Texts in Conversation
Genesis 3 describes the fruit as a delight to look at. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos changes “delight” to “cure,” implying the fruit’s appeal is its potential to give understanding, reshaping Eve’s choice to be driven by a pursuit of wisdom.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 3:6
Hebrew Bible
5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Onkelos Genesis 3:6
Targum
5 for it is known to the Lord that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be as the Great-ones, knowing good and evil. 6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a cure for the eyes, and a tree desirable to look at; and she took some of its fruit and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed for themselves the leaves of the fig-tree, and made for themselves loincloths.
Date: 50–500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... By rendering 'cure,' rather than the biblical 'delight,' the Targum is stating that the eyes were cured of the blindness to discern between good and bad; they became wise. Thus, Eve did not eat the fruit because of her appetite, but to improve herself intellectually. It is also possible that the targumist replaced 'delight' because 'delight' and 'desirable' are almost synonymous, and he preferred to avoid repetitions ..."
Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, Onkelos on the Torah, Genesis: Understanding the Bible Text (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2006), 17.
* 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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