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.

The Grammar of Perfection: Divine Integrity in Deuteronomy 32:4 (Onkelos)

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Aramaic Grammar

תַּקִּיפָא דְּשָׁלְמִין עוֹבָדוֹהִי אֲרֵי כָּל ארְחָתֵיהּ דִּינָא אֱלָהָא מְהֵימְנָא דְּמִן קֳדָמוֹהִי עַוְלָה לָא נָפֵק דְּמִן קֳדָם זַכַּי וְקַשִּׁיט הוּא: (Deuteronomy 32:4) Mighty is He, whose works are complete, for all His ways are justice; a faithful God, from before whom no injustice proceeds, from before whom [comes only] innocence and uprightness. Inner Monologue of the Text Itself “I am the stone,” the verse declares silently. Not merely metaphor—תקיפא, unbreakable, immovable. I speak of One whose justice needs no correction, whose every action fits the blueprint of perfect righteousness.… Learn Hebrew

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Deuteronomy 32:4 | Comments Off

“Let Him Be Killed Now!”: Direct Object Chains and Deictic Emphasis in Targum Jonathan on Jeremiah 38:4

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Aramaic Grammar

וַאֲמַרוּ רַבְרְבַיָא לְמַלְכָּא יִתְקְטֵיל כְּעַן גַבְרָא הָדֵין אֲרֵי עַל כֵּן הוּא מְרַשֵׁל יַת יְדֵי גַבְרֵי עָבְדֵי קְרָבָא דְאִשְׁתָּאֲרוּ בְּקַרְתָּא הָדָא וְיַת יְדֵי כָל עַמָא לְמֵלָלָא עִמְהוֹן כְּפִתְגָמַיָא הָאִלֵין אֲרֵי גַבְרָא הָדֵין לֵיתוֹהִי תָּבַע לִשְׁלָמָא לְעַמָא הָדֵין אֱלָהֵן לְבִישׁוּ: And the nobles said to the king, “Let this man now be killed, for because of this he is weakening the hands of the men, the warriors who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking with them according to these words.… Learn Hebrew

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Jeremiah 38:4 | Comments Off

“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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Deuteronomy 10:1 | Comments Off

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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Genesis 40:5 | Comments Off

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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Deuteronomy 5:1 | Comments Off

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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Genesis 30:18 | Comments Off

“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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Exodus 17:1 | Comments Off

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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Ezekiel 26:16 | Comments Off

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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Joshua 9:15 | Comments Off

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

Posted in Aramaic | Tagged Genesis 2:2 | Comments Off