Texts in Conversation
Genesis 17 describes God leaving after speaking with Abraham. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos changes this to say the “Presence” or “Glory” of God was leaving to avoid describing God as physically moving from place to place like a human.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 17:22
Hebrew Bible
21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) and circumcised them on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Onkelos Genesis 17:22
Targum
21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you, at this time, next year. 22 And when He had finished speaking with him, the Glory of the Lord ascended from Abraham. 23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and everyone born in his house, and everyone bought with his money, every male, the men of the house of Abraham, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, as the Lord had spoken with him.
Date: 50–500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... “Glory” can also be used wherever the targumist wished to render any biblical text that suggested God was spatially located in a place, as in Genesis 28:16 (Onkelos, Neofiti) or Genesis 17:22 ... Usually, however, God’s local manifestation was denoted by the term “presence” ... Unlike the term “glory,” the term Shekhinah did not already have a long tradition behind it in Jewish theology, but the concept goes back to the biblical use of the verb used to denote the “dwelling” or local manifestation of God (Exodus 40:35; Deuteronomy 33:16) ..."
Edward M. Cook, “The Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in the Targums,” in A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism, ed. Matthias Henze (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 92–117.
* 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.
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