Texts in Conversation
In Leviticus 11:43, the Hebrew text says a person becomes unclean by eating certain creatures, but the Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos interprets this phrase to mean they “remain unclean.” This shift may echo a later Rabbinic interpretation found in the Babylonian Talmud, which links present actions to more permanent consequences.
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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: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Onkelos Leviticus 11:43
Targum
42 Whatsoever goeth upon its belly, and whatever goeth upon four, anything that hath many feet, and every reptile that creepeth upon the ground, you shall not eat, for they are an abomination. 43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with your animals by any reptile that creepeth, nor make yourselves unclean, nor be polluted by them, lest by them you remain unclean. 44 For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am Holy; that you may not contaminate your souls with any reptile which creepeth upon the ground;
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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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 ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 81) 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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