Zohar texts, annotated

Short passages read word by word. Two kinds of source:

Tiqqunei ha-Zohar and Zohar Ḥadash: quoted with their vocalisation from the public-domain Sefaria files ("Tikkunei Zohar - Vocalized", "Zohar Chadash").
The main Zohar: the ancient text is public domain, but the digital editions on disk (vocalised Israel 2013, Sulam 1945) have an unknown licence. We quote short, famous lines consonantally, as they stand in the standard printed text (Mantua pagination), with our own transliteration; nothing is copied from those editions' vocalisation or notes.

Glossing: Aramaic of the Jewish texts — overview and Biblical Aramaic. Translations are ours and literal; they are not interpretations.

1. The opening of the Zohar: 1:1a

Aramaic:   רבי חזקיה פתח, כתיב: כשושנה בין החוחים. מאן שושנה? דא כנסת ישראל
Translit.: rabbī ḥizqiyyā pāṯaḥ, kəṯīḇ: kə-šōšannā bēn ha-ḥōḥīm. mān šōšannā? dā kəneseṯ yiśrāʾēl
Gloss:     Rabbi Hezekiah open.PEAL.PF.3MS, write.PEAL.PTCP.PASS: like-rose between the-thorns(Heb.). who rose? this assembly.CST(Heb.) Israel
English:   Rabbi Hezekiah opened: It is written, "Like a rose among thorns" (Song 2:2). Who is "the rose"? This is the Assembly of Israel.
Source:    Zohar 1:1a (standard text; public domain)

Aramaic:   מה שושנה דאיהי בין החוחים אית בה סומק וחוור, אוף כנסת ישראל אית בה דין ורחמי
Translit.: ma šōšannā də-ʾīhī bēn ha-ḥōḥīm ʾīṯ bah sūmāq wə-ḥiwwār, ʾūp̄ kəneseṯ yiśrāʾēl ʾīṯ bah dīn wə-raḥămē
Gloss:     as rose REL-COP.3FS between the-thorns EXIST in-3FS red and-white, also assembly Israel EXIST in-3FS judgment and-mercy.PL
English:   As the rose that is among thorns has red and white in it, so too the Assembly of Israel has judgment and mercy in it.
Source:    Zohar 1:1a (standard text; public domain)

Notes: the homily's moves (opening, verse, question, identification, analogy) are marked by פתח, כתיב, מאן, דא, מה … אוף (Formulas and discourse of the Zohar §7). Hebrew phrases (כנסת ישראל, דין ורחמי) stand inside Aramaic grammar; דְּאִיהִי "which is" is the Zohar's copula; אוּף "also" is Palestinian; סוּמָק "red", חִוָּר "white" are ordinary Aramaic (Dan 7:9 חִוָּר).

2. "At the head of the king's authority": 1:15a

Aramaic:   בריש הורמנותא דמלכא גליף גליפו בטהירו עלאה בוצינא דקרדינותא
Translit.: bə-rēš hōrmənūṯā də-malkā gəlīp̄ gəlīp̄ū bi-ṭhīrū ʿillāʾā būṣīnā də-qardīnūṯā
Gloss:     at-head.CST authority.DET REL-king.DET engrave.PEAL.PTCP.PASS(?) engraving in-radiance upper.DET lamp.DET REL-qardinuta
English:   At the head of the king's authority, a lamp of qardinuta engraved engravings in the upper radiance.
Source:    Zohar 1:15a (standard text; public domain)

Notes: the first words read the Hebrew בְּרֵאשִׁית ("in the beginning") as בְּרֵישׁ "at the head". הוּרְמְנוּתָא is built on Talmudic הַרְמָנָא "royal licence" (The lexicon of the Zohar §4). The syntax is famously hard: the subject (בּוּצִינָא דְקַרְדִינוּתָא) comes after the verb and its object; גְּלִיף can be read as a participle or a perfect; קַרְדִינוּתָא is a neologism. The printed editions carry variant readings at almost every word (in the vocalised edition on disk: "(נ"א גליפו)", "(נ"א מרזא)", "(פירוש עשן)"), which a tokenizer must separate from the text.

Aramaic:   לא חוור ולא אוכם ולא סומק ולא ירוק ולא גוון כלל
Translit.: lā ḥiwwār wə-lā ʾūḵām wə-lā sūmāq wə-lā yārōq wə-lā gawwān kəlal
Gloss:     NEG white and-NEG black and-NEG red and-NEG green and-NEG colour at.all(Heb.)
English:   not white, not black, not red, not green, and no colour at all
Source:    Zohar 1:15a (standard text; public domain)

3. Patah Eliyahu: Tiqqunei ha-Zohar 17a

Aramaic:   פָּתַח אֵלִיָּהוּ וְאָמַר, רִבּוֹן עָלְמִין דְּאַנְתְּ הוּא חָד וְלָא בְחֻשְׁבָּן
Translit.: pāṯaḥ ʾēliyyāhū wə-ʾāmar, ribbōn ʿālmīn də-ʾant hū ḥāḏ wə-lā ḇə-ḥušbān
Gloss:     open.PEAL.PF.3MS Elijah and-say.PEAL.PF.3MS, master.CST world.M.PL.ABS REL-you COP.3MS one and-NEG in-number
English:   Elijah opened and said: Master of the worlds, you are one, but not in number.
Source:    Tiqqunei ha-Zohar 17a, second introduction (Sefaria "Tikkunei Zohar - Vocalized", public domain)

Aramaic:   אַנְתְּ הוּא עִלָּאָה עַל כָּל עִלָּאִין, סְתִימָא עַל כָּל סְתִימִין, לֵית מַחֲשָׁבָה תְּפִיסָא בָךְ כְּלָל
Translit.: ʾant hū ʿillāʾā ʿal kol ʿillāʾīn, səṯīmā ʿal kol səṯīmīn, lēṯ maḥăšāḇā təp̄īsā ḇāḵ kəlal
Gloss:     you COP.3MS upper.DET over all upper.M.PL.ABS, hidden.DET over all hidden.M.PL.ABS, NEG.EXIST thought(Heb.) grasp.PEAL.PTCP.PASS.F in-2MS at.all(Heb.)
English:   You are the highest over all the high ones, hidden over all the hidden; no thought can grasp you at all.
Source:    Tiqqunei ha-Zohar 17a (public domain)

Aramaic:   אַנְתְּ הוּא דְאַפִּיקַת עֲשַׂר תִּקּוּנִין, וְקָרִינָן לוֹן עֲשַׂר סְפִירָן
Translit.: ʾant hū də-ʾappīqaṯ ʿăśar tiqqūnīn, wə-qārīnan lōn ʿăśar səp̄īrān
Gloss:     you COP.3MS REL-bring.out.APH.PF.2MS ten arrangement.M.PL.ABS, and-call.PEAL.PTCP-1PL to-3MPL ten sefira.PL
English:   It is you who brought forth ten arrangements, and we call them the ten sefirot.
Source:    Tiqqunei ha-Zohar 17a (public domain)

Aramaic:   וְאַנְתְּ הוּא דְקָשִׁיר לוֹן, וּמְיַחֵד לוֹן
Translit.: wə-ʾant hū də-qāšīr lōn, ū-məyaḥēḏ lōn
Gloss:     and-you COP.3MS REL-bind.PEAL.PTCP.ACT.MS to-3MPL, and-unite.PAEL.PTCP.ACT.MS to-3MPL
English:   And it is you who binds them and unites them.
Source:    Tiqqunei ha-Zohar 17a (public domain)

Notes: אַנְתְּ הוּא "you are (he who)" — a cleft with the 3rd-person pronoun as copula, repeated as a litany; עָלְמִין, עִלָּאִין, סְתִימִין with absolute plurals; the Hebrew words מַחֲשָׁבָה, כְּלָל, סְפִירָן, מְיַחֵד in Aramaic grammar; לוֹן "them" (JPA) as the object, after a JBA-type enclitic 1 pl. participle קָרִינָן "we call". This passage is recited before prayer in several rites.

4. The cave of Rabbi Shimon (Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, first introduction)

Aramaic:   רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אָזַל לֵיהּ וְעָרַק לְמַדְבְּרָא דְלוּד וְאִתְגְּנִיז בְּחַד מְעַרְתָּא הוּא וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בְּרֵיהּ
Translit.: rabbī šimʿōn ʾāzal lēh wə-ʿāraq lə-maḏbərā ḏə-lūḏ wə-ʾiṯgənīz bə-ḥaḏ məʿartā hū wə-rabbī ʾelʿāzār bərēh
Gloss:     Rabbi Shimon go.PEAL.PF.3MS to-3MS and-flee.PEAL.PF.3MS to-desert.DET REL-Lod and-hide.ITHP.PF.3MS in-one cave.DET he and-Rabbi Elazar son-3MS
English:   Rabbi Shimon went off and fled to the desert of Lod, and hid in a cave, he and Rabbi Elazar his son.
Source:    Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, first introduction (Sefaria, public domain)

Aramaic:   אִתְרְחִישׁ נִיסָא, נָפַק לְהוֹן חַד חֲרוּב וְחַד מַעֲיָינָא דְמַיָּא
Translit.: ʾiṯrəḥīš nīsā, nāp̄aq ləhōn ḥaḏ ḥărūḇ wə-ḥaḏ maʿăyānā ḏə-mayyā
Gloss:     happen.ITHP.PF.3MS miracle.DET, go.out.PEAL.PF.3MS to-3MPL one carob and-one spring.DET REL-water.DET
English:   A miracle happened: a carob tree and a spring of water came forth for them.
Source:    Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, first introduction (public domain)

Aramaic:   וְהֲוָה אֵלִיָּהוּ זָכוּר לַטּוֹב אָתֵי לְהוֹן בְּכָל יוֹמָא תְּרֵי זִימְנֵי וְאוֹלִיף לוֹן
Translit.: wə-hăwā ʾēliyyāhū zāḵūr la-ṭṭōḇ ʾāṯē ləhōn bə-ḵol yōmā tərē zimnē wə-ʾōlīp̄ lōn
Gloss:     and-be.PF.3MS Elijah remembered(Heb.) for-good(Heb.) come.PTCP.ACT.MS to-3MPL in-every day.DET two times and-teach.APH.PTCP.ACT.MS to-3MPL
English:   And Elijah, of blessed memory, would come to them twice every day and teach them.
Source:    Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, first introduction (public domain)

Notes: the story retells b. Shabbat 33b in Zoharic language. The ethical dative אָזַל לֵיהּ (as in JPA, The verb in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic §6); חַד as an indefinite article (JPA); תְּרֵי "two" (JBA form without -n); both לְהוֹן and לוֹן "to them" in one sentence; הֲוָה + participle for a habitual past; a Hebrew honorific (זָכוּר לַטּוֹב) inside the Aramaic.

5. Berikh shemeh: Zohar 2:206a

Aramaic:   בריך שמיה דמארי עלמא, בריך כתרך ואתרך
Translit.: bərīḵ šəmēh də-mārē ʿālmā, bərīḵ kiṯrāḵ wə-ʾaṯrāḵ
Gloss:     bless.PEAL.PTCP.PASS name-3MS REL-master.CST world.DET, bless.PEAL.PTCP.PASS crown-2MS and-place-2MS
English:   Blessed is the name of the Master of the world; blessed is your crown and your place.
Source:    Zohar 2:206a, Vayaqhel (standard text; public domain)

Aramaic:   לא על אינש רחיצנא, ולא על בר אלהין סמיכנא, אלא באלהא דשמיא
Translit.: lā ʿal ʾĕnāš rəḥīṣnā, wə-lā ʿal bar ʾĕlāhīn səmīḵnā, ʾellā bē-ʾlāhā di-šmayyā
Gloss:     NEG on man trust.PEAL.PTCP.PASS-1SG, and-NEG on son.CST god.M.PL.ABS rely.PEAL.PTCP.PASS-1SG, but in-god.DET REL-heaven.DET
English:   Not in a man do I trust, nor on an angel do I rely, but on the God of heaven.
Source:    Zohar 2:206a (standard text; public domain)

Notes: the JBA-type enclitic 1 sg. pronoun on passive participles (רְחִיצְנָא "I trust", סְמִיכְנָא "I rely"); בַּר אֱלָהִין "a son of gods" (= an angel) from Dan 3:25 (Biblical Aramaic texts, annotated §4.5); אֱלָהָא דִּשְׁמַיָּא "the God of heaven", the phrase of Ezra and Daniel. The passage is recited in the synagogue when the Torah scroll is taken out.

6. The Idra Rabba: 3:127b–128a

Aramaic:   יתיב רבי שמעון ובכה, ואמר: ווי אי גלינא, ווי אי לא גלינא
Translit.: yəṯīḇ rabbī šimʿōn ū-ḇəḵā, wə-ʾămar: way ʾī gallēnā, way ʾī lā gallēnā
Gloss:     sit.PEAL.PTCP Rabbi Shimon and-weep.PEAL.PF.3MS, and-say.PEAL.PF.3MS: woe if reveal.PAEL.PTCP-1SG, woe if NEG reveal.PAEL.PTCP-1SG
English:   Rabbi Shimon sat and wept, and said: Woe if I reveal, and woe if I do not reveal!
Source:    Zohar 3:127b (Idra Rabba; standard text; public domain)

Notes: the narrative frame — the master sits, weeps, speaks; the companions are silent, one rises to speak (Formulas and discourse of the Zohar §5). אִי "if" (JBA); the enclitic 1 sg. on the participle (גַּלֵּינָא, JBA type); וַוי "woe".

7. Zohar Ḥadash: a homily on "Let there be light"

Aramaic:   אָמַר רִבִּי יִצְחָק, מִכָּאן מַשְׁמַע, דַּעֲקָרָן קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְהַנֵּי נְטִיעָן, וְשָׁתֵיל לוֹן
Translit.: ʾāmar ribbī yiṣḥāq, mikkān mašmaʿ, da-ʿăqārān qūḏšā bərīḵ hū lə-hannē nəṭīʿān, wə-šāṯēl lōn
Gloss:     say.PF.3MS Rabbi Isaac, from-here(Heb.) imply.APH.PTCP, COMP-uproot.PEAL.PF.3MS-3FPL holy.one blessed COP.3MS ACC-these plant.F.PL, and-plant.PEAL.PTCP to-3MPL
English:   Rabbi Isaac said: From here it is implied that the Holy One, blessed be he, uprooted these plants and planted them (again).
Source:    Zohar Ḥadash, Bereshit (Sefaria "Zohar Chadash", public domain)

Notes: Hebrew מִכָּאן in an Aramaic sentence; הַנֵּי "these" (JBA) beside לוֹן "them" (JPA); prolepsis (עֲקָרָן … לְהַנֵּי, JBA-style object doubling, The verb in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic §7). One sentence, three dialects: the Zohar in miniature.

The Elamur team

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc-x-zohar/texts/