Targum Jonathan (
Hebrew: תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל), otherwise referred to as Targum Yonasan/Yonatan, is the official eastern (
Babylonian)
targum (
Aramaic translation) to the
Nevi'im ("prophets").[1]
It is not to be confused with "
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan", an Aramaic translation of the
Torah, which is often known as "Targum Jonathan" due to a printer's error or perhaps because it is so stylistically similar to Targum Jerusalem, named "Jonathan" to differentiate the two later translations.
Origin
It originated, like
Targum Onkelus for the Torah, in the synagogue reading of a translation from the Prophets, together with the weekly lesson.
The
Talmud[2] attributes its authorship to
Jonathan ben Uzziel, a pupil of
Hillel the Elder. According to this source, it was composed by Jonathan ben Uzziel "from the mouths of
Haggai,
Zechariah, and
Malachi," implying that it was based on traditions derived from the last prophets. The additional statements that on this account the entire land of Israel was shaken and that a voice from heaven cried: "Who has revealed my secrets to the children of men?" are legendary reflections of the novelty of Jonathan's undertaking and of the disapprobation it evoked. The story adds that Jonathan wished to translate the
Ketuvim also but that a heavenly voice bade him to desist. The Targum to
Job, which was withdrawn from circulation by
Gamaliel I, may have represented the result of his attempts to translate the Ketuvim.[3]
Jonathan ben Uzziel is named as Hillel's most prominent pupil,[4] and the reference to his Targum is at least of historical value, so there is nothing to controvert the assumption that it served as the foundation for the present Targum to the Prophets.[5]
It was thoroughly revised, however, before it was redacted in Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud it is quoted with especial frequency by Joseph, head of the Academy of
Pumbedita,[6] who writes, with reference to two biblical passages:[7] "If there were no Targum to it we should not know the meaning of these verses".[8] This shows that as early as the beginning of the fourth century the Targum to the Prophets was recognized as of ancient authority.
The targum is sometimes cited with the introduction "Rav Yosef has translated", suggesting a tradition of authorship by Rav
Yosef bar Hama.[9][10]
Linguistic analysis
The language of Targum Jonathan is Aramaic. Its overall style is very similar to that of
Targum Onkelos (to the
Pentateuch), though at times it seems to be a looser paraphrase of the Biblical text.[11]
Like Targum Onkelos, it gained general recognition in Babylonia in the third century; and from the Babylonian academies it was carried throughout the Diaspora. It originated, however, in the
Land of Israel, and was then adapted to the vernacular of Babylonia; so that it contains the same linguistic peculiarities as the Targum Onḳelos, including sporadic instances of Persian words.[12] In cases where the Land of Israel and Babylonian texts differ, this Targum follows the latter.[13]
Although Targum Jonathan was composed in antiquity (probably in the 2nd Century CE), it is now known from medieval manuscripts, which contain many textual variants.[14] The earliest attestation appears as citations of
Jer 2:1–2 and
Ez 21:23 on an
AramaicIncantation bowl found in
Nippur,
Babylonia.[15]
Liturgical use
In
Talmudic times (and to this day in
Yemenite Jewish communities), Targum Jonathan was read as a verse-by-verse translation alternately with the Hebrew verses of the
haftarah in the
synagogue. Thus, when the Talmud states that "a person should complete his portions of scripture along with the community, reading the scripture twice and the targum once",[16] the passage may be taken to refer to Targum Jonathan and
Targum Onkelos.