Pgs. 35-47

Ch. 1-6

THE TARGUM OF ONKELOS

ON

THE BOOK BERESHITH

OR

GENESIS.

SECTION I.

BERESHITH BARA ELOHIM.

I. In the first times[1] the Lord created the heavens and theearth. And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness was upon[2] theface of the abyss; and a wind from before the Lord blew upon the face of thewaters. And the Lord said, Let there be light; and there was light. And theLord saw the light that it was good. And the Lord distinguished between thelight and between the darkness. And the Lord called the light the Day, and thedarkness He called the Night. And there was evening, and there was morning, Daythe First.

And the Lord said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, andlet it distinguish between waters and waters. And the Lord made the expanse,and distinguished between the waters which were under the expanse, and betweenthe waters which were above the expanse: and it was so. And the Lord called theexpanse the Heavens. And it was evening, and it was morning, the Second Day.

And the Lord said, The waters shall be collected under the heavens into oneregion, and the dry land shall appear. And it was so. And the Lord called thedry land Earth, and the place of the collection of waters He called Sea. Andthe Lord saw that it was good. And the Lord said, The earth shall bring forthgrass; the plant whose germ‑seed[3] is to be sown; the fruit‑treemaking fruit according to its kind, whose germ‑seed is in it upon theearth;‑and it was so. And the earth put forth grass; the herb, whose germ‑seedis sown after its kind; and the tree making fruit, whose seed is in it afterits kind. And the Lord saw that it was good. And it was evening, and it wasmorning, Day the Third.

And the Lord said, There shall be Lights in the expanseof heaven, to distinguish between the day and the night; and they shall be forsigns and for times, for the numbering of days and years. And they shall be forluminaries in the expanse of heaven to shine upon the earth;‑and it wasso. And the Lord made the two great luminaries: the greater luminary to rule inthe day;[4] and the smaller luminary to rule inthe night, and the stars. And the Lord set them in the expanse of heaven toshine upon the earth, and to rule in the day and in the night, and todistinguish between light and darkness. And the Lord saw that it was good. Andthere was evening, and there was morning, Day the Fourth.

And the Lordsaid, Let the waters generate[5] the moving creature (having) life;and the fowl which flieth over the earth on the face of the expanse of heaven.And the Lord created the great taninia and every living animal which moveth,which the waters generated according to their kind, and every fowl which fliethaccording to his kind; and the Lord saw that it was good. And the Lord blessedthem, saying, Spread abroad and become many, and fill the waters of the seas;and let the fowl become many on the earth. And it was evening, and it wasmorning, Day the Fifth.

And the Lord said, Let the earth produce the living animal after its kind,cattle, and reptile, and beast of the earth, according to its kind;‑andit was so. And the Lord mad, the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattleafter their kind, and every reptile of the earth after its kind; and the Lordsaw that it was good. And the Lord said, Let us make Man in Our image, as Ourlikeness; and shall have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowlof the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over everyreptile which moveth upon the earth. And the Lord created the Adam[6]in His image, in the image of the Lord[7] He created him; male and female Hecreated them. And the Lord blessed them, and said to them, spread abroad, andbecome many, and fill the earth, and be strong upon it; and have dominion over thefish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every living thingthat moveth upon the earth. And the Lord said, Behold, I have given to youevery plant which seedeth gerrn‑seed which is upon all the earth; andevery tree in which is the fruit of the tree which seedeth germ‑seed;unto you it shall be for food, and unto every beast of the earth, and to everyfowl of the heavens, and to every reptile upon the earth in which is the breathof life, every green herb to eat; and it was so. And the Lord saw all that Hehad made, and, behold, it was very steadfast. And it was evening, and it wasmorning, Day the Sixth.

II. And the heavens and the earth and all their host were completed. Andthe Lord finished in the Seventh Day His work which He had wrought, and restedin the Seventh Day from all His work which He had wrought. And the Lord blessedthe Seventh Day and made it holy, because in it He rested from all His workwhich the Lord had created to make. These are the memorials[8] of theheavens and the earth., when they were created in the day when the Lord Godmade the earth and the heavens. And all trees of the field were not yet in theearth, and every herb of the field had not yet sprung up, because the Lord Godhad not caused rain to come upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivatethe ground. And a mist[9] ascended from the earth, andmoistened all the face of the ground. And the Lord God created Adam from dustof the ground, and breathed upon his face the breath of lives, and it became inAdam a Discoursing Spirit. And the Lord God planted a garden in a region ofpleasantness[10] in the time of the beginning, and Hemade to dwell there the man whom He had created. And the Lord God caused togrow from the earth every tree desirable to look upon, and good for food, andthe Tree of Life (Lives) in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of whosefruit they who eat know between good and evil. And a river went forth from Edento water the garden,[11] and from thence it was divided andbecame four heads of rivers[12] (or four chid rivers). The name ofthe first is Pishon,[13] that which encompasseth all the landof Havilah, where is gold; and the goldof that land is good; there is bedalcha and burilla‑stones. And the nameof the second river is Gichon,[14] which encompasseth all the land ofKush.[15] And the name of the third river isDigelatlh,[16] which goeth to the east of Athur.[17]And the fourth river is Pherat. And the Lord God took Adam and placed him inthe garden of Eden to culture it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded Adam,saying, Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat; but of the tree ofwhose fruit they who eat know between good and evil thou shalt not eat; for inthe day that thou eatest of it dying thou shalt die.[18] Andthe Lord God said, It is not right that Adam should be solitary; I will makefor him a helper as for his sake (or, as suited to him: Hebrew, kenegdo, ashis counterpart). And the Lord God created from the earth every beast of thefield and every fowl of the heavens, and brought them to Adam to see what hewould call him; and every (name by) which Adam called the living animal, thatwas its name. And Adam called the name of all cattle, and of the fowl of theheaven, and of every beast of the field; but to Adam was not found a helper asfor him. And the Lord God threw a sleep upon Adam, and he slept; and He tookone of his ribs, and filled with flesh in place thereof; and the Lord Godbuilded the rib which He took from Adam into Woman, and He brought her untoAdam. And Adam said, This now (this time) is bone of my bone, and flesh of myflesh: this shall be called Woman, because from her husband this was taken. Therefore shall a man forsake the couch (beth mishkeb, the sleeping‑house) of his father and hismother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be of one flesh. And theywere both naked, Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.

III. And the serpent (chivja) wasmore crafty than all the animals of the field which the Lord God bad made. Andhe said to the woman, Is it in truth (that) the Lord said, You shall not eat ofevery tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, Of the fruit ofthe trees of the garden we may eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is inthe midst of the garden,[19] the Lord hath said, You shall noteat of it, nor approach to it, lest you die.[20] And the serpent saidto the woman. Not to die will you die: for it is manifest before the Lord, thatin the day in which you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be (ki‑rabrebin)as the Great‑ones, knowing good andevil. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and that it was salutaryto the eyes, and a tree desirable to con. template; and she took of itsfruitage (aiba) and ate; and shegave to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them wereopened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed for themselves theleaves of the fig‑tree, and made for themselves cinctures. And they heardthe voice of the Word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening ofthe day;[21] and Adam and his wife hidthemselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the LordGod called to Adam and said to him, Where art thou? And he said, The voice ofThy Word heard I in the garden, and I was afraid, because I (was) naked, and Iwould hide. And He said, Who showed thee that thou wast naked? Of the tree ofwhich I commanded that eating of it thou shouldst not eat, hast thou eaten? AnAdam said, The woman whom Thou gavest (to be) with me, she gave to me of thetree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that thouhast done? And the woman said, The serpent led me astray, and I did eat. Andthe Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, more accursedart thou than all cattle, and than all the beasts of the held; upon thy bellyshalt thou go, and the dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I willput enmity between thee and between the woman, and between thy son and her son.He will remember thee, what thou didst to him (at) from the beginning, and thoushalt be observant unto him at the end.

And to thewoman He said, Multiplying, I will multiply thy sorrows and thy pains. Insorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and unto thy husband shall be thy desire,and lie. shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast obeyedthe word of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree (about) which I commandedthee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, accursed is the ground on thy account.With labour shalt thou eat from it all the days of thy life. Thorns andthistles it shall put forth for thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until that thou return to theearth, because from it thou wast created; for dust thou art, and to dust thouwilt return. And Adam called the name of his wife Hava, because she was themother of all the children of men. And the Lord God made for Adam and for hiswife vestments of honour upon the skin of their flesh, and clothed them. Andthe Lord God said, Behold, man is becomesingular (or alone,[22] yechid) in the world by himself, knowing good and evil; and now,lest he stretch forth his hand and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, andlive for ever; ......and the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden totill the ground from whence he had been created. And He drove out the man, andbefore the garden of Eden he caused to dwell the kerubaya, and the sharp sword which revolved to keep the way ofthe

Tree of Life.

IV. And Adam knew Hava his wife, and she conceived, and gave birth to Kain;and she said I have acquired the man from before the Lord. And she added togive birth to his brother, Habel. And Habel was a shepherd of the flock, andKain a man working on the ground. And it was at the end (or complement) ofdays, that Kain brought of the product of the earth an oblation before theLord; and Habel he brought also of the first‑born of his sheep and oftheir fatlings. And there was acceptableness before the Lord in Habel and inhis oblation; but in Kain and his oblation there was not acceptableness. And itwas greatly displeasing to Kain, and his countenance was downcast. And the Lordsaid to Kain, Why art thou displeased, and why is thy countenance downcast? Ifthou doest thy work well, is it not remitted to thee? and if thou doest not thywork well, thy sin unto the day of judgment is reserved, when it will beexacted of thee, if thou convert not: but if thou convert, it is remitted tothee. And Kain spake with Habel his brother; and it was in their being in thefield that Kain arose against Habel his brother, and killed him. And the Lordsaid to Kain, Where is Habel thy brother? And he said, I know not; am I thekeeper of my brother? And He said, What hast thou done? The voice of the blood of generations which were tocome from thy brother complaineth before Me, from the earth! And now, accursedart thou from the earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood ofthy brother from thy hand. When thou tillest the earth., it shall not add togive its virtue to thee; a castaway and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.And Kain said before the Lord, Greater is my guilt than may be forgiven.Behold, Thou hast rejected me this day from the face of the earth, and from Thypresence it is not possible to hide; and I shall be a castaway and a wandererin the earth, and any one who findeth me will slay me. And the Lord said tohim, There­fore any one who killeth Kain,‑unto seven generations itshall be exacted of him. And the Lord set unto Kain a sign, lest any one whofound him should kill him. And Kain went out from before the Lord, and dwelt inthe land of the wanderer and outcast,[23] which was made for him in thebeginnings in the garden of Eden. And Kain knew his wife, and she conceived andbare Hanoch, and he became the builder of a city, and called the name of thecity after the name of his son Hanoch. And there was born to Hanoch Irad, andIrad begat Mahujael;[24] and Mahujael begat Methu­sael,and Methusael begat Lemek. And Lemek took unto him two wives, the name of theone Ada, and the name of the second Zillah. And Ada bare Javal; he was themaster (rab) of all dwellers in tents and lords of cattle. Andthe name of his brother was Juval. He was the master[25] ofall who play upon the mouth of the pipe, who know the song of the harp and ofthe organ. And Zillah also, she bare Tuval‑kain, the master of all themwho understand the working of brass and iron.[26] And the sister ofTuval‑kain was Naamah.[27] And Lemek said to his wives Ada andZillah, Hear my voice, wives of Lemek, attend to my words: I have not slain aman, that on his account I should bear the condemnation of death; or destroyeda young man, that on his account my posterity should be consumed. If sevengenerations are suspended unto Kain, will there not be to Lemek his son seventyand seven? And Adam knew yet his wife, and she bare a son, and called his nameSheth; Because, said she, the Lord hath given me another son instead of Habel,whom Kain slew. And to Sheth also was born a son, and he called his name Enosh.Then in his days the sons of men desisted (or forbore) from praying in the nameof the Lord.

V. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In theday that the Lord God created man, in the resemblance of Elohim[28] Hemade him; male and female He created them; and He blessed them, and calledtheir name Man, in the day that they were created. And Adam lived a hundred andthirty years, and begat in his resemblance (one) who was like to himself, andhe called his name Sheth. And the days of Adam after he had begotten Sheth[29]were eight hundred years, and be begat sons and daughters. And all the days ofAdam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

And Sheth lived a hundred and five years, and begatEnosh. And Sheth lived after he had begotton Enosh eight hundred and sevenyears, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Sheth were ninehundred and twelve years, and he died.

And Enosh livedninety years, and begat Keinan. And Enosh lived after he had begotten Keinaneight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the daysof Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

And Keinan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalalel.And Keinan lived after he had begotten Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years,and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Keinan were nine hundred andten years, and be died.

And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begatJered. And Mahalalel lived after he had begotten Jered eight hundred and thirtyyears, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Mahalalel were eighthundred and ninety and five years, and he died.

And Jered lived an hundred and sixty and two years, andbegat Hanok. And Jered lived after he had begotten Hanok eight hundred years,and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred andsixty and two years, and he died.

And Hanoklived sixty and five years, and begat Methushelach. And Hanok walked in thefear of the Lord,[30] after he had begotten Methushelach,three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Hanokwere three hundred and sixty and five years. And Hanok walked in the fear ofthe Lord; and he was not; for the Lord had not made him to die.[31]

And Methushelach lived an hundred and eighty and seven years, and begatLemek. And Methushelach lived after he had begotten Lemek seven hundred andeighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days ofMethushelach were nine hundred and sixty and nine years, and he died.

And Lemek lived a hundred and eighty and two years, andbegat a son. And he called his name Noach, saying, This shall console us fromthe works and from the labour of our hands from the earth which the Lord bathcursed. And Lemek lived, after he had begotten Noach, five hundred and ninetyand five years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Lemek wereseven hundred and seventy and seven years, and he died.

VI. And Noach was a son of five hundred years, and Noach begat Shem, Cham,and Japheth. And it was when the sons of men had begun to multiply upon theearth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of the mighty[32]saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and took to them wives of allwhom they pleased.[33] And the Lord said, This evilgeneration shall not stand before me for ever, because they are flesh, andtheir works are evil. A term (or length) will I give them, an hundred andtwenty years, if they may be converted. Giants were in the earth in those days;and also when, after that the sons of the mighty had gone in unto the daughtersof men, there were born from them giants who from of old were men of name.

And the Lordsaw that the wickedness of man had multiplied in the earth, and that everyformation (or image) of the thought of his heart was only evil every day. Andit repented the Lord in His Word that He had made men upon the earth. And Hesaid, (in His Word,)[34] that He would break their strengthaccording to His pleasure. And the Lord said, Man whom I have made will I blotout[35] I from the face of the earth;‑fromman to the beast, to the reptile, and to the fowls of heaven; because itrepenteth Me in My Word that I have made them. But Noach found mercy before theLord.