Translation technique and syntax of the targums

The syntax of Onkelos is, to a large degree, the syntax of the Hebrew verse in Aramaic words. Where it departs from the Hebrew, it does so for reasons that can be named: Aramaic grammar, clarity, law (halakhah), and above all reverence — the avoidance of expressions that make God look human. This file describes both: the regular mapping and the departures. Jonathan to the Prophets follows the same rules more freely and adds whole sentences of interpretation.

References: Alexander 1992; Flesher and Chilton 2011 (ch. 2 on technique); Grossfeld 1988, The Targum Onqelos to Genesis (Aramaic Bible 6; in copyright); Klein 1982, "The Translation of Anthropomorphisms and Anthropopathisms in the Targumim" (VT Suppl 32); Smolar and Aberbach 1983, Studies in Targum Jonathan to the Prophets; Chilton 1987, The Isaiah Targum (Aramaic Bible 11). Examples from the public-domain Sefaria texts; counts are our unpointed token counts in Onkelos, 2026-10-17.

1. Word for word

In the plain narrative and in the laws, Onkelos gives one Aramaic word for each Hebrew word, in the same order:

Hebrew:    בְּרֵאשִׁית  בָּרָא  אֱלֹהִים  אֵת  הַשָּׁמַיִם  וְאֵת  הָאָרֶץ
Aramaic:   בְּקַדְמִין  בְּרָא  יְיָ      יָת  שְׁמַיָּא   וְיָת  אַרְעָא
Translit.: bə-qaḏmīn bərā yəyā yāṯ šəmayyā wə-yāṯ ʾarʿā
Gloss:     in-beginning.M.PL.ABS create.PEAL.PF.3MS LORD ACC heaven.DET and-ACC earth.DET
English:   In the beginning the LORD created the heavens and the earth
Source:    Gen 1:1 (Hebrew WLC; Onkelos, Sefaria, both public domain)

The mapping of the grammatical words is regular:

The near-identity of the two lists is what makes the Onkelos–Hebrew pair a nearly free parallel corpus (Targumic Aramaic in Mova: what it would need §4).

2. Why Aramaic grammar forces changes

3. Reverence: how the targum speaks of God

The targums avoid saying that God has a body, moves, sees in a human way, regrets, or is directly approached. They put a buffer between God and the world. The devices are few and very regular (Klein 1982; Alexander 1992; Flesher and Chilton 2011):

3.1 קֳדָם "before"

Actions directed to God are said to happen before him. Onkelos has קֳדָם יְיָ 624× (2026-10-17).

3.2 מֵימְרָא "the word"

God's acting, speaking and being present in the world are often given to his Memra (מֵימְרָא, "word, utterance", from אמר). About 180 forms of the noun with the determined ending or a suffix occur in Onkelos (מֵימְרָא 63, מֵימְרִי 33, מֵימְרֵהּ 15, with prepositions more; 2026-10-17, our count, leaving aside the ambiguous bare מימר).

Whether Memra is a theological "hypostasis" or a reverential periphrasis for the divine name is an old debate; most modern scholars take it as a translation device, not a doctrine (Klein 1982; Chilton 1987; Flesher and Chilton 2011). The Zohar later uses the word in its own way (The lexicon of the Zohar).

3.3 יְקָרָא "the Glory" and שְׁכִינְתָּא "the Presence"

What humans see of God is his Glory (יְקָרָא); where God dwells is his Presence (שְׁכִינְתָּא, "dwelling"):

3.4 Revelation instead of motion

God does not "come down" or "appear" by moving; he is revealed (ithpeel of גלי):

3.5 Images and metaphors made plain

4. Law and interpretation

Onkelos also renders according to rabbinic law, without saying so:

5. Poetry and prophecy: expansion

In the poetic chapters (Gen 49; Num 23–24; Deut 32–33) Onkelos becomes interpretive, and Jonathan to the Prophets does so throughout:

6. Word order

• In translation, word order is the Hebrew's: verb-first in narrative (וַאֲמַר יְיָ), subject-first in nominal clauses.
• In expansion, the targum's own order shows: participial and nominal clauses, fronted prepositional phrases, ד־ relative chains (Tg Ruth 1:1; Tg Isa 6:3).
• Object pronouns are suffixed to the verb or expressed with יָת + suffix: יָתֵהּ, יָתְהוֹן (יתה 298×, יתהון 222× in Onkelos), against BA's הִמּוֹ.

7. The relative particle

דִּי (written as a separate word, 1 636× unpointed in Onkelos) and the prefix ד־ (in דִּשְׁמַיָּא, דְּרָחֵשׁ, דְּמִצְרַיִם, דַּיְיָ) both occur. The separate form tends to render Hebrew אֲשֶׁר (דִּי רְחַמְתָּ "whom you love", Gen 22:2; דִּי אַפֵּיקְתָּךְ "who brought you out", Exod 20:2), the prefix the Aramaic genitive. In JPA and JBA only the prefix remains (Particles and syntax of Biblical Aramaic §1).

8. Consequences for Mova

1. Most Onkelos verses can be aligned word by word with the Hebrew; the alignment is broken in predictable places (§3–§5).
2. The departures can be detected: an Aramaic verse markedly longer than its Hebrew, or containing מֵימְרָא, יְקָרָא, שְׁכִינְתָּא, מְשִׁיחָא, קֳדָם יְיָ where the Hebrew has none, is a paraphrase. This is a cheap, explainable signal of "interpretation" that a model can report.
3. The pair Hebrew–targum is a natural lesson in pragmatics: the same event, told with and without a human picture of God. The school of Mova can use it (Targumic Aramaic in Mova: what it would need §5).

The Elamur team

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