Texts in Conversation
Exodus 14 describes an unusual moment where a dark cloud illuminates the night. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos attempted to explain this by specifying that the Israelites experienced it differently than the Egyptians did.
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Exodus 14:20
Hebrew Bible
19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night. 21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Exodus 14:20
Targum
19 And the angel of the Lord who went before the camp of Israel passed by and came behind them; and the column of the cloud passed from before them and abode behind them. 20 And it entered between the camp of the Mizraee and the camp of Israel; and was a cloud and darkness to the Mizraee, but to Israel it was a light all the night: and that came not near to this all the night. 21 And Mosheh stretched forth his hand over the sea; and the Lord drave the sea by a mighty east wind all the night, and caused the sea to be dry, and the waters were disparted;
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Onkelos clarifies a very unclear biblical description of this event that reads: 'And there were cloud and darkness and it illuminated the night' ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(pp. 82-83) 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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