Texts in Conversation
Genesis describes creation and the uniqueness of the seventh day. The Aramaic translation in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and Pirkei Avot both refer to the tradition that ten miraculous objects from Israel's history was also created at this time.
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Genesis 2:2
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
Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 2:2
Targum
1 Thus the creatures of the heavens and of the earth and all their hosts were completed. 2 And on the seventh day God completed the work which He had done, and the ten things He had created at twilight; and He rested on the seventh day from all the work which He had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day, more than all the days of the week, and He sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and was to do.
Date: 300-1200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Pirkei Avot 5:6
Mishnah
Rabbinic
6 Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.
Date: 190-230 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... Unlike Onkelos, the other two complete Aramaic translations of the Pentateuch are filled with imaginative midrashic and legendary elaborations. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, for example, informs us in that God created ten miraculous objects at twilight, just before the onset of the first Sabbath, a tradition reflected in the Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 5). Similarly, Targum Neophyti on 2:18 takes liberty in rewriting the biblical phrase 'It is not right for man to be alone' as 'It is not right for man to sleep alone.' Onkelos remains strictly literal and generally only paraphrases the biblical text when it is necessary to explain metaphors, to clarify verses, to protect the honor Of God and Israelite ancestors, and to prevent the reader from embracing an erroneous understanding of the Bible ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Genesis: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 14) 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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