l^rizb ■'X'ii- nrs "^x ns hsi':: ci-im, i. e., 'all
that belongs to oral tradition was not to appear in writ- ten form.' " This principle included also the Targum, but it was not strictly observed, and, like the Mishna, so, also, Targums were clandestinely circulated in sin- gle copies. That this was the case we see from the fact that Gamaliel of Jabneh, the grandson of Gama- liel I or elder, iiaving been found reading the Targum on Job, was reminded of the procedure of his grand- father, who had the copy of the Job Targum, which was brought to him while standing on the mountain of the Temple, immured in order to prevent its further use. Dr. Franld, in Die Zusdtze in der Sept. zu Niob (in Griitz, M (mat ssch rift, 1872, p. 313), says, "There is no doubt that the additions in the Sept. were made ac- cording to an old Aramajan Targum," and in corrobora- tion of his statement he (luotes Tosiphta Shubbuth, c. 14; Shubbuth, fol. 115, col. 1 ; Jerus. Shubbalh, 16, 1; Sopherim, v, 15. We are thus obliged to assume an early origin for the Targums, a fact which will be cor- roborated further on, in spite of the many objections raised, the chief of which, adduced by Eichhorn, being the silence of the Christian fathers, of whom none, not even Epiphanius or Jerome, mention the subject. But this silence is of little weight, because the fathers gen- erally were ignorant of Hebrew and of Hebrew litera- ture. Nor was any importance attached to them in comparison with Greek translations. Besides, in truth, the assertion in question is not even supported by the facts of the case; for Ephraem Sjtus, e. g., made use
of the Targums (comp. Lengerke, De Ephraemi S. A rte Uermeneut. p. 14 sq. ; Asseinani, Bibl. Orient, i, 66).
n. The I'arf/um of Onkelos. — There is a Targum of Onkelos on the Pentateuch which has always been highly valued by the Jews.
1. Authorship. — In regard to the author, the notices of him are meagre and uncertain. We now approach one of the most mooted questions as to the identity of Onkelos with AUilas or Acjuila; but before solving it we must hear the different witnesses. The tirst men- tion of Onkelos is found in the Tosiphta, a work drawn up shortly after the Mishna. From this we learn : a. That Onkelos the Proselyte (ITin DIPpIX) was so se- rious in his adherence to the newly adopted (Jewish) faith that he threw his share of liis paternal inher- itance into the Dead Sea, "b'^n Ci"^b ipbn -iblH (Tos. Dema'i, vi, 9). h. At the funeral of Gamaliel the elder he burned more than seventy minte worth of spices in his honor (Tos, Shabbath, c. 8 ; the same story is repeated with variations Sem ichoth, c. 8, and Talm. Aboda Zarah, fol. 11, col. 1). c. He is finally mentioned, by way of corroboration to different Halachas, in con- nection with Gamaliel in three more places, viz. Churji- (jah, iii, 1 ; 3/ikruoth, vi, 1 ; Kelim, iii, 2, 2, In the Baby- lonian Talmud, Onkelos is mentioned in the following passages :
1. Gittin, fol. 56, col. 2; fol. T)l, col. 1, where we read, "Oiikelo.s the Proselyte, tlie sou of Kalonikos (Calliuicus or Cleonicus ?), the son of Titus's sister, who, iuiending to become a convert, conjured up the ghosts of Titus, Ba- laam, aud Je.sus [the hitter name is omitted in later edi- tions, for which, as in the copy before us, is substituted PX"!^'"^ yfir, but not in Bomberg's aud the Cracow editions], in order to ask them what nation was consid- ered the first in the other world. Their answer that Is- rael was the favored one decided him."
2. Aboda Zarah, fol. 11, col. 1, heie called the son of Kalouynios (Cleouymos?) ; and we also read in this place that the eni|>eror sent three Roman cohorts to capture him, and that he converted them all.
3. Baba Batlira, fol. 99, col. 1, where Onkelos the Prose- lyte is quoted as an authority on the question of the form of the cherubim (comp. 2 Chron. iii, 10).
4. Megillah, fol. 3, col. 1, wlieie we read, " R. Jeremiah, or, according to others, 1{. Chia bar-Abba, said the Targum on the Pentateuch Wiis made by the proselyte Onkelos, from the mouth of R. Eliezer and K. Jehoshua; the Tar- gum on the prophets was made by Jonathan ben-Uzziel from the moulh of ILiggai, Zechaiiah, and IMalachi. . . . But have we not been "taught that the Targum existed from the time of Ezra? . . . Only it was forgotten and Onkelos restored it."
In the Midrash Ta7iclnima, section ~? "5 (Gen.xxviii, 20), we read, " Onkelos the Proselyte asked an old man whether that was all the love God bore towards a proselyte, that he promised to give him bread and a garment? The old man replied that this was all for which the patriarch Jacob prayed." In the book of Zohur, section HTa "^"inx (Lev. xviii, 4), Onkelos is represented as a disciple of Ilillel and Shammai. Fi- nally a MS. in the librar\' of the Leipsic Senate (B. H. 17) relates that Onkelos, the nephew of the wicked Titus (yuJIM D1L3"':: h':: I'lSS), asked the emperor's advice as to what merchandise he thought it was prof- itable to trade in. Titus told him that that should be bought which was cheap in the market, since it was sure to rise in price. Onkelos went to Jerusalem and studied the law under K. Eliezer and R. Jehoshua, and his face became wan (HI m PIS' I'^JS T^m). When he returned to Titus, one of the courtiers observed the pal- lor of his countenance, and said to Titus, " Onkelos ap- pears to have studied the law." Interrogated by Titus, he admitted the fact, adding that he had done it by his advice. No nation had ever been so exalted, and none was now held cheaper among the nations than Israel; " therefore," he said, " I concluded that in the end none would be of higher price" (comp. Anger, De Onkelo, pt. ii [Lips. 1846], p. 12, where the whole passage in the original is copied). In all these passages the name of Onkelos is given. But there are many passages in