Valuable Onkelos translation

EDGAR ASHER ISRANET

This month’s publication of the final volume of Onkelos on the Torah: Understanding the Bible Text (Gefen Publishing House) marks the completion of a project five years in the making. Rabbi Prof. Stanley M. Wagner and Rabbi Israel Drazin, co-authors of this ambitious project, have completed the only rabbinically authorized English translation of Targum Onkelos, considered to be the authoritative and most significant interpretation of the Torah in history.

In 2006, when the first volume of Onkelos on the Torah was published, it was already clear that this project was more than just a basic translation. A detailed, readable English commentary was added to explain the complex reasons why Onkelos, who lived in second century CE, chose certain words and phrases to explain the original Hebrew text.

Because the bulk of original biblical commentary was written in Aramaic, relatively few of us in contemporary times can approach the original sources and understand the text without assistance. In recent years, however, many works of biblical and talmudic exegesis have been translated into English, complete with some form of additional commentary. This proliferation likely was one of the catalysts that encouraged Wagner and Drazin to take on the daunting task of translating Onkelos into English. Onkelos on the Torah enables readers with an interest in biblical commentary to read, at their own pace, a careful and well-structured translation from the Aramaic.

The volumes are laid out across two facing pages. The right-hand side of each page shows the original Torah text in Hebrew, along with Rashi commentary, also in Hebrew, with vocalizations or nikkudot. On the left-hand side is the Onkelos commentary in Aramaic, which runs alongside its English translation. Various words and phrases in the translation are in bold type, referring to the author’s explanation on the lower part of each facing page. Here, the authors describe why Onkelos used certain words, phrases and ideas to translate into Aramaic the Hebrew biblical text.

Throughout the five volumes, the authors have added Beyond the Text, a section in which they pose questions and encourage the reader to consider why certain events happened in the Torah narrative, and readers are directed to each chapter’s appendix, where they can learn more about the translation and, in some cases, how other translators of the original Hebrew text explained the inner meaning in their own terms.

Each of the five volumes also contains the weekly Haftorah portion with its alternative for special Shabbatot. As in the case of the Torah texts, the translation of the Haftorot from the Aramaic also features explanations by Drazin and Wagner at the beginning of each portion.

Both authors are highly qualified to undertake this challenging work. Drazin received his rabbinical degree from Ner Israel Yeshivah in Baltimore, Md., and a PhD for his translation of Targum Onkelos (Deuteronomy) at Baltimore’s St. Mary’s University. He holds additional degrees in theology, psychology and Hebrew literature. Wagner came to Denver in 1972 to become the rabbi of Beth Hamedrosh Hagadol, as well as the director of Judaic studies at Denver University. Wagner received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshivah University, as well as five other degrees from the same institution; for four years, he taught ancient languages and literature at the University of Kentucky.

Wagner and Drazin’s volumes also illuminate many of the reasons that the original Onkelos has been a vital tool for generations of scholars eager to understand the complexity of the biblical narrative. As they point out, other translators of the Bible sometimes differed with Onkelos’ understanding of obscure passages of the Torah.

The authors guide readers through the Onkelos translation, pointing out relevant places where Onkelos might be giving a “slant” to his translation from the original Hebrew text into Aramaic. It is clear, for example, that Onkelos does not want to give any idea or inclination that G-d has human attributes; hence, Onkelos is vigilant with anthropomorphic depictions of G-d. For example, people do not give a sacrifice “to” G-d, as if into his hand, but “before” G-d. The aim of Onkelos is clear, here: he wants his translation to illuminate the original text, not change it, respectful of G-d’s power.

This scholarly achievement of presenting Onkelos to an English-speaking audience is a landmark in Torah exposition and there is no doubt that these volumes will be regarded as a milestone. The completed five-volume set of Onkelos on the Torah is an essential element of any serious Judaica library.

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