Texts in Conversation
Exodus says the tabernacle inventory was recorded at Moses' command. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos adds it was done by the memra of Moses, usually used for God's word, showing that memra doesn't always have theological meaning.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 38:21
Hebrew Bible
20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze. 21 This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which was counted by the order of Moses, being the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 22 Now Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded Moses;
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Onkelos Exodus 38:21
Targum
20 And all the pegs of the tabernacle and of the court all around were of bronze. 21 These are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which were counted according to the Memra of Moses, the service of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 22 And Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses;
Date: 50–500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The targumist transforms the biblical 'by mouth' to memra. By using this term for humans, he demonstrates that the word has no theological significance, even when it applies to God ..."
Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2006), 265.
* 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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