Targum Jonathan (Hebrew: תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל), otherwise referred to as Targum Yonasan/Yonatan, is the official eastern (Babylonian) targum (Aramaic translation) to the Nevi'im ("prophets").[1]
It is not to be confused with "Targum Pseudo-Jonathan", an Aramaic translation of the Torah, which is often known as "Targum Jonathan" due to a printer's error or perhaps because it is so stylistically similar to Targum Jerusalem, named "Jonathan" to differentiate the two later translations.
Origin
It originated, like
Targum Onkelus
for the Torah, in the synagogue reading of a translation from the Prophets, together with the weekly lesson.
The
Gamaliel I, may have represented the result of his attempts to translate the Ketuvim.[3]
Jonathan ben Uzziel is named as Hillel's most prominent pupil,[4] and the reference to his Targum is at least of historical value, so there is nothing to controvert the assumption that it served as the foundation for the present Targum to the Prophets.[5]
It was thoroughly revised, however, before it was redacted in Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud it is quoted with especial frequency by Joseph, head of the Academy of Pumbedita,[6] who writes, with reference to two biblical passages:[7] "If there were no Targum to it we should not know the meaning of these verses".[8] This shows that as early as the beginning of the fourth century the Targum to the Prophets was recognized as of ancient authority.
The targum is sometimes cited with the introduction "Rav Yosef has translated", suggesting a tradition of authorship by Rav
Like Targum Onkelos, it gained general recognition in Babylonia in the third century; and from the Babylonian academies it was carried throughout the Diaspora. It originated, however, in the Land of Israel, and was then adapted to the vernacular of Babylonia; so that it contains the same linguistic peculiarities as the Targum Onḳelos, including sporadic instances of Persian words.[12] In cases where the Land of Israel and Babylonian texts differ, this Targum follows the latter.[13]
Although Targum Jonathan was composed in antiquity (probably in the 2nd Century CE), it is now known from medieval manuscripts, which contain many textual variants.[14] The earliest attestation appears as citations of Jer 2:1–2 and Ez 21:23 on an AramaicIncantation bowl found in Nippur, Babylonia.[15]
Liturgical use
In
haftarah in the synagogue. Thus, when the Talmud states that "a person should complete his portions of scripture along with the community, reading the scripture twice and the targum once",[16] the passage may be taken to refer to Targum Jonathan and Targum Onkelos