Texts in Conversation
Leviticus 11 says a person becomes unclean by eating certain animals, but the Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos interprets this to mean they “remain unclean,” which follows a Rabbinic interpretation which seems to reflect more permanent consequences.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Leviticus 11:43
Hebrew Bible
42 You must not eat anything that crawls on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number of legs of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable. 43 Do not make yourselves detestable by any of the swarming things. You must not defile yourselves by them and become unclean by them, 44 for I am the Lord your God, and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground,
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Onkelos Leviticus 11:43
Targum
42 You shall not eat anything that moves on its belly, walks on four legs, or has many feet, among all the creeping creatures that move on the ground, for they are an abomination. 43 You shall not make yourselves abominable by any creeping creature that moves, nor make yourselves unclean, nor be polluted by them, so that you do not remain unclean because of them. 44 For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am Holy; so that you do not contaminate your souls with any creeping creature that moves on the ground;
Date: 50–500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Notes and References
"... The word nefesh in the Bible does not have its post-biblical meaning of “soul.” It means a “person” or a “life.” Rashi, however, took it in its post-biblical sense and interpreted the verse to say that the soul of a person does not become unclean when a person touches or lifts something, but only by consuming an unclean object ... The Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 39a, quoted by Rashi, notes the seeming redundancy of “unclean ... remain unclean” and explains that if you make yourself unclean on earth through these creatures, God will render you unclean in the World to Come ..."
Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2008), 81.
* 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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