The Isaiah Targum: Introduction, Translation, Apparatus and Notes (Aramaic Bible)

187 Pages·1987·6.52 MB·English

by  Bruce D. Chilton

THEA RAMAIBCIB LE
THE TARGUMS
0 e
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Martin McNamara, M.S.C.
EDITORS
Kevin Cathcart Michael Maher, M.S.C.
0
Martin McNamara, M.S.C.
EDITORlAL CONSULTANTS
Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. * Bernard Grossfeld
The Aramaic Bible
Volunqe 11
The Isaiah Targum
Introduction, Translation, Apparatus and Notes
BY
Bruce D. Chilton
p
Michael Glazier, Inc.
--
4c2 ". ;:>,:
Wilrnington, Delaware
About the Translator:
Bruce D. Chilton is a Lillian Claus Associate Professor of New Testament in the
Divinity School of Yale University. He holds degrees from Bard College, and General
Theological Seminary and Cambridge University. Among his publications are God in
Strength: Jesus' Announcement of the Kingdom.
First published in 1987 by Michael Glazier, inc., 1935 West Fourth Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19805.
@Copyight 1987 by Michael Glazier, Inc. All rights reserved.
Library of Cong- Cataloging in Publication Data
Bible. O.T. Isaiah. English. Chilton. 1987.
The Isaiah Targum.
(The Aramaic Bible ; v. 11)
Translation of the Aramaic Targum of Isaiah,
which is itself a translation from Hebrew
Bibliography: p.
Includes indexes.
I. Bible. O.T. Isaiah. Aramaic-Translations
into English. 2. Bible. O.T. Isaiah. Aramaic-
Criticism, Textual. I. Chilton, Bruce. 11. Series:
Bible. O.T. English. AramaicBibie. 1986 ; v.11.
BS895.A72 1986 Voi. 11 221.42 s 86-45346
[BS1513] [224'.1M2]
ISBN 0-89453-480-7
Logo design by Florence Bern.
Printed in thc United States of America.
For E. B. and C. f? D. M.,
with gratitude.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EDITORS' FOREWORD ..................................................................................... ix
PREFACE ............................................................................................................ xi
...
INTRODUCTION xi11
The Theology of the Isaiah Targum xiv
Distinctions of Emphasis within the .............................. xviii
The Formation and Historical Circumstances of the Targum ........................... xx
The Importance of the Targum for
the Study of Early Judaism and of the New Testament ............................. xxv
Early Citations and Manuscripts of the Targum ....................................... xxviii
Editions and Translations of the Targum xxxi
The Format of the Present Volume xxxiii
TRANSLATION, NOTES AND APPARATUS ............................................. I
INDICES ........................................................................................................... 129
Index of Primary Sources ................................................................ 129
Index of Secondary Contributions ................................................................ 129
Index of Targumic Subjects ............................................................................ 130

EDITORS' FOREWORD
While any translation of the Scriptures may in Hebrew be called a Targum, the word is
used especially for a translation of a book of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. Before
the Christian era Aramaic had in good part replaced Hebrew in Palestine as the
vernacular of the Jews. It continued as their vernacular for centuries later and
remained in part as the language of the schools after Aramaic itself had been replaced
as the vernacular.
Rabbinic Judaism has transmitted Targums of all books of the Hebrew Canon, with
the exception of Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah, which are themselves partly in Aramaic.
We also have a translation of the Samaritan Pentateuch into the dialect of Samaritan
Aramaic. From the Qumran Library we have sections of a Targum of Job and
fragments of a Targum of Leviticus, chapter 16, facts which indicate that the Bible was
being translated in Aramaic in pre-Christian times.
Translations of books of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic for liturgical purposes must
have begun before the Christian era, even though none of the Targums transmitted to
us by Rabbinic Judaism can be shown to be that old and though some of them are
demonstrably compositions from later centuries.
In recent decades there has been increasing interest among scholars and a larger
public in these Targums. A noticeable lacuna, however, has been the absence of a
modern English translation of this body of writing. It is in marked contrast with most
other bodies of Jewish literature for which there are good modern English translations,
for instance the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Josephus,
Philo, the Mishnah, the Babylonian Talmud and Midrashic literature, and more
recently the Tosefta and Palestinian Talmud.
It is hoped that this present series will provide some remedy for this state of affairs.
The aim of the series is to translate all the traditionally-known Targums, that is those
transmitted by Rabbinic Judaism, into modern English idiom, while at the same time
respecting the particular and peculiar nature of what these Aramaic translations were
originally intended to be. A translator's task is never an easy one. It is rendered doubly
difficult when the text to be rendered is itself a translation which is at times governed
by an entire set of principles.
All the translations in this series have been specially commissioned. The translators
have made use of what they reckon as the best printed editions of the Aramaic Targum
in question or have themselves directly consulted the manuscripts.
The translation aims at giving a faithful rendering of the Aramaic. The introduction
to each Targum contains the necessary background information on the particular
work. In general, each Targum translation is accompanied by an apparatus and notes.
The former is concerned mainly with such items as the variant readings in the Aramaic
texts, the relation of the English translation to the original, etc. The notes give what
explanations the translator thinks necessary or useful for this series.
Not all the Targums here translated are of the same kind. Targums were translated at
different times, and most probably for varying purposes, and have more than one
interpretative approach to the Hebrew Bible. This diversity between the Targums
themselves is reflected in the translation and in the manner in which the accompanying
explanatory material is presented. However, a basic unity of presentation has been
maintained.
A point that needs to be stressed with regard to this translation of the Targums is
that by reason of the state of current targumic research, to a certain extent it must be
regarded as a provisional one. Despite the progress made, especially in recent decades,
much work still remains to be done in the field of targumic study. Not all the Targums
are as yet available in critical editions. And with regard to those that have been
critically edited from known manuscripts, in the case of the Targums of some hooks the
variants between the manuscripts themselves are such as to give rise to the question
whether they have all descended from a single common original.
Details regarding these points will be found in the various introductions and critical
notes.
It is recognised that a series such as this will have a broad readership. The Targums
constitute a valuable source of information for students of Jewish literature,
particularly those concerned with the history of interpretation, and also for students of
the New Testament, especially for those interested in its relationship to its Jewish
origins. The Targums also concern members of the general public who have an interest
in the Jewish interpretation of the Scriptures or in the Jewish background to the New
Testament. For them the Targums should be both interesting and enlightening.
By their translations. introductions and critical notes the contributors to this series
have rendered an immense service to the progress of targumic studies. It is hoped that
the series, provisional though it may be, will bring significantly nearer the day when the
definitive translation of the Targums can he made.
Kevin Cathcart Martin McNamara, M.S.C. Michael Maher, M.S.C.
PREFACE
When Martin McNamara informed me of plans to render the Targums in English, I
was excited. When he asked me to look after the Isaiah Targum, I was thrilled.
Although I had then been working with the document for some time, in connection
with my study of Jesus' preaching, the opportunity to order and develop my
thoughts for a translation and commentary was a timely stimulus. No scholar could
ask for a more rewarding challenge than Prof. McNamara gave me, and I remain
most grateful to him.
In accordance with the aims of The Aramaic Bible project, the present volume is
designed with the English-speaking reader primarily in view. Some of the material in
the Apparatus and Notes may nonetheless be of use to Aramaists and more
advanced students of the Targum. Those among the last group mentioned may in
any case have recourse to my earlier book, The Glury of'lsrael. The Theoloxy and
Provenience of'the Isaiah Targum. The present contribution brings up to date and
extends the discussion I have been concerned to develop, without superseding the
detailed work of the previous study. Much of this volume was written while I was a
visitor at Union Seminary in Richmond; I am particularly grateful to Patrick Miller,
who was then Dean, for his arrangement of the visit, and for a research grant from
Sheffield University. While this volume was being produced, 1 took up a position at
Yale University, where two students helped to deal with the proofs. Emily Holcombe
has exercised her eagle's eye, and Gay Forsstrom has prepared the indices.
Progress in theology is difficult to attain. One might imagine that one should build
directly on the foundations ofconsensus, and extend our knowledge in that manner.
But the foundation of theology is the study of texts, and the understanding of texts is
prone to change. Theologians must therefore keep a wary eye on the foundations
they build on, lest their castles be left in the air; every act of theological thinking
should grow from the bottom up. 1 was tutored to appreciate the need for a critical
attitude towards theological fashions in the seminars of C.F.D. Moule and Ernst
Bammel, as well as under their direct supervision. They showed me how rigorous
theological thinking must be; they insisted in their different ways that theology
knows no consensus apart from what exegesis can deliver. I dedicate this volume to
them, not as a colleague, but as an aspirant to their craft.