Parashat Bereshit — Fifth Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 4:19 – 4:22 · פרשת בראשית, חמישי

Lemech’s two wives and the founders of herding, music and metalwork, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 4:19–22: Lemech’s wives and children: herdsmen, musicians and smiths
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. Lemech marries two wives, Adah and Tzillah. Adah bears Yaval, described as the father of those who dwell in tents and keep cattle, and his brother Yuval, the father of all who handle the harp and flute. Tzillah bears Tuval Kayin, a sharpener of every cutter of copper and iron, and the passage closes by naming his sister, Naamah. In four verses the Torah lists the founders of three ways of life: herding, music and metalwork.

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.

• A literal frame. The marriage, the names and the births are rendered word for word: u-nesiv leh for va-yikkah lo, shum for shem, hada and tinyeta for “the one” and “the second”.
• “Master” for “father”. Where the Hebrew calls Yaval and Yuval avi, “the father of”, Onkelos says rabbehon, “the master of”, which may indicate that he read “father” as a figure for a founder or chief.
• Three parallel descriptions. Onkelos uses rabbehon for Tuval Kayin as well, in place of loteish, “sharpener”, although the Hebrew has no “father” there, so the three brothers are described alike.
• Compressed phrases filled out. The herdsmen become “owners of cattle” (u-marei ve’ir), and the smiths are those “who know the work of” copper and iron.
• Music as a skill. The Hebrew “who handle” (tofeis) the harp and flute becomes “who play” (di-mnaggen) and “know the music of” (yad’ei zemar) the instruments, with a third instrument, the nivla, added.
• An anticipatory suffix. Rabbehon, literally “their master”, and va-ahateh de-Tuval Kayin, literally “and his sister, of Tuval Kayin”, use an Aramaic idiom in which a suffix anticipates the noun that follows.

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 4:19–22: Lemech’s wives and children: herdsmen, musicians and smiths

Lemech marries two wives, Adah and Tzillah. Their sons Yaval, Yuval and Tuval Kayin are presented as the founders of herding, music and metalwork, and a daughter, Naamah, is named.

Bereshit 4:19

Torah

Translation

Lemech married two women, the first was named Adah, and the name of the second was Tzillah.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Lemech married two women, the first was named Adah, and the name of the second was Tzillah.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Married”. A literal rendering. Where the Hebrew says va-yikkah lo, “took for himself”, Onkelos uses u-nesiv leh, the ordinary Aramaic verb for taking a wife, and keeps the reflexive “for himself” (leh, matching lo).
• “The first … the second”. The Hebrew ha-ahat (“the one”) and ha-sheinit are matched by hada and tinyeta; shum is the Aramaic for shem, “name”.

Words to note: וּנְסִיב u-nesiv — married (lit. took) (וַיִּֽקַּֽח) · תַּרְתֵּין tartein — two (שְׁתֵּי) · שׁוּם shum — name (שֵׁם) · תִּנְיֵתָא tinyeta — the second (הַשֵּׁנִית)

Bereshit 4:20

Torah

Translation

Adah gave birth to Yaval. He was the father of those who live in tents, and breed cattle.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Adah gave birth to Yaval. He was the master of those who live in tents and [of] owners of cattle.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The master of”. The Hebrew avi, “the father of”, is replaced by rabbehon, literally “their master”, an Aramaic idiom in which the suffix anticipates the noun that follows (“the master of those who …”). Since Yaval was not literally the ancestor of all herdsmen, Onkelos may have taken “father” as a figure for founder or chief and replaced the image with its sense. The same word recurs in 4:21 and 4:22.
• “Who live in tents”. The Hebrew has a singular participle and noun, yoshev ohel, “one who dwells in a tent”; Onkelos makes both plural, de-yatvei mashkenin, “those who live in tents”. He renders ohel here with mashkenin, “tents” or “dwellings”.
• “Owners of cattle”. The Hebrew joins u-mikneh, “and cattle”, directly to “one who dwells in a tent”, without a verb or noun to govern it. Onkelos supplies one: u-marei ve’ir, “and owners of cattle”. The added word smooths a compressed phrase and makes Yaval’s way of life a combination of tent-dwelling and livestock-owning.

Words to note: רַבְּהוֹן rabbehon — the master of (lit. their master) (אֲבִי) · דְּיָתְבֵי de-yatvei — of those who live in (יֹשֵׁב) · מַשְׁכְּנִין mashkenin — tents (אֹהֶל) · וּמָרֵי u-marei — and owners of · בְעִיר ve’ir — cattle (וּמִקְנֶֽה)

Bereshit 4:21

Torah

Translation

His brother’s name was Yuval. He was the father of all who handle [play] the harp and flute.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

His brother’s name was Yuval. He was the master of all who play by the mouth of the lute, [who] know the music of the harp and flute.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The master of all”. As in 4:20, avi, “the father of”, becomes rabbehon, “the master of”; the Hebrew kol, “all”, is kept (de-khol).
• “Who play”. The Hebrew tofeis means “one who grasps” or “handles” an instrument. Onkelos names the activity itself, di-mnaggen, “who plays”, replacing the physical image with the musical act.
• “By the mouth of the lute”. Onkelos adds an instrument not named in the Hebrew, nivla (the nevel), introduced with al pum, literally “by the mouth of”, an Aramaic idiom that can mean “according to” or “to the sound of”. The Hebrew has only two instruments, kinnor and ugav; in the Aramaic they become the objects of a second clause, yad’ei zemar kinnora ve-abbuva, “[who] know the music of the harp and flute”. The expansion suggests a reading of the verse as describing skilled musicianship rather than merely holding instruments.
• “The harp and flute”. Kinnora is the Hebrew kinnor with the Aramaic definite ending; ugav is rendered by abbuva, “flute” or “pipe”.

Words to note: דִּמְנַגֵּן di-mnaggen — who play (תֹּפֵשׂ) · פּוּם pum — mouth · נִבְלָא nivla — the lute · זְמַר zemar — the music of · כִּנּוֹרָא kinnora — the harp (כִּנּוֹר) · וְאַבּוּבָא ve-abbuva — and flute (וְעוּגָֽב)

Bereshit 4:22

Torah

Translation

Tzillah also gave birth to Tuval Kayin, who sharpened everything which cuts copper and iron. The sister of Tuval Kayin was Naamah.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Tzillah also gave birth to Tuval Kayin, the master of all who know the work of copper and iron. The sister of Tuval Kayin was Naamah.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Tzillah also”. The Hebrew gam hi, “she too”, is rendered af hi; the birth is told as in 4:20 (yelidat yat).
• “The master of all who know the work of copper and iron”. The Hebrew calls Tuval Kayin loteish kol horeish nehoshet u-varzel, “a sharpener of every cutter of copper and iron”. Onkelos replaces both images:
  • loteish, “sharpener”, becomes rabbehon, “the master of”, the same word he used for avi in 4:20 and 4:21, although the Hebrew has no “father” here. This makes the three brothers’ descriptions parallel, perhaps deliberately.
  • horeish, “cutter” or “craftsman”, becomes de-yad’ei ividat, “who know the work of”, stressing skill rather than the tool or the act of cutting, much as “who know the music of” does in 4:21.
• “The sister of Tuval Kayin”. Onkelos writes va-ahateh de-Tuval Kayin, literally “and his sister, of Tuval Kayin”, the same anticipatory-suffix construction as rabbehon; it means simply “the sister of Tuval Kayin”, as in the Hebrew.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text adds hu hava, “he was”, before rabbehon, so that Tuval Kayin is described with exactly the words used of Yaval and Yuval (“he was the master of …”). The printed text has only rabbehon; either way the parallel with 4:20 and 4:21 noted above holds.

Words to note: רַבְּהוֹן rabbehon — the master of (lit. their master) (לֹטֵשׁ) · דְּיָדְעֵי de-yad’ei — who know (חֹרֵשׁ) · עִיבִידַת ividat — the work of · נְחָשָׁא nehasha — copper (נְחֹשֶׁת) · וּפַרְזְלָא u-farzela — and iron (וּבַרְזֶל) · וַאֲחָתֵהּ va-ahateh — the sister of (lit. and his sister) (וַֽאֲחוֹת)

Unit 1 summary

Onkelos renders the names, the marriage and the births literally, but reshapes each description of the three sons. Where the Hebrew twice calls a son the ‘father’ (avi) of a way of life, Onkelos says rabbehon, ‘the master of’, which may indicate that he read ‘father’ here as a figure for a founder or chief rather than an ancestor. He extends the same word to Tuval Kayin in 4:22, where the Hebrew has no ‘father’ at all, so that the three descriptions become parallel in the Aramaic. He also fills out the compressed Hebrew phrases: the herdsmen become ‘owners of cattle’, the musicians are those who ‘play’ and ‘know the music of’ their instruments, with a third instrument named, and the smiths are those who ‘know the work of copper and iron’. The effect is a plainer, more explicit account of the crafts, with the Hebrew images of ‘fathering’, ‘handling’ and ‘sharpening’ replaced by mastery and knowledge.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from a single act, Lemech taking two wives, to the children of each wife and what they founded: Adah’s two sons, the herdsman and the musician, and then Tzillah’s son, the smith, with his sister Naamah named at the end. Onkelos keeps this genealogical frame exactly as it is, translating the marriage, the names and the births literally. His interventions are concentrated in the three descriptions of the sons, which he reshapes so that each becomes “the master of” a group defined by what its members own, play or know.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “Married” (4:19). U-nesiv leh, the ordinary Aramaic verb for taking a wife, keeps the reflexive “for himself” of va-yikkah lo.
2. “The first … the second” (4:19). Hada and tinyeta match ha-ahat and ha-sheinit; shum is the Aramaic for shem.
3. “The master of” (4:20). Avi, “the father of”, becomes rabbehon; since Yaval was not literally the ancestor of all herdsmen, Onkelos may have replaced the image of fatherhood with its sense.
4. “Those who live in tents” (4:20). The singular yoshev ohel becomes the plural de-yatvei mashkenin.
5. “Owners of cattle” (4:20). Onkelos supplies u-marei, “owners of”, to govern mikneh, which the Hebrew attaches to the tent-dweller without a verb or noun.
6. “Who play” (4:21). Tofeis, “one who grasps” an instrument, becomes di-mnaggen, naming the musical act rather than the physical image.
7. “By the mouth of the lute” (4:21). Onkelos adds the nivla, an instrument the Hebrew does not name, and makes the harp and flute the objects of a second clause, “[who] know the music of”; the expansion suggests a reading of the verse as describing skilled musicianship.
8. “The harp and flute” (4:21). Kinnora is the Hebrew kinnor with the Aramaic definite ending; ugav becomes abbuva.
9. “The master of all who know” (4:22). Loteish, “sharpener”, becomes rabbehon, and horeish, “cutter”, becomes de-yad’ei ividat, “who know the work of”, stressing skill rather than the tool or the act of cutting.
10. “The sister of Tuval Kayin” (4:22). Va-ahateh de-Tuval Kayin uses the same anticipatory-suffix construction as rabbehon and means simply “the sister of Tuval Kayin”.
11. A textual variant (4:22). The Yemenite text adds hu hava, “he was”, before rabbehon, so that Tuval Kayin is described with exactly the words used of Yaval and Yuval; the printed text has only rabbehon.

Recurring features

• Literal rendering of the narrative frame. Names, the marriage and the births (yelidat yat in 4:20 and 4:22) are carried over word for word.
• One word for all three founders. Rabbehon, “the master of”, appears in each of 4:20, 4:21 and 4:22, standing for avi twice and for loteish once.
• Images replaced by their sense. “Fathering”, “handling” and “sharpening” give way to mastery and knowledge.
• Supplied words that smooth compressed Hebrew. “Owners of” (4:20), “the music of” (4:21) and “the work of” (4:22) are added to make the phrases explicit.
• Knowledge as the mark of a craft. Both the musicians (4:21) and the smiths (4:22) are described as those who “know” (yad’ei) their art.
• The anticipatory suffix. A pronoun suffix pointing forward to a following noun, as in rabbehon and va-ahateh de-Tuval Kayin.

Aliyah takeaway

In this short genealogy Onkelos leaves the names and the family structure untouched and concentrates his changes on what the sons founded. By replacing the Hebrew images of “fathering”, “handling” and “sharpening” with “master of” and “who know”, and by supplying the words the compressed Hebrew leaves out, he produces a plainer, more explicit account of herding, music and metalwork, in which the three brothers are described in parallel terms.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 4:19 – 4:22, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 4:23).

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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