This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The author of the targum sheni knew the targum of onkelos, the targum of jonathan to the prophets, and the aggadot of the talmud and the midrash, which he quotes. Its main concern, the very reason for its existence, is to establish purim as a jewish holiday, for all generations. For this reason, if for no other, esther should be considered a religious book. The targums from the files of the comprehensive aramaic. Esther starts by being an insignificant individual in the persian empire, but queen vashtis demotion is esther s promotion to the throne. One which has been preserved in rather complete form has been called the pseudojonathan targum because at one time it was thought to have been written by the author of the bestknown targum on the books of the prophets see below. For over 30 years, targum press has been a leader in bringing authors books to print. The targum sheni second targum is an aramaic translation targum and elaboration of the book of esther, that embellishes the biblical account with considerable new apocryphal material, not on the face of it directly related to the esther story.
What is called the magillat esther scroll of esther is part of the biblical group of books in the hagiographa known as the five megillot, designating esther, the scrolls of canticles, ruth, lamentations, and ecclesiastes. And thats basically all there is to say about them. Judaism is the essence of esther and she has no desire to live under further duress by having to maintain her jewish observance in secret, as wife of achashverosh. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. In no other targum, excepting the targum sheni to esther, does. This catalogue largely depends on the efforts of authors who described these manuscripts and it is there. Esther is able to curry favor with him so that she rises to the top. The purpose of the book god shows his provision for his. A picture of the the return of the jews to their land in 1948. The other aramaic translation on the book of esther, known as targum rishon, also mentions in 2. Toward the beginning of the book, the author mentions that king xerxes of persia had a glorious throne that was not, in fact, his own.
Borobios edition of the targum to samuel in the babylonian tradition. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. After the return from exile aramaic gradually won the ascendancy as the colloquial language over the slowly decaying hebrew until, from probably the last century before the christian era, hebrew was hardly more than the language of the schools and of worship. These five scrolls play an integral part in jewish liturgy next to the pentateuch. The book of esther, a s w e l i a v e i t in t h e hebrew language. The targum sheni second targum is an aramaic translation targum and elaboration of the book of esther. Esther 1, new living translation nlt the bible app. My purpose in this section is to show that these three are all. While any translation of the scriptures may in hebrew be called a targum, the word is used especially for a translation of a book of the hebrew bible into aramaic.
The targum of esther second targum sheni translated by bernard crossfeld professor of hebrew and aramaic at the university of wisconsin milwaukee, and founding member of the association for targumic studies. Now, targum is leading the jewish book industry into the 21st century with ebooks and apps in addition to printed books. They are a witness to the hebrew bible text as it existed in the first few centuries ce, and references to them are frequent in the apparatus of the biblia hebraica. In their commentary on the book of esther, the rabbis expand upon and add details to the biblical narrative, relating to her lineage and history and to her relations with the other characters. Jan 02, 2020 the targum is useful today to help the modern interpreter understand how certain groups or even a large portion of the population understood a certain passage. Cmrs roundtable the second targum of the book of esther, a translation of esther from hebrew into aramaic, contains material about solomon and sheba not found in the hebrew esther, but found in the koran. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. Targum is the distinctive designation of the aramaic translations or paraphrases of the old testament. It recounts the deliverance of the jews from persecution in the persian empire, a deliverance accomplished by the timely actions of two jewish members of the foreign court.
In a satiric portrayal, even a minor domestic disagreement is resolved through a sweeping international edict. Translation of targum rishon 29 and subsequently, when it was revealed before the lord that vashti would be killed and that he was destined to marry esther, who was a. The targums are important to biblical scholars for several reasons. The book of esther depicts other citizens living in this section as well. From this page and the submenus above you can navigate to my essays on the book of ruth, targum ruth, brief commentary on the book of ruth, and translation of targum ruth you can also navigate to images of the solger manuscript. There are other mss which contain portions of a targum of the law. The relationship of targum i rishon to targum ii sheni translation of the targum rishon of esther bibliography for targum rishon translation of the targum sheni of esther bibliography for targum sheni greek loan words in targum sheni appendix index for introduction and targum rishon index for targum sheni. From this page and the submenus above you can navigate to my essays on the book of ruth, targum ruth, brief commentary on the book of ruth, and translation of targum ruth. My study of the targum of ruth grew out of my earlier work on targum lamentations and the targumim of the megilloth. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. The relationship of the targums to jewish exegesis vii.
Understand where we are in gods time line and prepare yourself to be removed liked vashti. In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the book of esther was illustrated by j. Before the christian era, aramaic had in good part replaced hebrew in palestine as the vernacular of the jews. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading targum onkelos. Purim is one of three feasts celebrating deliverance. Targum song of songs and the socalled second targum targum sheni to esther, are rich storehouses of midrash. Translation of targum rishon 29 and subsequently, when it was revealed before the lord that vashti would be killed and that he was destined to marry esther, who was a descendant of sarah, who lived. But the megillahs mandate differs from the torahs in one crucial respect. The whole history of this book in its connected order, with the occurrences in the persian empire at that time, will be found. Targum rishon was the targum with less aggadic additions than targum sheni. The book of esther is a 20 movie starring jen lilley as queen esther and joel smallbone as king xerxes. The targum of esther second targum sheni translated by bernard crossfeld professor of hebrew and aramaic at the university of wisconsin milwaukee, and founding. The book of esther serves as the authorizing document for purim, a holiday that is not mentioned in the torah. Queen esther and her cousin and foster father, mordecai.
Second translation, a collection of homilies in aramaic on the book of esther. Esther is a book in the old testament of the bible. Cb38 the story of esther and its meaning edition 2. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and published by seven stories press. The remaining texts excepting targum proverbs which was a judaized version of the syriac peshitta to that book are generally thought to have a palestinian origin, but much remains to be studied. The second targum of the book of esther, a translation of esther from hebrew into aramaic, contains material about solomon and sheba not found in the. These alterations reveal important information about second. Codex valmadonna 1 of leviticus, photo from the museum of the bible website. Esther 110 new living translation nlt the kings banquet.
Extant manuscripts of the targum to psalms introduction the present catalogue includes almost all of extant manuscripts of targum of psalms, inasmuch as they are described in scholarly literature and library catalogues. Targum sheni ucla center for medieval and renaissance studies. The targum sheni second targum is an aramaic translation and elaboration of the book of esther, that embellishes the biblical account with considerable new apocryphal material, not on the face of it directly related to the esther story. Hardy posted 083110 esther historicism corrected page no. Appendix the names of the main characters in the book of. Targum hebrew union college jewish institute of religion. God delivered the jews from the destruction of the plot. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The targum sheni second targum is an aramaic translation and elaboration of the book of esther, that embellishes the biblical account with considerable new apocryphal material, not on the face of it directly germane to the esther story. And hathach is a eunuch who carries messages between esther and mordecai, helping them figure out what to do about hamans genocide plot. The textual lineaments of three medieval identities. It is careful not to say that god commanded the observance of purim.
It should be mentioned that munk in his book targum scheni zun buche esther 1876, berlin argued for a late 11th century dating of the targum sheni by pointing out that onefourth of the targum sheni contains aggadic material which is present in the folklore of earlier nations such as solomons throne, solomons dominance over the spirits and. Yet esther, of all the biblical books outside of the torah, is the only one that addresses the origin of a new festival. Pentateuch, job, proverbs, psalms, megillot with their targumim including targum sheni. In addition, according to one opinion esther is already married to mordechai, himself a righteous jew, a prophet and the leader of his generation. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and. The value and significance of the targumstranslations of the hebrew bible into aramaic, the language of palestinian jews for centuries following the babylonian exilelie in their approach to translation. The quran, king solomon, and late jewish mythology.
Esther starts by being an insignificant individual in the persian empire, but queen vashtis. Add to that a flavor of steampunk youve likely never tried before, blend it all up but keep it kosher. The inclusion of the book of esther in the biblical canon is quite remarkable. The first five books of the bible the targums book 1 kindle edition by rose, tov, rose, tov. Targum sheni has a number of points in common with the midrash panim a. Furthermore, the book of esther is fond of reversals of fortune that strike parity between the jews and their neighbors or foes, and eventually reveal the jews appointed destiny. The book of esther is a hodgepodge of different genres. A remarkably similar story, however, is found in a jewish document known as targum sheni.
The first five books of the bible the targums book 1. An electronic edition of targum samuel by eveline van staalduinesulman protestant theological university, kampen. Queen esther, the central character in the biblical book named after her, is extensively and sympathetically portrayed in the rabbinic sources. Pdf the targums to esther, in european judaism, 47. It is noteworthy that here, and in targum sheni as well, god is very often explicitly. A recent translation into english of the 2nd targum of esther which may be found in any good library is. In some cases where the meaning of a passage is unclear, we may be able to better understand what the passage intends to say if we can understand the logic of the targum in question. Targum sheni was written in byzantine palestine before the rise of islam and then used in islams textual construction of. Notable among these additions is an account of the visit of the queen of sheba to king solomon, which sees the king commanding a daunting army of animals. For a summary of the alternative versions of the esther story, see dr. Logos bible software is proud to be partnering with the team of the comprehensive aramaic lexicon project from the hebrew union college in cincinnati, ohio to release a libronix digital library system edition of the targumim. Vashti is sent for by the king, but refuses to come, esther 1.