Citations from the Chaldee Paraphrases.
The earliest Chaldee paraphrases which have been handed down are
supposed to have been compiled or written about the time of the first
advent, when the true worshippers may be supposed to have been anxious
to revive and spread abroad the knowledge of them in such manner as to
induce the Jews of that period to recognize the Messiah in the incarnate
Word. The following testimonies from those writings of the sentiments of
the Jewish Church concerning the Messiah as understood by them to be
revealed in the ancient Scriptures, and his identity with the Messenger
Jehovah, are, for the sake of his comments, taken from Faber's _Horæ
Mosaicæ_:
"When the text reads, _They heard the voice of the Lord God walking in
the garden_, the Targums explain the passage to mean: _They heard the_
WORD _of the Lord God walking;_ or, somewhat more fully, _they heard the
voice of the_ WORD _of the Lord God walking_. In point of grammatical
construction, even the modern Jews allow that the participle _walking_
agrees with the voice, and not with _the Lord God_. But walking is the
attribute of a person. Therefore the Targums rightly gave the sense of
the original when they introduced the WORD as the judge of our first
parents."
The exclamation of Eve, I have gotten a man from the Lord, they render,
"_I have obtained the man, the angel of Jehovah!_ Now, since _Jehovah_
is the word used in the original, it is difficult to account for this
paraphrastic exposition, unless we conclude that, at the time when it
was written, the Jews believed the angel of Jehovah to be himself
Jehovah, and expected him to be born incarnate."
"To this opinion we shall the rather incline, if we attend to another
paraphrastic interpretation. The sacred text reads: _In that day shall
Jehovah of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty
unto the residue of his people_. But the Targum of Jonathan reads: _In
that day shall the Messiah of Jehovah of hosts be for a crown of glory_.
Jonathan, however, could never have thus explained the passage, unless
he had believed that the future Messiah would be Jehovah incarnate; nor
would he have hazarded so extraordinary an interpretation, unless he had
been fully conscious of speaking the general sentiments of his
contemporaries. It is well known that the Jews so highly venerate the
Targum of this writer, as to deem it something divine; yet we see that
Jonathan identifies the Messiah with Jehovah himself. The doctrine in
question still prevailed among the Jews at the time when Justin Martyr
flourished, as is manifest from his direct appeal to Trypho. _If we
produce to them,_ says he, _those scriptures formerly rehearsed to you,
which expressly show that the Messiah is both subject to suffering, and
yet is the adorable God, they are under a necessity of acknowledging
that these respect the Christ. So that while they assert that Jesus is
not the Christ, they still confess that the Christ Himself shall come,
and suffer, and reign, and be the adorable God: which conduct of theirs
is truly most absurd and contradictory._ I need scarcely remark, that
Justin could never have hazarded such language to a Hebrew antagonist,
unless he knew that he had very good ground for what he said.
"But to return to the Targums, where the text reads: _Let not God speak
with us, lest we die_, the interpretation of Onkelos runs, _Let not the
Word from before the Lord speak with us_. So likewise where the text
reads, _She called the name of Jehovah that spake unto her, Thou God
seest me_, the Targum of Jonathan runs, _She confessed before the Lord
Jehovah, whose Word had spoken unto her_. And the Targum of Jerusalem,
_She confessed and prayed to the Word of the Lord who had appeared to
her_. Now the person who appeared to Hagar was the angel of Jehovah. The
paraphrasts therefore identify _the Word and the Angel_. Hence it is
plain that by the Word of God they do not mean a speech uttered by God,
but that they use the term to express a real person. By this personal
Word they understood the Messiah; as is evident from Jonathan's
interpretation of the text, _Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my
right hand_. He explains its purport to be, _Jehovah said unto his
Word_. But it is manifest from our Saviour's conversation with the
Pharisees relative to the nature and parentage of the Messiah, that they
acknowledge this text to relate to him; and it appears from the Midrash
Tillim that such an application is fully recognized by the Jewish
Rabbins. Hence the inference is inevitable, that the Hebrew doctors
confess the Messiah to be the Word of God or the angel of Jehovah. And
hence we shall at once perceive why St. John so pointedly bestows the
title upon his divine Master. He did but employ the usual phraseology of
his countrymen respecting the promised Messiah; yet, by applying the
name of Jesus of Nazareth, he at once declared him to be the Messiah,
and that angel of Jehovah who was confessedly the God both of the
Patriarchal and of the Levitical Church.
"Agreeably to this obvious conclusion, the Targums exhibit the Word with
all the characteristics of the expected Messiah.
"They describe him as the Mediator between God and man.
"Thus, in paraphrasing a text from Deuteronomy iv. 7, Jonathan writes:
_God is near in the name of the Word of Jehovah_; in paraphrasing a text
of Hosea iv. 9, _God will receive the prayer of Israel by his Word, and
have mercy upon them, and will make them by his Word like a beautiful
fig tree_. And in paraphrasing a text of Jeremiah xxix. 14: _I will be
sought by you in my Word, and I will be inquired of by you through my
Word._ Thus likewise where Abraham is said by Moses to have _called on
the name of Jehovah the everlasting God_, he is described by the Targum
of Jerusalem as _praying in the name of the Word of Jehovah, the God of
the world_.
"They speak of him as making atonement for sin.
"Thus, in paraphrasing a text of Deuteronomy, (xxxii. 43,) Jonathan
writes: _God will atone by his Word for his land and for his people,
even a people saved by the Word of Jehovah._
"They exhibit him as a Redeemer.
"Thus the text from Genesis xlix. 18, _I have waited for thy salvation,
O Jehovah_, is paraphrased as follows in the Jerusalem Targum: _Our
father Jacob said thus: My soul expects not the redemption of Gideon the
son of Joash, which is a temporal salvation; nor the redemption of
Samson, which is a transitory salvation; but the redemption which thou
didst promise should come through thy Word to thy people. This salvation
my soul waits for._ Thus the same text is paraphrased by Jonathan with a
direct application to the Messiah; whence again we find it to be the
established doctrine of the ancient Hebrew Church, that the Messiah and
the Word were the same person. Our father Jacob said: _I do not expect
the deliverance of Gideon the son of Joash, which is a temporal
salvation; nor that of Samson the son of Manoah, which is a transient
salvation; but I expect the redemption of Messiah the son of David, who
shall come to gather to himself the children of Israel._
"The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan were written immediately before the
time of Christ, and among the Jews they are in such high esteem, that
they hold them to be of the same authority with the original text. Of
this extravagant honor the ground is, that those two interpreters
committed to writing the ancient oral traditions, which [they supposed]
had come down in regular descent from their first communication to Moses
on the top of Mount Sinai.
"Such an opinion proves at least the high antiquity of the sentiments
contained in those Targums; and, as the Targums themselves were composed
before the Christian era, they must clearly be viewed as exhibiting the
doctrine of the Levitical Church ere an inveterate hatred of the gospel
led to a suppression or concealment of the ancient faith.
"The later Targums were written subsequent to the time of our Lord; but
so far as regards the present argument, their importance is not the less
on that account. Those of Onkelos and Jonathan show the tenets of the
Hebrew Church _before_ Christ; those which are later prove, by their
accordance with their predecessors, that the same doctrine continued in
full force during the first centuries _after_ the Christian era. Thus,
notwithstanding Jesus of Nazareth was denied to be the Messiah, the
Jews," [meaning of course the old school, orthodox party,] "it is plain
from the written evidence of the later Targums, did not immediately
depart from the sentiments of their forefathers relative to _the
character_ of the Messiah."
After quoting testimonies from different Jewish Rabbins, he observes:
"The reason why the Rabbins pronounced the Messiah to be Jehovah, was
this: Following the ancient Targums, which spoke the universally
received doctrines of the _Hebrew_ Church, they perceived, like the
authors of those Targums, that the Messiah was the same person as the
anthropomorphic Word, or Angel of Jehovah. But they knew that the Angel
of Jehovah was the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And they
were assured that their pious forefathers did not idolatrously worship a
creature, but that they venerated the self-existent God, Jehovah. Hence
they rightly determined that _Jehovah_ was _the name of the Messiah_.
This will appear very distinctly, if we attend to their doctrine
respecting the great angel whom they cabalistically denominated
Metraton." (Vol. 2, sec. 1, chap. iii.)
The reader will observe that this author construes the formulas Melach
Jehovah, Memra Jehovah, &c., in the same way as our translation, Angel
_of_ the Lord, Word _of_ the Lord, &c.; and while correctly holding that
the Angel or Messenger, and the Logos, Memra, or Word, are personally
identical with Jehovah, still indicates a distinction, as though the
former persons were sent by the latter. This is undoubtedly inconsistent
and unauthorized. Had he in his construction left out the preposition
_of_, as the original does, all would have been clear.
The following extracts are corrected from Dr. J. P. Smith's work, The
Scripture Testimony to the Messiah.
Onkelos renders Jacob's prediction of Shiloh, Gen. xlix., "_The Messiah
whose is the kingdom_." The Jerusalem Targum, "_The King Messiah whose
is the kingdom_." Jonathan on Sam. xxiii. 1-7: "The God of Israel spoke
with respect to me; the Rock of Israel, the Sovereign of the sons of
men, the true Judge, hath spoken to appoint me King; for _He is the
Messiah_ that shall be, who shall arise and rule in the fear of the
Lord." The Chaldee and other Targums generally refer the 2d Psalm to the
Messiah. Also the 45th Psalm, v. 2: "Thy beauty, O King Messiah, is
preëminent above the sons of men." Jonathan renders Isaiah xxiii. 5:
"Behold, the days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will raise up to
David the Messiah of the Righteous, and he shall reign," &c. And xxxiii.
15: "In those days and in that time, I will raise up to David the
Messiah of righteousness," &c. And Micah v. 1: "And thou, Bethlehem, out
of thee shall proceed in my presence the Messiah to exercise sovereignty
over Israel, whose name has been called from eternity, from the days of
the everlasting period." Zech. iii. 8: "Behold, I bring forth my servant
the Messiah, and he shall be revealed." And vi. 12: "Behold a man,
Messiah is his name, ready that he may be revealed and may spring forth,
and may build the temple of Jah."
The Jerusalem Targum, referring to Abraham when Jehovah appeared to him
as a man, says: "The Word of Jehovah [Memra Jehovah] appeared to him in
the Valley of Vision." Jonathan on Isaiah xlviii. 12: "Obey my Word;"
and 13: "Even by my Word I have founded the earth;" xlix. 16: "My Word
will not reject thee." Jer. xxix. 23: "Before me it is unveiled, and my
Word is witness;" xxxi. 4: "For my Word is to Israel as a Father;"
xxxii. 40: "My Word shall not turn away from following them to do them
good, and my Word shall rejoice over them to do them good." Ezek. xx.
12: "I gave them my Sabbath days, to be for a sign between my Word and
them, that they may know that I am Jah who sanctify them." The
Targumists generally substitute the word Jah for Jehovah. Jonathan on
Gen. v. 26: "That was the generation in whose days they began to
apostatize, and made to themselves falsehoods, [or idols,] and named
their falsehoods by the name of the Word of Jah." Jer. Tar. on Exodus
vi. 2: "And Jah was revealed by his Word to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob." Var. Tar. Isaiah xliii. 2: "In ancient time, when ye passed
through the Red Sea, my Word was for your help;" xlv. 17: "Israel shall
be delivered by the Word of Jah, with an everlasting deliverance;" v.
25: "By the Word of Jah shall all the seed of Israel be declared
righteous, and shall glory;" lxiii. 8: "My people are they, sons who
will not deal falsely; and his Word was their Redeemer;" v. 13: "He led
them through the deep: the Word of Jah led them." Jer. vi. 8: "Be
admonished, O Jerusalem, lest my Word cast thee off." Hosea xiv. 9: "I
by my Word will accept the prayer of Israel." Zach. vi. 7: "Not by
force, nor by power, but by my Word, saith Jah of hosts. And he will
reveal the Messiah whose name is spoken from eternity, and he shall
reign over all kingdoms."
The author quotes the following from Dr. Ryland and the Prolegomena to
Walton's Polyglot: "There are many passages of the Chaldee Paraphrasts
which could have been derived only from the remains of the expositions
and doctrines delivered by the prophets. They have many things
concerning the Word of God, by whom the universe was created, &c., and
which admirably confirm the declarations of St. John upon the Logos, and
prove that in so designating the Messiah or Son of God, the Evangelist
employed a name already in familiar use among the Jews, as received from
their ancestors, though not perfectly understood by all among them. To
this Word the Jerusalem Targum on Gen. i. 27 attributes _creation_: 'The
Word of the Lord created man.' And xxxii. 22: 'And the Word of the Lord
said, Behold Adam whom I have created.' Jonathan on Deut. xxxii. 39,
says: 'When will the Word of the Lord be manifested to redeem his
people?' The same Targum on Gen. xix. 24, ascribes to the Word of the
Lord the sending down of sulphur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah:
'Sulphur and fire were sent down upon it from the Word of the Lord out
of heaven.' So likewise Onkelos: 'And the Word of the Lord returned.'
And on Gen. v. 24: 'Enoch was taken away by the Word before the Lord.'
So the Jerusalem, Deut. xviii. 19: 'My Word will take vengeance upon
him.' So Onkelos and Jonathan. The passages are innumerable in which
actions and properties are attributed to the Word of God, as a distinct
Person."
Again, quoting Owen as referred to by Ryland: "The Chaldee Paraphrast,
observing that some especial presence of God is expressed in the words,
Gen. iii. 8, renders them, 'And they heard the voice of the Word of the
Lord God walking in the garden.' So all the Targums. And that of
Jerusalem begins the next verse accordingly: 'And the Word of the Lord
God called unto Adam.' And this expression they afterwards make use of
in places innumerable; and that in such a way as plainly to denote a
distinct Person in the Deity. That this was their intention in it, is
hence manifest; because about the time of the writing of the first of
those Targums which gave the rule of speaking unto them that followed,
it was usual amongst them to express their conceptions of the Son of God
by the name of the Logos, or Word of God." (_Owen on Epist. Heb. Vol.
1._)
"At this time, there was nothing more common among the Hebrews than to
denote the second subsistence of the Deity by the name of the Word of
God. They were now divided into two great parts: first the inhabitants
of Canaan, with the regions adjoining, and many old remnants in the
East, who used the Syro-Chaldean language, being but one dialect of the
Hebrew; and secondly, the dispersions under the Greek empire, who are
commonly called Hellenists, and also used the Greek tongue. And both
these sorts did usually, in their several languages, describe the second
Person in the Trinity by the name of the _Word of God_. For the former
sort, or those who used the Syro-Chaldean dialect, we have an eminent
proof of it in the translation of the Scripture which, at least some
part of it, was made about this time amongst them, commonly called the
Chaldee Paraphrase; in the whole whereof the second Person is mentioned
under the name of Memra dejeja, or the Word of God. Hereunto are all
personal properties and all divine works in that translation assigned;
with an illustrious testimony to the faith of the old Church concerning
the distinct subsistence of a plurality of Persons in the Divine nature.
And for the Hellenists who wrote and expressed themselves in the Greek
tongue, they used the name _Logos, the Word_ of God, to the same
purpose: as I have elsewhere manifested out of the writings of Philo,
who lived about this time, between the death of our Saviour and the
destruction of Jerusalem." (_Owen, Vol. 2._)
It will be observed that in all the translations of the Targums, and in
the comments of Ryland and Owen, the same usage is exhibited as in our
translation, of making the _Jehovah_ the genitive of the official
appellative which precedes it. Hence the mystery and confusion which
have so generally been thought to attend the official designations of
the Old Testament. But if it be considered that in the use of the terms
Logos, Dabar, and Memra, where a personal reference is intended, the
abstract is put for the concrete, as _Word_ for _Revealer_, so that
where these words are coupled with _Jehovah_ the reading should be _The
Revealer_, or _The Revealing Jehovah_,--as in the case of _Melach
Jehovah_, the reading should be, _The Messenger_, or _The Sent_ or
_delegated Jehovah_, or the Messenger _who is_ Jehovah,--the use of
those terms as personal designations will suggest no difficulty.