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Fragment Targum Genesis

Jerusalem Targum

25 Tamar was brought forth to be burned with fire; and she sought the three witnesses but found them not. She lifted up her eyes on high and said For mercy I pray before the Lord. Thou art He, o Lord God, who answerest the afflicted in the hour of their affliction ; answer me in this the hour of my affliction, and I will dedicate to thee three saints in the valley of Dura, Hananya, Mishael, and Azarya. In that hour the Word of the Lord heard the voice of her supplication and said to Mikael, Descend, and let her eyes have light....When she saw them, she took them, and cast before the feet of the judges, saying, By the man to whom these belong I am with child. But though I may be burned, I declare him not, but confide in the Ruler of all the world, the Lord who is witness between me and him, that He will give to the heart of the man to whom these belong, to acknowledge whose are these his ring, and mantle, and staff. 26 And Jehuda recognised the three witnesses, and arose upon his feet and said, I pray you, my brethren, and ye men of the house of my fathers, to hear me. With the measure that a man measureth shall it be measured to him; whether good measure of evil; and blessed is every man who confesseth his works.⁠ because I took the coat of Joseph my brother and dipped it into the blood of a goat, and brought it before the feet of my father and said to him, Know now whether this be thy son's coat or not, the measure is according to the measure, and the rule to the rule. Better is it for me to blush in this world than to blush in the world to come; better to burn with a fire that goes out, than to burn in the fire devouring fire. Let Tamar my daughter-in-law be spared. She hath not conceived a child by fornication, but because I did not give to her Shela my son. The Bath kol came foth from heaven, and said, Both of you are acquitted in the judgment. The thing was from the Lord. And he added not to know her.

Texts in conversation

Compare Matthew 7:2 and Fragment Targum Genesis 38:26

New Testament · Targum

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Summary

The Aramaic translation of Genesis 38 in the Jerusalem Targum expands Judah’s confession with a saying similar to what Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount. The overlap points to a common Jewish saying likely based on early Aramaic traditions.

Passages

Matthew 7:2

New Testament
1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. 3 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Fragment Targum Genesis 38:26

Targum · Jerusalem Targum
26 And Jehuda recognised the three witnesses, and arose upon his feet and said, I pray you, my brethren, and ye men of the house of my fathers, to hear me. With the measure that a man measureth shall it be measured to him; whether good measure of evil; and blessed is every man who confesseth his works. because I took the coat of Joseph my brother and dipped it into the blood of a goat, and brought it before the feet of my father and said to him, Know now whether this be thy son's coat or not, the measure is according to the measure, and the rule to the rule. Better is it for me to blush in this world than to blush in the world to come; better to burn with a fire that goes out, than to burn in the fire devouring fire. Let Tamar my daughter-in-law be spared. She hath not conceived a child by fornication, but because I did not give to her Shela my son. The Bath kol came foth from heaven, and said, Both of you are acquitted in the judgment. The thing was from the Lord. And he added not to know her.
200–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Fragment Targum Genesis

References

"... One more comment on the Sayings Source is in order. The material in Kloppenborg’s Q1 has often, in my view, been mischaracterized. Its Jesus is not untainted by faith in eschatological judgment or devoid of apocalyptic concerns. The Beatitudes (Q 6:20b–23), although they have a moral component—certainly one must take God’s side in alleviating the misery of the poor and ill-fed—are at the same time utopian promises of dramatic reversal: God will, in accord with eschatological expectation, rid the world of poverty, hunger, and mourning. Whoever first uttered Q 6:20b–23 spoke prophetically of unfortunates becoming fortunate, and that in the near future. The imperative “Judge not, lest you be judged” (Q 6:37), likely means “Judge not, lest you be judged [by God at the final judgment],” especially as the following sentence, “And with the measure you measure you will be measured” (Q 6:38), appears sometimes in the targumim with eschatological sense. (Note, for example, Targum Neofiti on Genesis 38:25; Fragment Targum on Genesis 38:26; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 38:27. The proclamation “The kingdom of God has come near [ἤγγικεν] to you” (Q 10:9) means that the denouement is at hand, and the petition “Your kingdom come” (Q 11:2) implores God to hurry it on. The warning that God can kill “both body and soul in Gehenna” (Q 12:5) presupposes the resurrection and punishment of the wicked ..."
Dale C. Allison Jr., Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 123–125.

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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Matthew 7:2 and Fragment Targum Genesis 38:26

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