Parashat Lech Lecha — Fourth Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 14:1 – 14:20 · פרשת לך לך, רביעי

The war of the kings, the rescue of Lot and the blessing of Malki Zedek, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 14:1–7: The war of the four kings against the five
• Unit 2 — Bereshit 14:8–14: The battle in the valley, Lot’s capture and Avram’s pursuit
• Unit 3 — Bereshit 14:15–20: Avram’s night pursuit and Malki Zedek’s blessing
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. Four eastern kings led by Kedorlaomer make war on the five kings of the Sedom region, who had served Kedorlaomer for twelve years and then rebelled. The invaders strike a series of peoples on their way, rout the five kings in the Valley of Siddim, and carry off the wealth of Sedom and Amorah together with Lot, Avram’s nephew. A survivor brings the news to Avram, who arms the men of his household, pursues the captors to Dan and beyond, and brings back Lot, the people and the property. The king of Sedom comes out to meet him, and Malki Zedek, king of Shaleim, brings out bread and wine, blesses Avram and receives a tenth of everything.

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.

• Old names made current. Onkelos replaces several ancient place names with names his readers knew: Shinar becomes Babylon, Kadeish becomes Rekam, Chazazon Tamar becomes Ein Gedi, and Shaleim becomes Yerushalayim.
• Names turned into descriptions. The Valley of Siddim becomes ‘the plain of the fields’, the king of Goyim becomes ‘the king of peoples’, the Rephaim and Zuzim become ‘the mighty ones’ and ‘the powerful ones’, and the Valley of Shaveh becomes ‘the barren plain’.
• One word for the landscape. The Aramaic noun meishar, ‘plain’, recurs for several different Hebrew terms: emek (valley), eil (in Eil Paran), ein (in Ein Mishpat) and elonei (of Mamrei).
• Taking as capturing. Where the Hebrew says the invaders ‘took’ the wealth and Lot, Onkelos says they ‘captured’ them (u-shevo), the root the Hebrew itself uses for Lot’s captivity in 14:14.
• Construct phrases with de-. Hebrew construct chains such as ‘king of Sedom’ become Aramaic phrases with the particle de- (malka di-Sedom), and ‘Avram’s brother’ becomes ‘his brother, of Avram’.
• Offices and relationships spelled out. Malki Zedek’s title kohein becomes ‘serving before’ the Most High, and in the printed text Lot, called Avram’s ‘brother’ in 14:16, becomes ‘his brother’s son’.

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 14:1–7: The war of the four kings against the five

Four eastern kings led by Kedorlaomer make war on the five kings of the Sedom region, who had rebelled after twelve years of servitude. On their way the invaders strike a string of peoples from Ashteros Karnayim down to Ein Mishpat and Chazazon Tamar.

Bereshit 14:1

Torah

Translation

This happened in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar [Babylon], Aryoch, king of Elasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Ailam, and Tidal, king of Goyim [king of peoples].

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

This happened in the days of Amraphel, king of Babylon, Aryoch, king of Elasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Ailam, and Tidal, king of peoples.

What Onkelos tells us

• “King of Babylon”. The Hebrew name Shinar (שִׁנְעָר) is replaced by Babylon (דְבָבֶל), the name of the region familiar to Aramaic readers. Onkelos here updates an archaic place name to a current one.
• “King of peoples”. The Hebrew גּוֹיִם may be read as a proper name (Goyim) or as the common noun ‘nations’. Onkelos takes it as the common noun and translates it, דְעַמְמֵי, ‘peoples’, so that Tidal is described as king over several peoples rather than of a place called Goyim.
• Construct phrases. Each of the four Hebrew construct phrases (מֶלֶךְ + name) becomes מַלְכָּא followed by the name with the prefix ד־, ‘the king of’. This is the ordinary Aramaic way of expressing possession and changes nothing in the meaning.

Words to note: וַהֲוָה va-havah — [it] happened (lit. it was) (וַיְהִי) · מַלְכָּא malka — king (מֶלֶךְ) · דְבָבֶל de-Vavel — of Babylon (שִׁנְעָר) · דְעַמְמֵי de-ammemei — of peoples (גּוֹיִם)

Bereshit 14:2

Torah

Translation

They waged war against Bera, king of Sedom, Birsha, king of Amorah, Shinav, king of Admah, Shemeiver, king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They arrayed battle (another reading: made battle) against Bera, king of Sedom, and against Birsha, king of Amorah, Shinav, king of Admah, Shemeiver, king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

What Onkelos tells us

• “They arrayed battle”. The Hebrew says literally ‘they made war’ (עָשׂוּ מִלְחָמָה). The printed Onkelos uses a different verb, סְדָרוּ, ‘they arranged, set in order’, with קְרָבָא, ‘battle’: the military idiom of drawing up battle lines. The printed text itself records an alternative reading, ‘they made’ (the word the Yemenite text has, עֲבַדוּ), which matches the Hebrew verb word for word.
• “Against”. The Hebrew marks the opponents with the object marker את; Onkelos uses עִם and וְעִם, ‘with’, the regular Aramaic way of saying whom one fights.
• “King of Tzevoyim”. The Hebrew has a written form without vav and a read form צְבוֹיִם. Onkelos’ דִצְבוֹיִם is spelled with the vav of the read form. As in 14:1, each ‘king of X’ becomes מַלְכָּא + ד־.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads only עֲבַדוּ, ‘they made’, with no trace of סְדָרוּ. The point about the military idiom ‘arrayed battle’ therefore holds for the printed text only; in the Yemenite text Onkelos renders the Hebrew verb literally.

Words to note: סְדָרוּ sedaru — they arrayed (עָשׂוּ) · קְרָבָא kerava — battle (מִלְחָמָה) · עִם im — against (lit. with) (אֶת)

Bereshit 14:3

Torah

Translation

All these joined together [assembled] at the valley of Siddim [the plain of the fields], which is [now] [the place of] the Salt Sea.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

All these assembled at the plain of the fields, which is the place of the Salt Sea.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Assembled”. The Hebrew חָבְרוּ means ‘joined together, allied’. Onkelos uses אִתְכְּנָשׁוּ, ‘they gathered, assembled’, from כנש. The Aramaic describes the physical assembling of the armies rather than the alliance itself.
• “The plain of the fields”. The Hebrew ‘valley of Siddim’ (עֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים) is translated rather than transliterated: לְמֵישַׁר חַקְלַיָא, ‘the plain of the fields’. This may indicate that Siddim was understood as a common noun, perhaps related to sadeh, ‘field’, rather than as a proper name.
• “The place of the Salt Sea”. Onkelos adds אֲתַר, ‘the place of’. The Hebrew says the valley ‘is’ the Salt Sea; the addition may indicate that the valley of the battle is now the site where the sea lies, rather than identical with the sea.

Words to note: אִתְכְּנָשׁוּ itkenashu — assembled (חָבְרוּ) · לְמֵישַׁר le-meishar — at the plain (עֵמֶק) · חַקְלַיָא haklaya — the fields (הַשִּׂדִּים) · אֲתַר atar — place · דְמִלְחָא de-milha — of salt (הַמֶּלַח)

Bereshit 14:4

Torah

Translation

[For] twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, and for thirteen years they rebelled.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

[For] twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, and for thirteen years they rebelled.

What Onkelos tells us

• A literal rendering. The verbs correspond directly: פְּלָחוּ, ‘they served’, for עָבְדוּ, and מְרָדוּ, ‘they rebelled’, for מָרָדוּ, from the same root מרד.
• “Years”. After the numbers the Hebrew uses the singular שָׁנָה, while the Aramaic uses the plural שְׁנִין. This is a matter of each language’s grammar of numerals and does not affect the meaning.

Words to note: פְּלָחוּ pelahu — they served (עָבְדוּ) · שְׁנִין shenin — years (שָׁנָה) · מְרָדוּ meradu — they rebelled (מָרָדוּ)

Bereshit 14:5

Torah

Translation

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer came together with the kings that were with him and they defeated the Rephaim [the mighty ones] in Ashteros Karnayim, the Zuzim [the powerful ones] in Ham, the Aimim [the ones that incite fear] at Shaveh Kiryasayim,

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer came together with the kings that were with him and they defeated the mighty ones that were in Ashteros Karnayim, the powerful ones that were in Hemta, and the Emtanei that were in Shaveh Kiryasayim,

What Onkelos tells us

• “The mighty ones”. The Hebrew names a people, the Rephaim (רְפָאִים). Onkelos does not transliterate but renders גִבָּרַיָא, ‘the mighty ones’, perhaps understanding the name as a description of giant warriors.
• “The powerful ones”. In the same way the Zuzim (הַזּוּזִים) become תַּקִיפַיָא, ‘the powerful ones’. With two descriptive terms in place of two names, the list in the Aramaic reads partly as a list of kinds of warriors.
• “The Emtanei”. The third people, the Aimim (הָאֵימִים), keeps a name-like form, אֵמְתָנֵי. The Aramaic form may be meant to echo the Aramaic word for terror, but unlike the first two it is not replaced by a common noun.
• “In Hemta”. The Hebrew place name Ham (בְּהָם) appears as דִבְהֶמְתָּא, a different form of the name.
• “That were in”. Onkelos adds the relative particle ד־ / דִי before each place: ‘the mighty ones that were in Ashteros Karnayim’, and so on three times. The Hebrew simply juxtaposes people and place; the Aramaic makes explicit that each place is where that people lived.
• “Defeated”. וּמְחוֹ, ‘and they struck’, renders וַיַּכּוּ literally.

Words to note: גִבָּרַיָא gibbaraya — the mighty ones (רְפָאִים) · תַּקִיפַיָא takifaya — the powerful ones (הַזּוּזִים) · דִבְהֶמְתָּא di-v-Hemta — that were in Hemta (בְּהָם) · אֵמְתָנֵי emtanei — the Emtanei (הָאֵימִים) · וּמְחוֹ u-meho — and they defeated (lit. struck) (וַיַּכּוּ)

Bereshit 14:6

Torah

Translation

And the Chorites in their hills of Seir, as far as Eil [the Plain of] Paran which borders [is next to] the wilderness.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And the Chorites that were in their mountain of Seir, as far as the plain of Paran which is next to the wilderness.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The Chorites”. The Hebrew collective singular הַחֹרִי becomes the plural חוֹרָאֵי, and as in 14:5 Onkelos adds ‘that were’ (דִי) before the place.
• “Their mountain of Seir”. The unusual Hebrew בְּהַרְרָם is rendered בְּטוּרְהוֹן, ‘in their mountain’, with the singular noun טור and a possessive suffix. Onkelos thus reads the Hebrew form as ‘their mountain’.
• “The plain of Paran”. The Hebrew אֵיל is not treated as part of a name but translated מֵישַׁר, ‘plain’, the same word used for the ‘valley’ of Siddim in 14:3.
• “Which is next to”. For the Hebrew ‘which is by’ (אֲשֶׁר עַל) Onkelos has דִסְמִיךְ עַל, ‘which adjoins’, making the spatial sense of ‘by’ explicit.
• Textual note. For דִי בְּטוּרְהוֹן, ‘that were in their mountain’, the Yemenite text reads דִּבְטוּרָא, ‘that were in the mountain’, without the possessive. The remark that Onkelos reads the Hebrew as ‘their mountain’ holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: חוֹרָאֵי hora’ei — Chorites (הַחֹרִי) · בְּטוּרְהוֹן be-turehon — in their mountain (בְּהַרְרָם) · מֵישַׁר meishar — plain (אֵיל) · דִסְמִיךְ di-smikh — which is next to (אֲשֶׁר)

Bereshit 14:7

Torah

Translation

They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat [the plain of compromise] which is Kadeish [Rekem], and they struck all the territory of Amaleik, as well as the Emorites who lived in Chazazon Tamar [Ein Gedi].

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They turned back and came to the plain of the division of judgment, which is Rekam, and they struck all the territory of Amaleik, as well as the Emorites who lived in Ein Gedi.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The plain of the division of judgment”. The Hebrew name Ein Mishpat (עֵין מִשְׁפָּט) means literally ‘spring of judgment’. Onkelos keeps the idea of judgment (דִינָא) but changes ‘spring’ to ‘plain’ (לְמֵישַׁר) and adds פִּלּוּג, ‘division’, perhaps understanding the place as one where judgment was decided.
• “Which is Rekam”. Kadeish (קָדֵשׁ) is identified as רְקָם, a later name for the place, just as Shinar became Babylon in 14:1.
• “In Ein Gedi”. Chazazon Tamar (בְּחַצְצֹן תָּמָר) likewise becomes a later name, בְּעֵין גֶּדִי.
• “The territory of Amaleik”. חֲקַל, ‘field, territory’, translates שְׂדֵה literally, and the gentilic עֲמַלְקָאָה parallels the Hebrew הָעֲמָלֵקִי. ‘As well as’ is וְאַף for וְגַם.

Words to note: וְתָבוּ ve-tavu — they turned back (וַיָּשֻׁבוּ) · פִּלּוּג pillug — division · דִינָא dina — judgment (מִשְׁפָּט) · רְקָם Rekam — Rekam (קָדֵשׁ) · חֲקַל hakal — territory (שְׂדֵה) · דְיָתֵיב de-yateiv — who lived (הַיֹּשֵׁב)

Unit 1 summary

This unit is a list of kings, peoples and places, and Onkelos treats it above all as a map to be made legible. Construct phrases such as ‘king of Sedom’ become analytic phrases with ד־ throughout. Several old names are replaced with names or descriptions current in his own language: Shinar becomes Babylon, Kadeish becomes Rekam, Chazazon Tamar becomes Ein Gedi, and the Valley of Siddim and Eil Paran become a ‘plain’ (meishar). The ancient peoples of 14:5 (Rephaim, Zuzim) are rendered as descriptive terms, ‘mighty ones’ and ‘powerful ones’, and the place Ham appears as Hemta, while the narrative verbs (served, rebelled, struck, turned back) are rendered literally. In 14:2 the printed text has the Kedorlaomer coalition ‘array’ battle, a more concrete military idiom than ‘made war’, though the Yemenite text keeps the literal ‘made’.

Unit 2 — Bereshit 14:8–14: The battle in the valley, Lot’s capture and Avram’s pursuit

The five kings of the plain go out to fight the four eastern kings in the Valley of Siddim and are routed; the victors carry off the wealth of Sedom and Amorah and with it Lot. A survivor brings the news to Avram, who arms the men of his household and pursues the captors as far as Dan.

Bereshit 14:8

Torah

Translation

The king of Sedom set out, along with the king of Amorah, the king of Admah, the king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, and engaged them in battle in the Valley of Siddim [in the plain of the fields].

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The king of Sedom set out, along with the king of Amorah, the king of Admah, the king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, and engaged them in battle in the plain of the fields.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The king of Sedom”. Each Hebrew construct (melekh Sedom, “king of Sedom”) becomes an Aramaic phrase with the genitive particle de-: malka di-Sedom. The meaning is unchanged; this is the normal Aramaic way of saying “X of Y”, and it recurs for all five kings.
• “Tzevoyim”. The Hebrew text is written one way and read another (the written consonants צביים, the read form צְבוֹיִם). Onkelos follows the read form: di-Tzevoyim.
• “Engaged them in battle”. Ve-sadaru imhon kerava, literally “they arranged battle with them”, corresponds to the Hebrew va-ya’arkhu ittam milhamah, which also uses a verb of setting in order. A literal rendering; kerava is the usual Aramaic word for battle.
• “In the plain of the fields”. The Hebrew gives a place name, Emek ha-Siddim. Onkelos translates it as a description, be-meishar haklaya, “in the plain of the fields”. This may indicate that he understood siddim as related to sadeh, “field”; the same rendering returns in 14:10.

Words to note: וּנְפַק u-nefak — set out (וַיֵּצֵא) · וְסַדָרוּ ve-sadaru — and [they] engaged [lit. arranged] (וַיַּעַרְכוּ) · קְרָבָא kerava — battle (מִלְחָמָה) · בְּמֵישַׁר be-meishar — in the plain (בְּעֵמֶק) · חַקְלַיָא haklaya — the fields

Bereshit 14:9

Torah

Translation

Against Kedorlaomer, king of Eilam, Sidal, king of Goyim [king of peoples], Amraphel, king of Shinar [Babylon], and Aryoch, king of Elasar; [there were] four kings against the five.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Against Kedorlaomer, king of Eilam, Sidal, king of peoples, Amraphel, king of Babylon, and Aryoch, king of Elasar; [there were] four kings against the five.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Against Kedorlaomer”. The Hebrew opens with et, here meaning “with” in the sense of fighting against. Onkelos renders it im, literally “with”, as in 14:2. At the end of the verse the same Hebrew word et (“four kings et the five”) is rendered differently, lakovel, “against”. The one Hebrew preposition thus receives two Aramaic equivalents, perhaps chosen to suit each context.
• “King of peoples”. The Hebrew melekh Goyim may be read as a proper name. Onkelos translates it as a common noun, malka de-ammemin, “king of peoples”, suggesting that he took Goyim as a description of a ruler over several nations.
• “King of Babylon”. Hebrew Shinar is replaced by the familiar name Bavel, Babylon, an identification rather than a translation.
• Other names. Kedorlaomer, Eilam, Sidal, Amraphel, Aryoch and Elasar are kept as they are, each joined to malka with the particle de-.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads de-ammemei for the printed de-ammemin, a different form of the plural; the sense “of peoples” is the same in both.

Words to note: עִם im — against (lit. with) (אֵת) · דְעַמְמִין de-ammemin — of peoples (גּוֹיִם) · דְבָבֶל de-Vavel — of Babylon (שִׁנְעָר) · מַלְכִין malkhin — kings (מְלָכִים) · לָקֳבֵיל lakovel — against (אֶת)

Bereshit 14:10

Torah

Translation

The Valley of Siddim [The plain of the fields] was [full of] mortar pits [pits from which they raise up mortar]; [and when] the Kings of Sedom and Amorah fled they fell there [into the pits], while the remainder fled to the mountains.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The plain of the fields was pits [upon] pits that raise up mortar; the king of Sedom and Amorah fled, and they fell there, while those who remained fled to the mountain.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Pits [upon] pits that raise up mortar”. The Hebrew repeats its noun, be’erot be’erot hemar, “pits, pits of bitumen”. Onkelos keeps the repetition (beirin beirin) but replaces the construct “pits of mortar” with a participle clause, maskan heimara, “that raise up mortar”. The added verb describes the pits as sources from which the mortar comes up, rather than simply pits containing it.
• “The king of Sedom and Amorah”. Like the Hebrew (melekh), Onkelos has the singular malka governing both cities, while the plural verbs follow. He does not smooth the Hebrew’s grammar here.
• “Fled”. The Hebrew uses one root for fleeing twice (va-yanusu … nasu); Onkelos uses one Aramaic root for both (va-araku … araku), so the repetition survives.
• “Those who remained”. The Hebrew participle ve-ha-nish’arim, “the remaining ones”, becomes a relative clause, u-de-ishta’aru, “and those who remained”. The meaning is the same.
• “To the mountain”. Hebrew herah is “to the mountain”, with the directional ending; Onkelos has the matching singular le-tura.

Words to note: בֵּירִין beirin — pits (בֶּאֱרֹת) · מַסְקַן maskan — that raise up · חֵימָרָא heimara — mortar (חֵמָר) · וַעֲרָקוּ va-araku — fled (וַיָּנֻסוּ) · וּדְאִשְׁתָּאֲרוּ u-de-ishta’aru — and those who remained (וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים) · לְטוּרָא le-tura — to the mountain (הֶרָה)

Bereshit 14:11

Torah

Translation

They took [captured] all the wealth of Sedom and Amorah and all their provisions and they went on their way.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They captured all the wealth of Sedom and Amorah and all their provisions and they went on their way.

What Onkelos tells us

• “They captured”. The Hebrew says simply va-yikkehu, “they took”. Onkelos uses u-shevo, from the root meaning “to take captive” (sh-b-y). This narrows the general verb to the specific act of carrying off spoil in war, and links the verse to 14:14, where the Hebrew itself uses the same root for Lot’s being taken captive.
• “The wealth”. Hebrew rekhush, “property”, becomes kinyana, from the root קני, “to acquire”: what a person has acquired. The same pair returns in 14:12.
• “Their provisions”. Meikhalhon, “their food”, renders Hebrew okhlam directly; a literal rendering.

Words to note: וּשְׁבוֹ u-shevo — they captured (וַיִּקְחוּ) · קִנְיָנָא kinyana — the wealth (רְכֻשׁ) · מֵיכָלְהוֹן meikhalhon — their provisions (אׇכְלָם) · וַאֲזָלוּ va-azalu — and they went on their way (וַיֵּלֵכוּ)

Bereshit 14:12

Torah

Translation

They took [captured] Lot and his wealth. [Lot was] Avram’s nephew. Then they went on their way. He had been living in Sedom.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They captured Lot and his wealth, the son of his brother, of Avram, and they went on their way. He had been living in Sedom.

What Onkelos tells us

• “They captured”. As in 14:11, Hebrew “took” becomes u-shevo, “they captured”, and rekhush becomes kinyaneh, “his wealth”.
• “The son of his brother, of Avram”. The Hebrew construct ben ahi Avram, “the son of Avram’s brother”, becomes bar ahuhi de-Avram, literally “the son of his brother, of Avram”: the pronoun on ahuhi anticipates the name that follows. This is a common Aramaic way of expressing possession and does not change the meaning.
• “He had been living”. Hebrew yoshev and Aramaic yatev are both participles of the root “sit, dwell”; a literal rendering.

Words to note: קִנְיָנֵהּ kinyaneh — his wealth (רְכֻשׁוֹ) · בַּר bar — the son of (בֶּן) · אַחוּהִי ahuhi — his brother (אֲחִי) · יָתֵיב yatev — living (יֹשֵׁב)

Bereshit 14:13

Torah

Translation

The one who had escaped came and told Avram the Ivri, who was living in the Plains of Mamrei the Emorite, the brother of Eshkol and Aneir. They were Avram’s allies.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The one who had been rescued came and told Avram the Ivri, who was living in the Plains of Mamrei the Emorite, his brother, of Eshkol, and his brother, of Aneir. They were the men of his covenant, of Avram.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The one who had been rescued”. Hebrew ha-palit is “the escapee”. Onkelos has meshezava, from the root שיזב, “to save”, in a form that presents him as one who was saved rather than one who fled. The difference is slight and perhaps only idiomatic.
• “The Plains of Mamrei”. Hebrew elonei Mamre becomes meishrei Mamre, “the plains of Mamrei”. This is the same noun Onkelos used for the Hebrew emek, “valley”, in 14:8 and 14:10 (meishar), so the Aramaic uses one word where the Hebrew has two.
• “His brother, of Eshkol”. As with Lot in 14:12, each Hebrew construct (ahi Eshkol, ahi Aner) becomes ahuhi de-, “his brother, of”.
• “The men of his covenant”. The Hebrew idiom ba’alei verit Avram, literally “masters of the covenant of Avram”, is replaced by enashei keyameh de-Avram, “men of his covenant, of Avram”. The idiomatic ba’al, “master, owner”, gives way to the plain “men”, and keyam is the usual Aramaic word for covenant.
• “The Ivri”, “the Emorite”. The gentilic forms Ivra’ah and Emora’ah match the Hebrew ha-Ivri and ha-Emori.
• Textual note. For the printed enashei keyameh, “the men of his covenant”, the Yemenite text reads enash keyameih, with the collective singular “people of his covenant”. The point about ba’alei being replaced by a plain word for men holds in both.

Words to note: מְשֵׁיזָבָא meshezava — the one who had been rescued (הַפָּלִיט) · וְחַוִּי ve-havvi — and told (וַיַּגֵּד) · שָׁרֵי sharei — living (שֹׁכֵן) · בְּמֵישְׁרֵי be-meishrei — in the Plains of (בְּאֵלֹנֵי) · אֱנָשֵׁי enashei — the men of (בַּעֲלֵי) · קְיָמֵהּ keyameh — his covenant (בְרִית)

Bereshit 14:14

Torah

Translation

When Avram heard that his kinsman was taken captive, he armed his trained servants [lads] who were born in his household, three hundred and eighteen [men], and he pursued [them] until Dan.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

When Avram heard that his kinsman was taken captive, he armed his lads who were born in his household, three hundred and eighteen, and he pursued until Dan.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Was taken captive”. Hebrew nishbah and Aramaic ishtevi share the root sh-b-y, “to take captive”. This is the root Onkelos already used for “took” in 14:11 and 14:12, so in the Aramaic the capture and the report of it use the same verb throughout.
• “He armed”. The Hebrew va-yarek is from the root meaning “to empty, draw out”. Onkelos has ve-zareiz, from a root meaning “to gird, make ready”. He thus renders the sense rather than the image of the Hebrew verb.
• “His lads”. Hebrew hanikhav, from a root meaning “train, initiate”, becomes ulemohi, “his lads, his young men”. The Aramaic names the men by their age rather than by their training, perhaps because the Hebrew word was unusual.
• “Three hundred and eighteen”. The Hebrew gives the number as “eighteen and three hundred” (shemonah asar u-shelosh me’ot). Onkelos reverses the order, telat me’ah ve-tamnei asar, “three hundred and eighteen”, and uses the singular me’ah after the numeral where the Hebrew has the plural me’ot.
• Textual note. For the printed ve-tamnei, “and eight”, the Yemenite text reads u-temanat, another form of the numeral; the number is the same.

Words to note: אִשְׁתְּבִי ishtevi — was taken captive (נִשְׁבָּה) · וְזָרֵיז ve-zareiz — he armed (וַיָּרֶק) · עוּלֵמוֹהִי ulemohi — his lads (חֲנִיכָיו) · תְּלַת telat — three (וּשְׁלֹשׁ) · מְאָה me’ah — hundred (מֵאוֹת) · וּרְדַף u-redaf — and he pursued (וַיִּרְדֹּף)

Unit 2 summary

Onkelos follows the battle report closely, but turns several of its names into descriptions: the Valley of Siddim becomes ‘the plain of the fields’, the king of Goyim becomes ‘the king of peoples’, Shinar becomes Babylon, and the bitumen pits become pits ‘that raise up’ mortar. He uses the noun meishar both for the Hebrew ‘valley’ (emek) and for the ‘plains’ (elonei) of Mamrei. Throughout the unit he renders ‘took’ as ‘captured’ (u-shevo), matching the root of Lot’s captivity in 14:14, and he replaces Hebrew construct chains with the Aramaic particle de- (‘king of Sedom’ as malka di-Sedom, ‘the brother of Avram’ as ‘his brother, of Avram’). Smaller adjustments include ‘men of the covenant’ for the Hebrew ‘masters of the covenant’, a passive ‘rescued one’ for the Hebrew ‘escapee’, and the numeral 318 given in the order ‘three hundred and eighteen’.

Unit 3 — Bereshit 14:15–20: Avram’s night pursuit and Malki Zedek’s blessing

Avram divides his men by night, routs the kings and brings back Lot, the captives and the property. The king of Sedom comes out to meet him, and Malki Zedek brings out bread and wine, blesses Avram and receives a tenth of everything.

Bereshit 14:15

Torah

Translation

He divided [his men] against them at night, he and his servants and he attacked them. He pursued them until Chovah, which is to the left [north] of Damascus.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He divided [himself] against them at night, he and his servants and he attacked them. He pursued them until Chovah, which is from the north of Damascus.

What Onkelos tells us

• “He divided [himself]”. Hebrew וַיֵּחָלֵק (niphal) is matched by the reflexive וְאִתְפְּלֵג (ve-itpeleg), “divided himself” or “was divided”. The Aramaic keeps the Hebrew’s lack of an object; the reader must still supply that it was his men who were split into groups.
• “He attacked them”. וַיַּכֵּם, “struck them”, becomes וּמְחוֹנוּן (u-mehonun), also “struck them”. The same Aramaic root renders the same Hebrew root in 14:17, so the link between the two verses is kept.
• “From the north of Damascus”. Where the Hebrew gives the direction as מִשְּׂמֹאל, “to the left”, Onkelos writes מִצִפּוּנָא (mi-tzipuna), “from the north”. He thus states the compass direction in place of the Hebrew’s orientation term (left, for one facing east), perhaps so that the reader is not left to work it out.

Words to note: וְאִתְפְּלֵג ve-itpeleg — he divided [himself] (וַיֵּחָלֵק) · וּמְחוֹנוּן u-mehonun — and he attacked them (וַיַּכֵּם) · וּרְדָפִנוּן u-redafinun — he pursued them (וַיִּרְדְּפֵם) · מִצִפּוּנָא mi-tzipuna — from the north (מִשְּׂמֹאל)

Bereshit 14:16

Torah

Translation

He brought back all the property. His kinsman [His brother’s son] Lot and his possessions he also brought back, as well as the women and the people.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He brought back all the property. Lot his brother’s son and his possessions he also brought back, as well as the women and the people.

What Onkelos tells us

• “His brother’s son”. The Hebrew calls Lot אָחִיו, “his brother”. The printed Onkelos adds בַּר (bar), giving “his brother’s son” (bar ahuhi), and so states the exact family relationship instead of the broader Hebrew usage of “brother” for a kinsman. This holds for the printed text only (see the textual note).
• “Property … possessions”. Both occurrences of the Hebrew root רכש (הָרְכֻשׁ and וּרְכֻשׁוֹ) are rendered with one Aramaic noun, kinyan (קִנְיָנָא, וְקִנְיָנֵהּ), so the Aramaic repeats a single term just as the Hebrew does.
• “Also”. Each Hebrew ve-gam is rendered וְאַף (ve-af), “and also”; otherwise a literal rendering.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks בַּר and reads simply “Lot his brother”, as the Hebrew does. The addition of “son” discussed above is found in the printed text only.

Words to note: וַאֲתֵיב va-ateiv — he brought back (וַיָּשֶׁב) · קִנְיָנָא kinyana — the property (הָרְכֻשׁ) · בַּר bar — son · אֲחוּהִי ahuhi — his brother (אָחִיו) · נְשַׁיָא neshaya — the women (הַנָּשִׁים)

Bereshit 14:17

Torah

Translation

The King of Sedom went out to meet him after his return from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, to the Valley of Shaveh which is the King’s Valley [to the barren plain, which is the place of the racetrack of the king].

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The King of Sedom went out to meet him after he returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, to the barren plain, which is the place of the racetrack of the king.

What Onkelos tells us

• “After he returned”. The Hebrew uses an infinitive with a suffix, אַחֲרֵי שׁוּבוֹ, “after his return”. Onkelos turns it into a clause with a finite verb, בָּתַר דְתָב (batar de-tav), “after [the time] that he returned” - a common grammatical smoothing.
• “From defeating”. מֵהַכּוֹת is rendered מִלְמִמְחֵי (mi-lemimhei), from the same Aramaic root Onkelos used for וַיַּכֵּם in 14:15.
• “The barren plain”. The Hebrew עֵמֶק שָׁוֵה reads like a proper name, “the Valley of Shaveh”. Onkelos does not keep it as a name but describes the place: לְמֵישַׁר מַפְנָא (meishar mafna), a plain that is cleared or empty. This may reflect a reading of shaveh as “level”, though the Aramaic does not say so.
• “The place of the racetrack of the king”. For עֵמֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ, “the King’s Valley”, the printed Onkelos has אֲתַר בֵּית רֵיסָא דְמַלְכָּא (atar beit reisa de-malka). Reisa seems to denote a course or arena of measured length, so the Aramaic perhaps identifies the valley by a known royal site rather than translating its name word for word.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks אֲתַר, “place”, and reads “which is the racetrack of the king”. It also vocalizes the word for “barren” differently (mefunna, “cleared”), which does not change the sense.

Words to note: לְקַדָמוּתֵה le-kadamuteh — to meet him (לִקְרָאתוֹ) · מִלְמִמְחֵי mi-lemimhei — from defeating (מֵהַכּוֹת) · לְמֵישַׁר le-meishar — to the plain (אֶל) · מַפְנָא mafna — barren (שָׁוֵה) · אֲתַר atar — place · רֵיסָא reisa — racetrack

Bereshit 14:18

Torah

Translation

Malki Zedek, king of Shaleim [Yerushalayim], brought out bread and wine. He was a Kohein of [He was serving before] the Most High Almighty.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Malki Zedek, king of Yerushalayim, brought out bread and wine. He was serving before the Most High Almighty.

What Onkelos tells us

• “King of Yerushalayim”. The Hebrew שָׁלֵם (Shaleim) is replaced by דִירוּשְׁלֶם (di-Yerushlem), “of Yerushalayim”. Onkelos thus identifies the ancient name with the familiar city, a common practice in his handling of place-names.
• “He was serving before”. For the title כֹהֵן, “a priest”, Onkelos writes מְשַׁמֵשׁ קֳדָם (meshamesh kodam), “serving before”. The office is described by its function, and the Hebrew “of” (le-) before the Divine title becomes kodam, “before”, a phrasing that may be intended to keep a reverent distance in speaking of service to God.
• “The Most High”. עֶלְיוֹן is rendered עִלָאָה (ila’ah), “Most High”, while the word el is kept as it is in the Hebrew.

Words to note: דִירוּשְׁלֶם di-Yerushlem — of Yerushalayim (שָׁלֵם) · אַפֵּיק apeik — brought out (הוֹצִיא) · וַחֲמָר va-hamar — and wine (וָיָיִן) · מְשַׁמֵשׁ meshamesh — serving (כֹהֵן) · קֳדָם kodam — before · עִלָאָה ila’ah — the Most High (עֶלְיוֹן)

Bereshit 14:19

Torah

Translation

He blessed him and said: Blessed be Avram to the Most High, Almighty Possessor of heaven and earth.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He blessed him and said: Blessed be Avram to the Most High Almighty, Whose possession are heaven and earth.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Whose possession are heaven and earth”. The Hebrew has a participle, קֹנֵה, “Possessor of”. Onkelos replaces it with a relative clause built on a noun, דְקִנְיָנֵהּ (de-kinyaneh), “whose possession [are]”, so that heaven and earth are described as belonging to the Most High rather than God being described by an active verb.
• One word, two roots. The noun kinyan used here is the word Onkelos used in 14:16 for Lot’s property, where the Hebrew has the root רכש; here it renders the root קנה. The printed text even has the identical form with a different prefix (וְקִנְיָנֵהּ there, דְקִנְיָנֵהּ here, “his possessions” / “whose possession”). The Aramaic thus uses one root where the Hebrew uses two.
• “Blessed”. בָּרוּךְ becomes בְּרִיךְ (berikh); otherwise a literal rendering.

Words to note: וּבָרְכֵיהּ u-varkheih — he blessed him (וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ) · בְּרִיךְ berikh — blessed (בָּרוּךְ) · דְקִנְיָנֵהּ de-kinyaneh — whose possession (קֹנֵה) · שְׁמַיָא shemaya — heaven (שָׁמַיִם)

Bereshit 14:20

Torah

Translation

And blessed be the Most High Almighty Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. [Avram] gave him a tenth of everything.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And blessed be the Most High Almighty Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. [Avram] gave him one out of ten of everything.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Who has delivered”. The rare Hebrew verb מִגֵּן is rendered by the common דִמְסַר (di-msar), “who handed over”, from מסר. Onkelos gives the plain sense of the uncommon word.
• “Your enemies”. For צָרֶיךָ, “your foes”, Onkelos has סָנְאָיךְ (sanaykh), literally “those who hate you”, from the root שנא.
• “One out of ten”. The Hebrew noun מַעֲשֵׂר, “a tenth”, is expanded to חַד מִן עַשְׂרָא (had min asra), “one out of ten”, stating the proportion in plain words. “Of everything” is מִכֹּלָא (mi-kola).

Words to note: דִמְסַר di-msar — Who has delivered (מִגֵּן) · סָנְאָיךְ sanaykh — your enemies (literally, those who hate you) (צָרֶיךָ) · וִיהַב vi-hav — gave (וַיִּתֶּן) · עַשְׂרָא asra — ten (מַעֲשֵׂר) · מִכֹּלָא mi-kola — of everything (מִכֹּל)

Unit 3 summary

Through most of this unit Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely, but at several points he turns names and terms into explanations. The obscure place-descriptions become geography the reader can picture: “to the left of Damascus” becomes “from the north of Damascus”, the Valley of Shaveh becomes “the barren plain”, and the King’s Valley becomes “the place of the racetrack of the king”. Relationships and offices are spelled out: Lot, called Avram’s “brother” in the Hebrew, is “his brother’s son” in the printed text, Shaleim is identified as Yerushalayim, and the title kohein becomes “serving before” the Most High. The rare verb miggen is rendered by the ordinary “handed over”, and the tithe becomes “one out of ten”. One Aramaic noun, kinyan, serves both for the recovered property and in the relative clause about the Most High as owner of heaven and earth, where the Hebrew uses two different roots. Several of these points rest on the printed text only, since the Yemenite text lacks “son” in 14:16 and “place” in 14:17.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from a catalogue of kings and peoples to a single household’s rescue mission and then to a scene of blessing. In the opening unit Onkelos treats the list of kings and places above all as a map to be made legible, replacing obscure names with current names or with descriptions. In the battle report he follows the narrative closely, while tightening its vocabulary: the invaders ‘capture’ rather than merely ‘take’, and the root of capture links the seizure of the spoil to the report of Lot’s captivity. In the final unit the geography again becomes explanation, with the ‘left’ of Damascus given as its north and the King’s Valley identified as a royal site, and the encounter with Malki Zedek is rendered with descriptions of function in place of titles: he ‘serves before’ the Most High, and the Most High is the One ‘whose possession are heaven and earth’.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “King of Babylon” (14:1). The archaic name Shinar is replaced by Babylon, the name familiar to Aramaic readers; the same identification returns in 14:9.
2. “King of peoples” (14:1). Onkelos takes Goyim as the common noun ‘nations’ rather than a proper name, so that Tidal rules over several peoples.
3. “They arrayed battle” (14:2). The printed text uses sedaru, the idiom of drawing up battle lines, for the Hebrew ‘made war’; the Yemenite text has the literal ‘made’.
4. “The mighty ones” and “the powerful ones” (14:5). The Rephaim and the Zuzim are rendered as descriptive terms, so the list reads partly as a list of kinds of warriors, while the Aimim keep a name-like form, Emtanei.
5. “The plain of the division of judgment, which is Rekam” (14:7). Ein Mishpat keeps the idea of judgment but becomes a plain, and Kadeish is identified by a later name.
6. “Pits that raise up mortar” (14:10). The construct ‘pits of bitumen’ becomes a participle clause, describing the pits as sources from which the mortar comes up.
7. “They captured” (14:11). The general verb ‘took’ is narrowed to u-shevo, the specific act of carrying off spoil in war.
8. “The men of his covenant” (14:13). The Hebrew idiom ‘masters of the covenant’ gives way to the plain ‘men’, with keyam for covenant.
9. “From the north of Damascus” (14:15). The Hebrew ‘to the left’ is stated as a compass direction, perhaps so that the reader is not left to work it out.
10. “The place of the racetrack of the king” (14:17). The King’s Valley is perhaps identified by a known royal site rather than translated word for word; the word ‘place’ is in the printed text only.
11. “Serving before” the Most High (14:18). The title kohein is described by its function, a phrasing that may be intended to keep a reverent distance in speaking of service to God.
12. “Whose possession are heaven and earth” (14:19). The participle ‘Possessor of’ becomes a relative clause on the noun kinyan, the same noun used for Lot’s property in 14:16.

Recurring features

• Current names for old places. Shinar, Kadeish, Chazazon Tamar and Shaleim are each identified with a later or more familiar name.
• Descriptions in place of names. Siddim, Goyim, the Rephaim, the Zuzim, Eil Paran and the Valley of Shaveh are rendered as descriptions rather than transliterated.
• Meishar for many landscape words. One Aramaic noun, ‘plain’, serves for several different Hebrew terms for valleys and plains.
• The particle de-. Construct phrases throughout the king lists and the family relationships become analytic phrases with de-, which changes nothing in the meaning.
• Shared vocabulary across verses. The root of capture (sh-b-y) runs from 14:11 to 14:14, the root of striking links 14:15 and 14:17, and kinyan covers both property and divine possession.
• Printed and Yemenite texts diverge. Several points rest on the printed text only, including ‘arrayed’ in 14:2, ‘their mountain’ in 14:6, ‘son’ in 14:16 and ‘place’ in 14:17; they are marked where they occur.

Aliyah takeaway

In this aliyah Onkelos acts largely as a guide to an unfamiliar map. The narrative of war, capture and rescue is rendered closely, but names that would mean little to his readers are replaced with places they knew or with descriptions they could picture, and terms such as ‘left’, ‘escapee’ and ‘a tenth’ are given in plain words. The same habit extends to the closing scene, where the priest-king is described by what he does and the Most High by what belongs to Him. The result is a text in which the reader can follow where the battle was fought, who was captured and how the blessing was framed, without having to decode the Hebrew’s ancient names and idioms.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 14:1 – 14:20, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 14:21).

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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