Texts in Conversation
Leviticus 7:23 prohibits eating certain fats, a rule the Targum Onkelos repeats, yet rabbinic interpretation historically narrowed this restriction to specific types of fat. This creates a contrast between the plain sense of the biblical command and its later interpretation in time and culture.
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Leviticus 7:23
Hebrew Bible
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 23 “Tell the Israelites, ‘You must not eat any fat of an ox, sheep, or goat. 24 Moreover, the fat of an animal that has died of natural causes and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be used for any other purpose, but you must certainly never eat it.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Onkelos Leviticus 7:23
Targum
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to the Israelites, saying: You shall not eat any of the fat of oxen, sheep, or goats. 24 The fat of a dead animal and the fat of an animal torn by wild beasts may be used in any other way, but you must not eat it.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Ibn Ezra describes an encounter with a Sadducee. (He meant a Karaite, since the Sadducees disappeared soon after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, while the Karaite sect began in the eighth or ninth Century and still exists today. Both rejected the rabbinic interpretations of the biblical text.) The Karaite insisted that the plain meaning of Leviticus 3:17 and 7:22-27 prohibits eating any animal fat, yet the rabbis misconstrued the text and stated that Jews are allowed to eat certain fats. Ibn Ezra explained how he believed that the text could be read to support the rabbinical view. Whether one agrees with Ibn Ezra that the text could be read as the rabbis interpreted it or not, it is a fact that the rabbinical understanding of the text does not always conform to its plain meaning. This can also be seen in the biblical rule prohibiting the eating of blood, yet the rabbis taught that Jews may eat the blood of fish ... See also verse 18 for another example where the rabbinical interpretation is contrary to the plain meaning of the text ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 47) 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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