Texts in Conversation
The Aramaic translation of Genesis in Targum Neofiti and the apocalyptic text of 4 Ezra describe creation being completed through a divine intermediary. This follows other Jewish traditions where creation was mediated rather than completed by God alone.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
4 Ezra 6:38
2 Esdras
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
35 It came to pass after this, that I wept again, and fasted seven days in like manner, that I might fulfill the three weeks which he told me. 36 On the eighth night, my heart was troubled within me again, and I began to speak in the presence of the Most High. 37 For my spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress. 38 I said, “O Lord, truly you spoke at the beginning of the creation, on the first day, and said this: ‘Let heaven and earth be made,’ and your word perfected the work. 39 Then the spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence were on every side. The sound of man’s voice was not yet there. 40 Then you commanded a ray of light to be brought out of your treasuries, that your works might then appear.
Date: 70–132 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Neofiti Genesis 1:8
Targum
7 And the Lord created the firmament, and separated the waters below the firmament from the waters above the firmament. And it was so, according to his Memra. 8 And the Memra of the Lord called the firmament heaven. And there was evening and there was morning: the order of the work of creation, the second day. 9 And the Memra of the Lord said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so, according to his Memra. 10 And the Memra of the Lord called the dry land earth, and the place where the waters gather he called seas. And it was revealed before the Lord that it was pleasing and fitting. 11 And the Memra of the Lord said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, plants that yield seed, and fruit trees that bear fruit after their kind, whose seed comes from them and is in them, on the earth.” And it was so, according to his Memra.
Date: 300–600 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
"... “the Memra of the Lord”; text of Neofiti has: “the son of the Lord,” ... However, in Christian tradition from earliest times the opening word of Genesis was understood to mean “in the Son” (= Jesus, the Word); see Jerome, Hebraic quaest., in Genesis 1:1 citing 'Altercation of Jason and Papiscus'; Tertullian and Hilary ... The original Palestinian Targum probably read: “From the beginning in wisdom the Memra of the Lord created”; see also 2 Ezra 6:38, 43: “In the beginning of creation you spoke the word... and your word perfected (i.e., carried out, completed) the work.” On the possible relationship of 2 Ezra to Palestinian Targum., see D. Munoz Leon, 1974, 1975 ..."
Martin McNamara, Targum Neofiti 1: Genesis, ArBib 1A (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992), 52.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,