מַהֲלַךְ תְּלָתָא יוֹמִין נֵיזִיל בְּמַדְבְּרָא וּנְדַבַּח קֳדָם יְיָ אֱלָהָנָא כְּמָא דִּיֵימַר לָנָא:
(Exodus 8:23 Targum Onkelos)
A journey of three days let us go into the wilderness and let us offer sacrifices before YHWH our God, just as He said to us
Voices from the Edge of the Wilderness
This verse from Targum Onkelos on Exodus 5:3 is not a mere translation. It’s a careful reshaping of Moshe’s diplomatic plea to Parʿo, emphasizing volitional modality, Aramaic deixis, and verb chains that pulsate with collective intentionality.
In a single breath, the syntax reveals:
– Polite insistence via cohortatives (נֵיזִיל, נְדַבַּח)
– Temporal deixis refracted through כְּמָא דִּיֵימַר לָנָא
– Plural agency embedded in morphology
This is no static phrase — it’s a theological demand couched in grammatical nuance.
Parsing the Aramaic: Verbs That Move
| Word | Root | Form | Parsing | Literal Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֵיזִיל | אזל | Peʿal Imperfect | 1cp, cohortative | Let us go | Used as cohortative; expresses polite request or resolve |
| נְדַבַּח | דבח | Peʿal Imperfect | 1cp, cohortative | Let us offer sacrifices | Constructed in parallel with נֵיזִיל; conveys joint purpose |
| יֵימַר | אמר | Ithpeʿal (passive reflexive) | 3ms, imperfect | He said / it was said | Retains passive nuance in Onkelos’ stylized divine speech |
Syntax as Supplication: Coordinated Cohortatives
The structure of this verse is an Aramaic masterclass in coordinated volition:
– The cohortatives נֵיזִיל and נְדַבַּח are paired, forming a semantic sequence: movement → sacrifice.
– Both are 1st person plural imperfects, signaling polite appeal, yet with firmness.
– The use of וּ– to conjoin these verbs links them thematically rather than temporally — this is purpose, not progression.
This is not merely “Let us go and then sacrifice” — but “Let us go in order that we may sacrifice.”
The syntax encodes theology: obedience is motion toward worship.
Deixis in Divine Quotation: כְּמָא דִּיֵימַר לָנָא
This phrase translates literally as: “according to what was said to us.”
Let’s unpack its components:
– כְּמָא: “just as” — a deictic comparative adverb. It points backward to a previous utterance while affirming divine instruction.
– דִּיֵימַר: Constructed as a relative clause (“that was said”) with the Ithpeʿal form, emphasizing passive agency — a stylistic shift from the Hebrew active.
– לָנָא: Dative pronominal suffix “to us” — binding the community as direct recipients of YHWH’s command.
Together, this clause functions as both a justification and a defensive mechanism — “we are not inventing this; He said it to us.”
Construct Chains and Temporal Distance
The opening phrase מַהֲלַךְ תְּלָתָא יוֹמִין is a construct chain:
– מַהֲלַךְ (“journey of”) is in construct state, linked tightly to:
– תְּלָתָא יוֹמִין (“three days”) — a masculine plural time expression.
Despite time being abstract, the chain is grammatically concrete.
Note that תְּלָתָא יוֹמִין is syntactically prepositional: it’s the extent of the going (נֵיזִיל). The entire phrase functions as an adverbial complement, providing spatial-temporal scope to the action.
Pronominal Theology: יְיָ אֱלָהָנָא
Onkelos avoids phonetic approximations of the divine name. Instead, he renders YHWH as יְיָ, a placeholder that evokes sanctity without utterance.
The addition of אֱלָהָנָא (“our God”) makes the phrase personal and communal:
– The 1cp suffix -נָא reinforces the plural speaker.
– It asserts theological identity within political petition — we belong to YHWH, not to you.
This subtle layer of possessive syntax serves as subtextual resistance.
When Syntax Weeps
What seems like a polite request — “Let us go, let us offer, as He said” — is actually an act of defiance, cloaked in cohesion.
Each verb carries volition.
Each suffix signals collective will.
Each conjunction ties intent with theology.
Here in Targum Onkelos, Aramaic grammar becomes diplomacy. And diplomacy becomes resistance. And resistance is coded in the very form of the verb.
Three days’ journey? No — this is a grammatical march toward liberation.
