Texts in Conversation
The Aramaic translation of Isaiah in the Targum describes the righteous desperate for teaching like the hungry are desperate for bread. In Matthew, Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, suggesting influence by an Aramaic tradition.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 5:6
New Testament
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Jonathan Isaiah 32:6
Targum
5 And the wicked man will no longer be called just, and he who transgresses against His Memra will not be called mighty. 6 For the wicked will speak wickedness, and in their heart they plot violence, to practice falsehood and to speak revolt against the LORD, to weary the soul of the righteous, who long for instruction as the hungry long for bread; and the words of the Torah, which are like water to one who is thirsty, they purpose to make cease. 7 And the wicked, whose works are evil, take counsel with sinners to destroy the poor with lying words, and the cause of the needy in judgment.
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Notes and References
"... The Isaiah Targum speaks of “the righteous, who desire teaching as a hungry person desires bread, and the words of the law, which they desire as a thirsty person desires water” (32:6). That interpretation of hunger and thirst is reminiscent of the Matthean Jesus, who blesses those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (see Matthew 5:6). This comparison does not extend to the Lukan Jesus (compare Luke 6:21), which raises the possibility that the present wording in Matthew was shaped during the course of transmission along the lines of Targumic interpretation. Similarly, the Targum’s association of the image of those who are lame with sinners and exiles might illuminate Matthew 21:14–15 (see 2 Samuel 5:8; Zephaniah 3:19; Isaiah 35:6; Micah 4:6–8, all in Targum Jonathan, and the article by Craig Evans). The statement “Blessed are you, the righteous” in Targum Jonathan at 2 Samuel 23:4 might also be mentioned, together with a striking comparison in the Jeremiah Targum (23:28b) that Robert Hayward has called attention to ..."
Chilton, Bruce
"Targum, Jesus, and the Gospels" in Levine, Amy-Jill, et al. (eds.) The Historical Jesus in Context
(pp. 238-255) Princeton University Press, 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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