ABSTRACT
The Aramaic translations known as Targum (plural: Targumim, meaning 'trans lation' or ' interpretation' in Hebrew) were already in use before the Christian era. The meturgeman (or translator) rendered the synagogal public reading of the Torah into the Aramaic vernacular with a running explana tion. Consequently, the Targumim which are printed today in scholarly editions of the Torah are intermingled with paraphrases and commentary. The Targum was frequently used by later Jewish commentators to elucidate the meaning of difficult stretches of text. It thus acquired its own sanctity and some people still follow the tradition of preparing the weekly synagogal Hebrew scriptural portion by study ing it side-by-side with the Aramaic translation. The main Targum, named after Onkelos (its alleged author) and finally writ ten down and edited around the third century AD, has an interpretative function. In particu lar, Onkelos strives to alter anthropomorphic references to the Deity.
