TARGUM. The designation of a Jewish version of certain books of the Old Testament. After the Exile, Aramaic took the place of Hebrew as the spoken language of the people. Consequently, the text of the Hebrew Scriptures became unintelligible to the general public. It became necessary therefore in the Synagogue service, an important part of which consisted in readings from the Law and the Prophets, to have someone to interpret the original language. As the reader in the Synagogue read a passage of Scripture, an interpreter, Methur geman, rendered the sense in Aramaic, the language of the people. Naturally this translation was apt to become paraphrastic. In the case of the Law, an effort seems to have been made to give the translation as literally as possible, though even here the interpreter was tempted to explain and to expound. In the case of the Prophets, a free paraphrase was almost unavoidable. In any case, it was not necessary to guard against it so carefully, as the reading from the Prophets (introduced at a later date) was of minor importance. The frequent repetition of these interpretations will have resulted in their assum ing in course of time a more or less fixed or stereotyped form. These Interpretations or translations were called Targums. Transmitted at first orally, they were after wards committed to writing, though it was forbidden to use these written translations in the Synagogue service. The Targums originated in Palestine, but were not held in high esteem there. Amongst the Babylonian Jews, by whom they were adopted, they received greater honour. The Torah (Law) Targum of the Babylonians is called the Targum Onkelos. It seems clear that Onkelos is a
variation of Aquilas, which again is the same as Aquila, the name of the author of a very literal translation (Gk.) of the Old Testament. The Targum was so called either through confusion, or because it was made in the literal style of Aquila. The Babylonian Targum on the Prophets is called the Targum of Jonathan, i.e., of Jona than ben Uzziel. It has been suggested that Jonathan is equivalent to Theodotion, the name of the author of another (fragmentary) translation (Gk.) of the Old Testa ment. The two names, the one Hebrew, the other Greek, have the same meaning. In that ease this Targum may have been so called because it was made in the style of Theodotion, i.e., in a freer and more paraphrastic style. The Palestinian Torah (Law) Targum has been preserved in two forms, the one complete, the other fragmentary.
The complete form has been called Targum Jonathan (Pseudo-Jonathan). This has been owing to a mistake. The real name was Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum). The abbreviation T.Y. was wrongly interpreted Targum Yonathan (Jonathan). The Palestinian Targum on the Prophets has only been preserved in fragments. The Targums on the Hagiographa were confined to Palestine, and were never recognised officially. There were no Targums on the books of Daniel and Ezra, which belong to this group. There is also a Samaritan Torah (Law) Targum. See F. Buhl, Canon; C. A. Briggs, Intr.; W. O. E. Oesterley and G. H. Box.