Texts in Conversation
Exodus 3 gives reassurance by saying God “will be with you,” using language that suggests physical presence. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos replaces this with “My Memra will help you,” using a mediating term to avoid God acting like a human.
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Exodus 3:12
Hebrew Bible
11 Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He replied, “Surely I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God at this mountain.” 13 Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’—what should I say to them?”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Exodus 3:12
Targum
11 And Mosheh said before the Lord, Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah to bring the sons of Israel out of Mizraim? 12 And He said, Because My Memra shall be your helper: and this shall be the sign that I have sent you: In your leading of the people from Mizraim you shall do service before the Lord upon this mountain. 13 And Mosheh said before the Lord, Behold, when I come to the sons of Israel, and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? what shall I say to them?
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... 'My Memra will help you' ... the biblical phrase 'because I will be with you' is rejected by the targumist as being too anthropomorphic ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 15) 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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