Alberdina Houtman

Alternative Targum Traditions

This study explores the possibility of using variant readings of the Targum of the Prophets to get better insight into the origin and history of Targum Jonathan. The book is useful for the study of the genesis of Targum Jonathan and its later developments.

The Role of the Targum in Jewish Education in Medieval Europe

This chapter gives an overview of the place of Targum in the educational system in the talmudic period. It moves to the situation in medieval Europe, where halakhic discussions and descriptions of curricula give us some insight into the status and study of Targum. From numerous references in rabbinic literature it becomes clear that in the rabbinic period, the Targum had a well-defined function in the synagogal liturgy. Since the synagogal service, apart from its character as worship, also had an educational function, there were prescriptions for how to benefit most from the readings. This function of the Targum as a translation in synagogal liturgy was quite natural in times and places when and where Aramaic was a common language, as was the case in large parts of western Asia and Egypt before the rise of the Islam, the period in which the great works of rabbinic literature were conceived. Keywords: educational system; medieval Europe; rabbinic literature; Targum

The infallibility of the prophets and the fallible Jesus in islam : On the Transformation of a Jewish Story in to an Islamic anti-Christian Islamic Polemic

The Talmudic story of an astrologue who wrongly predicts someones death and a Rabbi who refutes him has been transformed into an islamic story of Jesus. Charity delivers from death.

A Jewish Targum in a Christian World

A Jewish Targum in a Christian World presents a variety of articles around 1. The Use and Function of Targum in Europe; 2. Editing Targum Texts and their Latin Translations; 3. Christians Studying Targum Texts.

The ‘Jewish’ Rabbinic Bibles versus the ‘Christian’ Polyglot Bibles

The year 1517 is a special year in the history of the Targum, because two major editions were published, both of them in Southern Europe. In Venice the so called first Rabbinic Bible was edited and printed, and in Alcala de Henares the so-called Complutensian Polyglot Bible was edited by a team of scholars under the supervision of Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros. This chapter explores the first and second editions of both traditions, i.e., the first and the second Rabbinic Bible as well as the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglots. These editions describe from three perspectives: their marketing and success, where it becomes evident that the marketing strategies were different but that problems with clerical and political powers were comparable; their contents, where the differences outnumber the similarities; and their paratexts, where some influences from the Rabbinic Bibles on the Antwerp Polyglot becomes clear. Keywords: Complutensian Polyglot Bible; Rabbinic Bible

Christian Arguments for Including Targums in Polyglot Bibles

Several scholars and printers in the sixteenth and seventeenth century made plans to produce a polyglot Bible. They were all Christians, some of them aided by converted Jews. Nevertheless, most of them included, or planned to include, the Aramaic text of one or more Targums. That choice was not self-evident, because many Christian scholars opposed the dissemination and study of Jewish literature. This chapter focuses on what arguments did the makers of polyglot Bibles give to include the Targum? It considers the arguments why Jewish literature, and specifically the Targum, would not have been fit for the Christian readership. These objections form the background against which the editors defend themselves in their prologues and letters. The chapter groups the arguments in ten categories, which discusses in their order of appearance in the letters of the editors. The conclusion reviews the arguments by country, Christian denomination, and other features. Keywords: Aramaic text; Christians; Jewish literature; polyglot Bible; Targum

The Use of Paratextual Elements in Targum Research

Targum manuscripts and early printed editions consist of more than just the text. They also include diverse paratextual elements to give the user information on how to read and understand the text. This information can be very useful in research on interpretation and textual history. The added information is sometimes difficult to interpret because the key to how to interpret and weigh the information is not always obvious. In this article some kinds of paratextual information are discussed within the context of cultural historical Targum research, such as the project of ‘A Jewish Targum in a Christian World’.