Parashat Chayei Sarah — Seventh Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 25:12 – 25:18 · פרשת חיי שרה, שביעי

The twelve sons of Yishmael, his death and the land of his descendants, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 25:12–18: The line of Yishmael
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. Parashat Chayei Sarah closes with the line of Yishmael. The Torah introduces the descendants of Yishmael son of Avraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Avraham, and names his twelve sons according to their birth, from Nevayos the first born to Keidmah. It sums them up as twelve princes, with their open villages and fortified strongholds, in their nations. It then gives the years of Yishmael’s life, one hundred and thirty-seven, records that he expired, died and was gathered to his people, and marks out where his descendants lived: from Chavilah to Shur, on the border of Egypt, toward Asshur.

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.

• Names carried over. The twelve names of 25:13-15 come into the Aramaic in the same form as the Hebrew; the only difference the notes record is the full spelling of Nevayos with a vav.
• Possession with ד. Hebrew construct chains become a determined noun followed by ד: “Sarah’s slave” is אַמְתָא דְשָׂרָה and “Yishmael’s first born” is בּוּכְרָא דְיִשְׁמָעֵאל.
• Open villages and walled cities. In 25:16 בְּפַצְחֵיהוֹן and וּבִכְרַכֵּיהוֹן turn the Hebrew pair into a clear contrast of open places and walled towns, and the princes become רַבְרְבִין, “great ones”.
• A number told once. Yishmael’s age in 25:17 names the unit שְׁנִין, “years”, once after the whole number, where the Hebrew repeats “year” with each part.
• A place renamed. In 25:18 the region the Hebrew calls Shur appears as חַגְרָא.
• One root for two verbs. The Hebrew ends 25:18 with “he fell”; Onkelos uses שְׁרָא, from the same root as “they lived” at the start of the verse.

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 25:12–18: The line of Yishmael

The Torah lists the twelve sons of Yishmael, gives the length of his life and his death, and marks out the territory where his descendants lived.

Bereshit 25:12

Torah

Translation

These are the descendants of Yishmael son of Avraham, whom Hagar, the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Avraham.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

These are the descendants of Yishmael son of Avraham, whom Hagar, the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Avraham.

What Onkelos tells us

• A literal rendering. The Hebrew words are replaced by their ordinary Aramaic equivalents: bar for “son”, di for the relative “whom”, and amta for “slave”.
• “Sarah’s slave”. The Hebrew is a construct chain, שִׁפְחַת שָׂרָה. Onkelos writes the noun in its determined form followed by ד, אַמְתָא דְשָׂרָה, “the slave of Sarah” - the usual Aramaic way of expressing possession. The meaning is unchanged.
• Textual note. For the printed אַמְתָא דְשָׂרָה the Yemenite text reads אַמְתַּהּ דְּשָׂרָה, “her slave, of Sarah”: a pronoun suffix anticipates the possessor, a common Aramaic construction. The meaning is the same.

Words to note: תּוּלְדַת tuldat — descendants (תֹּלְדֹת) · בַּר bar — son (בֶּן) · מִצְרֵתָא mitzreta — the Egyptian (הַמִּצְרִית) · אַמְתָא amta — slave (שִׁפְחַת)

Bereshit 25:13

Torah

Translation

These are the names of Yishmael’s sons, by their names according to their birth. Nevayos was Yishmael’s first born, [he also had] Keidar, Adbeil and Mivsom,

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

These are the names of Yishmael’s sons, by their names according to their birth. Yishmael’s first born [was] Nevayos, Keidar, Adbeil and Mivsom,

What Onkelos tells us

• “Their names according to their birth”. Onkelos keeps both nouns with their suffixes: בִּשְׁמָהַתְהוֹן for בִּשְׁמֹתָם and לְתוּלְדַתְהוֹן for לְתוֹלְדֹתָם. The second is the same noun he used for “descendants” in 25:12, just as the Hebrew uses the same noun in both verses.
• “Yishmael’s first born”. As with “Sarah’s slave” in 25:12, the Hebrew construct בְּכֹר יִשְׁמָעֵאל becomes the determined noun with ד: בּוּכְרָא דְיִשְׁמָעֵאל, “the first born of Yishmael”.
• The names. The four names are taken over unchanged from the Hebrew, apart from the full spelling of Nevayos with a vav.
• Textual note. For the printed בּוּכְרָא the Yemenite text reads בּוּכְרֵיהּ, “his first born, of Yishmael”, with the same anticipatory suffix it has in 25:12. The meaning is the same.

Words to note: שְׁמָהַת shemahat — the names of (שְׁמוֹת) · לְתוּלְדַתְהוֹן le-tuldat-hon — according to their birth (לְתוֹלְדֹתָם) · בּוּכְרָא bukhra — the first born (בְּכֹר)

Bereshit 25:14

Torah

Translation

Mishma, Dumah and Masa,

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Mishma, Dumah and Masa,

What Onkelos tells us

A literal rendering. The three names are identical, letters and vowels, to the Hebrew.

Bereshit 25:15

Torah

Translation

Chadad, Teima, Yetur, Nofish and Keidmah.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Chadad, Teima, Yetur, Nofish and Keidmah.

What Onkelos tells us

A literal rendering. Onkelos copies the five names exactly as they stand in the Hebrew, down to the kamatz under the conjunction in וָקֵדְמָה.

Bereshit 25:16

Torah

Translation

These are the sons of Yishmael, and these are their names in their open villages and in their fortified strongholds, twelve princes in their nations.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

These are the sons of Yishmael, and these are their names in their open villages and in their walled cities, twelve chiefs in their nations.

What Onkelos tells us

• “These are”. The Hebrew הֵם “they are” is matched by the Aramaic pronoun אִנּוּן.
• “In their open villages and in their walled cities”. For the Hebrew בְּחַצְרֵיהֶם, unwalled settlements, Onkelos uses בְּפַצְחֵיהוֹן, a word for open, unfortified places. For the rarer וּבְטִירֹתָם he uses וּבִכְרַכֵּיהוֹן, from the ordinary Aramaic word for a walled city. The Hebrew pair thus becomes a clear contrast of open villages and walled towns; this may indicate that Onkelos took the Hebrew word to mean a fortified settlement.
• “Twelve chiefs”. The Hebrew נְשִׂיאִם, “princes”, is rendered רַבְרְבִין, literally “great ones”, a general term for leaders and magnates.
• “In their nations”. The Hebrew לְאֻמֹּתָם has a feminine plural form; the Aramaic לְאֻמֵּיהוֹן uses the masculine plural form of the same noun. The meaning is unchanged.

Words to note: אִנּוּן innun — they (הֵם) · בְּפַצְחֵיהוֹן be-fatzheihon — in their open villages (בְּחַצְרֵיהֶם) · וּבִכְרַכֵּיהוֹן u-vikhrakkeihon — and in their walled cities (וּבְטִירֹתָם) · רַבְרְבִין ravrevin — chiefs (lit. great ones) (נְשִׂיאִם) · לְאֻמֵּיהוֹן le-ummeihon — in their nations (לְאֻמֹּתָם)

Bereshit 25:17

Torah

Translation

These are the years of Yishmael’s life, one hundred years, thirty years and seven years. He expired and died and was gathered to his people.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

These are the years of Yishmael’s life, one hundred and thirty and seven years. He expired and died and was gathered to his people.

What Onkelos tells us

• “One hundred and thirty and seven years”. The Hebrew names the unit “year” with each part of the number: מְאַת שָׁנָה וּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים. Onkelos gives the number first and the noun once at the end, שְׁנִין, as is natural in Aramaic. The repetition of the Hebrew is not reproduced.
• “He expired”. For וַיִּגְוַע Onkelos uses וְאִתְנְגִיד, a reflexive form of the root נגד; the next two verbs, “died” and “was gathered”, are rendered directly, the last with וְאִתְכְּנִישׁ, from the root כנש.
• “To his people”. The Hebrew עַמָּיו is plural in form; the Aramaic לְעַמֵּהּ is a singular noun with the suffix “his”. Onkelos perhaps read the Hebrew form as a collective, “his people”, and rendered it as such.

Words to note: שְׁנִין shenin — years (שָׁנִים) · וְאִתְנְגִיד ve-itnegid — he expired (וַיִּגְוַע) · וּמִית u-mit — and died (וַיָּמׇת) · וְאִתְכְּנִישׁ ve-itkenish — and was gathered (וַיֵּאָסֶף) · לְעַמֵּהּ le’ammeh — to his people (עַמָּיו)

Bereshit 25:18

Torah

Translation

They lived from Chavilah to Shur, which borders on Egypt, going towards Asshur. He lived in the presence of all his brethren.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They lived from Chavilah to Chagra, which borders on Egypt, reaching to Asshur. He lived in the presence of all his brethren.

What Onkelos tells us

• “To Chagra”. Where the Hebrew names the place שׁוּר (Shur), Onkelos writes חַגְרָא, a different name. This suggests he identified the region by the name it bore in his own day.
• “Which borders on Egypt” and “in the presence of”. The Hebrew uses עַל פְּנֵי twice in this verse, and Onkelos renders both with the same phrase, עַל אַפֵּי, word for word.
• “Reaching to Asshur”. The Hebrew בֹּאֲכָה אַשּׁוּרָה is literally “as you come toward Asshur”, an infinitive with a second-person suffix addressed to the reader. Onkelos uses the participle מָטֵי, “reaching”, with no person, so that the phrase simply describes how far the territory extends. The name itself appears in its Aramaic form, לְאָתוּר, with ת for the Hebrew ש.
• “He lived”. The Hebrew closes with נָפָל, literally “he fell”. Onkelos renders it שְׁרָא, from the same root as וּשְׁרוֹ at the start of the verse, “they lived”. Where the Hebrew uses two different verbs, the Aramaic uses one root for both, and the image of falling becomes a plain statement that he dwelt there; this may indicate that Onkelos read the Hebrew verb as an idiom for settling.

Words to note: וּשְׁרוֹ u-shero — they lived (וַיִּשְׁכְּנוּ) · חַגְרָא hagra — Chagra (שׁוּר) · אַפֵּי appei — the face of (in the phrases ‘borders on’ and ‘in the presence of’) (פְּנֵי) · מָטֵי matei — reaching (בֹּאֲכָה) · לְאָתוּר le-atur — to Asshur (אַשּׁוּרָה) · שְׁרָא shera — he lived (נָפָל)

Unit 1 summary

Onkelos follows this genealogy closely. The twelve names of 25:13-15 are copied letter for letter and vowel for vowel from the Hebrew, apart from the full spelling of Nevayos with a vav, and the framing formulas (“These are the descendants”, “these are the names”, “These are the years of … life”) are rendered word for word with their ordinary Aramaic equivalents. The construct chains “Sarah’s slave” and “Yishmael’s first born” are resolved into the Aramaic construction with ד, a matter of grammar rather than meaning. Apart from 25:16, where the villages and strongholds become open villages and walled cities and the princes become “great ones”, the real differences gather in the last two verses. In 25:17 the threefold “years” of the Hebrew becomes a single “years” after the whole number, and the plural-form “his people” becomes a singular noun. In 25:18 Onkelos gives Shur a different name, Chagra; turns the second-person “as you come toward Asshur” into an impersonal “reaching to Asshur”; and renders the closing verb “fell” with the same root he used for “they lived” at the start of the verse, so that the Hebrew image of falling becomes a statement about dwelling.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from a heading, to a list, to the close of a life. A formula introduces Yishmael’s descendants, the twelve names follow, a summarizing verse counts them as twelve princes in their settlements and nations, and the last two verses turn to Yishmael himself: his years, his death, and the land his descendants held. Onkelos follows this progression closely. Through the names he stays with the Hebrew almost letter for letter; his own choices become visible in the summarizing verse and above all in the final two verses, where a number, a place name, a phrase addressed to the reader and a closing verb are each given in Aramaic terms.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “Sarah’s slave” (25:12). The construct chain becomes אַמְתָא דְשָׂרָה, “the slave of Sarah”, the usual Aramaic way of expressing possession. The meaning is unchanged.
2. “Yishmael’s first born” (25:13). The same construction: בּוּכְרָא דְיִשְׁמָעֵאל, “the first born of Yishmael”.
3. “According to their birth” (25:13). לְתוּלְדַתְהוֹן uses the same noun as תּוּלְדַת, “descendants”, in 25:12, just as the Hebrew repeats its noun in both verses.
4. The names (25:13-15). Mishma, Dumah and Masa, and the five names of 25:15, are identical to the Hebrew in letters and vowels; of the four in 25:13, only Nevayos differs, in its full spelling with a vav.
5. “In their open villages and in their walled cities” (25:16). בְּפַצְחֵיהוֹן is a word for open, unfortified places; וּבִכְרַכֵּיהוֹן comes from the ordinary Aramaic word for a walled city. This may indicate that Onkelos took the rarer Hebrew word to mean a fortified settlement.
6. “Twelve chiefs” (25:16). נְשִׂיאִם, “princes”, is rendered רַבְרְבִין, literally “great ones”, a general term for leaders and magnates.
7. “One hundred and thirty and seven years” (25:17). Onkelos gives the number first and שְׁנִין once at the end, as is natural in Aramaic; the repetition of the Hebrew is not reproduced.
8. “He expired” (25:17). וְאִתְנְגִיד, a reflexive form of the root נגד; “died” and “was gathered” are rendered directly.
9. “To his people” (25:17). The plural-form עַמָּיו becomes the singular לְעַמֵּהּ. Onkelos perhaps read the Hebrew form as a collective.
10. “To Chagra” (25:18). Where the Hebrew names Shur, Onkelos writes חַגְרָא, a different name. This suggests he identified the region by the name it bore in his own day.
11. “Reaching to Asshur” (25:18). The second-person “as you come toward Asshur” becomes the participle מָטֵי, with no person, so the phrase simply describes how far the territory extends. The name appears as לְאָתוּר, with ת for the Hebrew ש.
12. “He lived” (25:18). For נָפָל, “he fell”, Onkelos writes שְׁרָא, from the same root as וּשְׁרוֹ, “they lived”, at the start of the verse. This may indicate that he read the Hebrew verb as an idiom for settling.

Recurring features

• Ordinary equivalents. Much of the aliyah is rendered word for word with the usual Aramaic words: bar for “son”, di for “whom”, innun for “they”, and אִלֵּין for “these” in the framing formulas of 25:12, 25:13, 25:16 and 25:17.
• ד for the construct. Twice, in 25:12 and 25:13, a Hebrew construct chain becomes a determined noun followed by ד. The notes treat this as grammar, not a change of meaning.
• Same Hebrew, same Aramaic. Where the Hebrew repeats a word, Onkelos repeats his rendering: the noun for “descendants” and “birth” in 25:12-13, and עַל אַפֵּי for both occurrences of the Hebrew “on the face of” in 25:18.
• Number and form adjusted to Aramaic. A feminine plural form becomes masculine plural (25:16), a plural-form noun becomes singular (25:17), and the threefold “year” becomes one “years” (25:17).
• The plain sense of idiom. Where the Hebrew uses an image or addresses the reader, Onkelos gives a plain statement: “reaching” for “as you come”, “he lived” for “he fell”, and a contrast of open villages and walled cities in 25:16.

Aliyah takeaway

In a passage made mostly of names and formulas, Onkelos shows how close a translation can be: the names are carried over intact, the formulas are matched word for word, and repeated Hebrew words are met with repeated Aramaic ones. Against that background his departures stand out. They gather in the summarizing verse and the last two verses: the settlements of the princes, the count of Yishmael’s years, the name of a border region, a phrase addressed to the reader, and the verb “fell”. In each the Aramaic says plainly what the Hebrew expresses in its own idiom, while the meaning of the genealogy is left as the Hebrew gives it.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 25:12 – 25:18, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit.

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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