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Deuteronomy

About this book
Chapter 27

1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today. 2 When you cross the Jordan River to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover them with plaster. 3 Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you. 4 So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal these stones⁠ about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster. 5 Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones—do not use an iron tool on them.⁠ 6 You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. 8 You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear.”⁠ 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today.” 11 Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day: 12 “The following tribes must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 “The Levites will call out to every Israelite with a loud voice: 15 ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image—something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman—and sets it up in a secret place.’⁠ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 16 ‘Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’⁠ 18 ‘Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 20 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his father’s former wife, for he dishonors his father.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 21 ‘Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 22 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 23 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 24 ‘Cursed is the one who kills his neighbor in private.’⁠ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’⁠ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 27:8 and Neofiti Deuteronomy 27:8

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

Deuteronomy 27 commands that the Torah be written clearly on stones. The Aramaic translation in Targum Neofiti expands this by saying it should be made readable in 70 languages, a reference to the 70 nations in Genesis and ancient Near Eastern tradition.

Passages

Deuteronomy 27:8

Hebrew Bible
6 You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. 8 You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear.” 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Neofiti Deuteronomy 27:8

Targum
6 Build the altar of the Lord your God with precious stones, whole and without defect, and arrange burnt offerings upon it before the Lord your God. 7 Sacrifice sacred sacrifices, eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 Write all the words of this Law upon the stones, written, engraved, and clearly explained, to be read and translated into seventy languages.” 9 Moses and the Levitical priests spoke with all Israel: “Pay attention and listen, Israel. Today you have been appointed a people before the Lord your God. 10 Listen to the voice of the Memra of the Lord your God, and obey his commandments and his statutes that I command you today.”
300–1000 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Neofiti Deuteronomy

References

"... Translation and interpretation are closely interwoven in ancient as well as contemporary engagements with sacred and secular texts. Translation and interpretation are linked in one of the ancient scripture collections of Jewish tradition and history, the Targum, the rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures into Aramaic, in which translation and interpretation occur simultaneously. The Targum (Targumim, plural) is both a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and interpretive commentary on them. The word “Targum” means “translate,” as it is used in Ezra 4:7. This is the case for both Testaments; see Matthew 1:23 and Acts 13:8 in the Peshitta, Aramaic Scriptures of both Testaments (without the targumic interpretive material). Both passages use mettargam to account for translation. The Aramaic Scriptures use the noun form, metaturgemin, for translator-interpreters and prophets, whom they understand as translating/interpreting God’s words, not simply repeating divine discourse, for example, Deuteronomy 27:8 in Targum Neofiti: “You shall write on the stones all the words of this Torah, written, inscribed, and explained well, so as to be read and translated into seventy languages.” Interpretation is a separate word, p-r-sh, in the Targums of Deuteronomy 27:8 and in the Water Gate scene of Nehemiah 8:1–8, in which the Torah is also read (in Hebrew), translated into Aramaic, and discoursed upon further ..."
Wilda C. Gafney, Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2017), 282–283.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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