From this specimen it will be seen how far the learned Broughton was correct in saying tliat the paraphrase "is worth our study, both for delight and profit." This Targum is found in the Rabbinical Bibles; it has been translated into Latin, and is also accessible to English readers in the translation of Gill, at the end of his Com- menlary on the Song of Solomon (Lond. 1751), p. 535 sq. (5.) The Targum, or i-ather Targums, on Esther. — The book of Esther, enjoying, both through its story- like form and the early injunction of its being read or
TARGUM
215
TARGUM
heard bj' every one on the Feast of Purim, a great circu- lation and popularity, has been targumized many times. ()ne translation of concise form, and adhering closely to the text, occurs in the Antwerp Polyglot (vol. iii) ; it was issued enlarged with glosses by Tailer in Tarriitm Priiis et Pogteiius in Esther, studiis F. Taileri (Lond. Uio5), and forms the Tdn/itm f'fiiis which is contained in the London Polyglot. IMuch more prolix, and ampli- fving still more the legends of this Targum (comp. i. "2, II ; ii, o, 7 ; iii, 1 ; v, 14, etc.) is the Targiim Posti'- r'lHs in Tailer, it being "a collection of Eastern ro- mances, broken up and arranged to the single verses; of gorgeous hues and extravagant imagination, such as are to be met with in the Adi<harih or Chamis, or any Eastern collection of legends and tales." Its final re- daction probalily belongs to the 11th century. This is the view of Dr. Munk. the latest editor of this second Targum, one of the tales of which runs as follows :
"One d;iy when the king (Solomon) was again full of wine, he C()minanded that all wild animals, tlie fowls of ihe air, and the creepinj? animals of the earth, as well as the devils, dfemons, and spirits, be brouj^ht to him, that they niiirht dance l)efnre him, and behold, with all the kiuL'S who were wiih him, his glory. The royal sciihe called them by their name, and they all cougregaied be- fore the king, with the exception of the wild cock. At this the king angrily commanded that he chiiuld be sought for, and when found, should be brought in, intending to kill him. Then said the wild cock to the kint:, My lord kinir, 'jive heed and hear my words! For three months I weiirlied in my mind, and flew about in the whole world in search of a town which dues not obey thee.
1 saw then a city in the East, of the name of Kitur, in which are many people, and a woman governs them all ; she is called queen of Sheba. If it please thee, my lord king, I shall ^o to that city, bind their kings in chains, and their rulers with iron fetters, and bring them hither. As it pleased the king, writers were called who wrote letters and bound them to the wiii^s of the wild cock. He came to the queen, who, ohservins; the letter tied to the wing, loosened it and read the following con- tents: From me, king Solomon, greeting to thee and to thy princes! Thou knowest well that God has made me king over the beasts of the tield, over the birds of heaven, over dsemons, spirits, and goblins. The kings from all regions of the earth approach me with homage : wilt thou do this, thou shalt have great honor; if not, I will send upon thee kings, letnons, and horsemen. The kiims are the beasts of the tield; the horsemen the birds of heaven, the hosts, dgemons and spirits; the gohlins are the le- gions who shall strangle you in your beds. When the queen had read this, she rent her garments and called fm- the elders and lords, saying, Know ye what king Solo- mon lias sent to me? They answered. We neither know nor esteem him. The queen, however, tnisting them not, called for sailors and sent presents to the king, and after three years she came herself. The king, on hearing of her arrival, sat in a crystal hall to receive her, which made her fancy that he was sitting in water; she therefore un- covered her feet to i>nss through. On seeing his glory, she said. May the Lord thy God be praised who has found pleasure in thee and made thee sit on the throne to exer- cise mercy and justice."
We have purposely selected this piece from the first chapter, because it is also found in an abridged form in the Koran (sura xxvii). With a commentary, the second Targum is found in the Warsaw Rabbinical Bi- ble. A separate edition, with various readings, notes, etc., was published by j\Link, Tarrinm Scheni zum Buche Esther (Berlin, 1876). It has lately been translated by Cassel, in an appendi.x to his Das Euch Esther. Ein Beilrufi ziir Geschichte des Morrienlandes (ibid. 1878). It has been treated in an essaj' by Reiss, Das T(n-(;um Scheni zu. dem Buche Esther, in the Mmiatsschrift ed- ited by Griitz, 1876, p. 161 sq.. 276 sq., 398 sq.
5. The Targum on the Books of Chronicles. — This is preserved in three codices. The oldest, bearing the date of 1"294, is in the Vatican, known as Cod. Urhin. I, and is still awaiting a critical edition or perusal. A second codex, of the year 1343, belonging to the Erfurt Library, was published by Beck (Augsburg, 1680-83,