Texts in Conversation
In Genesis 2:1, the Hebrew text uses a singular word for “host,” which can refer to many kinds of created beings. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos changes it to a plural form, making clear that all parts of creation were completed. This reflects a common pattern in the Targum of being more direct and explicit.
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Genesis 2:1
Hebrew Bible
1 The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them. 2 By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Genesis 2:1
Targum
1 The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their hosts. 2 And the Lord finished in the Seventh Day His work which He had wrought, and rested in the Seventh Day from all His work which He had wrought. 3 And the Lord blessed the Seventh Day and made it holy, because in it He rested from all His work which the Lord had created to make.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Our targumist pluralizes the biblical 'host,' which is in the singular. Biblical Hebrew is often unconcerned about tenses, and frequently uses the singular for the plural and the past for the future, and vice versa. Onkelos does not indicate whether the hosts were angels, planets, or animals. Pseudo-Jonathan states that they were the ten miraculous things that God created at twilight before the first Sabbath that are listed in Mishnah Avot 5:9 ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Genesis: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 11) Gefen, 2006
* 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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