Targums (or, Targumim, if you prefer).
A Targum can be defined at the simplest level as a ’Translation’. These ‘translations’ occurred after the Babylonian exile of the Jewish elite and their return to the desolated Jerusalem, as Hebrew was displaced by Aramaic. Hebrew continued to be the language of scholars and used in written works, but at some point Aramaic became the main language of the people, which meant that readings from the ‘Law and the Prophets’ required translation, oral at first, but eventually with written copies being made.
Why are they valuable in Biblical studies? Simply because the Targums were not merely a (literal) translation, but were often a paraphrase or, (if you like) a combined translation and explanation. The original text may be expanded (words added) or even altered so that it could be interpreted differently to the original. Which may give us some ideas about the way that the original text and its 'sacredness' were viewed.
So here we see a ‘living’ understanding, as beliefs underwent re-interpretation. That’s why the targums are valuable in scholarship, through the comments and changes by their authors we sense the development of religious thinking.
For example in the LXX (Greek Septuagint), we may also find alterations to the Hebrew text. And, more famously, there is the Targum of Isaiah 53. Dunn calls it a tendentious translation, deliberately translated to rule out a Christian interpretation.
Mention of the LXX brings up another contentious aspect of first century life. What language were the Jewish people of Palestine using?* Dunn (Unity and Diversity in the New Testament, SCM Press, 2006, p.89) argues that,
“ … By the first century AD Aramaic was probably the only language which many (most?) Palestinean Jews actually spoke.”
Such a view ignores the impact of Hellenic culture on Palestine. After the return from Babylon, Palestine continued to be a Persian province, until Alexander the Great (356-323) conquered the Jews again. (Again, that is, after the Assyrians, the Babylonians and the Persians).** After the death of Alexander Greek or Hellenistic influence became even stronger, from either the Ptolemaic Dynasty which ruled Egypt or the Seleucid Dynasty which ruled Syria. Even the brief period of independence after the Maccabean revolt did not prevent the continued intrusion of Greek language and thought into the lives of the Palestinian Jews. All aspects of their lives were affected – their way of life, business, education and ethos were mediated through Greek culture.
So could Jesus speak Greek? We cannot be sure, but the probable answer is that most Jews may have been bi-lingual. Certainly, the use if the LXX in the NT documents is a good indication of the profound penetration of Greek culture among Palestinian Jews. ***
* A good overview of this issue may be found in this paper:
Which Semitic Language Did Jesus and Other Contemporary Jews Speak?
Link: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1202633.files/Lesson%2011/11b%20Fassberg.pdf
** In such a list we glimpse the main religious issue facing Jewish thinkers. They claimed to be the ‘people of the true God,’ and yet they were continually conquered by people who had other Gods. How could this state of affairs, be explained. The answer they came up with could be called “national sins” with a continual need to be saved from their sins by a future leader who would restore their national dignity, and prove beyond doubt that their God was All-powerful.
*** Achtemeier et al, Introducing the New Testament, Its Literature and Theology, Eerdmans, 2001. P.21.
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