Parashat Bereshit — First Aliyah
Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 1:1 – 2:3 · פרשת בראשית, ראשון
The six days of Creation and the first Shabbat, read through Targum Onkelos
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- Orientation
- How this page is laid out
- Unit 1 — Bereshit 1:1–5: The beginning, and the first day
- Unit 2 — Bereshit 1:6–8: The canopy, and the second day
- Unit 3 — Bereshit 1:9–13: Dry land, seas and vegetation: the third day
- Unit 4 — Bereshit 1:14–19: The lights in the canopy of heaven: the fourth day
- Unit 5 — Bereshit 1:20–23: Creatures of the water and the air: the fifth day
- Unit 6 — Bereshit 1:24–31: Land creatures, man, and the gift of food: the sixth day
- Unit 7 — Bereshit 2:1–3: The seventh day
- Conclusion of the aliyah
- Aramaic word list for the aliyah
- Source note
Orientation
What happens in this aliyah. The aliyah opens the Torah with the account of Creation. Hashem creates heaven and earth; light is called into being and divided from the darkness; a canopy is set in the midst of the waters to divide them; the waters beneath the heavens are gathered so that dry land appears, and the earth sprouts grass, herbs and fruit trees; lights are placed in the canopy of heaven to divide day from night and to rule them; the waters teem with living creatures and birds fly above the earth; and on the sixth day the earth brings forth animals, and God makes man in His image, male and female, blesses them, gives them dominion and assigns them the plants for food. Each day closes with the formula of evening and morning, and the aliyah ends as heaven and earth are completed and God blesses and sanctifies the seventh day, on which He ceased from His work.
What Onkelos is. Targum Onkelos is the classical Aramaic translation of the Torah, read for centuries alongside the Hebrew; the Talmud speaks of reviewing the weekly portion “twice in the Hebrew and once in the Targum”. Because it is a translation, it rarely adds explanation in so many words. Its interpretation lies in its choices: which Aramaic word it uses, where it adds or omits a word, how it handles a difficult phrase, and where it departs from a word-for-word rendering.
How this page reads Onkelos. The notes compare the Aramaic with the Hebrew and nothing else. No later commentators are brought in. Where a note draws a conclusion about what Onkelos meant, it is stated as an inference from the text, not as established fact.
What to look out for in this aliyah.
- Elokim rendered by the Name. In the printed Targum every Elokim of the aliyah becomes ה׳, Hashem. The Yemenite text departs from this once, in 1:27, where it keeps the Hebrew בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹקִים as it stands.
- A close rendering. Most verses follow the Hebrew word for word and in the same order, so the departures that do occur stand out; many notes simply read “a literal rendering”.
- One Aramaic word for two Hebrew ones. Onkelos often works with a smaller vocabulary than the Hebrew: נְהוֹרָא serves for both or and ma’or, the root רחש for both שרץ and רמש, the root עבד for both the work and the making, and אַרְעָא for both eretz and adamah.
- Two Aramaic words for one Hebrew one. In the other direction he sometimes separates senses the Hebrew carries in one word: יְמָמָא and יוֹמָא for yom in 1:5, חַיְתָא and וְחֵוַת for hayyah in the printed text of 1:24, and two different verbs for the root כלה in 2:1 and 2:2.
- Root pairs kept. Where the Hebrew pairs a verb and a noun of one root, as in tadshei … deshe (1:11) or yishretzu … sheretz (1:20), Onkelos usually keeps the pairing with an Aramaic root of his own; the birds of 1:20 are an exception.
- Small interpretive touches. An added verb for the darkness in 1:2 (printed text only), the wind “from before Hashem” (1:2), “the place of” the gathering of the waters (1:10), a purpose clause for “days and years” (1:14) and “well-ordered” for “very good” (1:31).
- Printed and Yemenite texts. Where the Yemenite text differs, a textual note says so, and several observations are marked as holding for the printed text only.
How this page is laid out
For each verse:
- Torah — the Hebrew verse, with vowels and cantillation, followed by an English Translation of the Hebrew (Metsudah Chumash).
- Onkelos — the Aramaic of Targum Onkelos, followed by Onkelos in English, a close translation of the Aramaic. It uses the same wording as the Torah translation wherever the Aramaic says the same thing, so that the differences from the Hebrew can be seen. Words in square brackets are added for sense.
- What Onkelos tells us — editorial notes comparing the Aramaic with the Hebrew: what is translated literally, what is changed or added, and what that suggests about how Onkelos read the verse. Selected Aramaic words are listed with their Hebrew equivalents.
Each unit ends with a short Unit summary. The page ends with a review of the aliyah and an Aramaic word list.
Divine Names in the Hebrew and Aramaic are printed as ה׳ and אלקים. In English, God’s proper Name is rendered Hashem, and Elokim is rendered God.
Unit 1 — Bereshit 1:1–5: The beginning, and the first day
Hashem creates heaven and earth; the earth lies desolate in darkness until light is called into being, divided from the darkness and named, completing the first day.
Bereshit 1:1
Torah
Translation
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
At first Hashem created the heavens and the earth.
What Onkelos tells us
- “At first”. The Hebrew בְּרֵאשִׁית is a noun, “beginning”, with the preposition be-. Onkelos uses בְּקַדְמִין (bekadmin), an adverbial form from the root קדם, “first, earlier”. The Aramaic thus reads simply “at first” and does not reproduce the noun form of the Hebrew; this may suggest that he took the word as a plain statement of time.
- “Hashem”. Where the Hebrew has אֱלֹקִים, the printed Aramaic has the Name, ה׳. The same holds in all nine places where Elokim occurs in 1:1–1:8; the Aramaic of these verses does not distinguish between the Hebrew Elokim and the Name.
- “Created”. בְּרָא (bera) uses the same root as the Hebrew בָּרָא, ברא. The object marker et is rendered by the Aramaic יָת (yat), and the rest of the verse is literal.
Words to note: בְּקַדְמִין bekadmin — at first (בְּרֵאשִׁית) · בְּרָא bera — created (בָּרָא) · יָת yat — (marks the direct object) (אֵת) · שְׁמַיָּא shemaya — the heavens (הַשָּׁמַיִם) · אַרְעָא ar’a — the earth (הָאָרֶץ)
Bereshit 1:2
Torah
Translation
The earth was unformed and desolate, and (there was) darkness over the surface of the abyss. The breath of God hovered above the surface of the water.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
The earth was desolate and empty, and darkness spread over the surface of the abyss. And a wind from before Hashem was blowing above the surface of the water.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Desolate and empty”. For the rhyming pair תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu va-vohu), Onkelos has two ordinary adjectives, צָדְיָא (tzadya), “desolate”, and וְרֵיקַנְיָא (reikanya), “empty”. The sound-play of the Hebrew is not reproduced; the Aramaic describes the earth as a waste and a void in plain terms.
- An added verb: “spread”. The Hebrew clause about the darkness has no verb: “and darkness over the surface of the abyss”. The printed Onkelos supplies one, פָּרַשׂ (paras), “spread”, making the darkness something that covered the abyss. This is a grammatical smoothing of a verbless clause (see the textual note).
- “A wind from before Hashem”. The Hebrew וְרוּחַ אֱלֹקִים is a construct phrase, “the ruah of God”. Onkelos writes וְרוּחָא מִן קֳדָם ה׳ (ve-ruha min kodam Hashem), “and a wind from before Hashem”. Rephrasing “of God” as “from before Hashem” may be meant to avoid joining the ruah directly to God by the construct, presenting it instead as something sent from Him.
- “Was blowing”. For the Hebrew מְרַחֶפֶת (merahefet), “hovered”, Onkelos has the participle מְנַשְּׁבָא (menashva), “blowing”. The choice of verb fixes the sense of ruah in the Aramaic as a wind, where the Hebrew word could also be read as “breath” or “spirit”; this suggests that Onkelos understood it so.
- “The surface”. Both occurrences of Hebrew penei, “face, surface”, are rendered by אַפֵּי (apei), the usual Aramaic for “face”; the phrase is literal.
- Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks פָּרַשׂ, “spread”, and reads simply “and darkness over the surface of the abyss”, without a verb, exactly like the Hebrew. The note on the added verb holds for the printed text only.
Words to note: צָדְיָא tzadya — desolate (תֹהוּ) · וְרֵיקַנְיָא ve-reikanya — and empty (וָבֹהוּ) · פָּרַשׂ paras — spread · אַפֵּי apei — surface (פְּנֵי) · קֳדָם kodam — before · מְנַשְּׁבָא menashva — was blowing (מְרַחֶפֶת)
Bereshit 1:3
Torah
Translation
God said, Let there be light. and there was light.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let there be light, and there was light.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Let there be light, and there was light”. A literal rendering. The Hebrew echo יְהִי … וַיְהִי is kept: Onkelos uses יְהֵי (yehei) and וַהֲוָה (va-hava), two forms of the Aramaic verb “to be”, and repeats the same word for light, נְהוֹרָא (nehora), in both halves.
Words to note: וַאֲמַר va-amar — said (וַיֹּאמֶר) · יְהֵי yehei — let there be (יְהִי) · נְהוֹרָא nehora — light (אוֹר) · וַהֲוָה va-hava — and there was (וַיְהִי)
Bereshit 1:4
Torah
Translation
God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem saw that the light was good, and Hashem divided the light from the darkness.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Divided”. A literal rendering. For the Hebrew וַיַּבְדֵּל Onkelos uses וְאַפְרֵשׁ (ve-afresh), from the root פרש, “separate”. The same Aramaic root renders the Hebrew בדל in 1:6 and 1:7 as well, so the Hebrew repetition of the verb is kept in the Aramaic.
- A homograph. Written without vowels, ve-afresh here (with shin) and paras, “spread”, in 1:2 (with sin) share the letters פרש, but they are different words.
Words to note: וַחֲזָא va-haza — saw (וַיַּרְא) · אֲרֵי arei — that (כִּי) · טָב tav — good (טוֹב) · וְאַפְרֵשׁ ve-afresh — divided (וַיַּבְדֵּל) · חֲשׁוֹכָא hashokha — the darkness (הַחֹשֶׁךְ)
Bereshit 1:5
Torah
Translation
God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. It became evening and it became morning, one day.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem called the light day, and the darkness He called night. It became evening and it became morning, one day.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Day” and “one day”. The Hebrew uses the same word יוֹם twice: for the light, which is named “day”, and for the whole period of evening and morning, “one day”. The printed Onkelos uses two different words: יְמָמָא (yemama), “day” in the sense of daytime, for the first, and יוֹמָא (yoma), “day”, for the second. The Aramaic thus separates two senses that the Hebrew carries in one word.
- “Evening” and “morning”. The Hebrew erev and boker are rendered by the usual Aramaic words רְמַשׁ (remash) and צְפַר (tzefar). The verb “it became” is וַהֲוָה (va-hava), the form used for “and there was” in 1:3. Otherwise literal; “one” is rendered by the cardinal חָד (had), as in the Hebrew.
- Textual note. The Yemenite text reads יוֹם חַד for the printed יוֹמָא חָד at the end of the verse, a different form of the same word for “day”. The contrast with yemama, the word used for the daylight, holds in both texts.
Words to note: יְמָמָא yemama — day (יוֹם) · לֵילְיָא leilya — night (לָיְלָה) · רְמַשׁ remash — evening (עֶרֶב) · צְפַר tzefar — morning (בֹקֶר) · יוֹמָא yoma — day (יוֹם) · חָד had — one (אֶחָד)
Unit 1 summary
Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely here, word for word and in the same order. His departures are few but telling. Every Elokim becomes the Name ה׳; bereshit becomes the simple adverb bekadmin, “at first”; the verbless clause about the darkness receives a verb, “spread” (in the printed text only); and ruah Elokim becomes “a wind from before Hashem” that “was blowing”, a rendering that may avoid linking the ruah directly to God by a construct phrase. In 1:5 he uses two different words, yemama and yoma, for the two senses of the Hebrew yom, daylight and the whole day. The echo of yehi … va-yehi in 1:3 is kept with the matching Aramaic forms yehei … va-hava.
Unit 2 — Bereshit 1:6–8: The canopy, and the second day
Hashem commands a canopy in the midst of the waters, makes it to divide the waters below from the waters above, and names it heaven, completing the second day.
Bereshit 1:6
Torah
Translation
God said, Let there be a canopy in the midst of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let there be a canopy in the midst of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters.
What Onkelos tells us
- “A canopy”. A literal rendering. The Hebrew רָקִיעַ appears in its Aramaic form, רְקִיעָא (reki’a). “In the midst of” (Hebrew בְּתוֹךְ) is בִּמְצִיעוּת (bi-metzi’ut), from the Aramaic word for “middle”.
- “Let it divide”. The Hebrew construction “let it be dividing”, וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל, is kept exactly: וִיהִי מַפְרִישׁ (vi-hi mafrish), with the participle of פרש, the root that renders בדל also in 1:4 and 1:7.
Words to note: רְקִיעָא reki’a — canopy (רָקִיעַ) · בִּמְצִיעוּת bi-metzi’ut — in the midst of (בְּתוֹךְ) · מַפְרִישׁ mafrish — divide (מַבְדִּיל) · מַיָּא maya — the waters (הַמָּיִם)
Bereshit 1:7
Torah
Translation
God made the canopy, and divided the waters which were beneath the canopy, from the waters which were above the canopy, and it was so.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem made the canopy, and divided the waters which were beneath the canopy, from the waters which were above the canopy, and it was so.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Made”. A literal rendering. The Hebrew וַיַּעַשׂ is rendered by וַעֲבַד (va-avad), from עבד, the ordinary Aramaic verb for “make, do”.
- “Beneath” and “above”. For the Hebrew מִתַּחַת, “beneath”, Onkelos has מִלְרַע (milra), “below”; for מֵעַל, “above”, he keeps the same word, מֵעַל (me’al). The relative “which” (Hebrew asher) is דִּי (di).
Words to note: וַעֲבַד va-avad — made (וַיַּעַשׂ) · וְאַפְרֵישׁ ve-afresh — divided (וַיַּבְדֵּל) · דִּי di — which (אֲשֶׁר) · מִלְרַע milra — beneath (מִתַּחַת) · מֵעַל me’al — above (מֵעַל)
Bereshit 1:8
Torah
Translation
God called the canopy heaven. It became evening and it became morning the second day.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem called the canopy heaven. It became evening and it became morning the second day.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Heaven”. A literal rendering. The name given to the canopy, שְׁמַיָּא (shemaya), is the same Aramaic word used for “the heavens” in 1:1, just as the Hebrew uses shamayim in both verses. “Second” is תִּנְיָן (tinyan).
Words to note: שְׁמַיָּא shemaya — heaven (שָׁמָיִם) · תִּנְיָן tinyan — second (שֵׁנִי)
Unit 2 summary
This unit is rendered almost entirely literally. The Hebrew rakia appears in its Aramaic form rekia, and the one Aramaic root פרש stands for the Hebrew בדל in 1:4, 1:6 and 1:7, as also later in 1:14 and 1:18. Hebrew tokh becomes metzi’ut, tahat becomes milra, and asah becomes avad, ordinary Aramaic equivalents that change nothing in the sense. As before, every Elokim is rendered by the Name, and the closing formula “it became evening and it became morning” is rendered exactly as in 1:5, with remash and tzefar.
Unit 3 — Bereshit 1:9–13: Dry land, seas and vegetation: the third day
The waters beneath the heavens are gathered into one place so that the dry land appears; the land and the gathered waters are named, and the earth brings forth grass, herbs and fruit trees.
Bereshit 1:9
Torah
Translation
God said, Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dryness be seen. It was so.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dryness be seen. It was so.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Hashem said”. Where the Hebrew has Elokim, the printed Onkelos has ה׳, as it does at every mention of Elokim in 1:9-18.
- “Be gathered”. The Hebrew yikkavu is rendered by yitkanshun (יִתְכַּנְשׁוּן), a reflexive-passive form from כנש, “gather”, matching the passive sense of the Hebrew. The same Aramaic root returns in the noun of 1:10.
- “Into one place”. The Hebrew makom becomes the ordinary Aramaic atar (לַאֲתַר), “place”.
- “Let the dryness be seen”. The Hebrew ve-tera’eh is matched by the reflexive-passive ve-tithazei (וְתִתְחֲזֵי), from the verb “see”; yabbeshta is the Aramaic for ha-yabbashah. Otherwise a literal rendering.
Words to note: יִתְכַּנְשׁוּן yitkanshun — be gathered (יִקָּווּ) · מִתְּחוֹת mi-tehot — beneath (מִתַּחַת) · לַאֲתַר la-atar — into [a] place (מָקוֹם) · וְתִתְחֲזֵי ve-tithazei — and let [it] be seen (וְתֵרָאֶה) · יַבֶּשְׁתָּא yabbeshta — the dryness (הַיַּבָּשָׁה)
Bereshit 1:10
Torah
Translation
God called the dryness, earth, and the gathering of the waters, He called seas, and God saw that it was good.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem called the dryness, earth, and the place of the gathering of the waters, He called seas, and Hashem saw that it was good.
What Onkelos tells us
- “The gathering of the waters”. The Hebrew mikveh ha-mayim is a noun from the same root as yikkavu in 1:9. Onkelos matches it with a noun from his own verb in 1:9: kenishut (כְּנִישׁוּת), “gathering”, from כנש. The command and its naming stay linked in the Aramaic as in the Hebrew.
- An added word: beit. Onkelos writes “the place of the gathering of the waters” (u-le-veit kenishut maya). The name “seas” is thus given to the place where the water collected rather than to the act of gathering, perhaps a small interpretive addition for clarity.
- “That it was good”. The Hebrew ki is rendered by arei (אֲרֵי), “that”, and haza (וַחֲזָא) renders va-yar. Otherwise a literal rendering.
- Textual note. For kenishut (כְּנִישׁוּת) the Yemenite text reads כְּנֵישָׁת (kenishat), a different form of the same noun from כנש. The link to the verb of 1:9 holds in both texts.
Words to note: אַרְעָא ar’a — earth (אֶרֶץ) · וּלְבֵית u-le-veit — and the place of (וּלְמִקְוֵה) · כְּנִישׁוּת kenishut — gathering (וּלְמִקְוֵה) · יַמְמֵי yamemei — seas (יַמִּים) · אֲרֵי arei — that (כִּי)
Bereshit 1:11
Torah
Translation
God said, Let the earth sprout grass, seed-yielding herbs, fruit trees bearing fruit of its own kind, with its seed within it, upon the earth. And it was so.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let the earth sprout grass, herbs whose seed is sown, fruit trees bearing fruit of its own kind, whose seed is in it, upon the earth. And it was so.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Let the earth sprout grass”. The Hebrew pairs a verb with its own noun, tadshei … deshe. Onkelos keeps the pairing with tad’eit … dit’ah (תַּדְאֵית … דִּיתְאָה), verb and noun from one Aramaic root.
- “Herbs whose seed is sown”. The Hebrew esev mazria zera describes the herb actively, as “seed-yielding”. Onkelos rephrases: isba de-var zar’eh mizdera’, herbs “whose seed is sown”, with the passive participle mizdera (מִזְדְּרַע). Both versions use the root “seed” twice; the Aramaic perhaps describes the plant by how it is propagated rather than by what it produces.
- “Fruit trees bearing fruit”. Ilan peirin avad peirin renders etz peri oseh peri word for word, but the collective singular peri becomes the plural peirin (פֵּירִין) both times. The verb of making, avad, is the regular Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew oseh.
- “Whose seed is in it”. For asher zar’o vo Onkelos uses the same construction as for the herbs earlier in the verse (bar zar’eh), adding beh (בֵּהּ), “in it”, for the Hebrew bo.
- Textual note. The printed text vocalizes avad (עָבַד), a form that could be read as a past tense, “made”; the Yemenite text has the participle עָבֵיד (aveid), “making”; the printed text itself has the participle עָבֵד (aved) in 1:12. The translation follows the participle, which matches the Hebrew oseh.
- Textual note. The printed text writes the second relative clause as two words, דִּי בַר; the Yemenite text has the single form דְּבַר, identical to the phrase for the herbs earlier in the verse. The meaning is the same.
Words to note: תַּדְאֵית tad’eit — let [it] sprout (תַּדְשֵׁא) · דִּיתְאָה dit’ah — grass (דֶּשֶׁא) · עִסְבָּא isba — herbs (עֵשֶׂב) · מִזְדְּרַע mizdera — is sown (מַזְרִיעַ) · אִילַן ilan — tree (עֵץ) · לִזְנֵהּ lizneh — of its own kind (לְמִינוֹ)
Bereshit 1:12
Torah
Translation
The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed of its kind, and trees bearing fruit which has in it seeds of its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
The earth brought forth grass, herbs whose seed is sown, of its kind, and trees bearing fruit whose seed is in it, of its kind; and Hashem saw that it was good.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Brought forth”. Ve-appekat (וְאַפֵּקַת) is the causative of the Aramaic verb “go out”, corresponding exactly to the Hebrew causative va-totzei.
- “Herbs whose seed is sown”. As in 1:11, the Hebrew’s “yielding seed” (mazria zera) becomes the passive de-var zar’eh mizdera, and “which has in it its seed” becomes de-var zar’eh beh. Here both clauses are written with the same form דְּבַר.
- “Bearing fruit”. The Hebrew oseh peri is rendered by the participle aved (עָבֵד) with the plural peirin, as in 1:11. “Of its kind”, liznohi (לִזְנוֹהִי), renders the Hebrew le-minehu in both places. Otherwise a literal rendering.
Words to note: וְאַפֵּקַת ve-appekat — brought forth (וַתּוֹצֵא) · לִזְנוֹהִי liznohi — of its kind (לְמִינֵהוּ) · וְאִילַן ve-ilan — and trees (וְעֵץ) · עָבֵד aved — bearing (עֹשֶׂה) · פֵּירִין peirin — fruit (פְּרִי)
Bereshit 1:13
Torah
Translation
It became evening and it became morning, the third day.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
It became evening and it became morning, the third day.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Evening … morning”. A literal rendering, using the Aramaic remash (רְמַשׁ) and tzefar (צְפַר) for erev and boker.
Words to note: רְמַשׁ remash — evening (עֶרֶב) · צְפַר tzefar — morning (בֹקֶר) · תְּלִיתָאִי telita’i — third (שְׁלִישִׁי)
Unit 3 summary
Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely through the third day, with a handful of telling adjustments. Where the Hebrew has Elokim, the printed Targum has ה׳ throughout. The verb yikkavu (“be gathered”) is matched by yitkanshun, and the noun mikveh in 1:10 by kenishut from the same Aramaic root, so the link between command and naming survives; the added word beit (“the place of”) locates the name “Seas” in the place where the water collected. In 1:11 the pairing of verb and cognate noun (tadshei … deshe) is kept as tad’eit … dit’ah, while the Hebrew’s active “seed-yielding” herbs become herbs “whose seed is sown” (mizdera), a passive. The collective Hebrew peri is rendered by the plural peirin. The evening-and-morning formula in 1:13 is rendered word for word.
Unit 4 — Bereshit 1:14–19: The lights in the canopy of heaven: the fourth day
Lights are placed in the canopy of heaven to divide day from night and to serve for signs, seasons, days and years; the two great lights and the stars are made and set to rule the day and the night.
Bereshit 1:14
Torah
Translation
God said, Let there be lights in the canopy of heaven to divide between the day and the night, and they will serve for signs for seasons, (for) days and (for) years.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let there be lights in the canopy of heaven to divide between the day and the night, and they will serve for signs and for seasons, and for counting by them days and years.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Lights”. The Hebrew me’orot are light-givers; Onkelos uses nehorin (נְהוֹרִין), the plural of the same word he uses for light itself (nehora for ha-or in 1:18). The Hebrew distinction between ma’or and or is therefore not visible in the Aramaic.
- “In the canopy of heaven”. The Hebrew construct birkia ha-shamayim becomes birki’a di-shemaya, with the particle di, “of” - ordinary Aramaic grammar rather than a change of meaning.
- “For counting by them”. The Hebrew lists four nouns: “for signs and for seasons, and for days and years”. Onkelos keeps the first two as nouns (le-atin u-le-zimnin) but turns the last two into a purpose clause, “and for counting by them days and years” (u-le-mimnei vehon). This suggests he read “days and years” not as further functions of the lights but as what they make it possible to reckon.
Words to note: נְהוֹרִין nehorin — lights (מְאֹרֹת) · לְאַפְרָשָׁא le-afrasha — to divide (לְהַבְדִּיל) · לְאָתִין le-atin — for signs (לְאֹתֹת) · וּלְזִמְנִין u-le-zimnin — and for seasons (וּלְמוֹעֲדִים) · וּלְמִימְנֵי u-le-mimnei — and for counting
Bereshit 1:15
Torah
Translation
They will be for lights in the canopy of heaven to illuminate the earth. And it was so.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
They will be for lights in the canopy of heaven to illuminate the earth. And it was so.
What Onkelos tells us
- “For lights … to illuminate”. A literal rendering. The Hebrew links li-m’orot and le-ha’ir by root; Onkelos keeps the link with li-nhorin and le-anhara (לְאַנְהָרָא), both from נהר.
Words to note: לְאַנְהָרָא le-anhara — to illuminate (לְהָאִיר)
Bereshit 1:16
Torah
Translation
God made the two great lights, the large light to rule the day, and the small light to rule the night, and the stars
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem made the two great lights, the large light to rule in the day, and the small light to rule in the night, and the stars
What Onkelos tells us
- “To rule in the day”. The Hebrew has a noun, le-memshelet ha-yom, literally “for the rule of the day”. Onkelos uses the infinitive le-mishlat (לְמִשְׁלַט), “to rule”, followed by bi-ymama, “in the day” (and likewise be-leilya, “in the night”). This is the same wording by which he renders li-mshol ba-yom u-va-laylah in 1:18, so the two verses may have been harmonized; the day and the night become the time in which the lights rule.
- “Great … large … small”. One Hebrew adjective, gadol, appears in the plural (ha-gedolim) and singular (ha-gadol); Onkelos uses the reduplicated plural ravrevaya (רַבְרְבַיָּא) and the singular rabba (רַבָּא). Ze’era renders ha-katon.
- “The two great lights”. Nehoraya, “lights”, again renders me’orot, as in 1:14. The object marker yat stands for each Hebrew et.
Words to note: תְּרֵין terein — two (שְׁנֵי) · רַבְרְבַיָּא ravrevaya — great (הַגְּדֹלִים) · רַבָּא rabba — large (הַגָּדֹל) · לְמִשְׁלַט le-mishlat — to rule (לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת) · זְעֵרָא ze’era — small (הַקָּטֹן) · כּוֹכְבַיָּא kokhvaya — the stars (הַכּוֹכָבִים)
Bereshit 1:17
Torah
Translation
God set them in the canopy of the heaven to illuminate the earth,
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem set them in the canopy of the heaven to illuminate the earth,
What Onkelos tells us
- “Set them”. A literal rendering: vi-hav (וִיהַב), the Aramaic verb “give”, corresponds to the Hebrew va-yitten, which likewise means both “give” and “set”; yat-hon (יָתְהוֹן) renders otam. The word order follows the Hebrew.
Words to note: וִיהַב vi-hav — set (וַיִּתֵּן) · יָתְהוֹן yat-hon — them (אֹתָם)
Bereshit 1:18
Torah
Translation
to rule in the day and the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
to rule in the day and the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness; and Hashem saw that it was good.
What Onkelos tells us
- “To rule in the day and the night”. A literal rendering of ve-li-mshol ba-yom u-va-laylah, with u-le-mishlat (וּלְמִשְׁלַט) for the Hebrew infinitive.
- “Between the light and the darkness”. Nehora (נְהוֹרָא) here renders ha-or, light itself, though in 1:16 the same word rendered ha-ma’or, the light-giver. Hashokha (חֲשׁוֹכָא) is the Aramaic for ha-hoshekh.
Words to note: וּלְמִשְׁלַט u-le-mishlat — and to rule (וְלִמְשֹׁל) · וּלְאַפְרָשָׁא u-le-afrasha — and to divide (וּלְהַבְדִּיל) · נְהוֹרָא nehora — the light (הָאוֹר) · חֲשׁוֹכָא hashokha — the darkness (הַחֹשֶׁךְ)
Bereshit 1:19
Torah
Translation
It became evening and it became morning, the fourth day.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
It became evening and it became morning, the fourth day.
What Onkelos tells us
- “The fourth day”. A literal rendering, with the ordinal revi’a’i (רְבִיעָאִי), as in 1:13.
Words to note: רְבִיעָאִי revi’a’i — fourth (רְבִיעִי)
Unit 4 summary
The fourth day shows Onkelos working with a smaller vocabulary than the Hebrew. One Aramaic word, nehora (plural nehorin), serves for both the Hebrew ma’or (“light” in the sense of a light-giver, 1:14-16) and or (“light” itself, 1:18), so the distinction in the Hebrew is carried only by context; at the same time the Hebrew pairing of me’orot and le-ha’ir is kept in nehorin and le-anhara, both from נהר. In 1:14 the last two items of the list become a purpose clause, “for counting by them days and years”. In 1:16 the Hebrew noun memshelet (“rule”) is turned into the infinitive le-mishlat, the same form that renders li-mshol in 1:18, and the day and the night become the time in which the lights rule (“in the day”, “in the night”). Elsewhere the rendering is literal, down to the object marker yat for Hebrew et.
Unit 5 — Bereshit 1:20–23: Creatures of the water and the air: the fifth day
The waters are told to teem with living creatures and birds are to fly above the earth; the great sea creatures and every winged bird are created and blessed to multiply.
Bereshit 1:20
Torah
Translation
God said, Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth, in the open canopy of the heaven.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth, upon the face of the canopy of the heaven.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Hashem said”. The Hebrew has Elokim; the printed Onkelos renders it with the Name, here and in every verse of this section where Elokim occurs.
- “Teem with swarms”. The Hebrew pairs a verb and noun of one root, yishretzu… sheretz. Onkelos keeps the pairing with his own root: יִרְחֲשׁוּן yirheshun… רְחֵשׁ rehesh.
- “Let birds fly”. The Hebrew again pairs noun and verb, ve-of ye’ofef, “let birds fly about”. Onkelos uses the ordinary verb יְפָרַח yefarah, “fly”, from a different root from the noun וְעוֹפָא ve-ofa, so the sound-play of the Hebrew is not kept.
- “Upon the face of the canopy of the heaven”. A literal rendering of al penei reki’a ha-shamayim: אַפֵּי apei is “face”, and the possessive particle in דִּשְׁמַיָּא di-shemaya expresses the Hebrew construct chain.
- Textual note. For רְקִיעָא דִּשְׁמַיָּא the Yemenite text reads רְקִיעַ שְׁמַיָּא, a construct form, “the canopy of the heaven”, closer to the Hebrew in structure. The meaning is the same.
Words to note: יִרְחֲשׁוּן yirheshun — let [them] teem (יִשְׁרְצוּ) · רְחֵשׁ rehesh — swarms (שֶׁרֶץ) · יְפָרַח yefarah — let [them] fly (יְעוֹפֵף) · אַפֵּי apei — the face of (פְּנֵי) · רְקִיעָא reki’a — the canopy (רְקִיעַ)
Bereshit 1:21
Torah
Translation
And thus God created the great whales, and every living creature that creeps, with which the waters teem, of its kind, and every winged bird of its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
And thus Hashem created the great whales, and every living creature that creeps, which the waters caused to teem, of its kind, and every bird that flies of its kind; and Hashem saw that it was good.
What Onkelos tells us
- “That creeps”… “caused to teem”. The Hebrew uses two different roots: the creature is ha-romeset, “that creeps” (root רמש), and the waters sharetzu, “teemed” (root שרץ). Onkelos renders both with one root: דִּרְחִשָׁא dirhisha and אַרְחִישׁוּ arhishu. The Hebrew distinction between the two verbs is therefore not visible in the Aramaic.
- “Which the waters caused to teem”. The Hebrew sharetzu is a simple active verb, as is יִרְחֲשׁוּן yirheshun in 1:20. Here Onkelos uses a causative form, אַרְחִישׁוּ arhishu. This may present the waters as bringing forth the swarming creatures rather than simply swarming with them.
- “Every bird that flies”. The Hebrew kol of kanaf, “every winged bird”, describes the bird by its wing. Onkelos replaces the noun with a clause, עוֹפָא דְפָרַח ofa defarah, “bird that flies”, using the verb of 1:20.
- “The great whales”. A literal rendering: תַּנִּינַיָּא רַבְרְבַיָּא tanninaya ravrevaya, with the Aramaic plural adjective ravrevaya, “great”.
Words to note: תַּנִּינַיָּא tanninaya — whales (הַתַּנִּינִם) · רַבְרְבַיָּא ravrevaya — great (הַגְּדֹלִים) · דִּרְחִשָׁא dirhisha — that creeps (הָרֹמֶשֶׂת) · אַרְחִישׁוּ arhishu — caused to teem (שָׁרְצוּ) · דְפָרַח defarah — that flies (כָּנָף) · לִזְנֵיהוֹן lizneihon — of its kind (לְמִינֵהֶם)
Bereshit 1:22
Torah
Translation
God blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Multiply… let the birds multiply”. A literal rendering. The Hebrew links the command u-revu and the birds’ yirev by one root; Onkelos keeps the link with one Aramaic verb, וּסְגוּ u-segu and יִסְגֵּי yisgei.
- “Be fruitful”. Onkelos renders peru with פּוּשׁוּ pushu, “increase”, a different root from the Hebrew.
Words to note: פּוּשׁוּ pushu — be fruitful (פְּרוּ) · וּסְגוּ u-segu — and multiply (וּרְבוּ) · וּמְלוּ u-melu — fill (וּמִלְאוּ) · בְּיַמְמַיָּא be-yammaya — of the seas (בַּיַּמִּים) · יִסְגֵּי yisgei — let [them] multiply (יִרֶב)
Bereshit 1:23
Torah
Translation
It became evening and it became morning, the fifth day.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
It became evening and it became morning, the fifth day.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Evening… morning”. A literal rendering, with the Aramaic רְמַשׁ remash for erev and צְפַר tzefar for boker.
Words to note: רְמַשׁ remash — evening (עֶרֶב) · צְפַר tzefar — morning (בֹקֶר) · חֲמִישָׁאִי hamisha’i — fifth (חֲמִישִׁי)
Unit 5 summary
Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely through the fifth day, with Elokim rendered by the Name in every verse. His main vocabulary choice is to use one Aramaic root, רחש, for both Hebrew roots of swarming and creeping, שרץ and רמש, so that a distinction the Hebrew draws between the two verbs in 1:21 is not visible in the Aramaic. He also renders the waters’ teeming in 1:21 with a causative verb, which may present the waters as producing the creatures, and replaces ‘winged’ with ‘that flies’. The blessing of 1:22 keeps the Hebrew link between ‘multiply’ and ‘let the birds multiply’ by using one Aramaic verb for both.
Unit 6 — Bereshit 1:24–31: Land creatures, man, and the gift of food: the sixth day
The earth brings forth animals, creeping things and beasts; God makes man in His image, male and female, blesses them, gives them dominion, and assigns plants as food. God sees all He made and finds it very good.
Bereshit 1:24
Torah
Translation
God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each of its kind, animals [of pasture], creeping things, and beasts of the earth, each to its kind. And it was so.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each of its kind, animals, creeping things, and beasts of the earth, each to its kind. And it was so.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Living creatures… beasts of the earth”. The Hebrew uses the one word hayyah twice: as the adjective “living” in nefesh hayyah and as the noun “beast” in ve-hayto eretz. The printed Onkelos uses two different words: חַיְתָא hayta for “living” and וְחֵוַת ve-hevat for “beasts”. The Hebrew homograph is thus resolved in the Aramaic.
- “Animals, creeping things”. בְּעִיר be’ir renders behemah, and וּרְחֵשׁ u-rehesh renders va-remes, with the same root that rendered sheretz in 1:20.
- “Bring forth”. A literal rendering: תַּפֵּק tappek, “bring forth”, is a causative verb, as is the Hebrew totze.
- Textual note. For וְחֵוַת the Yemenite text reads וְחַיַּת, a form close to חַיְתָא hayta “living”. The distinction between “living” and “beast” drawn above holds for the printed text only.
Words to note: תַּפֵּק tappek — let [it] bring forth (תּוֹצֵא) · חַיְתָא hayta — living (חַיָּה) · בְּעִיר be’ir — animals (בְּהֵמָה) · וּרְחֵשׁ u-rehesh — creeping things (וָרֶמֶשׂ) · וְחֵוַת ve-hevat — and beasts of (וְחַיְתוֹ) · לִזְנַהּ liznah — each of its kind (לְמִינָהּ)
Bereshit 1:25
Torah
Translation
And thus God made the beasts of the earth, each of its kind, the animals [of pasture] each of its kind, and everything that creeps on the ground, each of its kind, and God saw that it was good.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
And thus Hashem made the beasts of the earth, each of its kind, the animals each of its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth, each of its kind, and Hashem saw that it was good.
What Onkelos tells us
- “That creeps on the earth”. The Hebrew has remes ha-adamah, the creepers of “the ground”. Onkelos renders adamah with דְאַרְעָא de-ar’a, the same word he uses for eretz, “earth”, in this verse. In this section one Aramaic word thus stands for both Hebrew words.
- “Beasts of the earth”. As in 1:24, the printed text uses חֵוַת hevat for the beast, distinct from the adjective “living”.
- “Made”. A literal rendering: va-ya’as becomes וַעֲבַד va-avad.
- Textual note. Here too the Yemenite text reads חַיַּת for חֵוַת; the distinction noted in 1:24 holds for the printed text only.
Words to note: וַעֲבַד va-avad — made (וַיַּעַשׂ) · חֵוַת hevat — beasts of (חַיַּת) · בְּעִירָא be’ira — the animals (הַבְּהֵמָה) · רִחֲשָׁא rihasha — [everything] that creeps (רֶמֶשׂ) · דְאַרְעָא de-ar’a — on the earth (הָאֲדָמָה)
Bereshit 1:26
Torah
Translation
God said, Let us make man in our image, as our likeness, and let him dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, the animals, all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Let us make man in our image, as our likeness, and let them dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, the animals, all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Let us make… in our image, as our likeness”. Onkelos keeps the first-person plural of the Hebrew in all three words: נַעֲבִיד na’avid, בְּצַלְמֵנָא be-tzalmena and כִּדְמוּתָנָא kidmutana. Nothing is added to explain the plural.
- “Man”. The Hebrew adam is rendered אֶינָשָׁא einasha, the common Aramaic word for a human being. Contrast 1:27, where Onkelos keeps the Hebrew form.
- “Let them dominate”. The Hebrew ve-yirdu is plural, and so is וְיִשְׁלְטוּן ve-yishletun, from a root meaning “rule”.
- “Every creeping thing that creeps”. The Hebrew repeats one root, ha-remes ha-romes; Onkelos keeps the repetition with his own root: רִחֲשָׁא דְּרָחֵשׁ rihasha de-rahesh. The fish are בְּנוּנֵי be-nunei, “the fish of”.
Words to note: נַעֲבִיד na’avid — let us make (נַעֲשֶׂה) · אֶינָשָׁא einasha — man (אָדָם) · בְּצַלְמֵנָא be-tzalmena — in our image (בְּצַלְמֵנוּ) · כִּדְמוּתָנָא kidmutana — as our likeness (כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ) · וְיִשְׁלְטוּן ve-yishletun — and let them dominate (וְיִרְדּוּ) · בְּנוּנֵי be-nunei — the fish of (בִדְגַת)
Bereshit 1:27
Torah
Translation
And thus God created man in his image. In the form of God, He created him, male and female, He created them.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
And thus Hashem created man in his image. In the form of Hashem, He created him, male and female, He created them.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Man”. Here Onkelos does not use einasha as in 1:26 but keeps the Hebrew word אָדָם adam, without the definite article of ha-adam. This may indicate that he read the word here as referring to the first man in particular, though the text does not say so.
- “In the form of Hashem”. The Hebrew be-tzelem Elokim uses Elokim; the printed Onkelos has בְּצַלְמָא דַה׳ be-tzalma da-Hashem, “in the image of Hashem”, with the Name. Both be-tzalmo and be-tzelem are rendered with the one word tzalma, as in the Hebrew.
- “Male and female”. A literal rendering: דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא dekhar ve-nukva.
- Textual note. For בְּצַלְמֵהּ בְּצַלְמָא דַה׳ the Yemenite text reads בְּצַלְמֵיהּ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹקִים, repeating the Hebrew be-tzelem Elokim as it stands rather than rendering it with the Name. The remark above about “the image of Hashem” holds for the printed text only.
Words to note: אָדָם adam — man (הָאָדָם) · בְּצַלְמֵהּ be-tzalmeh — in his image (בְּצַלְמוֹ) · בְּצַלְמָא be-tzalma — in the form of (בְּצֶלֶם) · דְּכַר dekhar — male (זָכָר) · וְנוּקְבָא ve-nukva — and female (וּנְקֵבָה)
Bereshit 1:28
Torah
Translation
God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem blessed them, and Hashem said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and be mighty over it, and dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Be mighty over it”. The Hebrew ve-khivshuha, “subdue it”, becomes וּתְקוּפוּ עֲלַהּ u-tekufu alah, “be mighty over it”. The verb with its preposition describes strength over the earth rather than its conquest; perhaps a less forceful image than the Hebrew.
- “Dominate”. U-redu is rendered וּשְׁלוּטוּ u-shelutu, the same root as ve-yishletun in 1:26, matching the Hebrew, which also repeats its verb.
- “Every living thing that moves”. Here hayyah means an animal, but Onkelos renders it חַיְתָא hayta, the word he used for the adjective “living” in 1:24, not hevat. The word hevat appears in this section only in the phrase “beasts of the earth” (1:24, 1:25, 1:30). The verb דְּרָחֵשָׁא de-rahesha again renders Hebrew romeset.
Words to note: וּתְקוּפוּ u-tekufu — and be mighty (וְכִבְשֻׁהָ) · עֲלַהּ alah — over it · וּשְׁלוּטוּ u-shelutu — and dominate (וּרְדוּ) · חַיְתָא hayta — living thing (חַיָּה) · דְּרָחֵשָׁא de-rahesha — that moves (הָרֹמֶשֶׂת)
Bereshit 1:29
Torah
Translation
God said, Behold, I have given you all seed-yielding herbs that are on the surface of the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit; to you it shall be for food.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem said, Behold, I have given you all herbs whose seed is sown, that are on the surface of all the earth, and every tree in which there is fruit of the tree whose seed is sown; to you it shall be to eat.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Whose seed is sown”. The Hebrew zore’a zera is active, “yielding seed”, with verb and noun of one root. Onkelos writes דְּבַר זַרְעֵהּ מִזְדְּרַע de-var zar’eh mizdera, literally “possessing its seed, sown”: the plant is described as having seed that is sown, with a passive-reflexive verb. The pairing of noun and verb from one root (זרע) is kept. The same phrase renders the identical Hebrew later in the verse.
- “To eat”. The Hebrew noun le-okhlah, “for food”, becomes the infinitive לְמֵיכָל le-meikhal, “to eat”. The sense is unchanged.
- “Fruit of the tree”. A literal rendering of peri etz: פֵּירֵי אִילָנָא peirei ilana, using ilana for both etz and ha-etz.
Words to note: יְהָבִית yehavit — I have given (נָתַתִּי) · עִסְבָּא isba — herbs (עֵשֶׂב) · דְּבַר de-var — possessing (lit. son of) · מִזְדְּרַע mizdera — is sown (זֹרֵעַ) · אִילָנָא ilana — tree (הָעֵץ) · לְמֵיכָל le-meikhal — to eat (לְאׇכְלָה)
Bereshit 1:30
Torah
Translation
And for every animal of the earth, for every bird of the heaven, and for everything that creeps on the ground, in which there is a living spirit, all vegetational herbs shall be [their] food. And it was so.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
And for every animal of the earth, for every bird of the heaven, and for everything that creeps on the ground, in which there is a living spirit, all vegetational herbs [shall be] to eat. And it was so.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Every animal of the earth”. A literal rendering, using the printed text’s word for the beast, חֵוַת hevat, as in 1:24 and 1:25.
- “Everything that creeps”. The Hebrew participle romes becomes a relative clause, דְּרָחֵשׁ de-rahesh, “that creeps”, with the root used throughout this section for Hebrew רמש.
- “To eat”. As in 1:29, le-okhlah becomes the infinitive לְמֵיכָל le-meikhal.
- Textual note. As in 1:24, the Yemenite text reads חַיַּת for חֵוַת.
Words to note: חֵוַת hevat — animal of (חַיַּת) · דְּרָחֵשׁ de-rahesh — that creeps (רוֹמֵשׂ) · יְרוֹק yerok — vegetational (יֶרֶק) · עִסְבָּא isba — herbs (עֵשֶׂב) · לְמֵיכָל le-meikhal — to eat (לְאׇכְלָה)
Bereshit 1:31
Torah
Translation
God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. It became evening and it became morning, the sixth day.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem saw all that He had made, and behold [it was] very well-ordered. It became evening and it became morning, the sixth day.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Very well-ordered”. For the “good” of the earlier days in this section (1:21, 1:25) Onkelos writes tav. Here, for tov me’od, he uses תַקִּין takkin, “properly arranged, well-ordered”, with לַחֲדָא la-hada, “very”. The change of word may suggest that the verdict on the whole creation concerns its order and completeness rather than the goodness of each part.
- “Evening… morning”. As in 1:23: רְמַשׁ remash and צְפַר tzefar, and שְׁתִיתָאִי shetita’i, “sixth”.
Words to note: עֲבַד avad — He had made (עָשָׂה) · תַקִּין takkin — well-ordered (טוֹב) · לַחֲדָא la-hada — very (מְאֹד) · שְׁתִיתָאִי shetita’i — sixth (הַשִּׁשִּׁי)
Unit 6 summary
The sixth day in Onkelos is mostly literal, and the plural of ‘let us make… in our image, as our likeness’ is kept as it stands. In the phrase ‘beasts of the earth’ (1:24, 1:25, 1:30) the printed text distinguishes the beast (חֵוַת) from the adjective ‘living’ (חַיְתָא), where the Hebrew uses the one word חיה for both; the Yemenite text largely blurs this. Two words for man appear: a common noun in 1:26 but the Hebrew form אָדָם in 1:27. The command to ‘subdue’ the earth becomes ‘be mighty over it’, the active ‘seed-yielding’ becomes ‘whose seed is sown’, and the closing verdict ‘very good’ is rendered not with the usual word for good but with a word for what is properly ordered, perhaps marking the completed whole. In 1:27 the printed text speaks of ‘the image of Hashem’ where the Yemenite text keeps the Hebrew wording.
Unit 7 — Bereshit 2:1–3: The seventh day
Heaven and earth and all they contain are completed; on the seventh day God ceases from His work, and He blesses and sanctifies that day.
Bereshit 2:1
Torah
Translation
The heavens and the earth were completed, and [so were] all their conglomerations.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
The heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Were completed”. The Hebrew וַיְכֻלּוּ (vaykhullu, root כלה) is rendered וְאִשְׁתַּכְלָלוּ (ve-ishtakhlalu), a reflexive-passive form of a verb built on the root כלל, ‘complete, perfect’. The sense is the same, but it is a different verb from the one Onkelos uses for God’s completing in 2:2 (sheitzei); the Hebrew uses the root כלה in both verses.
- “All their hosts”. The Hebrew צְבָאָם (tzeva’am) becomes חֵילֵיהוֹן (heileihon), ‘their hosts’ or ‘forces’, the usual Aramaic word for an army or a company. The rest of the verse is a literal rendering.
Words to note: וְאִשְׁתַּכְלָלוּ ve-ishtakhlalu — were completed (וַיְכֻלּוּ) · חֵילֵיהוֹן heileihon — their hosts (צְבָאָם)
Bereshit 2:2
Torah
Translation
God completed by the seventh day His work which He had made, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem completed by the seventh day His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Hashem completed”. The Hebrew וַיְכַל (vaykhal) is rendered וְשֵׁיצֵי (ve-sheitzei), ‘and He finished’. Onkelos thus uses one verb for the completion of heaven and earth in 2:1 and another for God’s completing His work here, where the Hebrew has the root כלה in both. As in this unit generally, Elokim is rendered Hashem.
- “His work which He had made”. The Hebrew uses two roots, the noun מְלַאכְתּוֹ (melakhto) and the verb עָשָׂה (asah). Onkelos renders both with the one root עבד: עֲבִדְתֵּהּ (avidteh), ‘His work’, and דִּי עֲבָד (di avad), ‘which He had made’. The phrase occurs twice in the verse, and both times the Aramaic has the same pair.
- “He rested”. The Hebrew וַיִּשְׁבֹּת (vayishbot), ‘He ceased’ or ‘abstained’, is rendered וְנַח (ve-nah), ‘and He rested’. Onkelos does not keep the root שבת here; the change from ceasing to resting may simply reflect ordinary Aramaic usage.
Words to note: וְשֵׁיצֵי ve-sheitzei — completed (וַיְכַל) · עֲבִדְתֵּהּ avidteh — His work (מְלַאכְתּוֹ) · עֲבָד avad — He had made (עָשָׂה) · וְנַח ve-nah — and He rested (וַיִּשְׁבֹּת)
Bereshit 2:3
Torah
Translation
God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He abstained from all His work, which God had created to do.
Onkelos
Onkelos in English
Hashem blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He rested from all His work, which Hashem had created to do.
What Onkelos tells us
- “Blessed … sanctified”. וּבָרִיךְ (u-varikh) and וְקַדִּישׁ (ve-kaddish) render וַיְבָרֶךְ and וַיְקַדֵּשׁ with the same roots, ברך and קדש. A literal rendering.
- “For on it He rested”. As in 2:2, the Hebrew שָׁבַת (shavat) is rendered נַח (nah), ‘rested’.
- “Which Hashem had created to do”. Onkelos keeps the root ברא (בְרָא, vera) unchanged. As in 2:2, the noun and the verb of work come from one Aramaic root, עבד: עֲבִדְתֵּהּ (avidteh), ‘His work’, and לְמֶעְבַּד (le-mebad), ‘to do’, where the Hebrew has מְלַאכְתּוֹ and לַעֲשׂוֹת.
Words to note: וּבָרִיךְ u-varikh — blessed (וַיְבָרֶךְ) · וְקַדִּישׁ ve-kaddish — and sanctified (וַיְקַדֵּשׁ) · נַח nah — He rested (שָׁבַת) · לְמֶעְבַּד le-mebad — to do (לַעֲשׂוֹת)
Unit 7 summary
Onkelos renders this short unit closely, and his changes are mainly lexical. The single Hebrew verb of completion (root כלה, in 2:1 and 2:2) is rendered by two different Aramaic verbs, ishtakhlalu for the heavens and earth and sheitzei for God’s finishing of His work. In the other direction, the Hebrew pair of noun and verb for the work (melakhto, asah, la’asot) collapses into one Aramaic root, עבד, so the Aramaic speaks of ‘the work which He worked’. The Hebrew shavat, ‘ceased’, becomes nah, ‘rested’, in both 2:2 and 2:3, perhaps reflecting the ordinary Aramaic word for a pause from labour. Throughout, Elokim is rendered by the Name Hashem, while the verb ברא is kept unchanged.
Conclusion of the aliyah
The movement of the aliyah
The aliyah moves through six days of making and a seventh of completion, each day framed by a command, its fulfilment and the closing formula. Onkelos keeps that frame intact: the closing formula is rendered with the same words, וַהֲוָה רְמַשׁ וַהֲוָה צְפַר, at the end of all six days, and the verdict “that it was good” is rendered טָב each time it occurs before the final verdict of 1:31. Within the frame the Aramaic follows the Hebrew closely, and its departures gather at a few points: the opening verses, where the first word, the darkness and the ruah are each handled with care; the fourth day, where the vocabulary of light and of rule is reshaped; the sixth day, where man, the beasts and the closing verdict receive distinct words; and the seventh day, where the verbs of completing and of ceasing change.
What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah
- “At first” (1:1). בְּקַדְמִין, an adverb, renders the noun-form bereshit; this may suggest that he took the word as a plain statement of time.
- “A wind from before Hashem” (1:2). וְרוּחָא מִן קֳדָם ה׳ may be meant to avoid joining the ruah directly to God by a construct, and the verb “blowing” suggests that Onkelos understood ruah as a wind.
- “Day” and “one day” (1:5). יְמָמָא names the daylight and יוֹמָא the whole day, separating two senses that the Hebrew carries in one word.
- “The place of the gathering” (1:10). The added וּלְבֵית כְּנִישׁוּת gives the name “seas” to the place where the water collected, perhaps a small interpretive addition for clarity.
- “For counting by them” (1:14). וּלְמִימְנֵי בְהוֹן turns “days and years” into a purpose clause, which suggests he read them as what the lights make it possible to reckon.
- “To rule in the day” (1:16). The noun memshelet becomes the infinitive לְמִשְׁלַט, the wording of 1:18, so the two verses may have been harmonized.
- “Caused to teem” (1:21). The causative אַרְחִישׁוּ may present the waters as bringing forth the swarming creatures rather than simply swarming with them.
- “Let us make” (1:26). The first-person plural is kept in נַעֲבִיד and in “our image” and “our likeness”; nothing is added to explain it.
- “Man” (1:27). After אֶינָשָׁא in 1:26, Onkelos keeps the Hebrew form אָדָם, which may indicate that he read it as the first man in particular.
- “Be mighty over it” (1:28). וּתְקוּפוּ עֲלַהּ for “subdue it” describes strength over the earth rather than its conquest, perhaps a less forceful image.
- “Very well-ordered” (1:31). תַקִּין לַחֲדָא replaces the טָב of the earlier verdicts, which may suggest that the final verdict concerns the order and completeness of the whole.
- “He rested” (2:2). וְנַח for vayishbot, repeated in 2:3, may simply reflect ordinary Aramaic usage for a pause from labour.
Recurring features
- The Name for Elokim. In the printed text ה׳ stands for every Elokim of the aliyah, including “the image of” in 1:27 and “which God had created” in 2:3.
- The evening-and-morning formula. Rendered with the same words, רְמַשׁ and צְפַר with וַהֲוָה, at the close of all six days.
- One root for dividing. Every occurrence of the Hebrew בדל in the aliyah (1:4, 1:6, 1:7, 1:14, 1:18) is rendered from the Aramaic root פרש.
- Merged vocabulary. נְהוֹרָא for both light and light-giver, רחש for both swarming and creeping, עבד for both work and making, אַרְעָא for both earth and ground: distinctions in the Hebrew are often carried only by context.
- The passive “whose seed is sown”. The Hebrew’s active “seed-yielding” becomes מִזְדְּרַע each time it occurs (1:11, 1:12, 1:29).
- The verb of creation unchanged. The Hebrew ברא is rendered with the same Aramaic root wherever it occurs (1:1, 1:21, 1:27, 2:3).
- Literal by default. Particles and grammar change in ordinary ways, such as yat for et and di for asher, without changing the sense.
Aliyah takeaway
Read alongside the Hebrew, Onkelos’s account of Creation is above all a close one: its frame, its repetitions and most of its wording pass into Aramaic with little change. What the Targum contributes lies in small choices of word: the Name where the Hebrew has Elokim, an adverb for the first word, a wind from before Hashem, two words where the Hebrew has one and one word where it has two, and a final verdict of order rather than goodness. Each change is modest, and the notes mostly present their significance as a possibility rather than a certainty; taken together they show a translator reading the Hebrew closely and making its sense plain in his own language.
Aramaic word list for the aliyah
| Aramaic | Transliteration | Meaning | Hebrew in the verse |
|---|---|---|---|
| בְּקַדְמִין | bekadmin | at first | בְּרֵאשִׁית |
| בְּרָא | bera | created | בָּרָא |
| יָת | yat | (marks the direct object) | אֵת |
| צָדְיָא | tzadya | desolate | תֹהוּ |
| וְרֵיקַנְיָא | ve-reikanya | and empty | וָבֹהוּ |
| פָּרַשׂ | paras | spread | — |
| אַפֵּי | apei | surface | פְּנֵי |
| קֳדָם | kodam | before | — |
| מְנַשְּׁבָא | menashva | was blowing | מְרַחֶפֶת |
| יְהֵי | yehei | let there be | יְהִי |
| נְהוֹרָא | nehora | light | אוֹר |
| וַהֲוָה | va-hava | and there was | וַיְהִי |
| וְאַפְרֵשׁ | ve-afresh | divided | וַיַּבְדֵּל |
| יְמָמָא | yemama | day | יוֹם |
| רְמַשׁ | remash | evening | עֶרֶב |
| צְפַר | tzefar | morning | בֹקֶר |
| יוֹמָא | yoma | day | יוֹם |
| חָד | had | one | אֶחָד |
| רְקִיעָא | reki’a | canopy | רָקִיעַ |
| בִּמְצִיעוּת | bi-metzi’ut | in the midst of | בְּתוֹךְ |
| מַפְרִישׁ | mafrish | divide | מַבְדִּיל |
| וַעֲבַד | va-avad | made | וַיַּעַשׂ |
| דִּי | di | which | אֲשֶׁר |
| מִלְרַע | milra | beneath | מִתַּחַת |
| מֵעַל | me’al | above | מֵעַל |
| תִּנְיָן | tinyan | second | שֵׁנִי |
| יִתְכַּנְשׁוּן | yitkanshun | be gathered | יִקָּווּ |
| לַאֲתַר | la-atar | into [a] place | מָקוֹם |
| וְתִתְחֲזֵי | ve-tithazei | and let [it] be seen | וְתֵרָאֶה |
| יַבֶּשְׁתָּא | yabbeshta | the dryness | הַיַּבָּשָׁה |
| וּלְבֵית | u-le-veit | and the place of | וּלְמִקְוֵה |
| כְּנִישׁוּת | kenishut | gathering | וּלְמִקְוֵה |
| תַּדְאֵית | tad’eit | let [it] sprout | תַּדְשֵׁא |
| דִּיתְאָה | dit’ah | grass | דֶּשֶׁא |
| עִסְבָּא | isba | herbs | עֵשֶׂב |
| מִזְדְּרַע | mizdera | is sown | מַזְרִיעַ |
| וְאַפֵּקַת | ve-appekat | brought forth | וַתּוֹצֵא |
| לִזְנוֹהִי | liznohi | of its kind | לְמִינֵהוּ |
| עָבֵד | aved | bearing | עֹשֶׂה |
| פֵּירִין | peirin | fruit | פְּרִי |
| נְהוֹרִין | nehorin | lights | מְאֹרֹת |
| לְאָתִין | le-atin | for signs | לְאֹתֹת |
| וּלְזִמְנִין | u-le-zimnin | and for seasons | וּלְמוֹעֲדִים |
| וּלְמִימְנֵי | u-le-mimnei | and for counting | — |
| לְאַנְהָרָא | le-anhara | to illuminate | לְהָאִיר |
Source note
Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 1:1 – 2:3, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 2:4).
Torah text. Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA), the Masoretic text based on the Aleppo Codex, from Wikisource via Sefaria .
Targum Onkelos. The Aramaic is the commonly printed text, from the Torat Emet edition (Public Domain), via Sefaria .
Comparison text. “Targum Onkelos, vocalized according to the Yemenite Taj” (CC-BY-SA), from Wikisource via Sefaria. Its readings were compared with the printed text word by word; only differences that change a word or the meaning are noted.
Translation of the Torah. Metsudah Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009 (CC-BY), via Sefaria, with the Divine Names rendered Hashem and God.
Translation of Onkelos, notes and summaries. New, prepared for this page. The Onkelos translation follows the wording of the Torah translation wherever the Aramaic agrees with the Hebrew, so that the differences stand out.
Divine Names. In the Hebrew and Aramaic, the Tetragrammaton and the Aramaic abbreviation of the Name are printed as ה׳, and Elokim as אלקים.
Notes. The notes compare the Aramaic with the Hebrew only. No later commentaries on Onkelos have been used. Where a note suggests why Onkelos translated as he did, this is presented as an inference from the text.
Licence. The Hebrew and Aramaic texts are shared under their own licences as stated above; CC-BY-SA material remains under CC-BY-SA.
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