Targumic Bible Traditions

The Targumic tradition constitutes a major early body of vernacular translation into Aramaic, arising in Jewish communities for whom Aramaic had become the everyday language, and preserving interpretation alongside translation. Rendered from Hebrew and based on the Hebrew Bible, its scope covers the Torah, the Prophets, and selected Writings, and it is best categorized as translation with interpretive expansion. Its translation philosophy ranges from literal to midrashic depending on the particular Targum, so that some strands stay close to the Hebrew wording while others incorporate substantial explanatory material. The tradition is not a single work but comprises several distinct strands, among them Onkelos, Jonathan, Neofiti, Pseudo-Jonathan, and the Targums to the Writings. Associated with synagogue reading and study, the Targums remain of interest to scholars of the biblical text and of early Jewish interpretation, and they have influenced later commentary and translation.