This volume is concerned with the origin and development of the Targum to the Prophets, focusing for this purpose upon the Twelve Prophets (from Nahum to Malachi). A wide-ranging introductory chapter sets current research in context by surveying almost two centuries of Targumic study. It is argued that the evidence in the extant text for a Second Commonwealth phase in the Targum's history is meagre and that, in particular, the Qumran Habakkuk pesher is not dependent upon the Targum to Habakkuk. Other issues discussed are the Hebrew Vorlage of the Targum, incipit formulae, 'Additional Targum' and the standard Targum, the haggadah in the Targum to Zechariah 3 in the light of a (so-called) Eastern Aramaic linguistic element, Targum and Peshiṭta, land and divine presence, and the final redaction of the Targum.

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The attribution, by the Babylonian Talmud, of this Targum to Jonathan ben Uzziel is suspect on several counts: among others, the silence concerning Jonathan in the parallel passage in the Palestinian Talmud, and the fanciful suggestion that Onkelos=Aquila and Jonathan=Theodotion. The attribution, therefore, is not to be taken as historical fact. The Talmud may have been attempting to enhance the authority of the Targum by claiming authorship by a disciple of Hillel, which Jonathan was. It is generally agreed that the author of the Targum Jonathan is unknown; in fact, it is preferable to consider multiple authorship. For while language and translation techniques are uniform, there is variety from book to book.

The present study explores the possibility of using variant readings of the Targum of the Prophets to get a better insight into the origin and history of Targum Jonathan. The focus is on two sorts of variant readings: the Tosefta Targums and the targumic quotations in rabbinic and medieval Jewish literature. The chapter on the Tosefta Targums concentrates on variants from the book of Samuel. The chapter on the targumic quotations includes quotations of all the Prophets in early Jewish literature. In the Appendix a full list is given of all quotations of Targums of the Prophets presently known. The book is useful for the study of the genesis of Targum Jonathan as well as for its later developments.

The origin and early history of Targum Onqelos to the Pentateuch and Targum Jonathan to the Prophets have long been the object of lively scholarly discussions. Linguistic arguments have played an important role in the debate, but the grammatical treatment of the Aramaic of these texts has focussed on phonological, orthographical, morphological and lexical matters, leaving syntactic aspects mostly unconsidered. Using the corpus of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel as a basis, this book investigates five key topics in the syntax of the Aramaic of Targum Jonathan: the use of the states of the noun (determination), the morphosyntax of the numerals, the distribution of the genitive constructions, the verbal system, and word order. It includes a detailed comparative discussion of these syntactic features with reference to other types of Aramaic and attempts to show how the syntax of Targum Jonathan can shed light on the classification of its language within Aramaic as a whole and therefore contribute to our knowledge of its origin and early history.

Although the term "minor prophets" is a familiar one in English Bible translations, it is not a felicitous one, since it applies as much to Hosea as to Haggai and to Amos as to Obadiah. The Targum offers no such pecking order. Nuggets of importance are as likely to be found in a Targumized "minor" prophet as a "major" one. Included in this volume are the books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The authors' apparatus in the introduction provides the translational characteristics, theology, life-setting, text and versions, language, rabbinic citations and parallels, dating, manuscripts, and bibliography. A series of indices is also included.

This source analysis of the richest of the Pentateuchal Targums shows its unique material to address the priesthood: its value, its traditions, and its community function. The material shows new views of sacrifice, law, legends, and the supernatural. The print edition is available as a set of two volumes (9789004145825).