Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Exodus 14:25 describes God disrupting the Egyptian army, including a statement that He fights for Israel. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos modifies this language to make it more abstract and remove the interpretive possibility that God has a body and physically fights in combat.
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Exodus 14:25
Hebrew Bible
24 In the morning watch the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army into a panic. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, and the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee from Israel, for the Lord fights for them against Egypt!” 26 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sea, so that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Onkelos Exodus 14:25
Targum
24 And it was in the morning watch that the Lord looked upon the host of the Mizraee from the column of fire and cloud, and perturbed the host of the Mizraee. 25 And he removed the wheels of the chariots, so that they drove them by strength; and the Mizraee said, Let us flee from before Israel; for this is the power of the Lord which does battle for them against Mizraim. 26 And the Lord said to Mosheh, Stretch out your hand over the sea, and the waters shall return upon the Mizraee, upon their chariots and their horsemen.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Our targumist adds this entire phrase, which is absent in the biblical text, in order to avoid having God involved directly in undignified fighting. It is possible that he does not change 'Egypt' into 'Egyptians' (against the Egyptians) as is done elsewhere in the chapter because the Mekhilta, from which he draws his understanding of Scriptures, suggests that just as Egyptians were struck at the sea, so were they struck throughout Egypt ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 85) 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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