Texts in Conversation
In Exodus, the Hebrew uses 'mouth' to describe how covenant words were given, later interpreted as oral tradition. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos uses 'words' instead, a generic term that doesn't specify spoken or written communication.
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Exodus 34:27
Hebrew Bible
26 “The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” 27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Onkelos Exodus 34:27
Targum
26 'Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.' 27 The Lord said to Moses, 'Write down these statements, for in accordance with these statements I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.' 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Words.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Our targumist renders pee, 'mouth,' as 'words,' and thereby obscures the requirement that the Sages saw in the noun 'mouth.' They state that the Torah mandates that the Oral Law, which they felt was divine, be transmitted by mouth (orally, through speaking), but not in writing (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 60a, b). The Aramaic rendering of 'words' could suggest either an oral or written transmission. The prohibition against placing the Oral Law in writing was observed until the second century of the Common Era, when historical necessity dictated that the Oral Law be recorded, lest it be forgotten. It is contained in various collections, such as the Mishnah, Tosephta, Baraitot, Mekhilta, Sifra, Sifrei, and other early works. Once committed to writing, it became the basis of erudite refinement in subsequent centuries, producing the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds and a vast body of rabbinic literature ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 243) 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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