in the Biblical text is corresponded in the Targums by

passages translated to conform with each other.67
As an example of associative translation worth mentioning is the relation

1.3.2.2. Adjustment to tradition

The second type of problems to which solutions were offered in the exegetical

between the Torah and Haftarah readings. Concerning the relationship between

literature consists of discrepancies between offensive passages in the Biblical texts

the Torah and Haftarah readings, the concurrence of lectures in the reading

and in Jewish faith and tradition.74 Texts which for practical or doctrinal reasons

cycles created a mutual attraction between the two texts that were read on the
same occasion. Traces of this phenomenon can be observed in translations.68
Complementary translation is a variant of associative translation.The targumic
process active in this method of translation is one of double or mutual association
between two passages. Instead of an element from one passage displacing a

were unacceptable in their literal meaning were reinterpreted, often contrary to

the plain meaning of the Scripture.75 The latter method of reinterpreting awkward
passages is called converse translation.16 Phrases subjected to this reinterpretation
belong to the category ftrst presented below. The second category of awkward
69See Klein, Associative, 136-138.; Alexander, 227f.
70See below, 2.1.1.; Cf. KJein, Associative, 136, 7.

62por further details, see below, 3.1., 3.2.

71See Klein, Associative, 138f.; Alexander, 227. 3. a. Sperber, (k) 68; McNamara, Genesis,

6For further details, see below, l.3.2.L3, end; 4.1.3., 4.2.

30.

72Cf. above, 1.3.2.1.2.

64See Vermes, Bible, 202, 209-214; Shinan/Zak.ovitch, 263-267. Cf. Sperber, (b) 42f., (c)
44f.; Levine, Characteristics, 91 a; Study, 34 a; Targums, 326b.

nsee below, 2.1.2.; Cf. Alexander, 227; Maher, Genesis, 32, n. 9.

6 See Le Deaut, Phenomne, 515, 517-519. Cf. Bloch, 1265f.

74For some examples of this phenomenon, see Sperber, (b) 42f. Cf. Levine, CharacteriStics,

HSee Klein, Associative; Alexander, 227f.

67See Klein, Associative, 134-136; Alexander, 227.

68See Le Deaut, Phenomene, 522. Cf. Perrot, 56f. On the relationship between the Torah and
Haftarah, see above, 1.3.1.

91 d, e; Study, 34 d. e; Targums, 326 c; KJein, Aramaic Targwnim, 326.

15See Vermes, Bible, 214-220. Cf. Sperber, (a) 37-41; Levine, Characteristics, 91 c; Study,

34 c; Targums, 326 f.
76See Klein, Converse; Aramaic Targwnim, 323f.; Shinan/Zakovitch, 26lf.; Alexander, 228.

PER A BENGTSSON

18

phrases reinterpreted in this way consists of Biblical passages depriving the

Ancestors of Israel of their honour.71

Converse translation is the very opposite of the simple sense of the Hebrew
verse. It appears frequently in the Pentateuch Targums as a genuine Targumic
technique, not simply a deviation.78 In fact, the phenomenon has been observed
by scholars as early as the 16th century .79
One of the categories of converse translation is the addition or deletion of the
negative particle.80 In Gen 4:14, Cain complains: "Behold, you have driven me
out this day from the face of the earth, and from your face I shall be hidden."
Literally, the words 'from your face I shall be hidden' would contradict the
Therefore, none of the Pentateuch Targums

render this passage literally; they all rewrite it according to what is theologically
correct. Onq, Nf, CTg B change the affinnative into a negative: "It is impossible
for me/man to hide from you", and Ps-J turns the statement into a question: "Is
it possible (for me) to hide from you?"81

19

but in truth you did laugh'" Ps-J renders verse 13 completely literally.82
In Gen 27:5a one might have the impression that Rebekah was spying on Isaac
and Esau:

1.3.2.2.1. Converse translation

notion of God's orrmiscience.

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

"Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau."

Ps-J forestalls this reaction, describing Rebekah as a pious-not a curious-person,

rendering the half-verse "And Rebekah heard through the Holy Spirit while
Isaac spoke with Esau his son."83
In Gen 27:9, the substantial meal to be served before the dying Isaac was
offensive to the Jewish exegetes. To eliminate the risk that the Patriarch was
depicted as a glutton various attempts at reinterpreting the passage were made,
to restore Isaac's honour.84

Ps-J and

PRE interpret the two animals as the

Passover lamb and its supplementary agigah. 85

In Gen 27:11, finally, Jacob is afraid of being exposed by his father: "But
Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, 'Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I
am a man of smooth skin.'" Ps-J, however, changes Jacob's intentions from fear
of being exposed as a deceiver, into fear of sin: "Because Jacob feared sin, he
was afraid that his father might curse him; and he said, 'Behold, my brother Esau
is a hairy man, and I am a smooth (-skinned) man. "'86

1.3.2.2.2. Protecting the honour of the Ancestors

In Jewish tradition it was important to protect the glory of God, but it was almost
as important to suppress everything that could deprive Israel and the Ancestors
of their honour. In this context especially the scandalous events that the Ancestors
were involved in, were subjected to reinterpretation.
My material does not include any of the scandalous events involving the
Ancestors. There are, however, a few embarrassing details in the Biblical presen
tation of the characters: I have found three examples of interpretation restoring
the honour of the Ancestors: In Ps-J Gen 18, Sarah's honour is restored; in Ps-J
Gen 27:5 Rebekah's; in Gen 27:11 Jacob's.
Gen 18:12, 13, 15, mention Sarah's laughter when contemplating a childbirth
at her age. In verse 12, "So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, 'After I have
grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?"', Ps-J changes the
word "laughed" into "wondered". The same change is carried out in verse 15a:

1.3.2.3. Relevance to contemporary use

The third type of problems in the Biblical texts is the problem of relevance, due
to the discrepancies between an ancient text and a new situation centuries later.
The exegetes tried to find solutions in the Bible and apply them to contemporary
problems, or to find support in the Bible for contemporary customs and beliefs.87
In this field of applied exegesis there is an element of actualization from the
Biblical "then" to the post-Biblical "now". One of the characteristic features of
Jewish exegesis is the actualization and adaption of Biblical text.88

There is a

tendency in the Targums to update Scripture, to identify Biblical peoples and

places with peoples and places from their own time.89
Proper names, of persons as well as places, are updated.90

Anonymous

82See below, 4.1.2-4.

''But Sarah denied, saying, 'I did not laugh'; for she was afraid." At the end of

8'See below, 5.1.2. Cf. above, 1.3.2.1.2.

that verse, and in verse 13, however, it remains unchanged. In verse 15b, "He

84See Hayward, Date, l3f.

said, 'Oh yes, you did laugh."', is rendered ''The angel said, 'Do not be afraid;

85See below, 5.2.3.

86See below, 5.1.2. Cf. above, 1.3.2.1.2.

77See Vennes, Bible, 218-220. See below.

78See Klein, Converse; Aramaic Targumim, 323f.; Sh.inan!Zakovitch, 261f.; Alexander, 228.
79See Klein, Converse, 516f., n. 5.
80See Klein, Converse, 516-529. Cf. Clarke, 385.
8 'See below, 2.1.6.; Cf. Klein, Converse, 517f.; Aramaic Targumim, 323; Alexander, 228. A
similar rendering as that of Ps-J is found elsewhere in Ps-J: in Gen 18:14. See below, 4.1.3.

87See Venues, Bible, 221-231; Bowker, 8; Le Deaut, Phinomene, 510; Klein, Aramaic
Targumim, 326-329.
88See Le Deaut, Phinomene, 515f., 519; Sperber, (y) 102-104; Shinan!Zakovitch, 260;
Alexander, 227; Levine, Targums, 326 e; Clarke, 391.
89See Le Deaut, Phinomene, 515; Alexander, 226f.; Clarke, 383-385; Klein, Aramaic Targu
mim, 328f.
90See Klein, Aramaic Targumim, 329.

20
persons are identified.

Anonymity is actually avoided,91 as when Ishmael's

anonymous Egyptian wife who, according to Gen 21:21, was given to him by his
mother, is in Ps-J replaced by two wives:
then divorced, and

Fatima

'Adisha

whom he took himself and

Whom his mother brought for him from Egypt.

Ishmael, according to tradition the first ancestor of the Arabs, was depicted as
having taken wives with names similar to those of a wife and a daughter of
Muhammad.

'Adisha is a transcription either of his first wife, Khadijah, or of

another wife, 'Ayisha, while Fatima was the name of Muhammad's daughter
with Khadijah.91
The Targums also introduce later rabbinical institutions into the stories from
the patriarchal period; such

are

21

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

the Synagogue (Nf Gen

30:13) and Bet ha-Midrash

(Ps-J Gen 9:27)."

Another characteristic of actualization is the precision of calendar for vague
temporal expressions treated above.94
The emergence of Jewish applied exegesis brought a rise of religious parties.
The priestly scribes who, in post-exilic times, had the authority in Biblical exegesis

intelligible, adjusted to tradition,

and relevant to contemporary Jewry.

The prime object to ancient Jewish Bible exegesis was to make the Biblical text
intelligible and unambiguous.

Philological difficulties in the Bible text were

modified in pure exegesis. Strange words were explained, texts lacking in detail
were supplemented, contradictions between passages were harmonized.

By

means of associative translation, texts that have something in common were

partly harmonized.
Texts that in their literal meaning were dogmatically unacceptable were adjusted
to Jewish tradition. They were reinterpreted, often contrary to the plain meaning
of Scripture, such as converse translation, the very opposite of the passage.
Embarrassing Biblical passages were reinterpreted, to suppress everything that
might deprive Israel and the Ancestors of their honour.
The Biblical text was made relevant and actualized to Jews living centuries
after its composition. The Jewish exegetes left no verse unturned, applying the
text in a new context to solutions of contemporary problems, or support for
contemporary customs and beliefs.

were eventually, in post-Biblical times, to be replaced by the Pharisees. This era

also witnessed, as a consequence, the Synagogue growing more important, and
replacing the Temple after its fall, as equivalent in holiness. An exegetic technique
was elaborated, the

Middot,

the rules of which were well defmed.95 From that

1.4. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and Its Targumic Context

time specifics of Pharisaic-rabbinic Judaism were incorporated into the Biblical

text.96 Applied exegesis was further developed and codified in the Mishnah. The
process was, however, mutual: the Jewish exegetic development resulted in the
appearance of religious parties; these religious parties in turn, especially the
Pharisees, were to form the core of Jewish rabbinic exegesis.91

1.4.1. The Targumic Context

The Aramaic Targums have an early origin; the translation of the Bible into
Aramaic began already in the late Second Temple period.98 There is sufficient
evidence for such an early date in contemporary literary findings. Among the

Summary
To sum up, the setting of Jewish Biblical exegesis was in the ancient Synagogue.
It was, however, not a popular exegesis built on popular traditions; the exegetic
traditions were refined and developed in an academic setting by learned men.
This early Biblical exegesis had a threefold purpose: to make the Biblical text
91See Le Deaut, Phinomene, 515f.; Shinan!Zakovitch, 273-276.
92These references in PsJ to Muslim history, together with further anachronistic remarks, for
instance to the six sedarim of the Mishnah in PsJ Exod 26:9, serve to indicate that the final
redaction of that Targum cannot have been earlier than the 7th c. CE. See Alexander, 219; Le

texts from Qumran (1st c. CE) were the Targums of Job and Leviticus, and the

Genesis Apocryphon which, in its Aramaic paraphrases of the Bible, has much in
common with the Targums. Further, there are early haggadot, preserved in the
rabbinic Targums, which converge in their Biblical interpretation with early texts
by Josephus, Philo and the NT."
Targum originated to supply a twofold need: an increased knowledge in the
Torah, and the transnrission of this knowledge in a language known to all. When
Hebrew had ceased to be the

lingua franca

of the Jews, the readings from the

Bible in the Synagogue had to be explained and translated into a language

Deaut, Targumim, 578f.

93See Alexander, 227.
94See above, 1 .3.2.1.2.
95See Vennes, Bible, 221f. Cf. Barrett, 383-386; Bowker, 315-318.
96See Levine, Targums, 326 d.
97See Vennes, Bible, 222.

98See McNamara, Targums, 856; Alexander, 247; Le Deaut, Targumim, 573f. The report in
this section is mainly based on Alexander, and Le Deaut, Targumim. For an attempt at
defining Targum, see Karin Hedner Zetterholm's doctoral thesis, Laban the Aramean in

Targumic and Midrashic Literature, Ch. 1.5.

99See Alexander, ibid.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 568-575.

PER A BENGTSSON

22

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

known to the audience.100 The primary setting for Targum was closely connected

with the Biblical readings in the Synagogue.101 In this setting Targum was an

oral phenomenon, as ancient as these Synagogue readings.

102

Closely related to its basic use in the Synagogue is the use of Targum in its

other settings, especially in the schooL In the school Targum was expounded not

primarily as a written but as an oral "text". The pupils learnt Targum by heart,
so that they could later function as translators (meturgemanim) in the Synagogue.
It was this oral "text" that was presented by the rneturgeman in the Synagogue,

not his own free and spontaneous translation.100 Since the Targumic renderings

were oral in origin, Targum traditions could exhibit minor diversities from place

23

official Targums to the first two parts of Scripture only, there is no official

Targum to the Writings.110 The unofficial Palestinian Targums, on the other

hand, comprise Targums of all three parts of the Bible.
The official Targum of the Pentateuch has been given the name Onqelos
1
(Onq).1 1 Its name is most likely a corruption of the name Aquilas.112 Onq is a
1
literal translation of the Hebrew text, preserved in a fairly stable tradition. 11
Nevertheless, even this Targum contains a considerable amount of haggadah. 1 1 4

In addition, it has been provided with its own complementary masorah, 115 and
supplemented by the Targumic Tosafot. The language used in Onq is Standard

Literary Aramaic.116

The official Targum of the Prophets, the counterpart to

diverged from each other. 104

Onq for the Pentateuch, is called Targum Jonathan, also written in Standard
Literary Aramaic. In Jewish tradition it is ascribed to Jonathan ben Uzziel.

ancient Synagogue; rather, there was a fairly stable oral tradition of interpretation,

haggadah, the Palestinian Targums are expanded translations of the HT, containing

was much later. Except for the Qumran findings, the earliest extant Targums

is that the Babylonian Targums are the result of a thorough revision and standard

to place. The result was that the eventually codified Targums to some extent
There was no fixed "primitive Palestinian Targum" in written form in the

manifesting itself in various Aramaic renderings.105 The codification of the Targums

were written in the seventh century CE, while others were codified as late as in

the sixteenth century. 1

06

The Targums relate to the Biblical texts, not as translations in a narrow sense

but rather as
of

interpretations of the texts in the Aramaic language. The concept

Targum covers not only this transfer between two languages but also the

explanation of the texts translated.107 The Biblical text is sometimes vague or

incomplete, sometimes contrary to later Jewish doctrine.

Often vague Bible

passages are specified, 108 or awkward passages rewritten according to contemporary

Whereas the two Babylonian Targums are literal translations, restrictive in

a comparatively great amount of haggadic additions. One reason for this difference

ization of a recension of an Old Palestinian Targum (both to the Pentateuch and

the Prophets) that had been taken to Babylonia sometime before the Bar Kokhba

war. The expanded text was shortened to give closer conformity to the Hebrew

text, and the halakhah was revised in accordance to the halakhah of the Babylonian
schools. 1 17 The Old Palestinian Targums, once written in Standard Literary

Aramaic, were subjected to a dialectal modification into Galilean Aramaic, probably

after the Bar Kokhba war.

118

The extant Targums of the

Pentateuch significantly outnumber the Targums

Jewish traditions so that, for instance, the Patriarchs and the Jewish people are

of the other two divisions of the Canon. Of the complete Pentateuch Targums

less favourably. 109

five individual Targums, or groups of Targums, including two Targums of the

whole Pentateuch: Pseudo-Jonathan (Ps-J) , the most paraphrastic of them/19 and

depicted more favourably than in the Bible, whereas other persons are presented
There are two main groups of extant Targums: the Babylonian official Targums

of the Pentateuch and the Prophets, and the unofficial Palestinian Targums.

Official Targums are those accepted by Rabbinic Judaism. Whereas there are
100See Le Daut, Targumim, 564-.
10 1See Alexander, 238; Le Deaut, Targumim, 566; McNamara, Genesis, 6. Cf. above, 1.3.2.
"The setting of Jewish exegesis".
102See Le Deaut, Targumim, 566. See also above, 1.3.1.
10;See Alexander, 240f. As to the setting of the Targums, cf. York, Targum. Cf. above, 1.3.2,
"Setting".
104See Alexander, 249; Le Deaut, Targumim, 515.
105See McNamara, Targums, 860.
1 06See McNamara, Targums, 856.
107See Alexander, 239; Le Deaut, Targumim, 563, 585; Klein, Aramaic Targumim, 3l7f.
108For further information on this subject, and further references, see above, 1.3.2. 1 .
109See further above, 1.3.2.2.2.

Onq is mentioned above. The Palestinian Targums of the Pentateuch consist of

1 10See Alexander, 217f., 223-225; Le Deaut, Targumim, 575-577, 582-584.

1 1 1See Alexander, 2l7f., 242; Le Deaut, Targumim, 575-577.

1 1 2See

Alexander, 217; Le Deaut, Targumim, 515. Cf. Kahle, Pali:tstinische, lOOf.

1 1 JSee Alexander, 217f.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 576f.

1 1 4See Alexander, 242; Le Daut, Targumim, 576f. Cf. Vermes, Haggadah.
1 1 sSee Alexander, 218; LeDeaut, Targumim, 515f.
1 1 6See Alexander, 242; Le Deaut, Targumim, 572, 576; Kahle, Palii.stinische, lOlf.; Greenfield,
40.
t nsee Alexander, 242, 249; Le Deaut, Targumim, 576f. Cf. Kahle, Paliistinische, 103f.,
advocating the idea that Onq originated in Babylonia.
1 18
See Alexander, 248f.; McNamara, Genesis, 12-16. Cf. Kahle, Palii.stinische, l l2f.; Green
field, 41.
1 19See Alexander, 2l9f.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 578f. For further details on Ps-1, see below,
1.4.2.

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PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

Codex Neofiti 1 (Nt), more restricted in its paraphrases.120 In Nf there are,

however, numerous marginal glosses (Nfmg) from various Targum texts.121
Of the remaining four groups of Palestinian Targums which contain only parts
of the Pentateuch, these are the most important: 1. The fragments of the Cairo
Genizah (CTg), the earliest witnesses to the Palestinian Targumic text.122 2. The
Fragment Targums (Frg Tg[s]) comprising only certain chosen verses from the
Pentateuch.123 3. In the Onq MSS there are certain passages under the heading
Tosefta or Tosefta Yerushalmi, the so-called Targumic Tosafot, derived from the
Palestinian Targums to complete the literal translation of Onq. These Tosafot
differ from the Frg Tgs in that they contain expansions only, and in that their
language conforms to that of Onq.124
As to the Prophets, only one complete Targum has been preserved: the
above-mentioned Targum Jonathan, the official Babylonian Prophet Targum.
Besides this Prophet Targum there are only fragmentary Targums of the Prophets:
the Palestinian Toseftot 125
The third part of the Canon, the Writings, has been less subjected to translation
activities. Consequently, the extant Targumic material of this part of Scripture is
comparatively sparse. With a few exceptions, the Writings were not used in the
Synagogue liturgy.126 According to tradition it has at times even been forbidden
to translate them.127 Nevertheless, there are extant Targums for almost all the
Writings.12a Since the interest has focused on the Targums of the Pentateuch, the
Targums of the Writings have, so far, been a neglected field-research in this
2
field is a desideratum. 1 9

As to the dating of the extant Targums, there have been various suggestions. no
In the early 20th century scholarly interests focused on Rabbinic literature. The

25

Babylonian Targums were regarded as the most ancient Targums, while the
Palestinian Targums were rejected as late recensions of little importance. 131 From
1930 opinions changed, following the works of Salomo Rappaport132 and Paul
Kahle. 133 Kahle held that the Palestinian Targum represented a Targumic tradition
older than Targum Onqelos,134 and that the traditions preserved in the Palestinian
Targums were mainly of pre-Christian origin, in a language similar to the vernacular
of the first Christians.135 This view was central to the Targumic studies in the
beginning of the 1960s. By the end of that decade, however, Kahle's theory of
the early date of origin and language of the Palestinian Targums was subjected to
critical evaluations by several scholars. 1.16
Dating the Targums is a difficult task; exact results are not to be expected.
There are, however, a few methods of dating them which could give some
hints-analysis of haggadah; analysis of halakhah; and analysis of geographic
equivalents. 137

1.4.2. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is an almost complete Targum of the Pentateuch from

which no more than a few verses or parts of verses are omitted. 138 The name
Pseudo-Jonathan comes from a misinterpretation which was long preserved by
tradition. In a MS of this Targum the siglum '"n, an abbreviation for CU!n
'(:)ll11!' (=Pal Tg), in the fourteenth century was misinterpreted as an abbreviation
for 1nl1' OU!n, Targum Jonathan, the Babylonian Prophet Targum ascribed to
Jonathan ben Uzziel. 139 This misinterpretation is reflected by the title of the
editio princeps from the 16th century: ''Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel". 140 In

1 20See Alexander, 218f.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 579f.

12 1For details and further references on Nf, see McNamara, Genesis, 7-9.
2
1 2 See Alexander, 220; Le Deaut, Targumim, 579; McNamara, Genesis, 6f. The CTg MSS
span from the eighth (or earlier) up to the fourteenth centuries See McNamara, Genesis, 7.
1 23See Alexander, 220f.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 578; McNamara, Genesis, 4-6.
124See Alexander, 22lf.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 578; McNamara, Genesis, 7, 10.
125See Alexander, 223f, 242f.; Le oeaut, Targumim, 582f.
26
1 Apart from the Megillot, the Writings were not used in the readings of the Synagogue. See
Le D6aut, Targumim, 583. Cf. Alexander, 24L
1 21
See Alexander, 224.
8
1 2 See Alexander, 224f.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 583f
129See Alexander, 224. One of my tasks in a future study on the two Arabic versions of Ruth

analysed in my doctoral dissertation will be to examine the Targum ofRuth in the perspective

of a possible Jewish influence on one of these two versions.

>apor a survey of scholars in the period from Zunz, Geiger, Bacher, and Strack in the mid 19th
c., through Kahle in the mid 20th c., see Vennes, Scripture, 1-4. For a critical evaluation of

the Kahle school, see York, Dating.

131See Vermes, Scripture, 2f.

am Main 1930. Rap

mRappaport, S., Agada und Exegese bei Flavius Josephus. Frankfurt
to Rabbinic haggadah
paport demonstrated how a large amount of haggadic material parallel
ed traditions and
was found already in Josephus' Jewish Antiquities, following well-establish
deriving the haggaclic elements from an Aramaic Targum.
of the Cairo Geniza
13Jin Kahle, Masoreten 2, several of the Targumic Pentateuch fragments
were edited.
1HSee Kahle, Masoreten 2, 9-12.
msee Kahle, Cairo Geniza, 208.
msee McNamara, Targums, 857, 859. Cf. York, Dating.

1 nSee Alexander, 243-247.

msee Maher, Genesis, 1, n. 3.
1wSee Bowker, 27f.; Kuiper, 18; McNamara, Targum and Testament, 178; Rieder, I; Shinan,

Pseudo-Jonathan, 109; Alexander, 219; Maher, Genesis, 1.

140See Alexander, 219; Maher, Genesis, 1.

26

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATIIAN GENESIS

PER A BENG1'SSON

recognition of that mistake the form "Pseudo-Jonathan" is used.141

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Ps-J) is unique among the Targums of the Pentateuch_

It differs not only from Onqelos (Onq), but also from Neofiti

(Nf), the Fragment

Targums (Frg Tgs), and the Fragments of the Cairo Genizah (CTg), the true
representatives of the Palestinian Targum (Pal Tgs) tradition.142 Nevertheless.
Ps-J shows a great affinity to both Onq and the Pal Tgs of the Pentateuch: Ps-J
has its roots in a text of the mainstream of the Pal Tgs,143 but it also has a close
relationship to Targum Onqelos, and the great correspondence between Ps-J and

Onq has been variously interpreted among Targum scholars. Several scholars of

today (e.g_ Dfez Macho, Le Deaut, and Maher), hold that Ps-J has been modified
under the influence of Onq; others (e.g_ Kahle, Grelot, and Splansky) held that

Ps-J is simply Onq, with elements added from the Pal Tg tradition; others still
(e.g. Vermes and Kuiper) maintained that Onq depends on Ps-J, either directly, or
indirectly, from a common source. 144

Ps-J is rather a paraphrase than a translation in the narrow sense of the word.

It is more paraphrastic than any of the other Palestinian Pentateuch Targums. 145
In Jewish exegetic works there are two ways of presenting the Biblical text and
the interpretative material-external and internal. In the external method the

Biblical text is presented and the collection of interpretative material is joined to

it.

In the internal method the interpretative material is introduced into the

Biblical material by means of a paraphrase. The internal method is used almost

exclusively in Ps-J, in which the midrashic material is worked right into the

Biblical text, forming a continuous narrative. The extensive incorporation of

narrative midrash into Ps-J makes this work rather a rewritten Biblical narrative

than a Targum. 146 The expression "rewritten Bible" was first used by Geza

27

fully expanded as Jubilees and other reworked Biblical narratives. 148 To be sure,

also the other Palestinian Pentateuch Targums expand their texts with haggadic

traditions, 149 but not to the extent of Ps-1.150

It should not be forgotten, however, that the most common mode of translation

in the Targums, as Well as in Ps-J, is the literal translation.151 Moreover, there are

several examples of literal translations in Ps-J in contrast to expansions in the

other Pal Tgs. 152 In some cases Ps-J has an abbreviated variant of a paraphrase
present in other Pal Tgs. 153

Ps-J is composed in two strata. Its basic stratum is a Targumic text of the

Palestinian Targumic version. Its secod stratum is the work of a relatively late
editor or compilator drawing his additions from various sources be they midrashic
compositions, oral traditions from Bet ha-Midrash or from meturgemanim, or

recorded from popular traditions. All these disparate elements in Ps-J were fused
into one literary composition.154

The Synagogue setting of the Palestinian Targums does not seem to apply to

Ps-J, at least not in its extant shape. -In contrast to the other Palestinian Pentateuch
Targums, Ps-J has imported large quantities of haggadic material into the Targumic
text, resulting in contradictions, allusions, vulgarisms and coarse language, etc.

Ps-J does not give the impression of having been rendered orally in the Synagogue.

The text in its present form is far too complicated to have been presented by a

meturgeman. 155 The main purpose of Jewish Bible exegesis was-to make the
Biblical text intelligible, and the task of the meturgeman to efuninate contradictions
in the text.

It is thus hard to imagine that a meturgeman would create new

contradictions by the addition of opposing haggadic traditions, as is the case in

Ps-J. 156 Ps-J was revised against several sources, some very ancient and some

Vermes, as a designation for a composition attempting to retell the Biblical story,

expanded with post-Biblical traditions. 147 Ps-J is close to this genre, but not as

148See Levine, Characteristics, 102.3; Study, 38, 47; Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 115;

Maher,
n. 48; Deuteronomy, 289f.
149See Shinan, Palestinian, 72-75, 86; Aggadah, 204-212; Maher, Genesis, 5, top.
1 50See Levine, Characteristics, 102.4; Study, 30 c, d (top), b (bottom); Shinan, Palestinian, 73,
75, 86; Targumic Additions, 1 43-145; Maher, Genesis, ibid. ; Levine, Ancient Synagogue,
Genesis, 8,

1 41See Bowker, 27; Maher, Genesis, 1.

142See Maher, Genesis, l . Cf. Shlnan, Palestinian, 86.

143See Diez Macho, 239; Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 48; McNamara, New Testament, 60!.;
Bowker, 26; Levine, Study, 47; Kuiper, 100-107; Shinan, Palestinian, 87; Pseudo-Jonathan,
l l lf., 114f.; Le Deaut, Targumim, 578; Maher, Genesis, If. Cf. Hayward, Date, 8.
144For references, see Maher, Genesis, If., n. 5. Cf. McNamara, Targum and Testament, 180;
Le Deaut, Targumim, 578.
145See Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 49; Targumim, 578; Levine, Characteristics, 102; Study, 30,
33f., 38, 47f.; Alexander, 219; Shinan, Palestinian, 73; Targwnic Additions, 143f.; Pseudo
Jonathan, 110f.; Maher, Genesis, 5.
1 46See Levine, Aggadah, 539; Characteristics, 89f.; Study, 32, 34f., 38, 47; Shinan, Palestinian,
87; Targwnic Additions, 1 49f.; Pseudo-Jonathan, 114f.; Maher, Genesis, 8.
147See Vermes, Scripture, 67ff. Works belonging to this category are for example Jub.,
Pseudo-Philo, Antiquities, PRE, and Sepher ha-Yashar. See Shinan, Targumic Additions,
150, n. 34; Maher, Genesis, 8, n. 47. Cf. Shinan, Palestinian, 87, n. 61.

5471.

15 1See Shinan, Targumic Additions, 139-143.

1nSee Levine, Study, 30 b {top); Le Deaut, Targwn du Pentateuque, 37.

1 51See Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 111. Cf. Levine, Characteristics, 100 b. One example of
abbreviated paraphrases in Ps-J, possibly for polemical reasons, is the rendering of Exod
12:42 {See below, 5.2.l.)
14See Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 114; Targumic Additions, 144.

1 55See McNamara, Targum and Testament, 178f.; Syren, Blessings, 1 59; Shinan, Dating, 59,
n. 8; Echoes, 363f.; Palestinian, 84; Pseudo-Jonathan, I IOf.; Targwnic Additions, 148-150,
1 53f.; Alexander, 219; Maher, Genesis, 3-8 ; Deuteronomy, 290; Levine, Ancient Synagogue,
548.

1 16See Shinan, Palestinian, 82-86; Pseudo-Jonathan,

111;

Maher, Genesis, Sf.

29

PER A BENGTSSON

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-jONATHAN GENESIS

very late. 157 Some of the haggadic traditions of Ps-J are, however, unique to this

McNamara, who explains the presence of late haggadic elements in Ps-J as later

28

Targum, and are not attested in any other sources.158

Even though the present shape of Ps-J is late, this does not imply that all the
haggadic traditions adopted in this Targum, but absent from the other Pal Tgs,
are late as well. Rather, it is quite plausible that there are traditions preserved in
this Targum that have their origins in ancient traditions, even if the only extant
parallel renderings would be found in late midrashic works, such as

PRE.

Both

Ps-J and PRE, most certainly have common traditions dating back into ancient
times.159 In this perspective, it is most probable that the connection of events in
Genesis with Passover in Ps-J is a phenomenon representing the ancient strata
preserved in this Targum.160
As to the language of Ps-J, there are not only many readings in this Targum in
common with Onq, there is a noticeable influence also in its language. It is a

interpolations in its text.165 Kuiper regards Ps-J as a true Pal Tg of early date
with few late additions to its text. 156

E. Levine regards the bulk of haggadic

material in Ps-J as dating to the 2nd century CE.167 Hayward claims that Ps-J is
8
prior to PRE, but does not suggest a precise date. 16
Many Targumists, however, date the final redaction of Ps-J to a period after
the Islamic conquest.169 Rieder dates it to the age of the Crusaders.170 Le Deaut
confirms that the final redaction of Ps-J could not be dated earlier than the eight
century CE.171 From the great affinity of Ps-J to PRE (7th-9th c.), Shinan dates
the Targum to the 7th or 8th centuries.112
There is only a single extant MS to Ps.-J, the MS 27031, preserved at the
British Museum in London. The only material of comparison for this MS are a
couple of early printed editions, most importantly the editio princeps, printed in

mixrure of Palestinian Aramaic and elements from the language of Onq, resulting

Venice in 1591 by Asher Forins for the publisher Juan Bragadin.173

in a hybrid language, a consistent mixture of elements from several Aramaic

1
dialects-a new dialect 61

1903, which should be praised particularly for its informative footnotes. The

On the dating of Ps-J opinions differ widely. Some scholars date it to the time
2
of Ezra, or somewhat later, while others date it to the time of the Crusades. 16
As stated above, Ps-J has quite a long redactional history. Parts of this Targum
reveal an agreement with very ancient traditions. 163

Other parts reveal quite

recent revisions, as for instance the application of names from the family of the
Prophet Muhammad to persons not mentioned by name in the HT. 164
Among Targumists proposing an early date for Ps-J should be mentioned

Le Deaut,Nuit Pascale, 53, n. 110; Targwnim, 578f.; McNamara, New Testament, 61f.;
Targum and Testament, 178f.; Bowker, 26f.; Levine, Characteristics, 91 -95, 98f., 101-103;
Study, 34, 36f., 48; Targums, 328f.; Kuiper, 103f.; Alexander, 219; Sbinan, Pseudo
Jonathan, l l4f.; Maher, Genesis, 4.
158See Alexander, 219; Shinan, Aggadah, 215-217; Pseudo-Jonathan, 1 13f.; Maher, Genesis,
1nSee

S.

Hayward, Date, 29; Maher, Genesis, 4. Cf. Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 114. Paul
Flesher, in his contribution to the !36th annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature,
November 17-21, 2000, suggests that "Pseudo-Jonathan's version may not only be the
earliest of the two (versions of the Proto-PT source) but also may form the foundation for the
version found in the ocher targums."
1 60See Vermes, Scripture, 214; Targumic Versions, 99. Cf. above, 1.3.2.1.2.
ee
1 6 1S Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 48f.; Targumim, 578; McNamara, Targum and Testament, 178;
Maher, Genesis, 1f., 8-10.
162See Maher, Genesis, 11.
161See Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 49-52; Targumim, 579; McNamara, New Testament, 61,
112-117; Targum and Testament, 1 79; Bowker, 26; Levine, Characteristics, 92-96, 98f.,
101; Study, 32f., 37; Kuiper, 103f.; Alexander, 219; Maher, Genesis, 4.
164See Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 49; Targumim, 578f.; McNamara, New Testament, 61; Targum
and Testament, 178; Bowker, 26, n. 1; Levine, Characteristics, 93; Targums, 327; Kuiper,
104-106.; AleXander, 219; Maher, Genesis, 11. See above, 1.3.2.3.

Among more recent editions should be mentioned Ginsburger' s edition of

edition itself proved, however, to be quite unreliable in its presentation of the
London MS. Unfortunately, many scholars did not notice this but unwittingly
passed on the flaws of this edition. 174
In 1974 D. Rieder, to meet the needs of a more reliable edition, published a
new edition of the London MS, with references to other editions and suggested
emendations in the apparatus. This work is quite accurate in its presentation of
the text, but has only a short introduction, and it is a bit difficult to find the way
in it.175
In 1977-1989 another edition of the London MS was published by Diez

Biblia polyglotta Matritensia. Series IV. Targum

Palaestinense in Pentateuchum. Additur Targum Pseudojonatan ejusque Hispanica

Macho in the great work

versio.176

In 1984 E.G. Clarke and others published an edition of Ps-J together with a

19See

16jSee McNamara, New Testament, 61; Targum and Testament, 178.

1 66See Kuiper, 1 05f.

1 67See Levine, Characteristics, 94-96, 102; Study, 37.
1 68See Hayward, Date, 27-30.
16'1?or references, see Maher, Genesis, l lf.
1 70SeeRieder, 1.

ee Le Deaut, Targum du Pentateuque, 37.

hinan, Palestinian, 87.
msee Maher, Genesis, 12f.
114See Maher, Genesis, 13.
1 75Cf. Maher, Genesis, ibid.
176See Maher, Genesis, 13f.

1 7 1S

172See S

31

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

30

object o f this study i s unique among the Palestinian Pentateuch Targums.184 Of

Concordance to Ps-1. 171

the four examples of connection of events with Passover in Ps-J (Gen 4:3-5;

17:26; 18:14; 27: 1, 6, 9), only two are supported by PRE (Gen 4:3-5; 27:1, 6, 9).
The other two examples have no support in that midrash: Ps-J Gen 17:26 is

1.4.2.1. Midrashic and Talmudic influences

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a Palestinian Targumic text thoroughly revised against
various categories of Jewish literature. There have been influences from midrashic
literature, as well as from the Talmudim.
According to Shinan, Ps-J derived its haggadic material mainly from Pirqe de
c.).178 Robert Hayward, however, contests the

Rabbi Eliezer (PRE) (7th 9th

view of Shinan and others concerning the dependence of Ps-J on PRE.

Instead,

he suggests that the similarities between the two writings reveal a common
ancient source, and that the deviations in detail between Ps-J and PRE suffice as
evidence against such a dependence.179 To some extent, also
and other Midrashim have been used as sources for Ps-J. 180

Genesis Rabbah

In Ps-J there are also parallels with the Talmudim. According to Levine, Ps-J
relies on the Jerusalem Talmud rather than the Babylonian. Shinan, too, mentions

i
!

the dependence on the Jerusalem Talmud, adding that the author of Ps-J shows
no sign of being acquainted with the Babylonian Talmud as a settled composition.1 8 1
According to Hayward, however, Ps-J used

Talmud as its main sources.1 82

parallelled in various sources of ancient Jewish exegesis, however not in PR. 185
There is strong support of the connection of Abraham's circumcision with
6
Passover in Exodus Rabbah, 18 and it is also, to some extent, supported in the

Tosafot to

the Babylonian Talmud."' Ps-J Gen 18:14, not paral!elled in

PRE,

has parallels in Genesis Rabbah, as well as in the Tosafot to the Babylonian

Talmud, 188 and also to the Babylonian Talmud itself.1 89 In addition to the parallel
of Ps-J Gen 4:3-5 in PRE, there are also parallels in Genesis Rabbah, and
Tanhuma. 190 As to Ps-J Gen 27: 1, 6, 9, the connection of that event with

Pas over was known already to Philo.191 There are also parallels in Ex

R.192

Thus, there is evidence that the connection of events in Genesis with Passover
in Ps-J is not a phenomenon isolated to this Targum and PRE.

On the contrary,

the connection was known also in other sources, a fact which supports the
assumption that this phenomenon can be traced back to the traditions of Biblical
interpretation in the ancient Synagogue.

Genesis Rabbah and the Babylonian

Summary
To sum up the parallels to Ps-J in Jewish exegetic literature, as demonstrated in
the present investigation, Ps-J has used various sources, not exclusively the

PRE. I&3

There are several renderings of the HT in Ps-J that agree with interpretations
in

Genesis Rabbah

(Ps-J Gen 4:3-5; 18:14),

18:14; 27: 1, 6, 9). In Midrash

Tanuma,

Exodus Rabbah

(Ps-J Gen 17:26;

there is a parallel to Ps-J Gen 4:3-5. In

Ps-J two examples of coiUlecting early Biblical events with Passover have parallels
in the

Tosafot to the Babylonian Talmud (Gen 17:26; 18:14). In the Babylonian

Rosh Hash !Ob-l l a), there is support for the Passover setting of

Talmud (b

Isaac's birth.
The connection of Biblical events in Genesis with Passover in Ps-J that is the

177See Maher, Genesis, 14.

Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 113, 115; Palestinitm, 87; Maher, Genesis, 8. For the dating,
see Shinan, Dating, 58.
179See Hayward, Date; PRE. For details, see below.
180See Levine, Characteristics, 9l f. , 102; Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 1 1 3 ; Maher, Genesis, 11.
181SeeLevine, Characteristics, 100. Cf. Shinan, Pseudo-JoMthan, 113.
1 82See Hayward, Inconsistencies, 45, 55.
1 8>Ps-J Gen 4:3-5; 27: 1, 6, 9.

178See

1840ne exception is the connection of the 'Aqedah with Passover in the other Pal Tgs ofExod
1 2:42. See below, 5.2.1.
1 8.lSee Speier, 70-73. Cf. below, 3.2.
186ExR
15, 1 2 and, especially, 1 7,3.
1 81Tosafot to b Rosh Hash lla, s. v. N7N. See Speier, 70. Cf. below, 3.2.
188See below, 4.2.
1 89b Rosh Hash 10b--11a.
1 90See below, 2.2.
1 9 1See Hayward, Date, 1 1 .
1 92See below, 5.2. 1 .

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-jONATHAN GENESIS

2. Then, from Adam

her husband she bore his twin sister and AbeL

man tilling the earth.

33
Abel was

a keeper of sheep, and Cain was a

2. The Story of Cain and Abel

Cain was not Adam's son, but Eve had conceived him from Sammael, the
"angel of death"193 The notion of Cain as the son of Sanunael was derived from
Gen 5:3 and 4: 1 . In 5:3 it is expressly stated that Seth was a son of Adam: "he
became the father of a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him
Seth."

2.1. Interpretation of Gen 4:1-16

In Gen 4 : 1 , however, nothing is explicitly stated about Adam being

Cain's father, and as a consequence Cain is held to be someone else's son. This
is reflected in Ps-J Gen 5:3 where it is stated that Eve bore Cain, "who was not

In Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Gen 4:1-16 the Targumist, in accordance with

from him and who did not resemble him." It is worth noting that Cain's name is

Jewish exegetic tradition, endeavours to paint Cain as black as possible, to

left out in verse 1 .

increase his contrast to Abel and make

silence on Cain's parentage in Gen 4:1, in comparison to the full report in Gen

him

an even greater martyr. Given the

power over his evil inclination Cain still let evil rule his deeds. In his jealousy and
anger he tricked his brother into following him out into the open country, to get
an opportunity to kill him. Although Cain, in the talk between the brothers, did
not deny Divine mercy in creation he denied Divine justice, because he felt that
his offering had been unjustly rejected. After their dispute Cain murdered his
brother by driving a stone into his forehead.
But the overall negative impression of Cain in Jewish tradition is somewhat
mitigated in Ps-J. In this Targum Cain recognizes God's mercy, both in his
discussion with Abel in verse

8, and in his repentant reply in verse l3 to God's

judgment. After God had chastised Cain and made him realize the evil of his
deed, Cain regretted his "rebellion" and repented. After all, he did believe in
God's forgiveness.
Parts of the Cain and Abel story are found in some of the Fragment Targums,

The consequence drawn by Ps-J and others was that the

5:3, is to be regarded as an eloquent silence. This lack in detail is given an

explanation, the name of Cain's father is supplemented, the purpose being to
explain Cain's wickedness.
Sammael194 is mentioned twice in Ps-J (in this verse and in 3:6). "Sammael
was the great opponent of men and of God.

Irenaeus.

Even though there are implications in this literature that Sammael

caused Eve's first conception, Ps-J is the first text explicitly identifying Sammael
as Cain's father. 197

A conclusion to be drawn from the fact that Sammael' s

name is mentioned in the text of Ps-J, but not Cain's, is the notion of Cain's evil
descent, also present in the NT. In 1 John 3:12 Cain is described as E !< ToU
1TOVllpoU "of the evil one": "We must not be like Cain

and also in some of the Genizah Fragments. Of the Fragment Targums, MSS

one and murdered his brother.

PVNL are relevant, and contain the following parts of Gen 4: P: verses 7-10, 16;

deeds were evil and his brother's righteous."

V: verses

7f., 10, 13, 16; N: verses 7f., 10, 13, 16; L: verses 7, 13, 16. Among

the Genizah Fragments the following contain parts of Gen 4: CTg B: verses
4-16; CTg

X: verses 7, 8 (tosefot); CTg I: verse 8 (tosefta).

the Lord.

who had conceived from Sammael, the angel of

After the birth of Cain, Adam and Eve together had two children. First they
had Cain's twin sister; then they had Abel.

Abel was a shepherd and Cain a

19;Ps-J Gen 3:6. Cf. PRE 13 (95). For a discussion on the similarities between Ps-J and PRE

l' P1 NW '1 7J" m"1 7J" n'1 "'m1'n n' C1N "7YJ 1 17'7 n '01N1 2
N1NJ n7 1Jl "1"
1. Adam knew his wife Eve

who was from the evil

And why did he murder him? Because his own

farmer. The notion of a 'twin sister' was quite widespread in Jewish tradition to
8
explain how Cain could have a wife. 19

2.1.1. Birth of Cain and Abel and Their Occupations

(verses lf.)
"'1 NN7 7NO 1 N1JYm N':11 "'nn'N "1n n' Y1' C1N1

He was the exact opposite of

Michael."195 The tradition of Sammael as the seducer of Eve is an ancient

tradition.196 Sammael is mentioned in Midrash Rabbah, PRE, and also by

on thiS event, see Hayward, Pirqe, 222f.

194See Bowker, 125f.; Maher, Genesis, 26, n. 8; 31, n. 2; Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 112.
195Bowker, 125.
1 96See Hayward, Pirqe, 223.
197See Levine, Aggadah, 546f.; Maher, Genesis, 31, n. 2. Cf. Gen R 19,5; PRE 21 (150);

Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, 1.30: 1, 7, 9. For further details, see Hayward, Pirqe, 223f.

198See Bowker, 137; Levine, Aggadah, 547; Maher, Genesis, 3 1 , n. 3.

PER A BENGTSSON

34

2.1.2. Offerings (verses 35)

':JT'?.l? pJ c'J U''?lll 'en mR1 c'1n?.l '1"' 1n11?1 11/'J il'1 c'n1111i

ln':l l7i1?.l i1 J'?.l l'P 'n'1 10'JJ iOJi:J '?.l1' 10?.l ;,1;,1

'Un'?.l'? 1'J
3

m t11p N'1l:J':J 1:J1i'

1' iJ01 "' 01p 1l7i ;,,;, 11c?.l'U?.l1 Rll7 'i':J:J?.l 1;, R 'n''R '?J;, 4
c'JJi1pJ1 '?JcJ
1'l1P' 1111'J:J11'N1 N1n'? pp? 'pm l'N iJON R'? c'l:Ji1p'?1 pp'?1 5
';"J1l!rr\1

3. After a certain time, on the fourteenth of Nisan, Cain brought of the

produce of the land, of the seed offlax, as an offering offirstfruits before
the Lord.

Tltu :J.'U'TI-c ''If you do well, s'f', is given the meaning "to lift

up/forgive sins".200 The second option "But if you do not do well, sin is lurking
at the gate" is interpreted as valid only for the individual, not for all mankind.

In the Hebrew Bible nothing is said about either the date or the contents of

Cain's offering, except that it took place "at the end of days", and consisted of
In Ps-J, however, the date of Cain's offering was

specified as the fourteenth of Nisan.

the day of great judgment. Sin crouches at the gates ofyour heart, but in
your hand I hd.Ve placed power ovei-"lhe evil inclination. Its desire will
be towards you, but you will have dominion over it, whether to be
innocent or to sin."

Cain,

5. but to Cain and his offering he did not turn a friendly face. This grieved
Cain very much, and the expression ojhis face was downcast.

"the fruit of the ground".

7. If you perfoml your deeds well your guilt will be forgiven you. But if you
do not perform your deeds well in this world your sin will be retainedfor

strange use of the Hebrew word Tltu "to lift up" in the first option given to

Abel and his offering,

your face downcast?

within him, God warned him of the potential of his evil inclination. In verse 7 the

It was pleasing before the Lord, and he turned a friendly face towards

6. The Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why is the expression of

Having seen the downcast expression on Cain's face, and detected the anger

4. Abel, on his part, brought of the firstlings of the flock and of their fat parts.

35

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

Not only was the date of the offering

specified in Ps-J, but also its contents. The offering was defmed as an offering of

The word nn!l7 "at the gate" is interpreted, not as "at the gate of the world",

implying the concept of original sin, but, rather, as an example of the anti-Christian

polemics in Ps-J as "at the gates of your heart".201 Further, the Targums render
the word "desire" in "its desire is for you, but you must master it" as 1:!!'

Ntu':J. "evil inclination". Cain is told to master this inclination?02 God gave Cain

an opportunity to make a choice. He had given him the power over this. . evil

firstfruits, and these first fruits were specified to have consisted of the seed of
flax and not, as would have been expected, of barley. This is an example of

inclination and the free will to be strong or give in to sin. If Cain mastered this

glossing a text regarded as vague.199

evil inclination his sins would abide until the Day of Great Judgment.

The Lord favourably accepted Abel's offering, so that He

face towards him and his

turned a friendly

gifts. But Cain and his offering were not acceptable to

the Lord. Cain was filled with grief and anger because of this unequal treatment.

He felt unjustly treated, and the "'yqwnyn<Ei.K6vwv "picture, image" of his face
fell. He could no longer act as a better person than he was.

1l1 1'l1P' WI'J:Jn' c?.l'?1 1? 'pn c?.l? 1'P' "' i?.lN1

2.1.4. Fratricide (verse 8)

11c'nn 1pJ 1:l ;,1;,1 RiJ? 1l'1in p1'J1 n'N '"m '?J;, m? l'P iK1

N'? '?JN ?.l'?l7 'iJnN ]'?.lniJ1 Nl '?JnO?.l '?Jc'? i?.l1 1'P 'll7 RiJ'?
'?Jpn c?.l .,.,lJ l?.l Nl'1J n' l'N JO?.l1 iJ1'?.l R1c ]'JU 1'1J1l7 'i':l
1'?.lniJ pp'? i?.lN1 '?Jc 'll7 N1l7iJ '?Jpn'N N'? 'l?.l 'lJip1 N1l7iJ 1JJip

2.1.3. Warning (verses 6f.)

6

N?.l'?l7J 11J1l7 J'"n N? 1'1 1:11n 1? P'Jnlll' 11:J1l7 J'"n o ?;, 1

n'iO?.l 11'J1 l7'Ji cNn 1J'? 'Yin ?111 i'J 1NUn :Ji Rl'1 01''? 1'1c
199See above, 1.3.2.1.2.

inclination and act well, his sin would be forgiven, but if he acted according to his

'?l71 Nl'1J n''? l'R JO?.l1 iJ1'?.l 1;, ]'JU 1'1J1l7 'i':J1 R?.l'?l7 'iJn'N
200
See above, 1.3.2. 1.1. For a commentary on the remission of sin mentioned in Ps-J Gen 4:7,
see McNamara, Targum and Testament, l29f. See also Alexander, 232f.

20 1See Levine, Aggadah, 547; Characteristics, 93.

202
See Bowker, 137f.; Levine, Aramaic Version, 93-98; Alexander, 233, top; Maher, Genesis,

32, n. 16.

l'P 'lY NWiJ 'lJip '?JpnN 11'17 1'1.l1P1 11'11.l ]'J "1J1Y 'i' 11T11
J ilN ]nn'l.l'? n'71 nnN c'?Y n'71 1"1 n'71 1'1 n'7 '?J;,'? il.lN1
1"1 n'N1 1'1 n'N pp'? il.lN1 '?JTl 'lY N'Y'iVi Jl.l NYinl.l'? n'71 N'P'17
N'Y'iVi Jl.l NYin'l.l'? n'N1 N'P'17 J ilN ]n'l.l'? n'N1 ]inN C'?Y n'N1
'?JTl '?Y l'P cp1 NiJ 'lN '?Y l"lnl.l m 1"7'NT1 N'l.lln' PO'Y 7Y1
Tl''?tlp1 Tl'n'l.lJ NlJN YJtl1 'T11nN
8. Cain said to his brother Abel, "Come, let us both go outside. " When the
two of them had gone outside Cain spoke up and said to Abel, "I see

that the world was created with mercy, but it is not governed according
to the fruit of good deeds, and there is partiality injudgment. Therefore
your offering was accepted withfavoul-, but my offering was not accepted
from me with favour. " Abel answered and said to Cain, "The world was
created with mercy, it is governed according to the fruit ofgood deeds,
and there is no partiality in judgment. Because the fruit of my deeds was
better than yours and more prompt than yours my offering was accepted
with favour. " Cain answered and said to Abel, "There is no judgment,
there is no judge, there is no other world, there is no gift of good reward
for the righteous, and no punishment for the wicked. " Abel answered
and said to Cain, "There is judgment, there is a judge, there is another
world, there is the gift of good rewardfor the righteous, and there is
punishmentfor the wicked " Concerning these matters they were quarrelling
in the open country. And Cain rose up against Abel his brother and
drove a stone into his forehead and killed ltim.
This verse is very short and incomplete in the Hebrew Bible; part of it appears to
have been lost.203 The verb 1 "to say" is normally followed by an utterance
or an indirect request, but in this passage there is no sequel whatsoever. Most of
the versions supply the utterance "Let us go to the field !" In Jewish exegesis
many topics for the discussion have been suggested, such as that of dividing the
land between the two brothers, according to

Gen R. 204

The Targumic exegesis of

this verse, which suggests a theological discussion about Divine justice and
mercy, is probably an ancient tradition represented in various redactions by
almost all the Palestinian Targums. The common midrashic source used in the
20,For this and other examples of texts lacking in detail, see above, 1.3.2.1.2. The verse in the
MT is as follows: lill1il'l l'nN 7:;,-7N l'P C1?'l ilitO:J Cnl'ii:J 'il'l {-] l'nN 7:ii-7N l'P 1N'l
"Cain said to hls brother Abel, [-]. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against
his brother Abel, and killed him." For conunents to v. 8, see Levine, Aggadah, 541. The

Targumic rendering is typical of the exegetic treaunent of a text perceived of as incomplete.

See above, 1.3.2.1.2. Cf. Alexander, 231-233.

204Gen R 22,7.

37

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

36

Targums seems to have been lost.205 The Rabbinic support for this theological
dispute between Cain and Abel is found in the opinions of R. Yohanan (d. 279
CE), whom Ps-J often follows in halakhic and haggadic matters.206
There is one difference between the renderings of Cain's utterance about
Divine mercy and justice in Nf and Ps-J. According to Nf he said: "I perceive
that the world was

not

created by mercy and that it is

not

being conducted

according to the fruits of good words, and that there is favouritism in judgment."
In Ps-J Cain denies justice but not mercy: "I see that the world was created with
mercy, but it is

not governed according to the fruit of good deeds,

and there is

partiality in judgment." This view violates the balance between Divine mercy
and justice described in

Gen R

12,15: "Even so, said the Holy One, blessed be

He: 'If I create the world on the basis of mercy alone, its sins will be great; on the
basis of judgment alone, the world cannot exist. Hence I will create it on the
basis of judgment and of mercy, and may it then stand! " '207

There seem to be two slightly different traditions, represented by Nf and Ps-J

respectively. The Fragment Targums P and V have the same variant as is found
in Nf, but Nfmg and CTgB have a reading similar to Ps-J. PV share the reading
"And the world was not created in mercy nor is it governed by (or: in) mercy."
CTgB has the reading "I see that the world has been created by (or: in) mercy
and it is guided (;::governed) by (or: in) mercy."

Judging from the unjust

treatment Cain thought he had been subjected to by God, he could draw no

other conclusion than that God was universally unjust.

Abel was made the

advocate of the balance between Divine mercy and justice. He said that God's
preference for his offering was due to his, Abel's, better moral standards. Thereupon
Cain denied the Divine Judgment, the Other World, and the ultimate reward and
punishment.

These doctrines were then defended by Abel.208

According to

McNamara and many others, this exegesis seems to be polemically directed

against the Sadducees, who denied both resurrection and judgment.209

Levine,

on the other hand, sees in this Cain-Abel controversy in Ps-J polemics directed
against the Marcionite doctrine about God's sins and injustice. In this Levine
fmds support for dating the bulk ofhaggadah in Ps-J to the 2nd century CE.210
Finally, Cain killed Abel by driving a stone into his forehead. Ps-J is the only
Targum adding this description of the killing to the story.

CTgX has quite

another tradition, according to which Cain saw two birds fighting, one of them
striking the other one in the mouth, so that he bled to death. Cain then did the
205SeeLevine, Characteristics, 99.
6
20 See Levine, Characteristics, lOOf.
mcf. Bowker, l38f.
208See Alexander, 231f.
209See McNamara, Genesis, 66, n. 12. For a different opinion, see Alexander, 232, top.
210See Levine, Characteristics, 95f.

38

PER A BENGTSSON

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

same to Abel . The description of the killing found in Ps-J has no Targumic

In verse 10 the phrase 1'" 'b1 -,,p "the voice of your brother's blood" in Ps-J

provenance; its origin is midrashic. It corresponds exactly to the words of PRE.

The killing by means of a stone is also mentioned in the book of Jubilees and in

Gen R. zll

is rendered in a way not found in any of the other Targums.

39

In the other

Targums, as well as in midrashic literature, the plural fonn of the word C1

"blood" is interpreted as referring to Abel's descendants. Ps-J does not use this
interpretation, but instead introduces the phrase "which has been swallowed up
by the clay", thus referring to the motivation for the curse added in verse 1 1 ,

2.1.5. Judgment (verses 9-12)

''because you have killed him'' ? 12 In that verse Ps-J, like Onqelos, translates the

words "cursed are you" without paraphrasing, in contrast to the other Targums.213

l n i'l ?l';>; NJYi' N? i?lN1 11nN ';>;, 1N 1'v'1 "' i?l1 9

In verse 12 the word :-rn:J "its strength" is paraphrased into ;"11' ''" "the

11l "lliv rm1x mzr., 1Y?n; 11nN n?v 'lli ?v mY ;]?l i1lN1 10
Yi

strength of its fruif'. Presumably by introducing the notion of the fruit of the

'?li n n?v1 1l1D n nnnD; NYi J?l nN o? ;pn?cp; ?n 1Y'1 1 1

,,, 1 1l 11ni
;,n ?1 ?c?c?l 1'1 N;Ji'D ?n Jn'll'l om N? NYi n n?Dn on 12
YiN
9. The Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not

earth the Targumist gives a reference to Cain's sacrifice in verse 3, and, in

contrast, to the waste lands of his exile (verse 16).214

2.1.6. Repentance (verses 13f.)

v11111l'1 11liv ,,,, c; ?1o?l?1l ,,,.,ll vn c

know. Am I, perhaps, my brother's keeper?"

10. Then he said, "What have you done? The voice of the blood

of the
murder of your brother which has been swallowed up by the clay, cries
out before me from the earth.

1 1 . And now,

because you have killed him, cursed are you from the earth

which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your
hand.
1 2 . When you till the earth it shall not continue to yield the strength

of its

fruit to you. You shall be a wanderer and an exile on earth."

The dialogue between God and Cain in verses 9 to 14 starts with God's condenmation
of the fratricide. In spite of God's warning to him (verses 6f.), Cain had given in
to his evil inclination and in his wickedness murdered his righteous brother. God
starts the trial asking Cain about his brother, but Cain answers that he does not
care for Abel.

Then God makes him realize what a dreadful crime he had

committed. Cain had thought that his deed was performed in secret, but God
was well aware of what was happening. God curses Cain for his shedding of
innocent blood. The earth having received this blood was poisoned for him, and

would no longer give him what he once got from it. He would never again be

able to reap enough of its fruit. There would be no longer fixed abode for him.
In verse 9 the Hebrew interrogative particle :1 is reinforced into ''1 "perhaps".

2 1 1PRE 21 (154); Gen R 22,8; Jub 4:31. See Alexander, 232, 3; Maher, Genesis, 33, n. 23.

c;p l'v i1lM1 n

;"''n'

1'N1 i?lU'i iiZID';J 11liv 1m YiN 'Dl ':>Yil 1'1 1l1' 'n' niiO Ne 14
'll''10v' 'Jl'n'IZI'i "'! ?J NYi '11 ?o?Uil 'e
13. Cain said before the Lord, "My

rebellion is much too great to bear, but

you are able toforgive it.

14. Behold, you have driven me out this day from the face of the earth.

Is it
possible (for me) to hide from you? And if I am a wanderer and an exile
upon the earth any righteous person who fmds me will kill me."

The dialogue between God and Cain continues with Cain's repentance, demonstrated
in his twofold confession of his unbearable sin and of God's forgiveness. He
acknowledges God's omniscience; from Him nothing can be kept secret. He also
acknowledges the right of every righteous person to avenge his murdering his
own righteous brother.
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain's repentance is not explicitly mentioned; Cain
simply complains that his sin (or the punishment of it) is too great to bear: 711'

tUlb 'l1 "My guilt (or punishment) is greater than I can bear!" The word 11Y
can mean two things: either "iniquity, guilt", or "punishment of iniquity".
Consequently there are two ways of interpreting the utterance. Cain is either
confessing his crime, seeking forgiveness_; or he is complaining about the severe

2 12See Bowker, 139; Alexander, 234, 2; Maher, Genesis, 33, n. 24.

msee Maher, Genesis, 33, n. 26.
2 1 4See Alexander, 233f., 1.

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

40

punishment he will be subjected to.

In Jewish tradition the former way of

interpreting the passage is chosen. Thus, the notion of Cain's repentance and
God's forgiveness of his sin is added in midrashic literature, as well as in the
Targums.215

In verse 13 Ps-J alone chooses the word "rebellion" instead of

"sin", or "guilt/debt". Likewise, Ps-J emphasizes the immensity of his burden,

giving the word 711l a twofold translation.216 In verse 14 the phrase "and I shall

generations" by the Targums.220 The Hebrew word

41

1'11N: "sign" in this passage

has been subjected to various interpretations in rabbinic sources. It was taken to

mean "letter", and more precisely a letter of the Divine Name, in PRE 21

(1 56)

and Ps-J, but not in other Targums or rabbinic sources. Ps-J often mentions the
Divine Name, quite frequently with magical powers assigned to it.221

be hidden from your face" is recast in all the Targums. None of them accept the
idea that it woUld be possible to hide from God.

While Ps-J transforms the

2.1.8. Exile (verse 16)

utterance into a question, the other Targums turn it into the antithesis of the
original phrase, meaning that it is impossible to hide from God.217 Ps-J is also the
only Targum adding the epithet "righteous" to the person finding him.21s

' :"11'1'Y 1'JY m;11 'n1'1l '110'10 Y1J :l'n'1 "' 01p W l'P pl1 16
11Y1 n'l1l'lJ r1p?
16. Cain went out from.the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of the

wandering of his exile which had been made on his account from the
beginning in the Garden of Eden.

2.1.7. Protection (verse 15)

?Y "' 011111 "'l' Y1n' 1'11 YJ111? l'P '1'0P1 ?J l':l:l ;, "' ;,'? 11 15
"'l1n:J111'1 ?:J ;pn' '110P'? ?1 l'lJ 1'P'1 J1 111 1 n 1'P1 '
:1':1 :1'1'11:J1'10'N:J
15. And the Lord said to him, "Behold therefore, whoever kills Cain, revenge
shall be taken on him for seven generations." Then the Lord traced on
Cain'sface a letter of the great and glorious Name, so that anyone who
would fmd him, upon seeing it on him, would not kill him.

Cain went into exile, and left the presence of the Lord. He settled in a foreign
land far away. He never found rest anywhere, neither in the place he had left,
nor in his new land. The meaning of Ps-J' s rendering of the verse is unclear.
There seems to be a contradiction between Cain's exile and the land created in
the Garden of Eden especially for him.
The Hebrew name of Cain's new land was

1)J "Nod". When the Targums

were translating this word they were influenced by their translation of 1J1
fugitive and a wanderer" in verses 12 and 14.

The Lord did not leave Cain quite defenceless, left to the mercy of whoever he

Hebrew

YJ "a
T11:!1i' "east of' was

taken to mean "from the beginning" by both Onq and Ps-J. This interpretation

was to meet. He made him a promise of protection. No one would be able to

led these Targums to add this haggadic element. However, the land of Cain's

kill him with impunity.

wandering is not found in any of the lists mentioning the things created on the

Revenge would be extended to seven generations of

descendants of the man who dared to kill him. To make the protection of Cain

first Sabbath in the Garden of Eden.222

even more complete, he was inscribed with a letter of the Tetragrammaton, and

Cain's exile, that the land was one of the special things created at the beginning

It is not probable, in the context of

was thus protected against all evil. Therefore, it was no longer possible to kill

of the world. It is highly improbable that the land of Cain's wandering would be

him.

something like the Garden of Eden. Rather, God's curse on the earth had been

The Hebrew word

p? "therefore" does not fit in this context.

It was

withheld before the fratricide, but was put into effect after that deed. The curse

translated into "not so" in the Peshitta, and the Septuagint, as well as in the

was renewed, and the earth ceased "to yield the strength of its fruit" (verse 12)

Vulgate. It was either understood as a misprint for p

to him. The obscure renderirig in Ps-J is probably due to an abbreviation of a

N:?, or these versions had

this reading in the text they used. Onq follows HT, and so does Ps-J in which

fuller tradition.m

"behold" is added.219 Hebrew C'nl7JW "sevenfold" is translated into "for seven

215Gen R 22,11.13.
sis, 34, n. 32.

See Bowker, 139f.; Levine, Aggadah, 547; Alexander, 233; Maher, Gene-

2 16See Alexander, 233; Maher, Genesis, 33f., n. 28-31.

2 1 1Cf. Gen 18:14. See above, 1.3.2.2. L ; below, 4.1.3. Cf. Maher, Genesis, 34, n. 33.
2 1 8Cf. PRE 21 ( 156). See Maher, Genesis, 34, n. 35.
msee Maher, Genesis, 34, n. 36.

220See McNamara, Genesis, 67, n. 17; Maher, Genesis, 34, n. 37.

22 1See Bowker, 140; Levine, Aggadah, 547; Alexander, 232, 4; Maher, Genesis, 34, n. 38;
Exodus, 93-95; Shinan, Pseudo-Jonathan, 1 12. Cf. Hooke, 41; Guilding, 34.
222See Bowker, 140; Levine, Aggadah, 547; Maher, Genesis, 34, n. 39.
msee Alexander, 233f., 1. Alexander rejects the literal understanding of Ps-J in this part of the
verse presented by Bowker. Seep. 233, n. 16.

2.2. Interpretation of Gen 4:3-5

According to Ps-J, Cain's offering was a Passover offering. Cain's offering in
verse 3 is dated the fourteenth of Nisan?24 In this verse the enigmatic Hebrew
temporal expression 0'' rv (lit "at the end of days") is specified in accordance
with ancient Jewish tradition which sees the Cain and Abel story in a Passover
setting.225 The only extant representative of this traditiOn is the direct parallel in
Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer, in which Cain's offering is dated to Passover.226
The central verse for our purpose is verse 3: "At the end of days Cain brought
to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground." The ambiguous temporal
expression 0'' fP?;) in Ps-J is rendered 1C'l ,C:l,N:l N:'1:l1' 10 "At the end
of days, on the fourteenth of Nisan," The fruits of the ground offered by Cain
are specified into first fruits. These are said to have consisted of "the seed of
flax", not of barley. At Passover a sheaf of the first fruits of barley shall be given
to the priest according to Lev 23: lOf.:
Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving

you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to

the priest. He shall raise che sheaf before theLORD, that you may find acceptance; on the
day after the Sabbath the priest shall raise it.

PRE (loc.cit.) specifies Cain's sacrifice to consist of leftovers of roasted grain

and the seed of flax: 1n1Un Y1T1 m'?p 1?N 1m l'P N':J;J "Cain brought the
remnants of his meal of roasted grain, and the seed of flax." God should have
been given the first fruits and the best parts of it. Instead, Cain ate it himself and
gave God what was left of it, together with inferior food-flax. Both Philo and
Ambrosius mention Cain's offerings of renmants of his own meaL227
In Ps-J, Cain is said to have chosen to offer flax alone, instead of both barley
and flax_ This offering of flax is in accordance with Tan 9 (22): Y1T '1N 1J:l11

:1'il 1ntv "However, the rabbis maintained that [Cain] brought flaxseed".228
224See Aptowitzer, 37, 39f., 142, n. 147-151; Guilding, 34f.; Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 220, n. 19;
Bowker, 137; Levine,Aggadah, 547; Alexander, 232, 1; Maher, Genesis, 31, n. 6.
225See Guilding, 34. Cf. Vermes, Targumic Versions, 99.
6l:J'i :1 ono!l nu:Jip :J'1V:1., ?!<tiiZT' l'T'nl1 ;n .,,,:J l'JJ? 01N 1? 11:)K no!l ?tu Jltl 01 77 ll'l;,
22
j:'
.c:nrn:J 'l!l., cnK Cl ''The evening of the festival of Passover arrived. Adam called his sons
and said to them: 'In this night in the future Israel will bring Paschal offerings, bring you

also offerings before your Creator'." (PRE 21 [153]) Cf. Gen R 22,4: "'And at the end of
days' (IV, 3)
Eliezer and R. Joshua disagree. R. Eliezer said: The world was created in

R.

Tishri; R. Joshua said: In Nisan. He who says in Tishri holds that Abel lived from the
Festival (Tabernacles) until l:lanukk:ah. He who says in Nisan holds that Abel lived from

Passover until Pentecost In either case, all agree that Abel was not in the world more than

fifty days."

227Philo, Quaestiones, I 60; Ambrosius, De Poenitentia, 7. See Aptowitz.er, 39.

228Cf. Aptowitzer, 39; 142f., n. 162.

43

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

42

Anyway, the crops offered by Cain were not good enough for a proper offering.
He offered "Flachssamen, der nur zur Not als menschliche Nahrung dient".229
Also in Gen R 22, 5 what Cain brought was regarded as "of the inferior crops".
Not only was Cain's offering of inferior quality; above all, it was made in
violation of the Law, which prohibited the mixing of materials in clothing,
especially wool and linen, as stated in Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:1 L In the offerings
brought by the brothers, wool and linen were combined, since the sheep Abel
offered were unshorn. Therefore, in order to increase the image of Cain as
wicked, it was considered appropriate to depict him as perfonning a flax offering.230
The harvest times of barley and flax occur around the spring equinox. According
to Aptowitzer, flax and barley are both harvested in mid-Nisan. Both crops ripen
at that time, according to Exod 9::31 on the thunder and hail sent over Egypt:
"Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the
flax was in bod."2.11 According to the Gezer Calendar, flax is hoed in Nisan, and
barley is harvested in Iyar. After enumerating six months beginning with the
two months in which olives are harvested (in the autumn) the harvest of flax and
of barley is mentioned: "His month is hoeing up of flax, His month is harvest of
barley". Then follows the listing of the four summer months.232 Also, according
to Richardson, flax is harvested a month before barley (in March-April, i.e.,
Nisan).233 But neither in Exod 9:31, Lev 23: 10f., nor in our text anything is said
about the event studied in this work, that it occurred in the harvest time. What is
spoken of is the offering offirstfruits, and that takes place in Nisan. Another
fact worth noting in this context is the Canaanite name of the month: J':a.
which is always mentioned in connection with Passover. The word J'JN means
"ears", more specifically barley ears. This clearly demonstrates that in this

mAptowitzer,

39. See also p. 143, n. 166.

230See Bowker, 137; Maher, Genesis, 31, n. 7. See the parallel in PRE (loc.cit.): "Abel brought
of the fustlings of his sheep, and of their fat, he-lambs which had not yet been shorn of their

wool. The offering of Cain was precluded, and the offering of Abel was acceptable . . . Rabbi

Joshua ben Korchah said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Heaven forbid! Never let the

offerings of Cain and Abel be mixed up (with one another), even in the weaving of a garment,
as it is said, 'You shall not wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together' (Deut.

22: 11). And even if it be combined, do not let it come upon you, as it is said, 'Nor shall you

put on a garment made of two different materials' (Lev. 19:19)". Cf. Tanr. (loc.cit.):

"However, the rabbis maintained that [Cain] brought flaxseed, while Abel brought . . .

. That

is why it is ordained that wool and flax must not be mixed, as it is said: 'You shall not wear
clothes made of wool and linen woven together' (Deut. 22: 11). The Holy One, blessed be
He, declared: It is not fitting that a sinner's offering and the sacrifice of a virtuous man
should be coupled. Hence it is forbidden to combine them in a garment."

u 1See Aptowitzer,

39f.

232See De Vries, 485.

msee Richardson, 58c, d.

44

PER A BENGTSSON

45

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

month barley is in ears and a first fruit can be sacrificed in the

'Orner sacrifice.234

temporal expressions but also e.g. places and actions, such as the offerings of the

According to Lev 23:14, it is strictly forbidden to eat anything from the first

brothers in verses 3-5.

fruits, until it has been brought to God in this sacrifice. This was, however, what

Ps-J, their offerings are compared. The similarity between them is that

Cain did, according to both PRE and Tan.

offerings are offerings of.firstlings,

As to the contrasts between the brothers specified in

both

which points to Passover, to the importance

of the first-born in the events taking place at the Exodus from Egypt, when
every first-born Egyptian was slain, and every first-born of Israel, human or
6
animal, was consecrated to God (Exod 1 3 : 1-16).23 But while Abel's offerings

2.3. Conclusions

were the best parts of his firstlings, Cain offered seeds of flax, unfit as food. Abel
is in the whole pericope depicted as a martyr, a righteous one.237 1his is achieved

Why is Cain's offering connected with Passover? Is there anything else in this

through contrast.

passage in Ps-J that supports this dating? There are five possible explanations of

picture of Abel.

the connection of this passage with Passover: 1 . The thematic theological expla
nation; 2. Both offerings are seen as offerings of firstlings;
expression in the HT; 4. The cycle of Torah readings;

3. The temporal

5. Abel offered as a

The blacker the picture of Cain becomes, the brighter the

In HT Abel is explicitly said to make an offering of firstlings: "Abel for his part
brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions", but what is said about
Cain's offering is quite vague: "Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit
of the ground. "238 To make this offering parallel to Abel's offering, Ps-J also

firstling.

makes Cain offer first-fruits, translating: "Cain brought of the produce of the
land, of the seed of flax, as an offering offirstfruits before the Lord." Moreover,

2.3.1. The Thematic Theological Explanation

Ps-J is the only Targum calling Cain's offering an "offering of ftrst fruits".239 So

According to this explanation there is something else in the pericope of this text,

the offerings of the brothers, making them both offerings of firstlings.

Ps-J Gen 4:1-16, which motivates the connection of the passage with Passover.

far I have not found any explanation in the literature. Anyway, Ps-J parallelized
By

making Cain's offering an offering of first-fruits, the Targumist alludes to the

A central theological theme in the text is the concept of God's mercy, which is

wave-offering of the

not questioned by Cain, but in which he expresses his belief at two occasions: in

priest who waves it before the Lord on the fifteenth of Nisan (Lev 23: IOf.). Thus

verse 8, in his discussion with Abel, saying: "I see that the world was created
with mercy"; and in his repentance after God had chastised him (verse 13): "My
rebellion is much too great to bear, but you are able to forgive it."

'Orner,

i.e., the sheaf of the first-fruits which is given to the

sufficient motive is given for the connection with Passover?10

This

confession of Divine mercy ascribed to Cain in Ps-J is a possible link between this

2.3.3. The Temporal Expression in the HT

text and Passover, which is celebrated in conunemoration of the Divine mercy

shown to the people when they were rescued out of their slavery in Egypt on the
first Passover. The clue to the whole pericope lies in verse 8, in which the lacuna
in the narrative calls for a supplement.235

The Hebrew temporal expression O'i'j' fj?1:) literally "at the end of days" ,with
0'' in indefinite form, without any quantifier accompanying it, is found only in
two passages in the HT: here in Gen 4:3, and in 1 Kgs 17:7 about the brook
Cherith by which Elijah had his dwelling, and which "fmally" dried up."'

2.3.2. Offerings of Firstlings

The Targumist has parallelized actions performed by Cain to those performed by
Abel according to HT. In this parallelizing activity he has sharpened the contrasts
between the brothers in comparison to HT: the worse he made Cain, the better
he made AbeL The Targumist often specified what was vague in HT, not only
234See Goudoever, 3, 9, 1 1-13; Segal, 1 1 1.
msee above, 1.3.2.1.2. See also A1exander, 23lf.

The word fi' "extremity, end" occurs in all 67 occurrences in the HT. It is a
noun derived from the root fP "to cut off, chop". The basic meaning of YV is
msee Aptowitzer, 37.
m

See Le Deaut, Traditions, 31.

met. Wenham, 103.

2'1Jn the synopsis of Targums in Grelot, 64 this is clearly demonstrated, but no explanation is
given to that addition. Nor is this reading to be found in PRE or Gen R.

240See Aptowitzer, 39, bottom.

241C
f. Westermann, 401; Wenham, 103.

47

PER A BENGTSSON

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

sense, 2. in a spatial sense, and 3 . in a temporal sense.2'2 The predominantly

"cutting, piece, section". It can be understood in three ways: 1 . in an abstract

Nisan. The setting of the story is the time of firstlings and first-fruits. This period
occUrs in ,. the month of spring, Nisan, when "the barley was in the ear and

temporal sense of fi' is "portion of time". 243 To denote the course of a given

the flax was in bud" (Exod 9:31).

46

space of time the expression rv)'j is used followed by stating either: a) a definite
number of time units; or b) an indefinite span of time units, as for instance C,,.

This is the category to which the temporal expression in Gen 4:3 and 1 Kgs 17:7
belongs.244

In his commentary on Gen 4:3, Wenham, referring to some earlier OT scholars,

and also to some rabbinic commentators, ascribes to the indefinite time unit 0'?;)'
the meaning "a year", and to the whole phrase "after a year''.245 He finds it
natural to suppose that at the end of the agricultural year sacrifices would have been
brought. As soon as their labors had borne fruit they brought appropriate offerings.

Aptowitzer as well sees the connection between the expression under discussion

and the agricultural year?46 He also sees the strong connection between the

agricultural year and the great pilgrim festivals (Passover, Weeks, and Booths), all
three of them coinciding with important agricultural events. Consequently he

2.3.4. The Cycle of Torah Readings

Another, somewhat tentative, explanation of the Passover dating of the episode is
the fact that
in the first year of the triennial cycle of reading the Torah, a Palestinian custom, on the
fust day of Passover, Gen. iii. 22-iv. 26 was read. Now, the story of the offering of Cain
and Abel occurs in Gen. iv. 3ff., and would fall in the Passover weekm

Also Guilding, advocating the idea of a regular triennial cycle already in

Biblical times, as ancient as the fmal arrangement of the Pentateuch, held that in a
cycle starting in Nisan, the story of Cain and Abel was read on the Sabbath
nearest to Passover?54

sees the possibility to interpret the word 0'1.l, in two ways, as "Wallfahrtsfest" or
as "landwirtschaftlich wichtige Zeit". 247 Aptowitzer demonstrates the differing
opinions in Jewish tradition as on which one of the festivals is referred to by the
word 0,1.l, ?48 Except for the three pilgrim festivals, Chanukkah as well is often
taken to be the festival referred to by that word.249 This interpretation is,
however, rejected by Aptowitzer on linguistic grounds.250 The pilgrim festival
referred to is the first one of the year-according to R. Joshua (1st c. CE):
Passover; according to R. Eliezer (1st c. CE): Booths.z.11 Ps-J and

PRE follow the

tradition of R. Joshua in dating the event to Passover. This interpretation of the

temporal expression emphasizes the connections between a) the agricultural year
and the pilgrim festivals; b) the two offerings; c) Abel's offering of frrstlings and
Passover.252
The only connections between the story of Cain and Abel in Ps-J and Passover
consist in allusions. The only explicit connection is the dating to the 14th of
242See Talmon, 85f., l.l.-ll. Cf. Kosmala, 30f.
wsee Talmon, 87f., II.3.-III.4.; Barr, 101, l l8f.
144See Talmon, 88, III.2.
wsee Wenham, 103. Dillmann, 92, however, rejects this interpretation.
246See Aptowitzer, 29f., 37.
147Aptowitzer, 30, 37.

2.3.5. Abel Offered as a Firstling

Three quite experimental hypotheses will be presented in this subsection. They
purport to explain the Passover setting of the Cain and Abel story in Ps-J as
resulting from the interpretation of the fratricide as an offering of a first-born.
The first, rather speculative, hypothesis is of my own. Were Cain and Abel
really brothers? According to Ps-J and others they were not. They were born
by the same mother, but had different fathers. Adam was the father of Abel, but
Cain was the son of Sammael. If Adam was not the father of Cain,

Abel was

Adam's first-born son. Consequently, Cain slaughtered Abel as a sacrifice of a

firstling. Thus, Abel could be seen as a prototype of the Passover lamb.
Secondly, S.H. Hooke, no less tentatively, attempted to explain the story of
Cain and Abel in relation to the ritual slaying practised in the Babylonian New

Year Festival in Nisan. The original purpose of the ritual, in which an animal was

sacrificed, was agricultural. After fulfilling the sacrifice, the priest had to escape
into the desert because he had been defiled by the sacrifice. The slayer enjoyed
ritual protection by a tattoo mark indicating that he belonged to a sacred order.

In this ritual slaying-mark-and escape Hooke finds convincing parallels to

Cain, who performed a ritual slaying of Abel, was protected by a mark received

148See Aptowitzer, 6, 28-37.

249See Aptowitzer, 6, 30--37.
250See Aptowitzer, 6, and n. 38.
251See Aptowitzer, 6, and n. 39.
252See Aptowitzer, 37. Cf. Guilding, 34.

253Friedlander in PRE 21 (153), n. I .

254See Guilding, 34f.; Vermes, Targumic Versions, 99. k demonstrated above, however,
Guilding's hypotheses concerning the TC has been met with criticism. For different opin
ions as to the time of establishment of the triennial cycle, see above, 1.3.1.

48

PER A BENGTSSON

from God, and escaped into the wilderness.m

Guilding, too, presented a hypothesis to explain why the Cain and Abel story
is interpreted in a Passover setting according to Ps-J. She saw in Ps-J Gen 4:3 a
primitive Passover celebration not regulated by the strict rules of the Priestly

3. The Circumcision of Abraham

code. The Passover was the sacrifice of the first-born, animals or humans. She
demonstrated that not all the regulations of offerings of first-born contain pre

scriptions of animal substitutes for human fust-born. In the primitive form of

Passover sacrifice, she continued, human first-born were sacrificed without re
demption. As examples of primitive Passover offerings she refers to the discovery
of bodies of children about eight days old in ancient sites in Palestine.256

3.1. Interpretation of Gen 17:23-27

Tentative as they may be, the three hypotheses presented in this subsection,
have one thing in common-they all explain the Passover setting of Ps-J Gen 4
against the background of a ritual slaying of a human as a Passover sacrifice.
Of the explanations given above, numbers 1, 2, 5 are general explanations, and

Circumcision of Abraham

numbers 3, 4 are concrete explanations. No explanation excludes the others.

;,Do: 'l':li 7: n,, ;,'n" 'l,,,];) 7: n,, ;,,, 7N:l11J'Zr n, o;,1N: ,,, 23
K1' 11''' 11;m1W1 K11L"' n' 1m C;J1,K1 Kn'' Kllll'K' K11'1 '
'J'J ;"'11:)'31 ???J1 N:?J:I ,,;"'1

The tradition of dating the Cain and Abel story to Passover is ancient. It has its
roots in the ancient Synagogue.257

;,n111 K1lll'' n 1ll ,, 1'llll lllm l'llln ,, c;,,,K, 24

;,n111 K1lll' ' n 11 ,, 1'llll 1onn ,, ;,,,, Kl/1'1 2s
;J'1' KYl/1'1 C;J1'K 1ll <10'l'> 1l/l n,,K, 1'1;, K1' 11" 26
;-J'l'J'l7 11tlriN: p?J?Jli' 1:1 11:) N:DO:I 'l':lT1 N:n":l J'":l"11J ;,n,:l 'TOJ"N: 7:11 27
23. Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those who had been

brought
up in his house and all those bought with his money, every male among
the members of Abraham's household, and he circumcised the flesh of
their foreskin that same day, as

the Lord had spoken to him.

24. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his

foreskin.
25. And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he circumcised the flesh
of his foreskin.
26. That very day,

on the fourteenth <of Nisan> Abraham and his son

Ishmael were circumcised.

27. All the men of his house,

those who had been brought up in the house

and those bought with his money from a gentile, were circumcised with
him.
25sSee Hooke, 40-42.

The circumcision of Abraham in Gen 17:26, like Cain's offering, is dated to the

256See Guilding, 34. Cf. Vermes, Targumic Versions, 99.

fourteenth of Nisan in Ps-J. God had established a covenant with Abraham that

157See Vermes, Targumic Versions, 99, 106f.

every male in his people should be circumcised.

'

All male children of his

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

50

51

offspring were to be circumcised at the age of eight days for all generations to

parallel to this dating in PR.262

come.
Therefore, Abraham devoted one day to this ritual, and gathered all his

literature, as well as in the Tosafot to the Babylonian Talmud, the event is seen in

In Ex R, however, and in other midrashic

a Passover setting.263

household to fulfil the covenant with God. It was a massive ceremony, involving

Abraham's circumcision Should, however, not be seen as isolated from the

all the male members of Abraham's household: Abraham himself, his son Ishmael,

event described in Gen 1 8 , the visit of the angels proclaiming Isaac's birth to

and all his slaves, home-born as well as purchased. Abraham's household was

Abraham, the subject of the following chapter in the present work The circumcision

exceedingly great in number. According to Gen 14:14 his home-born slaves

and the visit of the angels form a close unit in Jewish exegesis. Both events took

were 318. Counting also purchased slaves escalates the number ofmen considerably.

place on one and the same day, according to Ps-J and several other sources: on

This mass circumcision was perfonned in a single day. Both

the eve of Passover.264

Gen R and PRE

elaborate on the fact that the event took place in the daytime?58 Abraham was

The word 10'l:J "of Nisan" is missing in the London MS; nor is it found in Ed

already ninety-nine years old when he received this commandment and was

pr which, instead, has the reading l'l'D "years". That reading, however, does

circumcised, and Ishmael was a boy of thirteen. Abraham had almost reached
the

end of his life when God made this covenant with him. It was God's
intention that henceforth every boy should be circumcised at the beginning of his
life, at the age of eight days.
The only one of the verses of this pericope that has been substantially expanded
or altered in the Targumic rendering of Ps-f is verse 26, in which the temporal
expression has been specified the event connected with Passover.

For this

not make sense. Ishmael being thirteen years old, as stated in verse 25, cannot

be fourteen "that very day", as read in verse 26. Ishmael is consistently held to
be thirteen years old at the time of his circumcision in Ps-J. 1bis is demonstrated
in Ps-J Gen 22:1 .265
Apart from the potent, but nevertheless rather vague, temporal phrase pointing
in any direction, there is nothing in the text supporting its connection with
Passover, except the main subject itself, i.e., the circumcision of Abraham. In the

reason, it is only the Ps-1 rendering of verse 26 that will be interpreted in this

Bible, as well as in post-Biblical Jewish tradition, circumcision was closely coiUiected

chapter.

with Passover.266

No uncircumcised male was allowed to celebrate Passover.

Segal emphasizes that circumcision was a prerequisite for participating in the

celebration of Passover.267 "It was an initiation ceremony, a

3.2. Interpretation of Gen 17:26

full communal life."268

Passover celebration is expressed in the following Biblical passages; Exod 12:43:

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the ordinance for the passover: no foreigner

In rabbinic literature the temporal expression :1!;1 01,:1 OXli:l "that very day"

shall eat of it, but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has been

has inspired to various paraphrastic interpret<itions in Jewish exegesis; in the

circumcised;

Talmudim, as well as in the Midrashim.259

Further in the same chapter, verses 48f. :

The meaning of this verse, and its continuation in the following verse in HT, is

If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the passover to the Lord, all his males

that all these people were circumcised on one and the same day.

shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native

According to Ps-J, Abraham was circumcised on the eve of Passover.260 In

Ps-J the phrase ;,m 01,:1 OXli:l has been expanded into a specified dating in the
expression <lO,l:l> 110li nli:l1N:J r1:1 N:1' 11:JJ "that very day, on the
fourteenth <of Nisan>". The circumcision of Abraham is one of the important
Biblical events which were dated to Passover in ancient Jewish tradition.261 Ps-J
follows this ancient tradition also in its interpretation of this event. There is no
158Gen R 47,7-9; PRE 29 (203).
259f'or a survey, see Speier, 70-73.
260
See Speier, 72f. ; Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 2Ilf., n. 213; Hayward, Anti-Islamic, 91, n. 47;
Maher, Genesis, 65, n. 18.

26 1See Vermes, Targumic Versions, 99.

rite de passage into

The necessity of circumcision for taking part in the

of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it; there shall be one law for the
262
See below.

wExR 17,3; Tosafot to b Rosh Hash l la, s.v. N?N. For references to several midrashic
26

sources, see Speier, 70-73.

4See Speier, 72f.

265
Speier gives sufficient evidence for the necessity of emending the conupt reading ]'310, and

instead to read lO'l::l, which fits the context better. See Speier, 69-71; Le Deaut, Targum du
Pentatet.ique, 184f., n. l l . Cf. Maher, Genesis (loc.cit.). Ginsburger, in n. 5, and Rieder, in

n. 14, to this word in their respective editions, suggest the same emendation.
266See Segal, 3, 135; Goudoever, 42-44; Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 209-212.
261
So PRE 29 (205, top). See Segal, 135. Cf. Bokser, 96-99.
268Segal, loc. cit.

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

52

Ps-J dates the circumcision of Abraham, as well as the visit of the angels, to

native and for the alien who resides among you.

This requirement is also evident in Nom 9:14:

Any alien residing among you who wishes to keep the passover to the Lord shall do so
according to the statute of the passover and according to its regulation; you shall have one
statute for both the resident alien and the native.

In

Ex R as well, there are many passages emphasizing the importance of

circumcision as a requirement of Passover celebration.269

In Jewish exegetic literature, there have been various attempts at dating the
circumcision of Abraham and the visit of the angels.
The following sources date the events to Passover. In

53

Gen R 48,12; 50,12, the

In Gen R,

visit of the angels is dated to no;, 01 "time of Passover".270

however, the two events are not combined; the circumcision is not explicitly

one and the same day: the 14th of Nisan. As demonstrated above, with the
exception of Jubilees, which states that half a lunation elapsed between the
circumcision and the visit of the angels, there are two main opinions concerning
the relation in time between the two events among the relevant sources. According
to the first opinion both events occurred on one and the same day; but according
to the other the angels visited Abraham on the third day after he had been
circumcised.
According to the

Tosajot to the Babylonian Talmud, as well as to the two

medieval sources referred to above, both events occurred the same day.277
According to R. J:Iama b. R J:Ianina (3rd c. CE) in the Babylonian Talmud,
however, the angels visited Abraham on the third day after his circumcision,

dated.271 In two medieval Jewish sources mentioned by Speier, the two events

when his pain was at its peak.278 Also according to Rabban Gamliel b. R. Yehuda

Tosafot to b
Rosh Hash l l a s. v. NN,273 both events are dated to one and the same day at

ha-Nasi (2nd c. CE), mentioned in PRE, the visit of the angels took place on the
third day of Abraham's circumcision.279

There are two other ways of dating the events: the Day of Atonement, or the

the same day. There seems to be a contradiction between this dating in Ps-J Gen

are dated to one and the same day: Passover Eve.m Also in the
Passover.274

1st of Tamuz.

According to

PRE, Abraham was circumcised on the Day of

Atonement, and the visit of the angels took place on the third day of circumcision.275

In the Book of Jubilees, the date of Abraham's circumcision is set to the 15th of
Sivan (Feast of Weeks), and the visit of the angels is dated the 1st of Tamuz?76

Speier gives evidence that Ps-J is consistent in its dating of the two events to

17:26 and 18:14 on the one hand, and on the other the mention in Ps-J Gen 18: 1
of the pain that Abraham suffered from his circumcision: ''The Glory of the Lord
was revealed to him in the Vision of Mamre, when he was suffering (11J) from
the pain of circumcision." This pain could easily be interpreted as the pain and
fever that afflicts the circumcised person on the third day after the operation.

26So, to mention just a few examples, ExR 15,12; 17,3; 19,4f.

However, in this passage, Abraham suffers the pain one suffers the day of the

211>J'ranslation suggested by Mirkin in his commentary to the passage in Gen R. The exact
meaning of the Hebrew date expression no;--t 011101 has been subject to discussion. For
a survey of the discussion and conclusions, see Speier, 70, n. 8-10, 72f.

operation. It should also be noted that in Ps-J Gen 18:1, the phrase "on the third

271In Gen R 47,7-9, no date is mentioned for the circumcision. However, Beer and Ginzberg
find support in Gen R, chs. 48 and 50, for dating Abraham's circumcision to Passover. See
Beer, 36, and n. 361 (incl. a reference to Rapoport); Ginzberg 5, n. 126.
2710ne is the Supercommentary to Rashi, written by R. Elijah Mizral)i, published in Venice
1527. (For a biography, see EJ 12, 182f.) The other is a Yemenite MS. According to both
sources, Abraham was circumcised on the day that the angels came to him, i.e., the 14th of
Nisan. See Speier, 70f. The first source is mentioned in Beer, n. 361.
273oJN71) 1N:J 01':1 1:11 0;'11:JN 711:lJ 01':1 1:11 11:liU lQ'J:J 1"0:11 "That it is said 'on the 15th of
Nisan' means that on that day he was circumcised, and on thesame day the angels came".
See Speier, 70.
214Another source dating the visit of the angels-but not the circumcision-to Passover Eve is

the Pentateuch commentary MinJ:!ah Belulah (Verona 1594), compiled by A.M. Rapoport.
This is the case in its commentary to Gen 18:6. (Cf., however, its commentary to Gen 17:26
referred to below.) See Speier, 70, n. 10. See also Beer, n. 361, 368. For a biography of
Rapoport, see EJ 13. 913f, l552f.

mPRE 29 (203-205). See Speier, 71, 72.

216In Jub 15: l, the date of the event is set ("in the third month, in the middle of the month"); in
v. 23f., the performance of circumcision is described. In 16:1---4, the visit of the angels is
described. In v. 1, the date is given: "On the first of the fourth month we appeared to

day" is not added. Another passage in Ps-J supporting this interpretation, is Ps-J
Deut 34:6: "Blessed be the Name of the Lord of the world, who teaches us His
straight paths . . . . who teaches us to visit the sick from that He revealed Himself
to Abraham in the Vision of Mamre, when he was suffering (311?J) from his
circumcision." Also this passage supports the interpretation that both events
occurred the same day. There is etymological support for this interpretation.
When these two passages are compared with another passage in Ps-J describing
the pain on the third day of circumcision, it is quite clear that the above
mentioned passages describe the pain suffered on the very day of the circumcision.
Abraham at the oak of Mamre." Another source dating both the circumcision and the visit of
the angels to the first ofTanunuz is the above-mentioned Min}:lah Belulah, in its commentary
to Gen 17:26. This dating is motivated by the heat of the day when the angels visited
Abraham, mentioned in Gen 1 8: 1 : 01';'1 onJ "at the heat of the day". (See Speier, 70f., n.
1 1 .) For both sources, see Beer, n. 363; Speier, 72.

211Tosafot to b Rosh Hash l la (See above.) As demonstrated above, also according to MinJ.iah
Belulah, on Gen l7:26 both events took place on one day.
278b B Me?. 86b: ;,;, tm1JN 7w N7: 7w w?w 01' om 1ri1N ''That day was the third day of
Abraham's circumcision." See Beer, n. 370; Speier, 71.
279PRE29 (205). See Speier, 71.

54

In Ps-J Gen 34:25, however, on the massive circumcision of the men of Shekhem,

"On the third day,

when they were

languishing (1,j;'?.)j;'?Jn?.)) from the pain of their circumcision".

In this passage it

the state described is quite another one:

is explicitly stated that those who had been circumcised had on the third day
reached the peak of the after-effects of circumcision. Different verbs are used to
describe the different degrees of pain: The pain suffered on the day of circumcision
itself is expressed by the verb
third day is

3111:); the verb used to describe the suffering on the

j:'?Jjnm?J.uo

Finally, Speier discusses the interpretation of the phrase no:>;, 01:> in

Gen R

referred to above. Apparently, Ginzberg interprets the phrase as meaning the

15th of Nisan, the third day of Abraham's circumcision, which thus had taken
place on the 13th of Nisan?81 Speier, however, fmds no support in the sources
for dating Abraham's circumcision to the 13th of Nisan. There is no evidence
that the use of the phrase in

Gen R

implied that the author held that the visit of

the angels occurred on the third day of Abraham's circumcision. There is no

mention whatsoever of this idea in Gen R. In the extant editions of Gen R 50:12,
the overturning of Sodom, the day after the visit of the angels, is dated to the
16th of Nisan?82 It is, however, highly plausible that this dating is due to a
copyist's error in the long history of transmission of Gen R. It can sometimes be
difficult to distinguish between

1 and T, especially if the writing is indistinct.

Consequently,at some point in history a copyist, when transcribing a hand-written

worn-out original of Gen

R,

could quite easily misinterpret a

1"

(15) as a

(16). If this was what happened in the transmission of the text of Gen

R,

T"

then it

is not impossible that this mistake has also affected other Jewish exegetic works,
as for instance the above-mentioned

Tosafot to

the Babylonian Talmud. If we

are correct in emending the reading "on the 16th of Nisan" in

Gen R

50:12 into

"on the 15th of Nisan" as the date of the overturning of Sodom, then the phrase

no Oi, the date of the visit of the angels, has to be interpreted as "on

3
Passover eve". This is also the meaning of the phrase in the Palestinian Talmud.28

3.3. Conclusions
In Ps-J, Abraham's circumcision in Gen 17:26, and the visit of the angels in

280See Speier, ?If.

a 1See

Ginzberg 5, n. 126: "In the older sources the thirteenth or fifteenth of Nisan is the day
on which Abraham's circumcision took place;"

282M' ll710:1' ::l'n:l1 Nlil M1il ,l1'P1J 0'1ml1 illJI;ol ilnil!O :1l110J ,TO'JJ 11l7ll iliOIOJ 0:1 Opl Nl;oN
}'1Kil l;oy "Therefore, He avenged them on the sixteenth of Nisan, when both the sun and the
moon are visible in the sky. Hence it is written: 'The sun has risen over the earth"'.

mFor the arguments of this paragraph, see Speier, 72f.

55

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A-BENGTSSON

Gen 18, form a close unit.

Both events took place on one and the same

day-the 14th ofNisan. In the Bible itself, there is a strong connection between
circumcision and Passover. No one is allowed to attend a Passover celebration
without first being circumcised. Thus, circumcision is a prerequisite for admittance
to the Passover meal, a matter frequently emphasised in

Ex R.

Ps-J has a

convincing parallel in Gen R, at least in the dating of the visit of the angels. But
there is no indication in

Gen R

that this event took place on the third day of

Abraham's circumcision. There are other sources supporting the dating of both
events to the 14th of Nisan, in accordance with Ps-J. Even though these sources
are of quite recent date, they still comprise material from ancient traditions. As
stated above, the dating of important events in Biblical history to Passover is a
tendency manifest in ancient Judaism.
Finally, it should be emphasised that the parallels of Ps-J with

PRE,

so

frequently attested elsewhere in the Pentateuch, are not applicable to its interpretation
of the two events treated in this chapter and the next of the present work.

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

n"I1 ;J'1nJ 'KP ?KI.lll/'1 Klllll.l Y1nJ Kl.llll n11;J ;,11111 1nnl'K ;,1111?
KK?I.l 11.lK1 ;,

4. The Visit of the Angels to Abraham

9. They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?." And he said, "Behold, she
is in the tent."
10. One of them said, "I will surely return to you in the coming year, and
you will (still) be alive, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son."
Sarah was listening at the door of the tent, and Ishmael was standing
behind her [L<;tening to what the angel said.

4.1. Interpretation of Gen 18:9-15

As stated above, there is in Ps-J a strong connection between the two events
described in Gen 17 and the first half of Gen 18-the circumcision of Abraham
and the visit of the three angels to the tent of Abraham.
Gen 18 consists of two sections of equal length, dividing the chapter into two
halves. In the first half of the chapter, Abraham is visited by three men who
bring him the message that he and Sarah, in spite of their advanced age, will
have a son. The second half of the chapter consists of Abraham' s intercession
for the doomed city of Sodom. In verses 1-8 Abraham receives his three
honourable guests in the heat of the day, and arranges a substantial meal for
them, consisting of water, bread baked by Sarah, and a calf together with milk.
In verses 9-15 the three visitors transmit to Abraham and Sarah God's promise
of a son. In verses 16-33 Abraham intercedes with God on behalf of the people
of Sodom.
Abraham and Sarah had reached a very ripe age-Abraham was ninety-nine
years old, Sarah ninety. All their lives they had longed for a son, but they had to
remain without an offspring. They had their camp by the oaks of Mamre. In the
heat of the day Abraham was sitting in the shade at the entrance of the tent.
Then the Lord appeared to him. What Abraham saw was three men standing in
front of him. He greeted them and received them with hospitality. There is a
tension between singular and plural in respect of Abraham's visitors in the HT: In
verse 3, Abraham says: "My Lord ('1-not :n:-1'), if I find favour with you, do
not pass by Your servant." In verses 4-9, however, the plural is used. Then
again, in verses 10-15, the singular is used.
4.1.1. The Promise of a Son (verses 9f.)
KlliiJ K';J K;J 1K1 111nl'K ;J111/ 1K;J ;J'')

"

'111.lK1 9

1J K;11 l'l.l"P 11nK1 K'nK1 Knill? 1n11? J1n'N Jn'l.l 11;JJI.l 1n 11.lK1 10

In Jewish exegesis the three men were understood as three angels on different
missions. One of them was sent to bring the good tidings to Sarah, one to heal
Abraham from the pain of circumcision, and the third to overturn Sodom?85
Received with hospitability in Abraham's camp, the three angels presented their
mission to Abraham. They opened by asking for Sarah, and were informed that
she was inside the tent. In HT verse 10 is inaugurated by the singular verb fonn
i?J'1 "and (he) said". This is specified in the Targum: 11:-JJ?J 1n 11;)1 "One of
them said". This angel was Michael, according to the Babylonian Talmud?86
The vague temporal expression iPn nl7:J "about this season/according to the time
of life", etc., discussed below, is rendered l'?J,,p 11n1 N,nN1 Nnw'? "in the
coming year, and you will (still) be alive".287
In the HT, Ishmael is not mentioned at all in Gen 18. In the Targums,
however, he is mentioned as eavesdropping. Ishmael appears in the Targumic
rendering of the passage the following way: In HT there is an ambiguous spatial
expression following the words about Sarah listening at the entrance of the tent:
,,,n N1:11 "and he/it was behind it/him". This expression can mean either that
'it' (the entrance) was behind him (the angel?), "or that 'he (unspecified) was
behind'. If it was 'he' it could only, of the family, be Ishmael."2u Ps-J chooses
the latter alternative and lets the first 'he' be specified into IshmaeL The second
'he' is changed into 'her': ;'1'1n:J "behind her" .289 But Ishmael was not just
standing there; he was listening to what the angel said to his father about a
coming half-brother.
As to the Hebrew temporal phrase ;,,n nl7:J "about this season/according to
the time of life", etc., this temporal expression has been subject to various
interpretations.2\X' This phrase occurs in no more than two passages in the HT,
wso, for instance, b B Me?. 86b {500).

6
28 b B Me?. 86b (500).

287See Bowker, 2 1 1 ; Maher, Genesis, 67, n. 16.

mBowker, 212. Cf. Maher. Genesis, 67, n. 17.

284Emendation made by both Ginsburger and Rieder, and postulated in Maher, Genesis. The
London MS reads 11JN:1.

57

2x'"Thus also other Pal Tgs. See Maher, Genesis, 67, n. 17.
2nsee Ewald, 337. 3a; Lambert, 284f.; Ehrlich. 72, 10; Gesenius!Kautsch, * l l 8u: Skinner,

58
twice in each passage: in Gen

18: 10, 14, and in 2 Kgs 4:16f.

In both passages a

The phrase ;pn nl1j has been a challenge to translators and interpreters
through the ages. Oswald Loretz presents a historical survey of the interpretation
The Septuagint could not offer any precise translation, but

instead paraphrased it: KaTCr.

Rashi (d.

T0v

KaLpOv TOiJTov "about this [that] time".

1 105 CE), however, interpreted it as meaning "this time next year".m

The literal rendering of

translated "this time next year",297 in accordce with Rashi's interpretation of

the phrase, an interpretation presented in modern times also by Lambert and

woman is promised to have a son at a certain time the following year.

of the phrase?91

59

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

:l'n as "alive", etc., has in this phrase often been the

Jotion.
As shown above, Ps-J renders the phrase ;'l'n nY:J as a Targumic doublet in
verse

10: "in the coming year, and you will (still) be alive", thus translating both

according to Rashi; and literally, according to Onq. None of the other Targums
have any of these translations.

In verse

14

Ps-J simply renders the phrase

literally, as does Onq.

most natural solution. This was the case in the Peshitta and the Vulgate?93 This
rendering is also given in Onq and, likewise, in Ps-1,294 but not in the other Pal

4.1.2. Too Old (verses llf.)

Tgs.
A number of solutions have been suggested to the etymological problem of

;pn in this phrase. Among the literal renderings of the word we should first
mention a series of OT scholars, starting with Heinrich Ewald in

1863.295

After a survey of the various interpretations of the phrase ;pn nY::J among OT
scholars up to

1962, Loretz continues with the problem of insufficient comparative

evidence from the other Semitic languages in the interpretations offered by these
scholars.

He then presents reliable evidence from Akkadian.

taking place in

1 957

providing the missing evidence for the etymology of jl'n nY:J. A passage on a

ba-la-a{.2%

Akkadian ana balii! "next

year" is derived from balti{u- "to live", and has its exact counterpart in Hebrew.
In the phrase :-t'n IU1:J, the word ;pn is not to be translated "life", but rather
"next year".

c;,;JN 'J1J''l1 1"1iY ,., '1" llJ'O 'i '1/lJ '11l'7l7 ;,JJ''?J ;,;w mllm 12
J'O
I I . Now Abraham and Sarah were old; they had advanced in age, and Sarah
had ceased having the periods of impurity of women.

In excavations

an Akkadian text and its Hittite translation were found,

certain year opened with the phrase a-na

N'l!ll N/1J10 n'l1N ;,;w'? '1;,7l71l J?O 1'7l1'J 17Y 1'JO ;,;w1 c;,'lJN1 I I

Independently of Loretz, Reuven Yaron wrote an article and

arrived at the same judgment as Loretz-that the phrase ;'l'n

nY:J

must be

12.

Sarah

wondered

in her

heart,

saying, "After I have grown old shall I

become pregnant-and my master Abraham so old?"

In verse

1 1 , the standard phrase of HT for menstruation, O,IOJ:l n1x

"after the

of
Xn:J.1XC

manner of women", is elucidated into O'tv'J:J Xn:J.,O n1, X "the periods

impurity of women".

The Aramaic noun Xn:J.10 "impurity", or rather

is derived from the root :J.XO "to be filthy, unclean, repulsive". In verse

12, the

image of Sarah has been made more respectable in Ps-J in comparison to HT in

301; Joi.ion, 41 1f.: Montgomery, 368f., 371 f.: C!amer, 284; GaUing, 14; Muilenburg, 236:

Loretz,-; Yaron, 500f.; Speiser, 130; von Soden l , 99a, 5; Gunkel, 179; KBV', 852; Ringgren,
ThWAT2, 897f.: Ringgren, TDOT4, 343f.: Kilmpel, 162; Joilon/Muraoka 2, 127c.
291See Loretz, 75-77.
msee Loretz, 75; Bowker, 2 1 1 .
2Thus, here and i n v . 14, Pesh.: r:::....., ,cp :u

(""'\d!al t:W!lmr<

+ :v. 14)

r<.Jm

ra..:, U "at

this time (+ I sha!J return to you) when she is alive"; Vulg.: tempore isto (v. 14 instead: hoc

eodem tempore) vita comite "at this time (v. 14: this same time) with life in keeping".

three things:

1. She was not laughing at the Divine message;

but she was filled

with wonder.298 2. She did not laugh :1::11j(I:J. "in her bowels/belly" which she

ji:J.:J.'7:J.
3. It was considered unworthy of Sarah to use a phrase that
could have sexual overtones, such as :-Tl1l7 '';m;, "shall I have pleasure?"
did according to the literal translation of Onq; but instead she wondered
"in her heart".299

Instead there is the phrase p,1l1

,,;, "shall I become pregnant?"300 Likewise,

to elucidate, Ps-J completes the word 'J1X1 "and my husband": 0;'11:J.X ,l,:J.'1l
" and my master Abraham" .

294Ps-J, however, render:-; the phrase as a Targumic doublet in v. 10, with a literal translation as
its second part, but in a way similar to Rashi's interpretation in its first part In v. 14, in

contrast, the phrase is rendered literally only. See below, 4. 1.3 .

295Ewald was the first one of the OT scholars to interpret the word literally a<; "um die zeit

wiederauflebend d.i. wann das jahr sich wieder erneuet haben wird, im nachsten jahre oder

vielmehr fri.ihlinge (sic)" .

MSee von Soden 1 , 99a, 5. In the Hittite text this phrase was rendered MU.!M.MA-an-ni.
Since this phrase is to be translated "next year" the meaning of a-na ba-lt1-a,t is secured.

msee Yaron, 501. Cf. Loretz, 78; Ringgren, Th WAT2, 898; TDOT4, 344.
2980nq: "laugh"; but the Pal Tgs avoid a literal translation. See Maher, Genesis, 67, n. 18.
299SeeMaher, Genesis, 61, n. 19.
300See Maher, Genesis, 67, n. 20.

60

PER A BENGTSSON

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

appointed time,

4.1.3. Confirmation of Promise (verses 13f.)

61

in Pentateuch it occurs quite often, as also in the Former

Prophets. In the Latter Prophets, however, there are but few examples. In the
Writings, again, it is quite frequent.305

l1 1''71 1'llvJ 01J:1 ,,'7 :11111 mn p1 ;,'7 o:11J'? "' 11 n

n,:J.,o
1'1:1 n'J 1m1'? Jln' n 11'? o1 "' o1p 1 'OJn'1 1111D ;, 14
1J :11111'?1 r"v 11n1
13. The Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I in
14.

Apart from the phrase tent ofmeeting, which is preponderant in the distribution
of the word

il1,r.J in the Pentateuch, the temporal aspect of the word is the

prevailing one in the Hebrew Bible as a whole.

Koch argues that it is the

temporal aspect of the Hebrew noun 1ll'l1::1 that is fundamental, not the spatial. In
the earliest parts of the HT the word has its temporal meaning. He begins his
argumentation with the example of Gen 18:14-the passage studied in the

truth bear a child, now that I am old?

present chapter. In the present passage the meaning of 1Y1

Is it possible for anything to be hidden from before the Lord? At the

tme of the feast I shall return to you, at this time, and you shall (still) be

A childbirth is predicted to occur at a specific moment in the future. According

alive, and Sarah shall have a son."

to Koch, this is one of the earliest instances of the word in this meaning.306 He
continues by proving that the meaning of appointed time/place of liturgical feasts
is also found in early passages.

In these two verses the Lord Himself directly addresses Abraham. There is no
longer an angelic mouthpiece transmitting the Lord's message. The promise
given in verse 10 is renewed and confinned in this part of the text. In verse 13

is. appointed time.

In the Pentateuch Passover/Mazzot is often

regarded as the most important ill'11::1 during the year. In most passages in the
HT, however, it is the three pilgrim feasts that are referred to when the word is
used. He argues, further, that the word

iYlr.J marks the important periods of the

In verse 1 4

year in nature, the agricultural calendar with its two equinoxes, which coincide

referring to God's

1:J1 :11:1' 7'il, the question i f anything is too wondrous for God t o do it,
omnipotence, in Ps-J is exchanged for the question whether
anything could be concealed from God. This reference to God's onmiscience is

agricultural calendar are combined with the liturgical, cultic, periods which God

intended to "remove even the slightest hint that God might be unable to do

implies that also the tent of meeting has its meaning from the regular liturgical

Sarah's laughter is no longer replaced by a more pious activity.

with the most important feasts. In the conception of ill'1r.J, the periods of the
as the Creator has appointed to meet His people at an appointed place. This

something".301 The temporal phrase in Hf following,

appointedfeasts of the year.307

time of the feast . . . . at this time"?02

in Biblical Hebrew, and specified its meaning to feast alone.308

1lm? "At the set time", is

then specified and interpreted as the doublet ln 11'7 . . . . 1'1:1 l1'J "at the
The Hebrew word

il111::1 is derived from the root ill'' "(pa 'al): to appoint, set;

to assign, designate; to meet at an appointed place; to meet by appointment; to

gather, assemble by appointment".303 In all the West-Semitic languages there is
evidence of a noun med. Arabic mawcid has the meaning Ort/Zeit einer Verabre

dung.

Aramaic

mowgaJ,

festgesetzte Zeit, Fest. 3Cl4 In the

spatial aspects; either an appointed

however, means

1ll'11J there are both temporal and

appointed place. The word occurs 233 times in the HT, most often
together with ?:-n "tent" in the construct phrase 1l111J ?i11 "tent of meeting".
The word ill'l(;) in the meaning offeast has the following distribution. In the
rna-noun

time,

or an

In the Targums the word

1ll'1r.J had lost the whole spectre of meanings it had

the festival calendar the Targumist had specified the interpretation of the word

1l1l?J, and chosen the meaning offeast. The feast most probably referred to in
this passage is Passover?09
As to the Hebrew temporal expression

il'n nY:> "about this season/according

to the time of life", etc., also found in verse 10 it is specifically treated above.
(See above, 4 . l . l . )

Pentateuch it occurs no more than eight times. In the Former Prophets it does
not occur at alL

In the Latter Prophets it is, however, the most common

meaning. Also in the Writings it has quite a strong position. As to ill',1::1 meaning

301Bowker, 212. Cf. Gen 4:14. See above, 2.1.6.

J02See above, 1.3.2.l .2.f.
303Brown-Driver-Briggs s.v. 'Tlr'.
304See Koch, 745.

In order to

connect this important event concerning the birth of one of the patriarchs with

mFor figures, see Lisowsky, 759f.

06See Koch, 746.
307See Koch, 746-750.
30gSee Sokoloff, 295f., s. v. 1Yll:l.
309See Bowker, 212; Maher, Genesis, 67, n. 21. See further, below, 4.2.

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

62

pn:!l' 1?U MOO:J. "at Passover Isaac was born".312 According to R. Joshua (2nd
c. CE), all the patriarchs were born in Nisan: 11?1J lO'JJIV l'l :1mN Yl!l1;1' '1
? n1 :J. "R. Joshua said: Whence do we know that the patriarchs were born in

4.1.4. Sarah's Defence (verse 15)

]''1n1'n N? NJN? 1N1 n'7'n1 011N n';11ln N? 1'? c11V n1J1 15

nJm NIV1vJ 011N
15. Sarah denied (it) saying, "I did not wonder'; for she was afraid. The
angel said,

63

"Do not be afraid; but in truth you did laugh."

is drawn that they also died in that month: 1n1;) 10'J:l '11?1J 10'J:J.' 1"1;) "He
who holds that they were born in Nisan holds that they died in Nisan"? 14 In the
last occurrence of the fonnula on Isaac's birth the dating to Passover is given
justification: '1'?N J11VN 1Y1? :J'nJD ?J?l vn3' 1?u noJ"Whence do

Just as above, verse 12, Sarah's laughter in HT is reinterpreted in Ps-J, in

contrast to Onq, and above, verse 13. Unlike in verses 13f. it is not the Lord
himself who speaks, according to Ps-J, in which the word ::J7 "angel" is
added. The conversation in this verse is between the angel and Sarah. God
himself, without any mediator, spoke to Abraham, but in His dialogue with Sarah
He is understood by the Targumist to need a mouthpiece.310

Nisan?"m From the premise that the patriarchs were born in Nisan the conclusion

The remark

following, on Sarah's fear, in Ps-J is brought up again in the consolation added at

the beginning of the angel's reply to Sarah. Instead of HT npn3 'J N? "Oh yes,
you did laugh", the reply is transformed into nJnl NIV1pJ 011N ]'?n1'n N?
"Do not be afraid; but in truth you did laugh." Here, again, Sarah is said to
have laughed, without any euphemism.

4.2. Interpretation of Gen 18:14

According to Ps-J, the events described in Gen 1 8 had a Passover setting. The

we know that Isaac was born at Passover?-Because it is written, On the [next]

festival I will return to you. "315 In the Tosafot to b Rosh Hash l la, the dating
of the births and deaths of the patriarchs, as well as of the visit of the angels are
widely discussed. Likewise, the Passover setting of both Abraham's circwncision
and the visit of the angels is stated.316
Also Ex R dates the birth oflsaac, as well as the

'Aqedah and Isaac's blessing,

Ex R,

to Passover?17 The tradition preserved in the Babylonian Talmud and

explicitly dates the birth of Isaac to Passover, but not the visit of the angels to
Abraham.

Gen R,
R to Gen 18:6, the event
is regarded in a Passover setting: 'i:11;) 11;)X1 :1110 ?x ;,?;,;, 0:11::J.X 1;"17J'1
01 :mN ;,;, - n1lY 'IVY1 '1!11? . . . n1lY 'IVY1 '1!11? n?o np O'NO 1!1?1!1
;,;, nco;, "And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, 'Make
ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes
( 'ugoth ') . . . . Knead it, and make cakes ('ugoth).-That is, it was the eve of
However, according to another tradition, represented among others by

also the visit of the angels is dated to Passover. In Gen

Passover".318

visit of the three angels to the tent of Abraham took place on Passover Eve.
After giving more emphasis to the concept of God's omnipotence, and referring
in the beginning of the verse to His omniscience, Ps-J continues by giving a more
specified interpretation of the temporal expression, 13111J? "at the set time" ,
dating the event to "the feast". Ps-J gives the word 13111J? a doublet rendering:

::m ltJf? "at the time of the feast" and 1'1:1 J1'l7:::l "at this time". The feast
referred to for the birth of Isaac is undoubtedly Passover?11
According to tradition the birth of Isaac took place at Passover. This is, for
instance, stated three times in the Babylonian Talmud,

Rosh Hash, in the formula

4.3. Conclusions
As demonstrated above, Ps-J sees the events described in Gen 17, Abraham's
circumcision, and Gen 18, the visit of the angels, as taking place on the same day,
Passover Eve. Furthermore, as was the case in the dating of Abraham's circum312b Rosh Hash lOb (39), l la (39, 41).
3 1 'b Rosh Hash l la (40).

1Cf.

Gen R. 48,20: ''The Holy One, blessed be He, never condescended to converse with a

woman save with that righteous woman [Sarah], and that too was through a particular cause.
R. Abba b. Kahana said in R. Biryi's name: And what a roundabout way He sought in order
to speak with her, as it is written, 'and he said: no, but you did laugh."'

3 1 1See Bowker, 212; Maher, Genesis, 67, n. 21. For a number of midrashic sources supporting
a Passover setting of Isaac's birth, see Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 258f.

314b Rosh Hash l l a (41).

wb Rosh Hash l l a (41).
3 1 "Tosajot to l la s.v. N7N. See Speier, 70, 71. See also above, 3.2.
317ExR 15,11; 52,2. See Vennes, Scripture, 215.
3 1 8Gen R. 48,12. For this translation of nl:l;-r 011!J/010, see Speier, 73, conclusion. See also
above, 3.2. Also according to Ex R 15,12, the visit of the angels took place on Passover.

64

PER A BENGTSSON

cision, Ps-J has nothing in common with PRE in dating the visit of the angels.
The connection with Passover of the visit of the three angels to Abraham and the
birth of Isaac is not a late invention of Ps-J. There is a strong tradition in Jewish
exegesis in favour of this dating. These two important events are both connected
with Passover, but in different traditions:
The visit of the angels at Passover is supported by Gen R, and the Tosafot to
b Rosh Hash. Isaac's birth at Passover is supported in Gen/Ex R, and in b Rosh
Hash. Ps-J is supported by Gen R in its dating of the visit of the angels, as well
as the birth of Isaac to Passover.

5. Isaac's Blessing

5.1. Interpretation of Gen 27: 1-13

Isaac had grown old and had become almost blind. He wished to give his eldest
son Esau his last blessing, and therefore he sent him out to hunt for game to
serve him. After the meal, Isaac would give Esau his blessing. Rebekah, on the
other hand, would prefer her favourite son Jacob to have that blessing. To that
end she persuaded Jacob to prepare a meal for Isaac, consisting in two choice
kids.

In verses 1-4 the aged and almost blind Isaac sends his beloved son Esau to
hunt and serve him of his game, and then receive his blessing. In verses 5-13
Rebekah introduces her deceptive plans to Jacob, instructing him how to prepare
a tasty meal to take his brothers place winning the blessing Esau was supposed to
have as Isaac's first-born son. (Isaac, however, did not know that Esau already
had sold his right as the first-born son to Jacob.)

5.1.1. Isaac's Plans for Esau (verses 1-4)

:-POI1p:J ?:me '1::1 iPn;, 1:>1 il'?Jn?J77J "Uli' 1''il:J1 pn!' ::1'0 ,, i11i11 1
IO':liX:l N:JI :1'1:1 11Ul1 11' Xlj:'1 'il)t:l? "U"li' l7J'T 'ili17J 1"1101 iP'
r?o '111 ' ,,, rnJl/1 ,,, 1'1 ,,,, ;, '1J "'' ,1 10'JJ
J:l :1'':> 11 :l'J j'n/1D/1
'111 01' ,, J 11'' /1'J'0 111J ;, ,1 2
,, '' 111 ?pn? p1D1 ll1liiP1 l1'l n'J ll'T 'J 111J Jo 111J1 3
'liiDJ ll'J1Jn1 l'lJ ':>1J'1 '111':> 7'/11 11''n11 J':l j'':>'li!J/1 '' 1J'1 4
111' \> ,

1 . When Isaac had grown old, his eyes were too dim to see. For when his
father tied him, he looked upon the Throne of Glory, and from that time
on his eyes began to grow dim. He called Esau, his older son, on the
fourteenth ofNisan and said to him, ''My son, behold, tonight the heavenly
beings praise the Lord of the world, and the storehouses of (the) dews
are opened." And he said to him, "Here I am."

PER A BENGTSSON

66

2. And he said, "Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.

5. And Rebekah heard through

3. So now, take your weapons, your quiver, and your bow, and go out to the
field and hunt game for me.

the Holy Spirit while Isaac spoke with Esau

his son. And Esau went out to the field to hunt game to bring (back).

Behold, tonight the heavenly

beings praise the Lord of the world, and the storehouses of (the) dews
are opened; and I heard your father speaking with your brother Esau,

6. And Rebekah said to her son Jacob, saying,

4. Then prepare dishes such as I love,

and bring (them) to me that I may eat,

so that my soul may bless you before I die."

The Targumist in a gloss gives an explanation of Isaac's deteriorating eyesight.
In Hebrew TIKib

67

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

l'l'37 1'i1:lfl1 "and his eyes were too dim to see", the preposition

lb in 11X1b "to see" is interpreted not only as a comparative particle but also as
marking the cause of the fading eyesight; his eyes were damaged by seeing
something. What was it Isaac had seen? He had seen the Glory of the Lord
when he was bound on the altar (Pal Tgs Gen 22:10).

Ps-J connects this event with Passover, mentioning the angelic praise and the
storehouses of the dews. The Passover setting having been added in the narrative
of Ps-J, the story continues quite literally in verses 2-4: Isaac is aware of the
short time he has left, and therefore summons his son Esau to make the right
preparations for acquiring his father's last blessing.

saying,
7. 'Bring me game and prepare a dish for me to eat, so that I may bless you
before the Lord before I die.'

8. And now, my son, obey me (and do) what I command you:

9.

Go now to the sheep shed, and bring me from there two fat kids,

the Passover and one for the festival offerings,

one for

and I will make of them

dishes for your father, such as he loves.

10. Then bring (them) to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before
his death."

1 1 . Because Jacob feared sin,

he was afraid that his father might curse him;

and he said, "Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth

(-skinned) man.

5,1,2. Rebekah's Plans for Jacob (verses 5-13)

12. What if my father touches me and I appear in his eyes as one who laughs
at

X7pn7 11//Y 7TX1 ;J'iJ 1l!'Y CY pn' 77 D Xl!'11p nnJ nYl!' ;JpJil 5
i'T'n'? ,, 1'1J?
'i'i l'nJl!' 'X'i'Y 1'1;) X"'i''i x;, i''i ;JiJ JPY''i niX ;,pJi1 6
llnX 1l!'Y CY 77 llJX n' nYl!'l ;J'J J'nnn 1'7 'i1X1 X';y
i''
n11J'1 C1p "' C1p 1l':l1:11 ?1:l'1 1'?'tv:l11 '' 1::l'Y1 1' '' ?'YN 7
ln' mp XlX1 ;,'; 'l' 7Jp 'iJ 11D1 8
xnc c1w'i 1n l'l'l!' 1'TY "1l 'in 1m 7 JOT Xl'Y nJ7 111 7Px 9
cni '1 ;,:m l1J7 1'7'l!'Jn 11;,n' 1'JYX1 Xln pip cw7 1m
;,nm 01p ll'iJ'1 l'lJ 71'1 lTJ7 7Ym 10
1l!'Y ;, iX1 '1JX ;J'l'''i' X7'1 'i'm ;JXU'n 'im JPY' ;J1;J1 7Y1 I I
Y'Yl!' iJl XJX1 ]iYl!' iJl n

him,

and I bring upon myself curses and not

blessings?"

13. But his mother said to him,

"If he blesses you with blessings, let them

come upon you and upon your children; but if he curses you with curses,
let them come upon me and upon my soul; only obey me, and go and
bring (them) to me."

In verse 5, Ps-J in accordance with tradition in midrashic literature adds that it

was through the Holy Spirit that Rebekah heard what Isaac told Esau. Rebekah
is often held to be a prophetess. Ps-J refers to Rebekah's possession of the Holy
Spirit also in verse

42.

This interpretation of Rebekah listening is a way to

prevent the idea that she was spying.319

In verse 6, Rebekah is made to reiterate the Passover fonnu1a on the angelic
praise and the storehouses of the dews of verse 1, recalling the Passover connection
of the event.
While verses 7f., and also verse

10, render HT quite literally, verse 9 adds an

?1 1TJ11? ''Y 'n"1 i'T'J 1nm:l 'iT 'U'll':l '1;)1 'iT', :J 'JJ'Wtv:\' C'i;) 12
P'iJ

explanation to the fact that for the meal which Rebekah offered to prepare for

1U117 1'X1 llJ 7Y1 l7Y 11n" ll'iJ" Pi'J l'X "''X "'' niX1 13
7 JC 7T'X1 'l' 7Jp CiJ 'l!'l 7l11 ';y 11n'' ll'UU'i'

msee Levine,Aggadah, 558; Hayward, Date, 12; Maher, Genesis, 94, n. 3. Restoring the
honour of Rebekah: see above, 1.3.2.2.2.

Isaac on behalf of Jacob he had to select two kids, not just one. The two kids of

68

PER A BENGTSSON

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

this verse are interpreted as the Passover lamb and the supplementary animal
prescribed in the Mishnah. This is the most important link between this event
3
and Passover. 20
In verse

1 1 , the Targumist describes Jacob as a pious man who feared sin, and

that was the reason why he dreaded that his father would curse him.
reference to a curse in this verse is made in anticipation of verse 12.321

The

In that

verse, Ps-J agrees with Onq in taking "curse" and "blessing" of HT as a

collective noun, rendering the words in plural.322
In HT verse

13, Rebekah offers to take Isaac' s curse upon herself. In Ps-J,

mention in verse

69

of Isaac' s blindness. In this detail the author of Ps-J sees a

link to the Targumic rendering of the

'Aqedah, the binding of Isaac in Gen 22.

2. The second element in Gen 27 which gives the author of Ps-J associations to
Passover is the election of "two choice kids" mentioned in verse

9, giving

associations to the Rabbinic prescriptions on slaying a supplementary animal

together with the Passover lamb for the Passover meal.

3.

The third element in Gen 27 which makes the author of Ps-J associate to

Passover is the mention of "dew" in Isaac's blessing of Jacob in verse 28: "May
God give you of the dew of heaven".

however, in acCordance with PRE, the utterance is expanded into a twofold

conditional clause, comprising

curses

blessings

upon Jacob and his descendants or

upon Rebekah and her soul. Like the word

words,

blessings

and

curses,

curses in verse 12,

both the

PRE.323

Ps-J renders this verse almost literally, except for the addition of three haggadic

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and several other sources of Jewish exegesis, regard

the event described in Gen 27:1-13 in a Passover setting. The key verse of the
passage is verse

5.2.1. Gen 27:1

in this verse are in plural in Ps-J, as well as in

9 and its "two choice kids" giving associations to the Passover

lamb and the supplementary animal. The mention of Isaac's "dim eyes" in verse

1 , gave the Targumist associations to the Haggadic traditions of the 'Aqedah in

Gen 22, according to which Isaac, bound to the altar, could see the splendour of
Heaven, and thus became blind. In verses

and 6 the Passover formula on the

"storehouses of the dews" is added through association from the mention of

"the dew of Heaven" in the blessing in verse 28.

elements:325

1. The first addition is found in the beginning of the verse in which Ps-J
explains Isaac's blindness as the result of his experience at the

'Aqedah

in Gen

22. In their renderings of Gen 22 the Palestinian Targums unanimously paraphrase

that event, adding a story of a heavenly vision that Isaac had when he was bound
to the altar, a vision which, eventually, made him blind. This tradition is also
supported by

Gen

R, as well as PRE.326 The connection of the

'Aqedah

with

Passover is ancient; after the fall of the Temple and the ending of the Passover
sacrifice in 70 CE it was replaced by its connection with
There is evidence of the connection of the

Rosh ha-Shanah. 327

'Aqedah with Passover in the Book of

Jubilees328, as well as in early rabbinic literature?29

5.2. Interpretation of Gen 27:1, 6, 9

325See Levine, Aggadah, 558. Cf. Hayward, Date, 9-12.

mpR 32 (236): "R. Simeon said: In the hour when Isaac was bound, he lifted up his eyes to
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan interprets certain elements in the HT of Genesis 27 as
indications of a Passover setting for the event described in the particular pericope
analysed here:324

1 . The first element which gives associations to a Passover setting is the

msee below, 5.2.3. Cf. Hayward, Date, 12-14.
321See Hayward, Date, 14; Maher, Genesis, 95, n. 6. Cf. PRE 32 (237). For the restoring of
Jacob's honour: see above, 1.3.2.2.2.
msee Hayward, Date, 15; Maher, Genesis, 95, n. 8.
msee Levine, Aggadah, 559; Hayward, Date, l5f.; Maher, Genesis, 95, n. 9. Cf. PRE 32
(237).
324For comments to the interpretation of this passage in Ps-J, cf. Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 139,
n. 14, l40f., 146, n. 32. For a narrative analysis of the Jacob Cycle (Gen 24-35) in Ps-J, see
Karin Hedner Zetterholm's doctoral thesis Laban the Aramean in Targumic and Midrashic
Literature, Ch. 3.2.

heaven and saw the Shekhinah, as it is written, 'For man shall not see me and live' (Exod
33:20). But instead of death his eyes grew dim in his old age, as it is said, 'And when Isaac
was old, his eyes were too dim to see' (Gen 27:1). From this you may learn that a blind man
is as though be were dead." In Gen R. 65,10 there are three different interpretations given of
the phrase 'his eyes were too dim to see'. The third one is the interpretation adopted in Ps-J
and PRE: "Another interpretation of nin is: through that vision. For when our father
Abraham bound Isaac on the altar he lifted up his eyes to heaven and gazed at the Shekhinah . . . Thus, when our father Abraham bound his son on the altar he looked up and gazed at
the Shekhinah. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: 'If I slay him now, I will make Abraham,
My friend, suffer; therefore I rather decree that his eyes should be dimmed'." See also
Maher, Genesis, 94, n. l.

327See Vermes, Scripture, 214-216; Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 200f.

mFor instance, Jub 17:l5f, 18:3, 19: l . See Goudoever, 68, 157; Venues, Scripture, 214-218;
Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 179-184. Cf. Hayward, Date, 10f. Although Josephus in his
rendering of the 'Aqedah (Antiquities 113, 1-4 parr. 222-236) avoids any mention of a
Passover setting of that event, he still mentions the Temple and depicts the 'Aqedah as a true
offering in a liturgical atmosphere. See Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 184-188. Also Pseudo-

70

PASSOVER IN TARGTJM: PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

possibly known already to Philo and Josephus.335 This dating of the event is also

In Gen 27:1, Ps-J is alone among the Targums in associating the mention of
Isaac's blindness with the

'Aqedah.

supported in the Babylonian Talmud.336 In

The author of Ps-J does not, however, make

with Passover.

an express connection of that event with Passover in his rendering of Gen 22

itself. Further, in the Targurnic interpretation of 0'11r.Jili'

rnnn 1'7 ,,X1N1 N7 ,,7 1'nJIII 'N7' 1'1 N'7'7 Nil

:1':1 "tonight the heavenly beings praise the Lord of the world, and the storehouses

of dews are opened."

presented in the Pal Tgs as connected with Passover. Ps-J is, however, very brief
in his rendering of that passage, especially in respect of the "Second Night", in

God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of
grain and wine."

other Targums. Probably abbreviating a more complete original, without men

'Aqedah, as do the other Pal Tgs.330 Nf,

'Aqedah in its rendering of Exod

12:42.331
In contrast to Ps-J's reluctance elsewhere, however, in his rendering of Gen
27:1, the author overtly alludes to the

'Aqedah in

This reference to "the storehouses of dews" had its

impetus in the mention of "dew" in Isaac's blessing of Jacob in verse 28: "May

comparison with the lengthy expositions of Divine revelation to Abraham in the

to Abraham", and does not mention the

Gen R, Isaac's blessing is not coiiDected

however, sees the event in a Passover sening.m

Passover liturgy:

Creation, 2. to Abraham, 3. on the Egyptians, 4. at the End of the world) are

for instance, gives a thorough record of the

Ex R,

3. The third haggadic addition is an allusion to a joint celestial and terrestrial

7,7 the "night of vigil"

in Exod 12:42, "Four Nights" of importance (God's revelations: I. at the

tioning any details, he simply states: "the Second (Night), when He was revealed

71

\
!

Ps-J associated from this mention of dew to the Passover

liturgy in the Synagogue. The prayer for dew is one of the constituents of the
Synagogue liturgy at Passover.338

PRE has a somewhat different rendering of

whole world sings Hallel,34Q and this night

this Passover liturgy:339 "tonight the

the storehouses of dews are opened." The celestial Passover liturgy touches on a
favourite theme for Ps-J, that of the angelic song.341

a Passover setting.332 There

'Aqedah
PRE is the one

are various explanations of what exactly caused Isaac's blindness at the

in rnidrashic literature.333 Among these the explanation found in
most similar to that in Ps-1.334

2. The second haggadic addition to verse 1 is the date Ps-J established for the
event 10'l:l 10':11l(:l "on the fourteenth ofNisan", explicitly stating the cmmection
the Targumist makes between the blessing of Jacob and Passover, a connection

5.2,2. Gen 27:6

1'JN"nN nlll :ll:l ,N7 :llJ Jp-?N ;,,N :1j;>J,1

,N7 1'nN 1111"7N ,J, "Rebekab said to her son Jacob, 'I heard your father

The Hebrew Text reads:

say to your brother Esau"'. In verse

5 Ps-J has referred to Rebekah's possession

of the Holy Spirit. This explains why she was able to repeat exactly the words

Philo in his Antiquitates Biblicae 32, l-4, offers an interpretation of the 'Aqedah as an

she had heard Isaac say to Esau about the angelic song and the dew in Ps-J's

expiatory sacrifice in which Isaac as the lamb, however, without explicitly connecting the

rendition of verse l. The same phrase occurs unchanged in Ps-J Gen 27:6.342

event with Passover. See Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 188-194.

min tannaitic as well as homiletic Midrashim. See Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 131 f.
''l<or a note which, however, does not explain the reasons for the abridgment of the paraphrase
common to the other Pal Tgs in Ps-J, see Vermes, Scripture, 217, n. 2; Le Deaut, Nuit

Pascale, 136. As on divergent opinions on anti-Christian polemic in Ps-J, see above, 1.4. 1 . 1 .

.n 1"The

Second Night: when the Lord was revealed to Abram . . . . And Isaac was thirty-seven

years when he was offered upon the altar. The heavens were bowed down and descended,
and Isaac saw their perfections, and his eyes were dimmed because of their perfections." The
Frg Tgs, in addition to their reference to the 'Aqedah at theend of the exposition, also refer
to God's revelation to Abraham "between the pieces" in Gen 15, giving both events a

Passover setting. See Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 133-138. Ps-J does make a reference to Gen
15 in a Passover setting in its rendering ofExod 12:40: "since the Lord had spoken to
Abraham, from the time he had spoken to him on the fifteenth of Nisan between the pieces"

Cf. Vermes, Scripture, 217, n. 2.

msee Le Deaut, Nuit Pascale, 140.

mFor a swvey, see Hayward, Date, 9-1 1 .

n4PRE 3 2 (236), like Ps-J, relates Isaac's blindness to his heavenly vision at the 'Aqedah, but
concentrates on explaining the reason for this blindness, stating that after seeing God Isaac
should have been dead, but that his life was spared, and instead he became blind. Ps-J, in

contrast, refers to the 'Aqedah in respect of its Passover setting.

ies 1.267. For further discussion, see Hayward,

mPhilo, De Sacrificiis 63f.; Josephus, Antiquit
Date, 1 1 , 28f.
b Si5tah 12b. For further references to Talmud
mFor example b ljagigah 12b; b Taanit4b;
558.
ah,
Aggad
,
and other sources, see Levine
born, and in this month he was bound [as a
mEx R 1 5 , 1 1 : "In this month (Nisan) Isaac was
the blessings."
d
receive
Jacob
sacrifice). In this month, also,
Hayward, Date, l lf. Cf. Elbogen, 172;
See
4b.
Taanit
b
60:20;
Enoch
m2 Enoch 6:1; 1
Maher, Genesis, 94, n. 2.

Words deviating from Ps-J are italicized.

world", the angels of the
r, MSS of PRE stating that, instead of "the whole
howeve
are,
e
H'7ber
See Hayward, Date, 1 1 ,
night.
r
Passove
on
sing
merely
Hallet,
height, instead of singing
mPRE 32 (236).

n. 14.

7. For further references to literature on angelolo

H1See Hayward, Date, 1 1 ; Maher, Genesis,
n,
Jonatha
Pseudogy;
Angelolo
Shinan,
also
See
15.
n.
,
gy in Ps-J, see Hayward, Date, 1 1
1 12.
12; Maher, Genesis, 94, n. 4. PRE 32 (236f.)
42See Levine, Aggadah, 559; Hayward, Date,
Rebekah's possession of the Holy Spirit, and
has a similar rendering, but does not mention
ng with the dew and ending with the angelic
beginni
order,
reverse
the
in
phrase
the
gives

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

PER A BENGTSSON

72

5.3. Conclusions

5.2.3. Gen 27:9

Doubtless, this verse is the strongest link to Passover in Gen 27. In this verse, in
contrast to verses 1 and 6, there is in HT an expression which can be interpreted
as directly referring to Passover. Ps-J interprets the words

o:!o

tPi31

,,,,.

'JtO,

P1P t:mv? 1m mO' 01W7 1n l'l'IO rnr "1). '111 "two fat kids, one
for the Passover and one for the festival offerings" .143
as Nln

The two "choice kids" selected for the meal which Jacob was to serve his
dying father were interpreted as referring to Passover offerings. According to
the Rabbinic regulations for the Passover meal, the slaughter of two animals was
necessary---Qne for the Passover sacrifice, the Passover lamb, while the other
animal was slaughtered to provide supplementary meat for the Passover meal,
according to the Mishnaic prescription of the :"Tl'ln, the festival offering.344
The sumptuous meal that was to be served before Isaac, according to the HT,
was a problem to the Jewish exegetes. To eliminate the impression that the
Patriarch was a glutton, various reinterpretations of the passage were offered in
the exegetic literature, to restore Isaac's honour. Philo, for instance, offers an
apology for Isaac's large appetite, describing him as large man of enormous
stature who could easily consume large quantities without being conceived of as
a glutton.345 Also PRE expressly refers to the suspicion of gluttony that has to
be eliminated: "Did Isaac's meal then consist of two goat-kids? Was he not
satisfied with one?" The author of Ps-J, however, does not even mention the

There are three elements in Genesis 27 which the author of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
interpreted as indicating a Passover setting for the event described in the pericope:

1. The first element providing a Passover setting is Isaac's blindness mentioned

in Gen 27:1. To Ps-J this links the event to the

'Aqedah

in Gen 22.

Passover. This was reflected in the rendering of the verse in Ps-J.

2. The second element providing a link to Passover is the mention of two kids
in Gen 27:9, giving the event its sacrificial character. For the Passover meal, the
Passover la!nb had to be slaughtered together with an extra lamb, according to
tradition codified in the Mishnah.

3.

The third element associating to Passover is the mention of "dew" in

Isaac's blessing of Jacob in Gen 27:28. Ps-J associates from this mention of dew
to the prayer for dew in the Passover liturgy of the Synagogue.
There are striking similarities between the rendering of the elements of Gen 27
in a Passover setting in Ps-J and in PR.348 According to many scholars, Ps-J
has derived much haggadic material from PRE, and has remodelled it according
to ancient traditions which have not been incorporated in the mainstream of
Palestinian Targwn. 349 It is, however, not impossible that in his translation of Gen

27 the author of Ps-J has, independently, derived his interpretation from the same
traditions as those codified in PRE. 350

about the magnitude of Isaac's meal; the meal served to him was interpreted as a
complete Passover meal, nothing more. The interpretation of the event in Ps-J
uses the "two choice kids" to promote the Passover setting of this event, and as
a consequence to this interpretation, Isaac is exonerated from charges of gluttony.346
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan in Gen 27:9 saw Jacob's slaughter of the two animals
as an indication of the priestly and sacrificial character of his activities. The two
animals were offered as a proper Passover sacrifice.347

song.
343See Hayward, Date, 12-14; Maher, Genesis, 95, n. 5 (with further references). PRE 32
(237) has a rendering similar to that in Ps-J.

344See Hayward, Date, 12f. The regulations are codified in m Pesal;. 6:3.
345Philo, Quaestiones in Genesim 4:200. See Hayward, Dare, 13f.
346See Levine, Aggadah, 559; Hayward, Date, 13. Cf. above, 1.3.2.2.2.

In early

exegetic literature the sacrifice of Isaac as a firstling was seen as a prototype of

possibility of such a suspicion. In contrast to PRE, nothing is mentioned in Ps-J

H7See Hayward, Date, 10f.

73

H8Cf. the renderings in Ps-J of verses 1, 6, 9 with that in PRE 32 (236f.).

349See Maher, Genesis, 4.

msee Vermes, Targumic Versions, 99.; Hayward, Date, 8.

PASSOVER IN TARGUM PSEUDO-JONATHAN GENESIS

75

at a time when the wound following his circumcision caused him great pain.
According to several Jewish sources, the pain suffer:,ed by Abraham when the

6. Summary and Concluding Remarks

angels visited him was at its peak, which occurs on the third day after circumcision,
implying that the two events did not occur on the same .day. Others, however,
maintain that the pain that Abraham suffered was the pain that is felt on the day
of circumcision itself. The tradition that both events occurred on the same day,
Passover Eve, is attested in a few late sources, but could also have support in

Genesis Rabbah.
In the present study I have investigated the connection with Passover in Targum

As to the fourth event (Gen 27: 1, 6, 9), there is no explicit time marker

Pseudo-Jonathan of four important events recorded in the Book of Genesis, and

present in the Hebrew Bible. There are, however, three elements present in the

put this change in relation to the mechanisms of interpretation in the ancient

HT of Gen 27 which have been interpreted as coiUlecting the event with Passover

Synagogue.
Of the four texts studied in this work three contain vague indications of time in

in Pseudo-Jonathan: in verse 1 , the mention of Isaac's blindness gave associations

to his vision in the Targumic rendering of the

'Aqedah; in verse 9, the choice of

the Hebrew Bible. These three texts have been specified in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan,

two animals for a meal gave associations to the two animals of the Passover

and the events described have been connected with Passover by means of the

meal; in verse 28, the mention of "dew" in Isaac's blessing of Jacob gave

targumic doublet, rendering the temporal marker literally, and adding an explan

associations to the prayer for dew in the Passover liturgy. Most important of

atory, specifying element. The fourth text (Gen 27: 1 , 6, 9), however, contains no

these three elements in giving the author of Pseudo-Jonathan associations to

temporal expression in the Hebrew Bible, but instead there are other elements in

Passover is verse 9, and the mention of "two choice kids" to be prepared as a

the passage which called for its connection with Passover.

substantial meal for the dying Isaac. For a dying man such a meal would be

In the first text Cain presented his vegetable offering "at the end of days"

quite excessive. To make the passage reasonable it had to be reinterpreted.

according to Gen 4:3. In Ps-J this vague expression was specified into "at the

Given the choice of two kids the association to the election of the Passover lamb

end of days, on the fourteenth of Nisan". The offerings of Cain and Abel were

and to the "festival offering", the supplementary animal prescribed in the Mishnah,

parallelized. It was not only Abel's offering that was an offering of firstlings,

is not far-fetched.

Thus, Pseudo-Jonathan sees in these "two choice kids" a

Cain, too, was made to offer firstlings, an activity suggesting a spring setting.

Passover offering. The Passover setting of Gen 27: 1-13 is well attested in Jewish

Not only the time was specified, but also the content of Cain's offering: flax seed

literature.

"as an offering of first fruits". This interpretation is not peculiar to Pseudo -Jonathan

The early Jewish Bible exegesis had a twofold setting in the framework of the

Genesis Rabbah,

ancient Synagogue-liturgical and academic. In its reinterpretation of the Hebrew

alone.

Other sources of Jewish exegetic tradition, such as

TanJ:t.Uma,

and

Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer, have similar interpretations

of the text

Bible its purpose was, however, threefold-to make the Biblical text intelligible,

adjusted to tradition,

and the same dating.

The second text with a vague temporal phrase in the Hebrew Bible is the story

and

relevant to people living in a world utterly different

from the world of the Patriarchs.

of Abraham's circumcision in Gen 17:26. Pseudo-Jonathan transforms the phrase

It was in the ancient Synagogue that the early Jewish Biblical exegesis had its

"that very day" into "that very day, on the fourteenth <of Nisan>", giving

primary function in cormection with the readings from the Bible-to make the

Abraham's circumcision a Passover setting. This interpretation as well is supported

Bible accessible to the Jewish people. Jewish Biblical interpretation was, however,

in Jewish exegetic literature, such as Exodus Rabbah.

The third text in which there is a vague temporal expression in the Hebrew

18: 4,

not a popular exegesis; it was refined and elaborated in the Jewish academies,
constantly adjusted to tradition, before it was presented in public.

in the story of the three men who came to Abraham

To increase the intelligibility of the Bible in Jewish exegesis, obscure words and

conveying the promise of a son to be born to him "at the appointed time" the

passages were explained, vague indications of time or place were specified,

Bible is Gen

following year. This time report in Pseudo-Jonathan is specified into "at the time

incomplete texts were supplemented, and contradictive passages harmonized.

of the feast . . . . at this time", 'feast' most probably meaning Passover. The

There are several examples of all three main categories of Biblical exegesis in the

connection of Isaac' s birth with Passover is well attested in Jewish exegetic

material used in the present study, and presented above in the survey of the

literature. There is evidence in the literature for the dating of both Abraham's

interpretation of the Bible. The category of early Jewish Bible interpretation

circumcision and the visit of the angels to Passover. The angels visited Abraham

studied in this work is the specification of vague Biblical reports of time and the

76

PER A BENGTSSON

connection of events with Passover.

Thus, the question asked in the Introduction-whether there are in the ancient
Synagogue interpretational mechanisms explaining why a certain Biblical event is
understood in the light of Passover-can be answered in the affinnative.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan contains haggadic material from a great variety of
Jewish traditions. Some of its additions have parallels attested only in very late
compilations, but other material has its provenance in ancient Jewish traditions.
Even though Targum Pseudo-Jonathan in its final shape bears traces of late
revisions, and has little in common with the live presentation of Targum in the
Synagogue, this does not imply that all the haggadic material compiled in it was
strange to the ancient Synagogue, even if it is absent in the other Palestinian
Pentateuch Targums. On the contrary, much of this haggadic material can be
traced far back in tradition.

The connection in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan of

important events with Passover belongs to the traditions derived from ancient
sources. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is, however, not quite unique among the
Palestinian Targums in connecting events with Passover. In the Targums of Ruth
and the Song of Songs, there are events connected with Passover.

In their

interpretation of Exod 12:42 the other Palestinian Pentateuch Targums all mention,
in the context of God's revelation to Abraham, the

'Aqedah as connected with

Passover. Pseudo-Jonathan, on the other hand, is very brief.

We have seen that the connection of important Biblical events with Passover is
certainly not the invention of the author of a "rewritten Bible" completed in the
sixth/eighth century; this connection of events with Passover is quite an ancient
phenomenon in Jewish exegesis, found not only in the Talmud but already in the
works of exegetes such as Philo and Josephus, and in the Book of Jubilees. It
was a general tendency in ancient Judaism before the fall of the Temple in 70 CE
to connect important events in early Biblical history with Passover. This tendency
is reflected in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and belongs to the ancient strata Of this
Targum. It is, thus, the conviction of the present writer that the connection of
important events with Passover had its setting in the ancient Synagogue.

Abbreviations
b
B Me;
CTg (A,B,E, etc.)

Edpr
Ex R
Frg Tg(s)
Gen R

Babylonian Talmud

Bava Me?.ica
Cairo Genizah (Pal) Tg Manuscript

Editio princeps ofTg Ps-J (Venice, 1598)

Exodus Rabbah
Fragment Targum(s)

liT

Genesis Rabbah
Hebrew Text: Including the MT, as well as pre-MT read

Jub

Book of Jubilees

L
Lond

m
MT
N
Nf
Nfmg
Onq
p
Pal Tg(s)
Pent

Pesaf:i.
PRE

ings of the Hebrew Bible

Leipzig Frg Tg MS
British Library MS 27031 ofPs-J
Mishnah
Masoretic Text
Ntimberg Frg Tg MS
Neofiti
Neofiti marginal gloss
Onqelos
Paris BN Frg Tg MS
Palestinian Targum(s)
The Pentateuch
Pesahim

Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer

Ps-J

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

Rosh Hash
Tan
Tan B

Midrash Tanl;mma

Tg
v

Rosh Ha-Shanah
Midrash Tanl_mma, ed. S. Buber
Targum
Vatican Library Frg Tg MS

Journals, series and monographs

ALUOS
Aramaic Bible

Annual of Leeds University Oriental Society

The Aramaic Bible: Targums in Their Historical Context

ASTI
Aug.
Bib.

Annual of the Swedish Theological Institute

Augustinianum
Biblica

/D.R.G. Beattie, M.J. McNamara (eds.), Sheffield 1994.

78

BK
CHB
DBS
EJ
Erls
HAT
HThR
ICC
IDB
IEJ
Immanuel
JBL
JJS
JQR
JSJ
JSOT
JSSt
KBL'

Mikra

PER A BENGTSSON

Biblischer Kommentar. Altes Testament

Cambridge History of the Bible
Dictionnaire de la Bible. Supplement
Encyclopaedia Judaica
Eretz Israel
Handbuch zum Alten Testament
Harvard Theological Review
International Critical Commentary
Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible
Israel Exploration Journal
Immanuel: a SemiAnnual Bulletin of Religious Thought
and Research in Israel
Journal of Biblical Literature
Journal ofJewish Studies
Jewish Quarterly Review
Journalfor the Study ofJudaism
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Journal of Semitic Studies
Hebriiisches und Aramiiisches Lexikon zum Alten Testa
ment /von L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner. (3:o)
Mikra: Compendium Rerum ludaicorum ad Novum
Testamentum/ M.J. Mulder (ed.), Ill. Assen: Van Gorcum
1988.

MUSJ
NJ
PAAJR
REJ
ScrHie
Sef
Sem.
TDOT
Textus
ThWAT
VT
VT.S
WCJS
ZNW

ZThK

Melanges de l'Universiti Saint Joseph

Nordisk Judaistik
Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Re
search
Revue des Etudes Juives
Scripta Hierosolymitana
Sefarad. Madrid
Semitica: Cahiers
Theological Dictionary of the OT
Textus: Annual of the Hebrew University Bible Project
Theologisches WOrterbuch zum Alten Testament
Vetus Testamentum
Vetus Testamentum. Supplements
World Congress ofJewish Studies
Zeitschrift jar die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
Zeitschriftjar Theologie und Kirche

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"Associative and Complementary Translation i n the Targu

"Converse Translation: A Targumic Technique." Bib.

(1970),

537-578.

"The Aramaic Targumim: Translation and Interpretation." The

Interpretation of the Bible : the International Symposium in
Slovenia (1996 : Ljubljana, Slovenia) I Edited by Joze Kras
ovec. JSOT 289. Sheffield : Sheffield Academic Press 1998,
317-33 1.
mim."

''The Aggadah in Targum Jonathan ben 'Uzziel and Neofiti I to

Genesis: Parallel References." Diez Macho, Neofiti 2

Sessions: Bible Studies and Ancient Near East (1988), 75-85.

Klein, M.L.

Bib. 42

(1961), 28-48.

(1958), 100-1 16.

"Aramaic Targumim and their Sitz im Leben."

'Traditions targumiques dans le Corpus paulinien?."

85

Cognate Studies.
Mann, J.

Sheffield

The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue : a

Study in the Cycles of the Readings from Torah and Prophets,
as well as from Psalm, and in the Structure of the Midrashic
Homilies. Vol. 1 : The Palestinian Triennial Cycle : Genesis
and Exodus : with a Hebrew Section Containing Manuscript
Material of Midrashim to these Books. Cincinnati, Ohio 1940.

PER A BENGTSSON

88

Skinner, J.
von Soden, W.

lischen Nachlasses von Bruno Meissner, bearb. von Wolfram

A Dictionary ofJewish Palestinian Aramaic of the Byzantine

Period /by Michael Sokoloff. Ramat-Gan : Bar-Ilan Univ.
Press 1990.

Speier, S.

"The Date of the Circumcision of Abraham and Ishmael Ac

cording to Targum Pseudo-Jonathan." (in Hebrew) PAAJR 29
(1960-<il), 69-73.

Speiser, E.A.

Genesis /Introd., Transl., and Notes by E. A. Speiser. Anchor

Bible 7 1964.

Sternberger, G.

Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash I by GUnter Stem

berger ; Translated and Edited by Markus Bockmuehl. 2:o
Edinburgh : T & T Clark !996.

Syren, R.

The Blessings in the Targums (Acta Academiae Aboensis, Ser.

A, 64.1) Abo 1986.

Talmon, S.

" Qe,. " ThWAT1, 84-92.

VanderKam, J.C. "Calendars, Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish." Anchor Bible

Dictionary !, 814-820.
Venues, G.

"Bible and Midrash: Early Old Testament Exegesis."

CHB !,

199-231 ; Vermes, Post-Biblical, 59-9 1 .

"Haggadab i n the Onkelos Targum." JSSt 8 (1963), 159-169;
Vermes, Post-Biblical, 127-138.

Post-Biblical Jewish Studies. Leiden 1975.

Scripture and Tradition in Judaism : Haggadic Studies.
Leiden 1961, '1973.
"The Targumic Versions of Genesis 4, 3-16." ALUOS 3
(196()...62), Leiden 1963, 107-1 1 1 ; Vermes, Post-Biblical,
92-126.
I. Cop. !987.

Wenham, G.J.

Genesis 1-15. Word Biblical Commentary

Westermarm, C.

Genesis 1-11. BK Ill. 1966-1974.

Yaron, R.

"Ka'eth i)ayyah and koh lehay." VT 12 (1962), 500f.

York, A.D.

REGIAE SOCIETATIS HUMANIORUM LITTERARUM LUNDENSIS

Akkadisches HandwOrterbuch I unter Benutzung des lexika

von Soden. (vols. 1-3) Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz 1965-1981.

Sokoloff, M.

SCRIPTA MINORA

A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Genesis /by John

Skinner (ICC). Edinburgh 1910.

"The Dating of Targumic Literature."

JSJ 5 (1974), 49-62.

"The Targum in the Synagogue and in the School." JSJ 10,1

(1979), 74-86.

Scripta Minora 1957-1958

1.

Nils Gi'ista Va!dbz: Om Vilhelm Ekelunds boktitlar. Zusammenfassung.

2. A. Wifstrand: EIKOTA. VII.
3. Asko Vilkuna: Das Begriibniscier.
4.]oh. Lindblom: A Study on the Immanuel Section in Isaiah. Isa. vii, 1-ix, 6.
Scripta Minora 1958-1959
1. Gun Lehmann: L'emploi moderne de l'adverbe franais te!lement, compare a celui du si et du
tant d'intensite.
2. Alf Nyman: Evidence logique et evidence geomeuique. Considerations de concepruologie
historique et de logique exp6rimentale.
3. Ervin Roos: Die Person des Nasidienus bei Horacius.
4. GOsta Li:iwendahL Kiirlek och svirmod hos Vik.tor Rydberg. Zusammenfassung.
Scripta Minora 1959-1960
1. Ejnar Dygg;ue: Three Sanctuaries of Jelling Type.
2.]onas Palm: Zur Funktion und Stellung des anributiven Demonstrativums im Griechischen.
3. Claes Schaar: On the Motif of Death in 16th Century Sonnet Poetry.
4. Jonas Palm: Textkritisches zum Apokricikos des Makarios Magnes.
Scripta Minora 1960-1961
1. Martin P. Nilsson: Die Entstehung und religiOse Bedeutung des griechischen Kalenders.
2. durchges. und erg. Auf!.
2. Einar Gjerstad: Legends and Facts of Early Roman History.
3. Nils-Arvid Bringeus: Jiirnplogen som innovation. Summary.
4. Ervin Roos: Textkritische Betrachrungen iiber einige Stellen im 6. Buch des Thukydides.
Scripta Minora 1961-1962
1. Per Wieselgren: BrO!lopskviden p hexameter.
2. Georg Henrik von Wright: Essay om naturen, manniskan och den vetenskapligt-tekniska re
volucionen. Summary.
3. A. Thomson: StOld av annans hustru. Kristoffers landslag Tjuvabalken kapitel I. Zusammen
fassung.
4.]. E. Cross: ft:lfric and the Medizval Homiliary - Objection and Contribution.
Scripta Minora 1962-1963
1. jan Mogren: Antik poesi i svensk Oversiittning. Tv srudier.
2. Alf U:Jmbard: Le rOle des semi-voyelles et leur concurrence avec les voyelles correspondantes
dans Ia prononciation parisienne.
3. Albert Wifstrand: EIKOTA. VIII.
4. Inger Rosengren: Sprache und Verwandtschaft einiger althochdeutschen und altsiichsischen
Evangelienglossen.
Scripta Minora 1963-1964
1. Sven B. Ek: Den som kommer fOrst till kvarns -. Ett ordsprak. och dess bakgrund. Zusammen
fassung.
2. Lars Bejerholm: Harald Eklunds religionsfilosofi. Efterliimnade uppsatser- bibliografi.
3. COsta Vitestam: Seconde partie du traite, qui passe sous le nom de Ia grande lettre d':Evagre le
Poncique a Melanie I'Ancienne. Publiee et traduite d'apres le manuscrit du British Museum
add. 17192.
4. Gott{rid Carlsson: Margareta och Erik av Pommem. Kallhiinvisningar och kommentarer till
Sveriges Historia till vira dagar III: 1 .

Scripta Minora 1981-1982

1. Christopher Tilley: An Assessment of the Scanian Battle-Axe Tradition: Towards a Social

Perspective.
2. Giiran Rystad: Prisoners of the Past? The Munich Syndrome and Makers of American Foreign
Policy in the Cold War Era.
1.

Scripta Minora 1982-1983

Christian Callmer: Georg Christian Gropius als Agent, Konsul und Archaologe in Griechenland
1803-1850.
2. Deborah S. Olausson: Flint and Groundstone Axes in the Scanian Neolithic. An Evaluation of
Raw Materials Based on Experiment.
3. Trygg;ve N. D. Mettinger: A Farewell to the Servant Songs. A Critical Examination of an
Exegetical Axiom.
Scripta Minora 1983-1984
1. Gunnel Tottie: Much about not and nothing. A Study of the Variation between Analytic and
Synthetic Negation in Contemporary American English.
2.johan Callmer: Sceatta Problems in the Light of the Finds from AllUs.
3. Orjan Wikander: Exploitation of Water-power or Technological Stagnation? A Reappraisal of
the Productive Forces in the Roman Empire.
Scripta Minora 1984-1985
1. Gunnar jarring: The Moen Collection of Eastern Turki (New Uighur). Proverbs and Popular
Sayings. Edited with Translation, Notes and Glossary.
2. Aster Akalu: Beyond Morals? Experiences of Living the Life of the Ethiopian Nuer.
Scripta Minora 1985-1986

Scripta Minora 1991-1992

1 Per Stjernquist: Forese Treatment. Relations to Nature of Swedish Private Forestry.
2. Gurmarjarring: Garments from Top coToe. Eastern Turki Texts relating to Anicles of Clothing
edited with Translation, Notes and Glossary.
Scripta Minora 1992-1993
1. Gunnarjarring: Stimulants among the Turks of Eastern Turkestan. An Eastern Turki Text edited
with Translation, Notes and Glossary.
2. Ellen Alwa!L Der Dichter im Schulbuch. Die Auswahl von Dichtern in deutschen Lesebiichern
1875-1964.
3. Michael MUller-Wille: Death and burial in Medieval Europe.
Scripta Minora 1993-1994
1 . Berta Stjernquist: The Royal Society of Letters at Lund 1968-1993. An Historical Account.
2. Meeting foreign Cultures. A special arrangement to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Royal
Society of Letters at Lund.
Scripta Minora 1994-1995

L Berta Stjemquist, Curt W. Beck and fan BergstrOm: Archaeological and Scientific Studies of
Amber from the Swedish Iron Age.

Scripta Minora 1995-1996

1. Torsten Capelle: Anthropomorphe Holzidole in Mittel- und Nordeuropa.
Scripta Minora 1996-1997

1. Birgitta HJ.rdh: Ceramic Decoration and Social Organization. Regional Variations seen in
Material from South Swedish Passage-Graves.
2. Gunnarjarring: Dervish and Qalandar. Texts from Kashghar edited and translated with Notes
and Glossary.

1. Gunnar jarring: The Moen Collection of Eastern Turki (New Uighur) Popular Poetry. Edited
with Translation, Notes and Glossary.

Scripta Minora 1986-1987

1. Karin Blomqvist: The Tyrant in Ariscode's Politics. Theoretical Assumptions and Historical
Background.
2. Gunnarjarring: Agriculture and Horticulture in Central Asia in the Early Years of the Twenti
eth Century with an Excursus on Fishing. Edited with Eastern Turki Texts with Transcription,
Translation, Notes and Glossary.

1. PerStjernquist: Poverty on the Outskirts. On Cultural Impoverishment and Cultural Integration.

2. Sven SandstrOm: Anchorage of Imagination.
Scripta Minora 1987-1988
1. Alf Onneifors: Das Waltharius-Epos. Probleme und Hypothesen.
2. Gillis Gerleman: Der Heidenapostel. Ketzerische Erwiigungen zur Predigt des Paulus zugleich
ein Streifzug in der griechischen Mythologie.
Scripta Minora 1988-1989
1. Aster Akalu: The Nuer View of Biological Life. Nature and Sexuality in the Experience of the
Ethiopian Nuer.
2. Birgitta HJrdh: Patterns of Deposition and Settlement. Studies on the Megalithic Tombs of
West Scania.
Scripta Minora 1989-1990
1 . Gunnar jarring: The Thiefless City and the Contest between Food and Throat. Four Eastern
Turki Texts edited with Translation, Notes and Glossary.
2. Giiran Hermerin: An, Reason and Tradition. On the Role of Rationality in Interpretation and
Explanation of Works of An.
Scripta Minora 1990-1991
1. Giista Holm: Uppkomsten av de neutrala verbalabstrakterna p:l -ande.
2. Ellen Alwal!: The Poet in the Reader. The Selection of Poets in English and Scottish School
books 1850-1974.
J. Gunnarjarring: Culture Clash in Central Asia. Islamic Views on Chinese Theatre. Eastern Turki
Texts edited with Translation, Notes and Vocabulary.

Scripta Minora 1997-1998

Scripta Minora 1998-1999

l.johanna Akujiirvi: Interpretational Problems inPausanias' Attika (1 18.1, 6 and 9}.
2. Catarina Paradis (Ed.): Recent trends in the pronunciation of English. Social, regional and atti
tudinal aspects.
Scripta Minora 1999-2000
1. Per Stjernquist: Organized Cooperation Facing Law. An Anthropological Study.
2. Berti! Sundby: 'Its appeal is to the middlebrow'. A study in text strategy.
Scripta Minora 2000-2001
1. Per A Bengtsson: Passover in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Genesis. The Connection of Early
Biblical Events with Passover in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan in a Synagogue Setting.