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Author Archives: Aramaic Grammar

About Aramaic Grammar

Easy Aramaic: A Grammar for Readers of the Aramaic Translations of the Holy Scriptures is a series of accessible and thoughtfully crafted articles designed to guide readers through the essentials of Aramaic grammar, especially as encountered in the venerable Targums. Focusing on the dialects found in Targum Onkelos—the primary Aramaic translation of the Torah—and Targum Jonathan—the authoritative rendering of the Prophets—these articles provide a clear and engaging introduction to Aramaic morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. Ideal for students, scholars, and curious readers alike, the series serves as a bridge into the linguistic and interpretive world of these ancient texts, illuminating the theological and cultural traditions preserved through Aramaic translation within Jewish exegesis.

“Before Me”: Pronominal Prepositions and Divine Proximity in Targum Onkelos

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Aramaic Grammar
בְּעִדָּנָא הַהִיא אֲמַר יְיָ לִי פְּסַל לָךְ תְּרֵין לוּחֵי אַבְנַיָּא כְּקַדְמָאֵי וְסַק לָקֳדָמַי לְטוּרָא וְתַעְבֵּד לָךְ אֲרוֹנָא דְאָעָא (Deuteronomy 10:1) At that time the LORD said to me, “Carve for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones and go up before Me to the mountain, and make for yourself an ark of wood.” Why This Verse? This verse from Targum Onkelos contains a rich variety of morphological and syntactic constructions, but our focus will be on the phrase לָקֳדָמַי — a superb illustration of compound prepositions with attached pronominal suffixes in literary Jewish Aramaic.… Learn Hebrew
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One Night, Two Dreams: The Syntax of Paired Constructs in Targum Onkelos

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Aramaic Grammar
וַחֲלָמוּ חֶלְמָא תַּרְוֵיהוֹן גְּבַר חֶלְמֵיהּ בְּלֵילְיָא חַד גְּבַר כְּפוּשְׁרַן חֶלְמֵיהּ שָׁקְיָא וְנַחְתּוֹמָא דִּי לְמַלְכָּא דְמִצְרַיִם דִּי אֲסִירִין בְּבֵית אֲסִירֵי: (Genesis 40:5) And they dreamed a dream, the two of them—each man his dream in one night—each man, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Mitsrayim, who were confined in the house of imprisonment. Whispers Behind Bars: A Narrative Opening In the depths of a prison cell in Mitsrayim, two officials of the king—each tarnished by suspicion—share not only confinement, but something stranger: a dream.… Learn Hebrew
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Scroll Marginalia: When Moshe Calls Grammar to Order (Onkelos on Deuteronomy 5:1)

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Aramaic Grammar
וּקְרָא משֶׁה לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲמַר לְהוֹן שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יָת קְיָמַיָּא וְיָת דִּינַיָּא דִּי אֲנָא מְמַלֵּל קֳדָמֵיכוֹן יוֹמָא דֵין וְתַלְּפוּן יָתְהוֹן וְתִטְּרוּן לְמֶעְבָּדְהוֹן: And Moshe called to all Yisraʾel and said to them, “Hear, O Yisraʾel, the statutes and the judgments that I am speaking before you today, and you shall learn them and keep them to perform them.” Margins of Authority: The Verse at a Glance This verse marks a turning point—the reintroduction of the Ten Words—but the Targum does not simply restate the moment.… Learn Hebrew
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She Spoke and He Was Named: Constructing Divine Reward in Genesis 30:18

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Aramaic Grammar
וַאֲמֶרֶת לֵאָה יְהַב יְיָ אַגְרִי דִּיהָבִית אַמְתִי לְבַעְלִי וּקְרַת שְׁמֵיהּ יִשָּׂשׂכָר: (Genesis 30:18) And Leʾah said, “YHWH has given my reward, because I gave my maidservant to my husband,” and she called his name Yissakhar. The Voice of Leʾah: A Dramatic Monologue “Yehav YHWH agri”—the words burst forth from Leʾah’s lips, not with self-pity but divine arithmetic. Her grammar is theology, her syntax is sacrifice. In this verse, Targum Onkelos preserves not only the content of the Hebrew but its rhetorical sequence and relational logic, steeped in reward, agency, and naming.… Learn Hebrew
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“Leit Mayya”: Verbless Clauses and Existential Negation in Targum Onkelos

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Aramaic Grammar
וּנְטָלוּ כָּל כְּנִשְׁתָּא דִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמַדְבְּרָא דְסִין לְמַטְלָנֵיהוֹן עַל מֵימְרָא דַיְיָ וּשְׁרוֹ בִּרְפִידִים וְלֵית מַיָא לְמִשְׁתֵּי עַמָא (Exodus 17:1, Targum Onkelos) And the entire assembly of the children of Yisraʾel departed from the wilderness of Sin for their journeys by the word of the LORD, and they camped in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink Opening Insight: A Sentence Without a Verb? One of the fascinating features of Targumic Aramaic is its use of verbless clauses—sentences where no overt verb appears, yet full semantic content is achieved.… Learn Hebrew
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From Thrones to Dust: Object Suffix Chains and Grief Syntax in Targum Jonathan on Ezekiel 26:16

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Aramaic Grammar
וְיֶחֱתוּן מֵעַל כּוּרְסְוָתֵיהוֹן כָּל רַבְרְבֵי יַמָא וְיַעְדוּן יַת מְעִילֵיהוֹן וְיַת לְבוּשֵׁי צִיוּרֵיהוֹן יַשְׁלְחוּן זְיַע יִלְבְּשׁוּן עַל אַרְעָא יַתְבוּן וִיזוּעוּן מִן קֳדָם תְּבִירֵיהוֹן וְיִצְדוּן עֲלָךְ And all the lords of the sea shall descend from their thrones, and they shall remove their cloaks and the garments of their adornments; trembling they shall put on; they shall sit upon the ground and shall quake before their breaking, and shall lament over you. Why This Verse? This verse from Targum Jonathan on Ezekiel 26:16 is a poetic and powerful expression of lament over Tyre.… Learn Hebrew
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Making Peace by Grammar: Legal Speech and Ratification in Joshua 9:15 (Targum Jonathan)

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Aramaic Grammar
וַעֲבַד לְהוֹן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שְׁלָם וּגְזַר לְהוֹן קְיָם לְקַיָמוּתְהוֹן וְקַיְימוּ לְהוֹ רַבְרְבֵי כְּנִשְׁתָּא: And Yehoshua made peace with them and established a covenant with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation ratified it with him. Narrative Exposition: The Grammar Behind the Treaty The Gibeonite deception led to more than a clever ruse—it led to a legal covenant, articulated in the judicial and covenantal syntax of Targum Jonathan. This verse captures how Yehoshua and the Israelite elders respond not merely with action but with verbal formulae, encoded in Peʿal verbs, abstract nouns, and construct chains.… Learn Hebrew
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Between the Suns and the Completion of Labor: Aspect and Construct Syntax in Targum Jonathan on Genesis 2:2

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Aramaic Grammar
וּשְׁלִים יְיָ בְּיוֹמָא שְׁבִיעָאָה עֲבִידְתֵּיהּ דְעָבַד וְעִישַרְתֵּי עִיסְקִין דִבְרָא בֵּינֵי שִׁמְשְׁתָא וְנַח בְּיוֹמָא שְׁבִיעָאָה מִכָּל עֲבִידְתֵּיהּ דְעָבָד And the LORD completed on the seventh day His work which He had done, and He enriched the operations of creation between the suns, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. Verse Selection and Focus This richly interpretive rendering of Genesis 2:2 by Targum Jonathan offers fertile ground for grammatical analysis. We will focus on two key features: 1.… Learn Hebrew
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“Yat” and the Marking of Definiteness: The Syntax of Direct Objects in Targum Onkelos

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Aramaic Grammar
בְּקַדְמִין בְּרָא יְיָ יָת שְׁמַיָּא וְיָת אַרְעָא (Genesis 1:1 in Targum Onkelos) In the beginning, the LORD created the heavens and the earth Opening Focus: Why Study יָת? In Biblical Aramaic, and especially in Targum Onkelos, the particle יָת (yat) plays a critical grammatical role. It marks definite direct objects, a feature not found in the same way in Biblical Hebrew. The verse בְּקַדְמִין בְּרָא יְיָ יָת שְׁמַיָּא וְיָת אַרְעָא (Genesis 1:1 in Targum Onkelos) beautifully demonstrates this phenomenon, containing two uses of יָת that frame the syntax of the act of creation.… Learn Hebrew
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When the Spirit Spills: Verbal Prophecy and Vision Grammar in Joel 3:1 (Targum Jonathan)

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Aramaic Grammar
וִיהֵי בָּתַר כֵּן אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ יַת רוּחַ קוּדְשִׁי עַל כָּל בִּסְרָא וְיִתְנַבּוּן בְּנֵיכוֹן וּבְנָתֵיכוֹן סָבֵיכוֹן חֶלְמִין יַחְלְמוּן עוּלֵמֵיכוֹן חֶזְוָנִין יֶחֱזוּן: (Joel 3:1 in Targum Jonathan) And it shall be afterward, I will pour out My Holy Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Dramatic Monologue: The Spirit Speaks In this prophetic promise, Targum Jonathan renders the descent of the Spirit in grammatically rich forms: Peʿal and Hitpaʿal futures, direct object markers, and possessive chains express divine intention, human transformation, and generational reach.… Learn Hebrew
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