Targum Onkelos - The Official Babylonian Aramaic Version of the Torah: An English Translation

Targum Onkelos is the accepted ancient Jewish translation of the Torah into Aramaic. This edition contains the Aramaic Targum in a literal English translation. Appart from the Greek LXX, the Targum Onkelos is one of the earliest Jewish translations of the Pentateuch and is essential for understanding the ancient Jewish views on the Bible. Targum Onkelos is the primary Jewish Aramaic targum (translation) of the Torah, accepted as an authoritative translated text of the Pentateuch. It is said to have been written in the early second century CE., although scholars believe that it was later edited in Babylon in the 4th-5th centuries C.E. Examples of important differences between Targum Onkelos and the Masoretic Text may be found in e.g.: Genesis 2:7 Targum Onkelos: "...and it became in Adam a Discoursing Spirit" vs. Masoretic Text "...and man became a living soul." Genesis 3:5 Targum Onkelos: "...and you shall be as the Great-ones" vs. Masoretic Text "...and you shall be like gods." Genesis 3:15 Targum Onkelos: "...He will remember thee, what thou didst to him (at) from the beginning, and thou shalt be observant unto him at the end." vs. Masoretic Text "...he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Such differences are found in key-passages throughout the Torah and aids our understanding of the Jewish interpretation of the Pentateuch.