Texts in Conversation
In Exodus 38:8, the Hebrew text mentions women who gathered at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and whose mirrors were taken for the creation of the bronze basin, but it does not specify why they came. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos fills in this narrative gap by stating that the women came to pray.
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Exodus 38:8
Hebrew Bible
7 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar hollow, out of boards. 8 He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 9 Bezalel made the courtyard. For the south side the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, 150 feet long,
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Exodus 38:8
Targum
7 He inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it; he made it hollow, out of boards. 8 He made the bronze basin and its stand from the mirrors of the women who come to pray at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 9 Then he made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen,
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Maimonides, in his Guide of the Perplexed, praises our targumist over twenty times for his rationalistic removal of hundreds of metaphoric anthropomorphic portrayals of God. The rationalistic orientation of our targumist is also evident in his tendency to change scriptural words to inform us of the purpose or end of a particular action when the Bible is otherwise unclear. For example, it is difficult to understand what action the women were performing in Exodus 38:8 when they brought mirrors as they 'gathered' at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The targumist explains that the women gathered 'to pray.' This explanation indicates that they gave priority to prayer over personal appearance ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
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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