Texts in Conversation
In Exodus 19, the people are said “to meet God,” language that implies God has a physical form. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos avoids this by removing any hint that God has a physical form, instead referring to meeting an intermediary “Memra”.
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Exodus 19:17
Hebrew Bible
16 On the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud horn; all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Onkelos Exodus 19:17
Targum
16 And it was the third day at morning; and there were voices, and lightnings, and mighty clouds upon the mountain, and the voice of the trumpet exceedingly strong; and all the people trembled who were in the camp. 17 And Moses led the people out of the camp to meet the Memra of the Lord; and they stood at the lower parts of the mountain. 18 And the mountain of Sinai was altogether fuming from before the revelation of the Lord upon it in fire; and the smoke went up as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount trembled greatly.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Rather than the impossible biblical anthropomorphism likrat haEIohim, 'to meet God.' Rashi, based on the Mekhilta, states: 'the Shekhinah went forth to meet them as a groom Who goes forth to meet a bride [to give the Torah to Israel).' Our translator avoids such anthropomorphic depictions. He only uses Shekhinah to depict God's presence in heaven or with the Israelites. The Shekhinah never 'travels.' Saadiah renders the phrase as 'to receive the word of God.' Ibn Ezra understands 'to meet God' as the readiness to accept God. The Aramaic, again, transforms the biblical Elohim into the Tetragrammaton here and in verse 19 ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 121) 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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