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time, it overcomes all the difficulties noted previously: 'I have declared' and 'I have shewed' are drawn together, and the line may be evenly divided at this point. Finally, 'and I have saved' now governs the concluding phrase with which it makes excellent sense as a statement concerning the exclusiveness of the God of Israel as the one who controls their history. H. G. M. WILLIAMSON

T H E P R E P O S I T I O N nip ( ' B E F O R E ' ) A PSEUDO-ANTI-ANTHROPOMORPHISM THE TARGUMS

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IN

IT has often been asserted that whereas the Hebrew Bible indulges freely in anthropomorphic and anthropopathic phrases descriptive of God, the various targums have, on the whole, avoided the attribution of human forms and feelings to the Deity. This has been assumed to reflect a refinement in Israelite-Jewish theology that developed during the last millenium BCE. For example: The theology of the early books of Israel's history and religion took no pains to obviate the appearance of a very distinct anthropomorphic character, but the time came when the main feature of Jewish criticism and exegesis was the anxiety to remove or soften down all reference to God that could give rise to misunderstanding in the popular mind. . . . The clearest expression of this hermeneutic principle is to be found in the Targums, where 'everything was avoided that could lead to erroneous or undignified conceptions of God'.1 And more recently: The Targum aims at the elimination of all phrases which are reminiscent of anthropomorphism, and to substitute for them other expressions which are better suited for the more refined ideas concerning God of later generations'. . . . The Targum avoids using Biblical expressions which so speak of God as being possessed of a body just like a human being, with hands and eyes, etc.2 T. Walker, 'Targum', A Dictionary of the Bible (ed. J. Hastings, et al.) (New York: Scnbner's, 1903), Vol. 4, p. 679. 2 A. Sperber, The Bible in Aramaic, Vol. IV-B, 'The Targum and the Hebrew Bible' (Leiden: Brill, 1973), p. 37. Several other standard works containing similar statements are: W. Bacher, 'Targum', Jewish Encyclopedia (New York, 1901), Vol. 12, p. 60; B. Grossfeld, 'Bible: Translations, Aramaic (Targumim)', Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, 1971), Vol. 4, p. 842 (relies strongly upon Walker and Bacher); Y. Komlosh, The Bible in the Light of the Aramaic Translations (Tel-Aviv: Bar Ilan University/Dvir, 1973), p. 103; E. Schurer, History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (revised and edited by G. Vermes and F. Millar), (Edinburgh: Clark, 1973), Vol. 1, p. 100; and M. McNamara, 'Targums', IDB Supp (Nashville. Abingdon, 1976), p. 860. See also notes 6 and 8 below.
1

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To what measure these and other similar generalizations are indeed accurate, must await another forum than the present article. For the moment, it will suffice to note that certain books of the Hebrew Bible may contain occasional examples of 'refined' language alongside their many anthropomorphic expressions.1 It is also undeniablealthough at times ignored, for the comfort of a generalizationthat some of the crudest biblical anthropomorphisms are perpetuated and even amplified in the targumsalongside the common circumlocution and paraphrastic avoidance of human forms.2 The questions as to just when the targums avoid anthropomorphisms and precisely which phrases are avoided or toned down, as well as the more basic question of whether there is evidence for a consistent theology underlying this targumic activity, will require a full-size monograph. The limited purpose of the present study, then, is to examine one widespread targumic feature that has traditionally been labelled as a circumlocutionary device for avoiding direct contact or intercourse between man and God, namely, the 'buffer preposition' to~lp ('before'). The following examples, taken from various contexts, demonstrate just how the preposition Dip is introduced:3 1. Gen. xvii. 18 Targ (O PsJ N) 2. Exod. x. 8 Targ (O PsJ N) And Abraham said to the Lord And Abraham said before the Lord Go serve the Lord your God Go serve before the Lord your God4

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1 e.g. the frequent use of kavod ('glory', or according to the new translation of the Jewish Publication Society 'presence') as a substitute for God himself: the Glory of the Lord is seen by the Israelites (Exod. xvi. 7, 10; xxxiii. 18; Lev. ix. 6; Num. xiv. 10); abides upon Mount Sinai (Exod. xxiv. 16); and passes

before Moses (Exod. xxxiii. 22). That the word 'glory' is merely a verbal substitute for God and does not represent an independant surrogate being, is clear from the adjoining verses: 'for man shall not see Me' (Exod. xxxin. 20) and 'until I have passed by' (v. 22). The Aramaic equivalent of kavod is yeqar, and is frequently employed by all of the targums in a similar fashion. 2 An example is Exod. xv. 17, 'The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established', which is translated: 'Your holy temple, O Lord, which Your two hands have perfected' (Neofiti, Pseudo-Jonathan, and the Fragment Targums). 3 The following editions of targumic texts are utilized in this study ONQELOS (= O): A. Sperber, The Bible in Aramaic Vol. I (Leiden: Brill, 1959); PSEUDO JONATHAN (= PsJ): D. Rieder, Pseudo-Jonathan: Targum Jonathan ben Uziel on the Pentateuch (Jerusalem: Salomon's, 1974); NEOFITI (=N): The Palestinian Targum to the Pentateuch: Codex Vatican (Neofiti 1), Facsimile edition (Jerusalem: Makor, 1970); Cairo Geniza Fragments (= CG): P. Kahle, Masoreten des Western II (reprint, Hildesheim: Olms, 1967), pp. 1-62; FRAGMENT TARGUMS ( = FT): M. L. Klein, The Fragment-Targums of the Pentateuch, Analecta Biblica 76 (Rome: Biblical Institute, 1978), in press. Cf. A. Tal (Rosenthal), 'Ms. Neophyti 1: The Palestinian Targum to the Pentateuch', Israel Oriental Studies 4 (1974), 35: 'The usage m p JiVs ('serve

504 3. Deut. i. 41 Targ (O PsJ N) 4. Exod. xvi 8 Targ (N)

NOTES AND STUDIES We have sinned against the Lord We have sinned before the Lord Your complaints are not against us, but against the Lord Your complaints are not against us, but before the Lord.1

It had been assumed that these translational adjustments were a result of the refinement of Israel's concept of the Deity, and of the eventual realization of God's transcendence and incorporeality. Man no longer addressed God forthrightly, nor did he directly serve the Lord or sin against him. Man did not involve God in these human activities; he could only perform them in the removed presence of the Lordor as the targum put it, before the Lord. In fact, some scholars have gone as far as to refer,to this translational shift as an anti-anthropomorphism.2 The question that must now be asked is: Is the introduction of the preposition Dip by the targum in place of the biblical nota accusativi D M (which designates God as the direct object of man's action), or in place of other more direct prepositions, actually intended for the avoidance of Biblical anthropomorphisms, or for the obviation of direct relationship between man and God. I believe that there is extensive evidence to show that there is probably no connection at all between the use of preposition DTj? and the alleged anti-anthropomorphic theology of the targums. 1. A survey of the Aramaic portions of the Book of Daniel shows that whereas the king Nebuchadnezzar speaks to the Chaldeans or to Daniel,3 and whereas commoners also speak to one another,4 commoners do not address direct speech to the king, but rather before {Oip) the king.5 Likewise, Daniel comes in to Arioch,6 but he comes in, or is brought,
before'MLK) is usually employed in describing the relation between man and God.' And footnote 20. 'This expression was used (by the targumMLK) in order to avoid an anthropomorphism.' 1 O and PsJ have: ' . . . but against the memra ("word") of the Lord.' 2 E. Levine extends the use of m p for anti-anthropomorphic purposes beyond the bounds of targumic literature: 'The phrase r i Dip ]tt "from before the Lord" is used very frequently in the various targumim, and is the only characteristic targumic expression avoiding anthropomorphism and anthropopathism that is found regularly in Jewish Aramaic outside of the targum texts.' (E. Levine, The Aramaic Version of Ruth, Analecta Bibhca 58 (Rome: Biblical Institute, 1973), p. 90.). Cf. p. 503 n. 4, above. 3 Dan. li. 5, 7, 26, 47; 111. 14, 24; v. 7, 13; vi. 17, 21, all using the prepositional
lamed.

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* e.g. Dan. ii. 15. 5 Dan. ii. 9, 10, 11, 27, 36; v. 17; vi. 13, 14. 6 Dan. ii. 24, or 'to his house', in vi. 11.

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before the king.1 And again, people do not fear the king, but rather fear before him.2 We are led to conclude that the use of the indirect preposition Dip in the Book of Daniel is out of deference to high office or nobility, and not related to the nature of the Deity. It is used as an expression of respect or honour towards a human king; and there is no evidence of it being any more than just that, when used in relation to the divine God.3 Thus, we find Dip being used in perfect parallel in both human and divine contexts, in the very same verse: ' . . . as before Him (i.e. the God of Daniel) I was found innocent; and also before thee, O king, I have done no wrong.'4 2. Returning to the targums, we find precisely the same situation prevailing. The use of Dip is not confined to the divine context, but is rather an expression of deference that is frequently applied to man and to human institutions. The basic targumic usage of Dip is as the translational equivalent of the Hebrew prepositions ""IS1?, "USD, ^D "? etc., in all contexts.5 In addition, it is used to translate certain semantically related expressions, such as TS77 ('in the sight of, 'before the eyes of').6 It also translates the causal preposition "USB ('in the face of, 'on account of').7 None of these verses has ever posed any problem. The cases that have been considered anti-anthropomorphic are those in which Dip replaces the nota accusativi riN, as in example 2, cited above (Exod. x. 8), or in Deut. x. 12 And to serve the Lord your God Targ (O PsJ N) And to serve before the Lord your God. However, one needs only to observe the same translational device in
Dan. ii. 24, 25; iii. 13; iv. 3, 5; v. 13, 15, 23; vi. 19. Dan. v. 19. 3 This comparison of the targumic usage with that of biblical Aramaic was proposed by S. D. Luzzatto, 150 years ago, in his book Ohev Ger (1830; the 2nd edition, Cracow, 1895, has recently been reprinted: Jerusalem: Makor, 1969);see p. 12. * Dan. vi. 23. Another striking parallelism is found in Dan. v. 19, 'All the peoples, nations and languages trembled and feared before him' (i.e. Nebuchadnezzar); and vi. 27, 'Men shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel'. 5 e.g. Gen. xliii. 15, 'And they stood before Joseph', in the very same manner as Gen. xviii. 22, 'And Abraham stood before the Lord.' 6 e.g. Gen. xlii. 24, 'And he (Joseph) bound him (Simeon) before their eyes (OnTS?1?). Targ (PsJ N) 'And he bound him before them.' 7 e.g. Gen. vii. 7, 'Because of OJDD) the waters of the flood'; Targ (O PsJ CG N) 'From before (Dip ]0) the waters of the flood' (meaning, of course, 'on account of') and Exod. ix. n,'Because of'the boils'; Targ (O PsJ N) 'From before the boils.'
2 1

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the human context to realize that it is not all related to the avoidance of anthropomorphism. For example: Gen. xiv. 4 Targ (N) Gen xxvii. 20 Targ (N FT) Exod. xx. 5, Targ (N PsJ) Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer Twelve years they served before Chedorlaomer Let peoples serve you (i.e. Jacob) Let peoples serve before you And you shall not serve them (i.e. idols) And you shall not serve before them.
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There are literally tens of cases in the various Palestinian targums of the Pentateuch in which the Hebrew verb 135? ('to serve'), taking a human direct object (with or without the accusative 1"IN), is transformed into m p nVs ('serve before').1 Similarly, Biblical phrases that employ the prepositional lamed, such as, 'to be a slave to someone', 'to sacrifice to idols' and 'to bow down to someone or to some idol' may appear in the targums with the preposition Dip. 2 Still another group of verbs for which the targums replace the prepositional lamed with m p is that of 'crying, begging, imploring, and praying'. For example: Gen. xli. 55 Targ (O PsJ N CG) Num. xi. 12 Targ (N) And the people cried to Pharaoh And the people cried before Pharaoh3 And the people cried out to Moses And the people cried out before Moses.4

In this context, there are three verses that are especially misleading: Num. xi. 1 xi. 18 xiv. 28 And the people were . . . speaking evil in the ears (MTN3) of the Lord For you have wept in the ears of the Lord . . . Saith the Lord, as you have spoken in My ears.

Now, all three of these verses are translated by O and PsJ 'before (Dip) the Lord' or 'before me,' which, again, might have been mistaken for an avoidance of anthropomorphism. However, when we examine the targumic treatment of this phrase in the human context, we find the very
1 e.g. Gen. xxvii. 40; xxix. 15, 18; xxxi. 41; Exod. xiv. 5, 12; xxi. 2; xxiii. 33; Deut. v. 9; vii. 16; xvii. 3; xx. 11. These all argue against A. Tal (Rosenthal); see p. 503 n. 4, above. 2 e.g. Gen. xxvii. 37 (PsJ N); Exod. xxii. 19 (N); Deut. xxx. 17 (N); xxxii.

17 (N). 3 CG cited here is an additional fragment of MS. E of P. Kahle (see p. 503 n. 3), which was published by A. Diez Macho, 'Nuevos Fragmentos del Targum Palestinense', Sefarad 15 (1955), 37. 4 Additional examples are: Gen. xlii. 21; Exod. v. 15; Num. xi. 2, 13.

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same translation in no fewer than fourteen instances.1 It is evident that the biblical idiom 'in the ears of is taken figuratively in all contexts, and is translated as such in all of the targums.2 There is, therefore, no connection between this normal translational device and anthropomorphism.3 One last example of the transformation of the Hebrew prepositions "?K ('to') and * S ('upon', 'about') into O~fp is from the juridical setting: 7? Deut. xxv. 1 And they go to the law Targ (N) And they go before the judges And when Moses sat in judgement: Exod. xviii. 13 The people stood about Moses Targ (PsJ N) The people stood before Moses. One stands respectfully before the court of justice, but one does not approach it directlyeven if it be only a human institution. In conclusion, the use of the buffer preposition Dip in the targums as a substitute for the nota accusative nx,.or for other more direct prepositions, is common in both the divine and the human contexts. It occurs as an expression of deference to a respectable person or institution. It also occurs as a natural result of the idiomatic variance between biblical Hebrew and Targumic Aramaic, or simply, as the translation of a biblical phrase that was understood figuratively. All of these usages apply equally in reference to man or God. It is, therefore, evident that the introduction by the various targumim of the preposition O~lp, in all of-these cases,-is notfor the avoidance or circumlocution of biblical
anthropomorphisms. M. L. KLEIN

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PAUL'S ROUTE THROUGH MYSIA A NOTE ON ACTS XVI. 8 THE route which the Apostle Paul took through Mysia to Troas during the course of his second missionary tour, as reported in Acts xvi,
1 O: Gen. xx. 8; xxiii. 10, 13, 16; xliv. 18; 1. 4; Exod. x. 2; xi. 2; xvii. 14; xxiv. 7; Deut. v. 1; xxxi. 28, 30; xxxii. 44; and PsJ: Gen. xx. 8; Exod. xxiv. 7; Deut. v. 1. 2 PsJ, N, and FT generally render the phrase'in the hearing of (_T rPSJSWaa), as does the modern English R.S.V. In fact, the paraphrastic translation 'in the hearing of is so common in N, that one of the glossators has added it in the margin of that Ms., in a verse that has intended real ears of flesh and blood. The case in point is Gen. xxxv. 4, 'And the rings that were on their ears', which is correctly translated in a literal fashion by all of the targums. The thoughtless gloss to N, 'that were in their hearing', is of course a hypercorrection. 3 Cf. J. Shunary,'Avoidance of Anthropomorphism in the Targum of Psalms', Textus 5 (1966), 139, note 16.