Exodus 33:3
Hebrew Bible
2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.” 4 When the people heard this troubling word they mourned; no one put on his ornaments.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Exodus 33:3
Targum
2 And I will send My Angel before you, and will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 3 to the land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not remove My Shekinah from you, although you are a stiff-necked people, otherwise I would destroy you on the way. 4 And the people heard these troubling words, and mourned, and no one put on their usual ornaments.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Texts in Conversation
In Exodus 33:3, the Hebrew text presents God's decision not to accompany the Israelites on their journey, warning that His presence might lead to their destruction. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos reverses this by stating that God's presence, the Shekhinah, will remain with them, likely to avoid the idea that God's presence is ever bad.
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Notes and References
"... The targumist reverses the Bible's 'for I will not go up in your midst,' and adds 'Shekkinah' and 'from.' He enhances Israel's honor by having God promise that His presence (Shekhinah) will abide with the Israelites. His change also precludes the possibility of having the reader believe that Gods absence is good for the people and His presence bad. Nachmanides, however, suggests an opposite view, undisturbed by anthropomorphisms ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 229) 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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