DIE TARGUME – ZEUGNISSE DER REZEPTIONSGESCHICHTE DER BIBEL IM JUDENTUM
The Targums – Witnesses of Reception History

Summary/Abstract: The Aramaic version of the Bible bears witness to the history of reception of the Holy Scriptures in Judaism. The article challenges the usual interpretation of the Targums as an integral part of the ancient synagogal service, generated by the need for translating the by now incomprehensible biblical text into the sociocultural horizon of the Jewish communities. After a short treatment of introductory questions the article offers a detailed assessment of the Targumists’ methods of translation and interpretation. The survey leads to the conclusion, that the primary “Sitz im Leben” of the Targums are the scriptural studies of the pious individual and the Rabbinic circles. Their later usage within the synagogal service is not determined by a demise of the Hebrew language. It should rather be interpreted as a result of the increasing necessity for an updating comprehension of the Hebrew Bible in Judaism after the destruction of the Second Temple.

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