Genesis 3:3

Hebrew Bible

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; 3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,

Onkelos Genesis 3:3

Targum

2 And the woman said to the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, the Lord hath said, You shall not eat of it, nor approach to it, lest you die. 4 And the serpent said to the woman, Not to die will you die:

 Notes and References

"... The Onkelos translator and Saadiah render the biblical 'touch,' as 'approach.' This is our targumist's characteristic way of translating the verb. Both Onkelos and Saadiah ignore Rashi's interpretation that the woman added the prohibition of touching to God's command. Genesis Rabbah, Rashi's source, states that the snake, noting that she said it was forbidden to touch the tree, pushed her against it. Then the snake declared, 'See, you did not die from touching the tree, therefore, you can also eat from it without dying.' ..."

Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner Onkelos on the Torah, Genesis: Understanding the Bible Text (p. 17) Gefen, 2006

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