In this post I will be citing from the Aramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible composed by Jews, called the Targums (Targumim). Targum is an Aramaic term meaning explanation/interpretation.
These Jewish writings are vitally important since they give us an idea of how a certain segment of Judaism before, during and after the time of Christ understood the Hebrew Bible and what they thought about the nature of God.
I will be quoting verses where YHWH is specifically mentioned, but which the Jews interpreted as references to the Word (Aram. Memra) of YHWH appearing as or acting on behalf of God. These cases will help the readers see that even Jews were aware of the fact that God’s Word is a living, conscious Being that is both personally distinct from, and yet identical with, the God of Israel.
Some of these texts make reference to the Holy Spirit as well, who is depicted as a personally distinct figure from both God and the Memra, while also being truly divine in nature.
I will keep my comments really brief since the citations are basically self-explanatory. All emphasis will be mine.
GENESIS 1-6
[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord created man in His likeness, in the likeness of the presence of the Lord He created him, the male and his yoke-fellow He created them.]…
And a garden from the Eden of the just was planted by the Word of the Lord God before the creation of the world, and He made there to dwell the man when He had created him. And the Lord God made to grow from the ground every tree that was desirable to behold and good to eat, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, whose height was a journey of five hundred years, and the tree of whose fruit they who ate would distinguish between good and evil…
And the woman beheld Sammael, the angel of death, and was afraid; yet she knew that the tree was good to eat, and that it was medicine for the enlightenment of the eyes, and desirable tree by means of which to understand. And she took of its fruit, and did eat; and she gave to her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of both were enlightened, and they knew that they were naked, divested of the purple robe in which they had been created. And they saw the sight of their shame, and sewed to themselves the leaves of figs, and made to them cinctures. [JERSULAEM. And they made to them vestments.] And they heard the voice of the word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the repose of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Is not all the world which I have made manifest before Me; the darkness as the light? and how hast thou thought in thine heart to hide from before Me? The place where thou art concealed, do I not see? Where are the commandments that I commanded thee?
[JERUSALEM. Walking in the garden in the strength of the day……And the Word of the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Behold, the world which I have created is manifest before Me; and how thinkest thou that the place in the midst whereof thou art, is not revealed before Me? Where is the commandment which I taught thee?]
And he said, The voice of Thy Word heard I in the garden, and I was afraid, because I am naked; and the commandment which Thou didst teach me, I have transgressed; therefore I hid myself from shame…
And the Lord God said to the angels who ministered before Him, Behold, Adam is sole on the earth, as I am sole in the heavens above; and it will be that they will arise from him who will know to discern between good and evil. Had he kept the commandments which I appointed to him, he would have lived and subsisted as the tree of life for ever. But now, because he hath not kept that which I prescribed, it is decreed against him that we keep him from the garden of Eden, before he reach forth his hand and take of the tree of life: for, behold, if he eat thereof, living he will live and subsist for ever. And the Lord God removed him from the garden of Eden; and he went and dwelt on Mount Moriah, to cultivate the ground from which he had been created. And He drave out the man from thence where He had made to dwell the glory of His Shekina at the first between the two Kerubaia. Before He had created the world, He created the law; He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they might eat and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree; because they would have practised in their lives the doctrine of the law in this world, and have maintained the commandments: (but) he prepared Gehinnam for the wicked, which is like the sharp, consuming sword of two edges; in the midst of it He hath prepared flakes of fire and burning coals for the judgment of the wicked who rebelled in their life against the doctrine of the law. To serve the law is better than (to eat of) the fruit of the tree of life, (the law) which the Word of the Lord prepared, that man in keeping it might continue, and walk in the paths of the way of life in the world to come.
[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord God said, Behold, Adam whom I have created is sole in my world, as I am sole in the heavens above. It is to be that a great people are to arise from him; from him will arise a people who will know how to discern between good and evil. And now it is good that we keep him from the garden of Eden before he stretch forth his hand and take also of the fruit of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever……And He cast out Adam, and made the glory of His Shekina to dwell at the front of the east of the garden of Eden, above the two Kerubaia. Two thousand years before He had created the world, He created the law, and prepared Gehinnam and the garden of Eden. He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they should eat, and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree, because they had kept the commandments of the law in this world. For the wicked He prepared Gehinnam, which is like the sharp, consuming sword with two edges. He prepared in the depth of it flakes of fire and burning coals for the wicked, for their punishment for ever in the world to come, who have not kept the commandment of the law in this world. For the law is the tree of life; whoever keepeth it in this life liveth and subsisteth as the tree of life. The law is good to keep in this world, as the fruit of the tree of life in the world that cometh.]…
And Hanok served in the truth before the Lord; and, behold, he was not with the sojourners of the earth; for he was withdrawn, and he ascended to the firmament by the Word before the Lord, and his name was called Metatron the Great Saphra.
[JERUSALEM. And Hanok served in the truth before the Lord; and, behold, he was not; for he was withdrawn by the Word from before the Lord.]…
And the Lord said by His Word, All the generations of the wicked which are to arise shall not be purged after the order of the judgments of the generation of the deluge, which shall be destroyed and exterminated from the midst of the world. Have I not imparted My Holy Spirit to them, (or, placed My Holy Spirit in them,) that they may work good works? And, behold, their works are wicked. Behold, I will give them a prolongment of a hundred and twenty years, that they may work repentance, and not perish.
[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord said, The generations which are to arise shall not be judged after (the manner of) the generation of the deluge, (which is) to be destroyed, and exterminated, and finally blotted out. Have I not imparted My Spirit to the sons of men, because they are flesh, that they may work good works? But they do works of evil. Behold, I have given them a prolongment of a hundred and twenty years, that they may work repentance; but they have not done it.]
Schamchazai and Uzziel, who fell from heaven, were on the earth in those days; and also, after the sons of the Great had gone in with the daughters of men, they bare to them: and these are they who are called men who are of the world, men of names.
And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and all the imagery of the thought of his heart was only evil every day. And it repented the Lord in His Word that He had made man upon the earth; and He passed judgment upon them by His Word.
[JERUSALEM. And there was repentance before the Lord in His Word that He had made man upon the earth…And He said, and judged in His heart.]
And the Lord said, I will abolish by My Word man, whom I have created upon the face of the earth, from man to cattle, to the reptile, and to the fowl of the heavens; because I have repented in My Word that I have made them. But Noah, who was righteous, found favour before the Lord. (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, in The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel
On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, by J. W. Etheridge, M.A., First Published 1862, 1-6)
And they heard the voice of the Word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening of the day;[21] and Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where art thou? And he said, The voice of Thy Word heard I in the garden, and I was afraid, because I (was) naked, and I would hide…
And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man had multiplied in the earth, and that every formation (or image) of the thought of his heart was only evil every day. And it repented the Lord in His Word that He had made men upon the earth. And He said, (in His Word,)[34] that He would break their strength according to His pleasure. And the Lord said, Man whom I have made will I blot out[35] I from the face of the earth;‑from man to the beast, to the reptile, and to the fowls of heaven; because it repenteth Me in My Word that I have made them. But Noach found mercy before the Lord. (Etheridge, Targum Onkelos, 1-6)
GENESIS 7-9
And they entered to Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh in which was the breath of life. And they coming entered, male and female, of all flesh unto him, as the Lord had instructed him; and the Word of the Lord covered over the door of the ark upon the face thereof. [JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord was merciful upon him.]…
VIII. And the Lord in His Word remembered Noah, and all the animals and the cattle which were with him in the ark; and the Lord caused the wind of mercies to pass over the earth, and the waters were dried…
And the Lord said, This is the sign of the covenant which I establish between My Word and between you and every living soul that is with you, unto the generations of the world. I have set My Bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of the covenant between My Word and the earth. And it shall be that when I spread forth My glorious cloud over the earth, the bow shall be seen in the day (time), while the sun is not sunk (or hidden) in a cloud. And I will remember My covenant which is between My Word and between you and every living soul of all flesh, that there shall not be the waters of a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between the Word of the Lord and every living soul of all flesh that is upon the earth. And the Lord said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant that I have covenanted between My Word and between the word for all flesh that is upon the earth. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 6-11)
And the Lord said, This is the sign of the covenant which I appoint (give) between My Word, and between you, and between every living soul that is with you unto perpetual generations. I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between My Word and between the earth. And it shall be that when clouding I becloud the earth, the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember the covenant which is between My Word, and between You, and between every living soul of all flesh; and there shall not be again the waters of a deluge to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between the Word of the Lord and between every living soul of all flesh that is upon the earth. And the Lord said, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between My Word and between all flesh which is upon the earth. (Etheridge, Onkelos, 6-11)
GENESIS 11-12
[JERUSALEM. And all the inhabiters of the earth were (of) one language, and of one speech, and one counsel: for they spake the holy language by which the world was created at the beginning: while their hearts erred afterwards from the Word of Him who spake, and the world was, at the beginning; and they found a plain in the land of Pontos and dwelt there.]…
And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and the language of all of them one: and this they have thought to do: and now they will not be restrained from doing whatever they imagine. And the Lord said to the seventy angels which stand before Him, Come, we will descend and will there commingle their language, that a man shall not understand the speech of his neighbour. And the Word of the Lord was revealed against the city, and with Him seventy angels, having reference to seventy nations, each having its own language, and thence the writing of its own hand: and He dispersed them from thence upon the face of all the earth into seventy languages. And one knew not what his neighbour would say: but one slew the other; and they ceased from building the city. Therefore He called the name of it Bavel, because there did the Lord commingle the speech of all the inhabitants of the earth, and from thence did the Lord disperse them upon the faces of all the earth. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 6-11)
And Pharoh did good to Abram for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, and asses, and servants, and handmaids, and she-asses, and camels. And the Word of the Lord sent great plagues against Pharoh and the men of his house, on account of Sara, Abram’s wife. And Pharoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done to me? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? When I would take her to me to wife, plagues were at once sent against me, and I went not unto her. And now behold thy wife, take (her) and go. And Pharoh commanded men concerning him, and they led him forth, and his wife, and all that he had. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 12-17)
GENESIS 15-17
Thereupon was the word (pithgama) of the Lord with Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not; for if these men should gather together in legions and come against thee, My Word (Memra) will be thy shield: and also if these fall before thee in this world, the reward of thy good works shall be kept, and be prepared before Me in the world to come, great exceedingly… And, behold, a word from before the Lord was to him, saying, He shall not be thine heir; but a son whom thou wilt beget shall be thy heir. And He brought him forth without, and said, Look up now to the heavens, and number the stars, if thou art able to number them: and he said, So will be thy sons. And he believed in the Lord, and had faith in the (Memra) Word of the Lord, and He reckoned it to him for righteousness (lizeku), because he parleyed not before him with words…
[JERUSALEM… Then was the word of prophecy from the Lord unto Abram the Righteous, saying, Fear not, Abram, though they should gather together and come against thee with many legions, My Word shall be thy reward and thy shield in this world, and a protector over thee all the days of the world to come. And though I deliver up thy adversaries before thee in this world, the reward of thy good works is prepared for thee also before Me in the world to come…
And she gave thanks before the Lord whose Word spake to her, and thus said, Thou art He who livest and art eternal; who seest, but art not seen! for she said, For, behold, here is revealed the glory of the Shekina of the Lord after a vision. (JERUSALEM. And Hagar gave thanks, and prayed in the Name of the Word of the Lord, who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be Thou, Eloha, the Living One of all Ages, who hast looked upon my affliction. For she said, Behold, Thou art manifested also unto me, even as Thou wast manifested to Sara my mistress.]…
XVII. And Abram was the son of ninety and nine years, and the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am El Shadai; serve before Me and be perfect (shelim) in thy flesh. And I will set My covenant between My Word and thee, and will multiply thee very greatly… And I have established My covenant between My Word and thee, and thy sons after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to thee and to thy sons after thee… This is My covenant, that you shall observe between My Word and you, and your sons after you:–Every male of you being circumcised, though he have not a father to circumcise him. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, as a sign of the covenant between My Word and you. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 12-17)
XV. After these things the word (pithgama) of the Lord came to Abram in prophecy,[11] saying, Fear not, Abram: My Word (Memra) shall be thy strength, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, and I go without a child: and this son of business (bar phargama) who is in My house is the Damasekah Elieser? And Abram said, Behold, Thou hast not given me a child, and, behold, the son of my house is my heir. And, lo, the word (pithgama) of the Lord was with him, saying, This shall not be thy heir, but a son whom thou shalt beget will be thine heir. And He led him without, and said, Behold now the heavens, and number the stars, if thou art able to number them; and He said to him, So will be thy sons.[12] And he believed in the Word of the Lord, (Memra da Yeya,)and He reckoned it to him unto justification. (Etheridge, Onkelos, 12-17)
GENESIS 19
And the Word of the Lord had caused showers of favour to descend upon Sedom and Amorah, to the intent that they might work repentance, but they did it not: so that they said, Wickedness is not manifest before the Lord. Behold, then, there are now sent down upon them sulphur and fire from before the Word of the Lord from Heaven. [JERUSALEM. 24. And the Word of the Lord Himself had made to descend upon the people of Sedom and Amorah showers of favour, that they might work repentance from their wicked works. But when they saw the showers of favour, they said, So, our wicked works are not manifest before Him. He turned (then), and caused to descend upon them bitumen and fire from before the Lord from the heavens.] And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the herbage of the earth. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 18-22)
GENESIS 24
XXIV. And Abraham was old with days, and the Word of the Lord had blessed Abraham with every kind of blessing. And Abraham said to Eliezer his servant, the senior of his house, who had rule over all his property, Put now thy hand upon the section of my circumcision… And swear to me in the name of the Word of the Lord God, whose habitation is in heaven on high, the God whose dominion is over the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kenaanites among whom I dwell; (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 23-25)
GENESIS 28
[XXVIII.] Five miracles were wrought for our father Jakob at the time that he went forth from Beersheba. The first sign: the hours of the day were shortened, and the sun went down before his time, forasmuch as the Word had desired to speak with him… [JERUSALEM. Five signs were wrought for our father Jakob at the time he went forth from Beersheba to go unto Haran. The first sign: the hours of the day were shortened for him, and the sun was hidden from him before its time, because His Word had desired to speak with him…
[12. And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was fixed in the earth, and the summit of it reached to the height of heaven. And, behold, the angels who had accompanied him from the house of his father, ascended to make known to the angels on high, saying, Come, see Jakob the pious, whose likeness is in the throne of glory, and whom you have been desirous to see! And, behold, the holy angels from before the Lord ascended and descended, and looked upon him.]
And, behold, the Glory of the Lord stood above him, and He said to him, I am the Lord the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Izhak, The land on which thou art lying I will give to thee and to thy sons. And thy sons shall be many as the dust of the earth, and shall become strong on the west and on the east, on the north and on the south: and all the kindreds of the earth shall through thy rightneousness and the righteousness of thy sons be blessed. And, behold, My Word is for thy help, and will keep thee in every place where thou shalt go, and will bring thee (again) to this land; for I will not leave thee until the time when I have performed all that I have told thee.
And Jakob awoke from his sleep, and said, Verily the Glory of the Lord’s Shekinah dwelleth in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful and glorious is this place! This place is not common, but the sanctuary of the Name of the Lord, the proper spot for prayer, set forth before the gate of heaven and founded beneath the throne of glory… And Jakob vowed a vow, saying, If the Word of the Lord will be my Helper, and will keep me from shedding innocent blood, and from strange worship, and from impure converse, in this way that I am going; and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to wear, and will bring me back in peace to my father’s house; the Lord shall be my God: ‘and this stone which I have set (for) a pillar shall be ordained for the house of the sanctuary of the Lord, and upon it shall generations worship the Name of the Lord; and of all that Thou mayest give me, the tenth will I separate before Thee. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 28-32)
XXIV.And Abraham was old, (and) advanced in days, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who had authority over all which was his, Putnow thy hand under my thigh, and I will adjure thee by the Word of the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kenaanaee among whom I dwell. (Etheridge, Onkelos, 23-25)
EXODUS 3-4
And Mosheh said before the Lord, Who am I, that I should go to Pharoh, and bring forth the sons of Israel out of Mizraim? But He said, Therefore My Word shall be for thy help; and this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee: when thou hast, brought the people forth from Mizraim, ye shall worship before the Lord, because ye shall have received the Law upon this mountain.
And Mosheh said before the Lord, Behold, I will go to the sons of Israel, and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers hath sent me to you: and they will say to me, What is His Name? What shall I say to them? And the Lord said unto Mosheh, He who spake, and the world was; who spake, and all things were. And He said, This thou shalt say to the sons of Israel, I AM HE WHO IS, AND WHO WILL BE, hath sent me unto you. [JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord said to Mosheh, He who spake to the world, Be, and it was; and who will speak to it, Be, and it will be. And he said, Thus shalt thou speak to the sons of Israel, EHEYEH hath sent me unto you.] And the Lord said again unto Mosheh, Thus shalt thou speak to the sons of Israel, The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Izhak, and the God of Jakob, hath sent me unto you. This is His Name for ever, and this is His Memorial to every generation and generation…
And Mosheh said before the Lord, O Lord, I pray: I am not a man of words, nor ever have been before that Thou didst speak with Thy servant; for I am of a staggering mouth and staggering speech. [JERUSALEM. For of a staggering mouth and difficult speech am I.] And the Lord said, Who is he who first put the language of the mouth into the mouth of man? or who hath appointed the dumb or the deaf, the open-seeing or the blind, but I the Lord? And now go, and I by My Word will be with the speaking of thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say.
And he said, I pray for mercy before the Lord. Send now Thy sending by the hand of Phinehas, by whom it is to be sent at the end of the days. [JERUSALEM. Send now by the hand of him by whom it is opportune to send.] And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Mosheh, and He said, Is it not manifest before Me that Aharon thy brother speaking can speak ? And, behold, also, he cometh forth to meet thee, and will see thee and rejoice in his heart. And thou shalt speak with him, and put the matter in his mouth, and My Word shall be with the word of thy mouth, and with the word of his mouth, and I will instruct you what you are to do… (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 1-6)
And Mosheh said before the Lord, In entreating, I am not a man who is (well) spoken, neither yesterday nor the day before, and from the time that thou spakest with Thy servant: for I am heavy of speech and of a deep[8] tongue. But the Lord said to him, Who hath appointed the mouth of man, and who hath appointed the mute, or the deaf, or the open-sighted, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? And now go, and My Word shall be with thy mouth, and I will teach thee what to say. And he said, I beseech the Lord to send by the hand of one who is fit to be sent. And the displeasure of the Lord was kindled against Mosheh; and He said, Is not Aharon the Levite, thy brother, known before Me as one who speaking can speak? and also, behold, he cometh forth to anticipate thee, and will see thee, and rejoice in his heart. And thou shalt speak with him, and put the words in his mouth; and My Word will be with thy mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what to do. And he shall speak for thee with the people, and shall be thy interpreter, and thou shalt be to him a rab; and this staff thou shalt take in thy hand wherewith to work the signs. (Etheridge, Onkelos, 1-5)
NUMBERS 7
And when Mosheh entered into the tabernacle of ordinance to speak with Him, he heard the voice of the Spirit who spake with him descending from the heaven of heavens upon the Mercy Seat which was upon the Ark of the Testimony between the two Cherubim, and from thence was the Oracle speaking with him. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 4-7)
NUMBERS 14
How long will they disbelieve in My Word, for all the signs I have wrought among them? I will strike them with deadly plague and destroy them, and will appoint thee for a people greater and stronger than they. But Mosheh said, The children of the Mizraee, whom Thou didst drown in the sea, will hear that Thou didst bring up this people from among them by Thy power, and will say with exultation to the people of this land, who have heard that Thou art the Lord, whose Shekinah dwelleth among this people, in whose eyes, O Lord, the Glory of Thy Shekinah appeared on the mountain of Sinai, and who there received Thy law; Thy Cloud hath shadowed, that neither heat nor rain might hurt them; and whom in the pillar of the Cloud Thou hast led on by day, that the mountains and hills might be brought low, and the valleys lifted up, and hast guided in the pillar of Fire by night: and after all of these miracles wilt Thou kill this people as one man?…
[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord said, Behold, I have absolved and pardoned, according to thy word.]… Because all the men who have beheld My glory, and My signs, which I have wrought in Mizraim and in the Desert, have tempted Me now ten times, and have not obeyed My Word… But Mosheh said, Why will you act against the decree of the Word of the Lord? But it will not prosper with you. Go not up, for the Lord’s Shekinah dwelleth not among you; and the ark, the tabernacle, and the Cloud of Glory proceed not; and be not crushed before your enemies. For the Amalekites and Kenaanites are there prepared for you, and you will fall slaughtered by the sword. For, because you have turned away from the service of the Lord, the Word of the Lord will not be your Helper… (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 13-15)
DEUTERONOMY 2-5
… For the Word of the Lord your God is a consuming fire; the jealous God is a fire, and He avengeth Himself in jealousy. [JERUSALEM. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; the jealous God is a fire, and He avengeth Himself in jealousy.]…
For ask now the generations which have been from the days of the beginning, which have been before thee from the day when the Lord created man upon the earth, from one end of the heavens to the other, whether so great a thing as this hath been, or any like to it hath been heard? Hath it ever been that a people should hear the voice of the Word of the Lord, the Living God, speaking from the midst of fire, as you heard, and remained alive? Or, as the wonder which the Lord hath wrought, revealing Himself to separate a people to Himself from among another people, by signs, by miracles, by portents, by the victories of ordered battles, by an uplifted arm, and by great visions, like all that the Lord our God hath done for us in Mizraim, and your eyes beholding? [JERUSALEM. Or what is the people or kingdom that hath heard?. . . . . Or the signs which the Word of the Lord hath wrought, coming to announce (that He would separate) to Himself a people from among a people ?] Unto thee have these wonders been shown, that thou mayest know that the Lord is God, and there is none beside Him. He made you hear the voice of His Word from the heavens on high, to give you discipline by His doctrine, and showed thee upon earth His great fire, and made thee hear His words from the midst of the flame. And because He loved thy fathers Abraham and Izhak, therefore hath He pleasure in the children of Jakob after him, and hath brought you in His lovingkindness and power from Mizraim, to drive out nations greater and stronger than you from before you, and give you their land to inherit as at this day. Know therefore to‑day, and set your heart upon it, that the Lord is God, whose Shekinah dwelleth in the heavens above, and reigneth on the earth beneath, neither is there any other beside Him…
V. And Mosheh called all Israel, and said to them: Hear, Israel, the statutes and judgments that I speak before you this day, to learn them, and observe to perform them. The Lord our God confirmed a covenant with us in Horeb: not with our fathers did the Lord confirm this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here this day alive and abiding. Word to word did the Lord speak with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Word of the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the Word of the Lord, because you were afraid before the voice of the Word of the Lord, which you heard from the midst of the fire… Sons of Israel, My people, no one of you shall swear by the Name of the Word of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord, (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 3-7)
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He hath concluded with you, and you make an image for you, the likeness of anything about which the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. For the Word of the Lord thy God is a consuming fire: He is a jealous God… For ask now of the ancient days that have been before thee, from the day that the Lord created man upon the earth, and (ask) from one end of the heavens to the other, if there hath been so great a thing as this, or any heard like it, whether a people have heard the voice of the Word of the Lord speaking from the midst of the fire as thou didst hear, and have lived. Or (if any have seen) like miracles which the Lord hath wrought, in being revealed to redeem to Himself a people from among a people, by miracles, signs, and wonders, and with war, and by a mighty hand and uplifted arm, and by grand visions, according to all that the Lord your God hath done for you in Mizraim before your eyes. Unto thee hath it been shown, that thou mayest know that the Lord He is God, there is none beside Him. From the heavens thou didst hear the voice of His Word, that He might teach thee, and upon earth He showed thee His great fire, and thou heardest His words from the midst of the fire. And because He loved thy fathers, and had pleasure in their children after them, He brought thee out by His Word, by His mighty power, from Mizraim, to drive out nations greater and stronger than thou from before thee, to bring thee in, to give thee their land to inherit, as at this day…
V. And Mosheh called all Israel, and said to them: Listen, Israel, to the statutes and judgments which I speak before you this day, and learn them, and keep them to do them. The Lord our God confirmed a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord confirmed not this covenant with our fathers, but with us who are here all of us living this day: word with word hath the Lord spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire, (I stood between the Word of the Lord and you, to announce to you at that time the word of the Lord; for you were afraid in presence of the fire, and went not up to the mountain,) saying: I am the Lord thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Mizraim, from the house of bondage… Behold, the Lord our God hath showed to us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard the voice of His Word out of the midst of the fire; this day have we seen that the Lord speaketh with a man,[3] and he liveth. But now why should we die? For this great fire will consume us: if we go on to hear the voice of the Word of the Lord our God, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh who can hear the voice of the Word of the Living God speaking from the midst of fire (in the manner) that we have, and can live?… (Etheridge, Onkelos, Complete)
DEUTERONOMY 8-9
VIII. Every commandment which I command you this day, observe ye to do, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and inherit the land which the Lord sware to your fathers. And remember all the way by which the Lord your God hath led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble and try you, to know whether you will keep His commandments or not. And He humbled thee and let thee hunger, and fed thee with the manna which thou knewest not, nor thy fathers had known, that He might make thee to know that man liveth not by bread only, but by all that is created by the Word of the Lord doth man live…
IX. Hear, Israel: you are this day (about) to pass Jordana to enter in and possess (the country of) nations greater and stronger than you, and cities many, and fortified to the height of heaven. A people (are they) strong and tall as the giants whom you know, and of whom you have heard (say), Who can stand before the sons of the giants? Know, therefore, tojday that the Lord your God, whose glorious Shekinah goeth before you, whose Word is a consuming fire, will destroy them and drive them out before you; (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 7-11)
DEUTERONOMY 18
I will raise up unto them a Prophet from, among their brethren in whom shall be the Holy Spirit, as in thee; and I will put My Word of prophecy in his mouth, and he shall speak with them whatsoever I command him; and the man who will not hearken to the words of My prophecy which shall be spoken in My Name, My Word shall take vengeance upon him. But the false prophet who doeth wickedly in speaking a thing in My Name, when I have not commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in the name of the gods of the Gentiles., that prophet shall be slain with the sword. And if thou shalt say in your thoughts, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a [p. 615] false prophet speaketh in the Name of the Lord, and the thing doth not come to pass, or be not confirmed, it is a word which the Lord hath not spoken; the false prophet spake it in presumption; fear him not. (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 16-21)
… A PROPHET from among thee, of thy brethren, like me, will the Lord thy God raise up unto thee, to him shall ye hearken. According to all that thou didst ask before the Lord thy God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying: Let me not again hear the voice of the Word of the Lord my God, and let me not see the great fire any more, lest I die. And the Lord said to me, That which they have spoken is right: I will raise up to them a Prophet from among them like unto thee, and I will put My words of prophecy upon his lips, and he will speak to them all that I shall command him. And the man who will not hearken to My words which he will speak in My Name, My Word will require it of him. (Etheridge, Onkelos)
DEUTERONOMY 32
For the Word of the Lord adjudgeth in His mercy the jundgement of His people Israel, and for the evil He hath appointed upon His servants there shall be repentance before Him; for He knoweth that in the time when they have sinned the stroke of their enemies will be heavy upon them, and help have passed away from their hands, and the faithful will have failed with their good works and be scattered and forsaken. And the enemy will say, Where is the fear of Israel, their Strength in whom they confided, who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their libations? Let Him now rise up and help you, let Him shield you by His Word…
When the Word of the Lord shall reveal Himself to redeem His people, He will say to all the nations: Behold now, that I am He who Am, and Was, and Will Be, and there is no other God beside Me: I, in My Word, kill and make alive; I smite the people of the Beth Israel, and I will heal them at the end of the days; and there will be none who can deliver them from My hand, Gog and his armies whom I have permitted to make war against them. [JER. See now that I in My Word am He, and there is no other God beside Me. I kill the living in this world, and make alive the dead in the world that cometh; I am He who smiteth, and I am He who healeth; and there is none who can deliver from My hand.]…
[JER. For I have uplifted My hand with an oath to heaven, and said, I live, and My Word subsisteth for ever…]
Rejoice, ye nations, (and) ye people of Beth Israel; for the blood of His servants which was shed, He hath avenged. He hath kept (in mind) and returned just vengeance upon His adversaries, and by His Word will He make Atonement for His land, and for His people…
And the Lord spake with Mosheh on the seventh of the month Adar, on the same day,
saying, It was when the Word of the Lord had said to him, Go up to this mount Ibraee,
the mountain of Nebo, and he thought in his heart, and said, Perhaps this up‑going will
be like that to Mount Sinai; and he said, I will go and sanctify the people; but the Word of
the Lord said to him, Not so at all, but, Go thou up and view the land of Kenaan, which I
have given to the children of Israel for an inheritance… Mosheh at once opened his mouth in prayer, and said… So have I laboured for this people; I have led them by Thy Word out of Mizraim, and builded for this people; I have taught them Thy law builded for them the tabernacle to Thy Name; but now that the time hath come to pass the Jordan, I am punished with death! Let it please Thee to withhold fromme this sentence until I have passed the Jordan, to see the good of Israel before I die. The Lord of the world answered him, and said: Because thou didst prevaricate with My Word In the midst of the children of Israel, at the Waters of Contention at Rekem in the desert of Zin, and didst not sanctify Me among them; therefore thou mayest look over against it, but shalt not enter into the land that I give unto the children of Israel. [Jer. Because you were rebellios towards the Name of My Word, among the Beni Israel, at the Waters of Contention in Rekem in the desert of Zin; forasmuch as you did not sanctify Me in the midst of them, therefore thou mayest look over against it, but shalt not enter into the land which I give to the children of Israel.] (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 32)
ISAIAH 6
In the year in which King Uzziah was smitten with the leprosy the prophet said, I saw THE GLORY of the Lord sitting upon His throne, high, and lifted up unto the highest heavens, and the temple was filled with the brightness of His glory… And one cried unto another and they were saying, Holy in the highest and exalted heavens is the house of His Shekinah, holy upon the earth is the work of His might, holy for ever, world without end, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of the brightness of His glory… Then said I, Woe is me, for I have sinned, for I am a guilty man to reprove, and I dwell in the midst of a people polluted with sin: for mine eyes have seen THE GLORY of the Shekinah of the King of the worlds, the Lord of hosts… And I heard the voice OF THE WORD of the Lord, which said, Whom shall I send to prophesy? and who will go to teach? Then said I, Here am I, send me. (The Chaldee Paraphrase on the Prophet Isaiah by Jonathan b. Uzziel, translated by Rev. C. W. H. Pauli [London Society House, 1871], pp. 20-21 https://books.google.com/books?id=_boCAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Astonishingly, not only does the Targum confirm that the prophet saw the very glory of Jehovah but it also connects Isaiah’s commissioning with the Word of the Lord. I.e., it is the Word of the Lord who personally appointed Isaiah to speak on behalf of the Godhead.
In another place, particularly Deuteronomy 4:7, the Targum interprets Isaiah 6:1 in reference to the prophet actually seeing the Word of the Lord seated on God’s heavenly throne!
“But the custom of (other) nations is to carry their gods upon their shoulders, that they may seem to be nigh them; but they cannot hear with their ears, (be they nigh or) be they afar off; but the Word of the Lord sitteth upon His throne high and lifted up, and HEARETH our prayer what time we pray BEFORE HIM and make our petitions.” (Etheridge, Jonathan & Jerusalem, 3-7)
And the following Targum on the Psalms basically states the same thing:
But as for the word of the Lord, HIS seat is in the highest heaven forever; he has established his throne for judgment. Psalm 9:8 (The Psalms Targum: An English Translation, Edward M. Cook, 2001, Book 1 – Psalms 1-41)
ISAIAH 8
5 And the WORD of the Lord spake again to me, saying, (Pauli, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, p. 26)
ISAIAH 17
7 At the time a man shall stay himself upon the service of his Maker, and his eyes shall hopefully look for the WORD, the Holy One of Israel…
10 Because thou hast fosaken the God of thy salvation, and thou has not remembered the fear of the Mighty One, whose WORD was thy support; therefore thou has planted a choice plant, and hast multiplied despicable works. (Pauli, p. 56)
ISAIAH 42
1 Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring, my chosen in whom one delights: as for my Word, I will put my Holy Spirit upon him; He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations. (Pauli, p. 142)
Remarkably, the Messiah is here associated with God’s Word and has God’s Holy Spirit resting on him!
ISAIAH 44
24 Thus saith the Lord, who hath redeemed thee, and who hath prepared thee from the womb, I have suspended the heavens by my WORD, I have laid the foundations of the earth by my strength; (Pauli, p. 154)
ISAIAH 45
17 Israel shall be saved by the Word of the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed no confounded for ever, yea, for ages to ages…
22 Turn unto my WORD, and be ye saved, all that are at the ends of the earth: for I am the Lord, and there is none else…
24 Surely, He has promised to bring me righteousness and strength by the WORD of the Lord. In His WORD they shall offer praise, and all the nations that are increased against His people shall be ashamed.
25 In the WORD of the Lord all the seed of Israel shall be justified and glorified. (Pauli, pp. 158-159)
ISAIAH 48
11 For my name’s sake, for the sake of my WORD, that it may not be profaned, I will do it, and my glory in which I have revealed myself unto you, I will not give to another people…
13 Yea, by my WORD I have laid the foundation of the earth, and by my might I have suspended of the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together…
16… The prophet saith: And now the Lord God, and His WORD, hath sent me. (Pauli, pp. 166-167)
ISAIAH 63
8 And He said, Surely, they are my people, children that will not lie: and His WORD became their salvation…
10 But they rebelled against the word of His holy prophets, and blasphemed, and His Word became their enemy, He waged war against them. (Pauli, p. 213)
FURTHER READING
GOD’S SON IN TARGUM NEOFITI REVISITED
Answering Islam Blog 
3 thoughts on “THE TRINITY IN THE ARAMAIC TARGUMS”