Texts in Conversation
In Exodus 15:7, the Hebrew describes divine wrath consuming enemies like stubble, using language that could suggest literal eating. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos avoids this by spelling out the metaphor, clarifying that the wrath burned like fire to straw.
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Exodus 15:7
Hebrew Bible
6 Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power; your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. 7 In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You sent forth your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Onkelos Exodus 15:7
Targum
6 Your right hand, Lord, is glorious in power; Your right hand, Lord, shatters the enemy; and in the greatness of Your might, You have destroyed those who rose against Your people. 7 You unleashed Your wrath, and it destroyed them like stubble in the fire, 8 and by the word of Your mouth, the waters became wise and stood up like a wall; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Thee targumrst replaces the biblical metaphor 'eats' to avoid the confusing idea that an anthropomorphic God consumes the enemy ... 'Like fire to straw' ... Bible: 'like straw.' Onkelos inserts the words 'fire' and 'to' ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 91) 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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