Isaiah 63:16
Hebrew Bible
14 As an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest. In this way you guided your people, gaining for yourself an honored reputation. 15 Look down from heaven and take notice, from your holy, majestic palace! Where are your zeal and power? Do not hold back your tender compassion! 16 For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, Lord, are our father; you have been called our Protector from ancient times. 17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance! 18 For a short time your special nation possessed a land, but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Jonathan Isaiah 63:16
Targum
14 As a beast is led in a plain, the Word of the Lord led them; so did You lead Your people to make Yourself a glorious name. 15 Look down from heaven, and reveal Yourself from the habitation of Your holiness and of Your glory: where is Your vengeance, and Your great might? The multitude of Your mercies and Your compassion towards me are restrained. 16 For You are He, whose mercies towards us are as many as a father's towards his children: for Abraham has not brought us up out of Egypt, and Israel has not performed wonderful works for us in the wilderness; You are the Lord; Your mercies towards us are many, like a father's towards his children, O, our redeemer; Your name is from everlasting. 17 Why have You cast us off, Lord, that we should go astray from the paths which are right in Your sight, as the nations which have no part in the instruction of Your law? Our heart is not turned away from Your fear: return Your Shekinah to Your people, for the sake of Your righteous servants, to whom You have sworn by Your Word to make the tribes among them Your inheritance.
Date: 200-300 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Notes and References
"... In later Judaism mention is made but rarely of God as Father of Israel. There seems to have been a tendency to avoid the designation. This tendency is noticeable in the Targum to the Prophets, where the word 'father' is replaced by some other word, or the text is made to say that God is as a father. Thus, 'Thou art our Father' of Isaiah 63:16 becomes in the targum: 'Thou art he whose compassions towards us are more than those of a father towards his children.' Likewise in Targum Isaiah 64:8. In Targum Jeremiah 3:4, 19 it is replaced by "master"; in Targum Jeremiah 31:9 and Malachi 1:6 it is preceded by 'as,' 'like' (a father) ..."
McNamara, Martin
Targum and Testament Revisited Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible: A Light on the New Testament
(p. 179) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010
* 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.
Your Feedback:
User Comments
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.