Texts in Conversation
Isaiah describes Edom's land turning into burning pitch as a symbol of total destruction. The Aramaic translation in Targum Jonathan replaces Edom with Rome, following a pattern in Rabbinic texts of inserting Rome to emphasize its role as an enemy.
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Isaiah 34:9
Hebrew Bible
8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch and her soil into brimstone; her land will become burning pitch. 10 Night and day it will burn; its smoke will ascend continually. Generation after generation it will be a wasteland, and no one will ever pass through it again.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Jonathan Isaiah 34:9
Targum
8 For it is the day of vengeance before the presence of the Lord; the year of recompense, to take vengeance of judgment on account of the ignominy of Zion. 9 And the rivers of Rome shall be turned into pitch, and her dust into brimstone, and the land shall become burning pitch. 10 By night and by day it shall not be ex tinguished; her smoke shall ascend for ever: from generation to generation she shall lie waste; none shall pass through her to everlasting ages.
Date: 200-300 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The present chapter does little more than repeat the scenario of the supernatural (verses 5–8) destruction of Gentile armies (verses 2, 4). But it is notable that Rome (from the Greek spelling, 'Rōmē') is openly mentioned (verse 9). The connection between Rome and Edom is well established in rabbinic literature, but the Tannaitic meturgeman was far more circumspect in chapter 28. There is nonetheless some indication that the present, Amoraic meturgeman has incorporated earlier traditions ..."
* 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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