Texts in Conversation
Leviticus 5 refers to someone swearing an oath, a term the Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos changes to an “affirmation” due to a later cultural development that rejected taking oaths.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Leviticus 5:4
Hebrew Bible
3 or when he touches human uncleanness with regard to anything by which he can become unclean, even if he did not realize it, but he has later come to know it and is guilty; 4 or when a person swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips, whether to do evil or to do good, with regard to anything which the individual might speak thoughtlessly in an oath, even if he did not realize it, but he has later come to know it and is guilty with regard to one of these oaths—
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Onkelos Leviticus 5:4
Targum
3 Or if he touches the uncleanness of a man, any uncleanness which defiles him, and it is hidden from him; but he later becomes aware of it and is guilty; 4 or if a man makes an affirmation, declaring with his lips, for evil or for good, according to whatever the man shall declare by affirmation, and the truth is hidden from him, and he later learns of it, he is guilty of one of these.
Date: 50–500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The targumist generally weakens scripture's 'swear' to an 'affirmation' because of the traditional Jewish reluctance to swear. However, he is inconsistent. For example, 'swear' is used in verses 22 and 24. He changes the conjugation of the first tishava (in the second person) to yishava (in the third person) to conform to the grammatical usage of the other verbs in the passage ..."
Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2008), 28.
* 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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