Parashat Lech Lecha — Fifth Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 14:21 – 15:6 · פרשת לך לך, חמישי

Avram refuses the spoils of Sedom and receives the promise of an heir, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 14:21–24: Avram refuses the spoils of Sedom
• Unit 2 — Bereshit 15:1–6: Fear not: the promise of an heir
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. The aliyah opens at the close of the war of the kings. The king of Sedom offers Avram the recovered property in exchange for the captives, and Avram swears that he will take nothing, not a thread or a shoe strap, apart from what his men have eaten and the share of his allies Aneir, Eshkol and Mamrei. Then, ‘after these events’, the word of Hashem comes to Avram: he is told not to fear and that his reward is very great. Avram protests that he is childless and that a member of his household, Eliezer, will inherit him. Hashem promises a son of his own, takes him outside to count the stars, and tells him that so will his descendants be. Avram believes, and it is reckoned to him for righteousness.

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.

• Prayer, not an oath. In 14:22 Avram’s raised hand becomes raised hands ‘in prayer’ (bi-tzlo), lifted ‘before’ Hashem rather than ‘to’ Him.
• One noun for two speeches. The king’s ‘possessions’ (14:21) and the divine title ‘Possessor of heaven and earth’ (14:22) share the noun kinyana in the Aramaic, where the Hebrew uses two different roots.
• The Memra. ‘I am a shield to you’ becomes ‘My Memra is strength for you’ (15:1), and Avram believes ‘in the Memra of Hashem’ (15:6).
• ‘With’ rather than ‘to’. The word of Hashem is ‘with’ Avram (15:1, 15:4), and the ‘vision’ is called ‘prophecy’ (bi-nvu’ah).
• Figures of speech made plain. ‘Seed’ becomes ‘child’ or ‘children’, ‘he that will come from within your body’ becomes ‘a son that you will beget’, and ‘righteousness’ becomes ‘merit’.
• Alternative readings in the printed text. In 14:21 and 14:24 the printed Onkelos records a second word in parentheses, while the Yemenite text has a single word in each place.

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 14:21–24: Avram refuses the spoils of Sedom

The king of Sedom offers Avram the recovered property in exchange for the captives; Avram swears he will take nothing, apart from what his men have eaten and the share of his allies.

Bereshit 14:21

Torah

Translation

The King of Sedom said to Avram: Give me the people, and take the possessions for yourself.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The King of Sedom said to Avram: Give me the people, and (take) take the possessions for yourself.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Give me … take”. The two imperatives get Aramaic verbs: hav (הַב) for תֶּן, and for קַח the printed text gives two words, sav (סַב) in parentheses and devar (דְבַר). The parentheses mark an alternative reading of the same word, so the doubled ‘take’ in the translation reflects the printed page, not two verbs in the sentence.
• “The people”. The Hebrew collective singular הַנֶּפֶשׁ (‘the soul’) becomes the plural נַפְשָׁתָא (nafshata), ‘persons’ — a grammatical smoothing that makes clear a group of people is meant.
• “The possessions”. וְהָרְכֻשׁ is rendered וְקִנְיָנָא (kinyana), ‘acquired property’. The same noun appears in the next verse in the divine title (see 14:22).
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads only סַב without parentheses and lacks דְבַר; it has a single verb ‘take’, as the Hebrew does.

Words to note: הַב hav — give (תֶּן) · נַפְשָׁתָא nafshata — the people (lit. persons) (הַנֶּפֶשׁ) · וְקִנְיָנָא ve-kinyana — and the possessions (וְהָרְכֻשׁ) · דְבַר devar — take (קַח)

Bereshit 14:22

Torah

Translation

Avram said to the King of Sedom: I have lifted my hand [in prayer] to [before] Hashem [before] the Most High Almighty, Possessor of heaven and earth.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avram said to the King of Sedom: I have lifted my hands in prayer before Hashem, the Most High Almighty, Whose possession are heaven and earth.

What Onkelos tells us

• “My hands in prayer before Hashem”. The verb אֲרֵמִית (aremit) matches הֲרִמֹתִי in root and causative form. Onkelos then adds two things: בִּצְלוֹ (bi-tzlo), ‘in prayer’, which says what the gesture is, and קֳדָם (kodam), ‘before’, in place of the Hebrew ‘to’ (אֶל). Lifting the hand ‘to’ Hashem may suggest an oath; the Aramaic presents it as prayer offered before Him.
• “Hands”. The Hebrew יָדִי is singular, ‘my hand’; the vocalization יְדַי (yedai) is the plural, ‘my hands’.
• “The Most High Almighty”. The title אֵל עֶלְיוֹן is kept: אֵל is retained as is, with עִלָאָה (ila’ah) for ‘Most High’.
• “Whose possession are heaven and earth”. The participle קֹנֵה, ‘Possessor’, becomes a relative clause built on a noun: דְקִנְיָנֵהּ (de-kinyaneh), ‘Whose possession [are]’. It is the same noun Onkelos used for the king’s ‘possessions’ in 14:21 (וְקִנְיָנָא), whereas the Hebrew uses two different roots there (וְהָרְכֻשׁ, from רכש, and קֹנֵה, from קנה). In the Aramaic the two speeches thus echo each other, perhaps setting the king’s property against the One to whom all things belong.

Words to note: אֲרֵמִית aremit — I have lifted (הֲרִמֹתִי) · יְדַי yedai — my hands (יָדִי) · בִּצְלוֹ bi-tzlo — in prayer · קֳדָם kodam — before (אֶל) · עִלָאָה ila’ah — Most High (עֶלְיוֹן) · דְקִנְיָנֵהּ de-kinyaneh — Whose possession [are] (קֹנֵה)

Bereshit 14:23

Torah

Translation

Neither a thread nor a shoelace! And I will not take anything of yours, so you will not [be able] to say, I have made Avram wealthy.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Neither a thread nor a shoelace! And I will not take anything of yours, so you will not say, I have made Avram wealthy.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Neither a thread nor a shoelace”. Onkelos keeps the Hebrew oath formula, ‘if from … and up to …’, word for word (אִם … וְעַד), with Aramaic nouns: מִחוּטָא (mi-huta), ‘from a thread’, and עַרְקַת מְסָנָא (arkat mesana), ‘the strap of a shoe’, for שְׂרוֹךְ־נַעַל.
• “I will not take … I have made Avram wealthy”. Otherwise a literal rendering. אֶסַב (esav) renders אֶקַּח, from the same verb as sav (סַב), the parenthesized reading in 14:21 (and the only reading there in the Yemenite text), and אַעְתָּרִית (a’tarit) matches the causative הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי, ‘I have made wealthy’.

Words to note: מִחוּטָא mi-huta — from a thread (מִחוּט) · עַרְקַת arkat — strap of · מְסָנָא mesana — shoe (נַעַל) · אֶסַב esav — I will take (אֶקַּח) · תֵימַר teimar — you will say (תֹאמַר) · אַעְתָּרִית a’tarit — I have made wealthy (הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי)

Bereshit 14:24

Torah

Translation

I am excluding myself; only what the lads have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aneir, Eshkol and Mamrei, they may take their portion.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Only (apart from) what the lads have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aneir, Eshkol and Mamrei, they may receive their portion.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Only (apart from)”. The Hebrew opens with two words, בִּלְעָדַי (‘apart from me’) and רַק (‘only’). The printed Onkelos has לְחוֹד (lehod), ‘only’, with בַּר (bar), ‘apart from’, in parentheses as an alternative reading. Either way the first-person ‘me’ of the Hebrew is not expressed; Avram’s exclusion of himself is left implicit in the oath of the previous verse.
• “They may receive their portion”. For יִקְחוּ, ‘they will take’, Onkelos uses יְקַבְּלוּן (yekabbelun), ‘they will receive’, rather than the verb he used for ‘take’ in 14:23 (אֶסַב), which is also the parenthesized reading sav in 14:21. This may present the allies’ share as something given to them rather than seized.
• “The portion”. The Hebrew uses one noun twice in the verse (וְחֵלֶק, חֶלְקָם); Onkelos repeats one noun likewise (וְחָלָק, חַלָקְהוֹן). The rest is literal: עוּלֵמַיָא (ulemaya), ‘the lads’, גֻבְרַיָא (guvraya), ‘the men’.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks לְחוֹד and reads simply בָּר, ‘apart from’, which corresponds more closely to בִּלְעָדַי; the remark about the ‘only’ reading holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: לְחוֹד lehod — only (רַק) · עוּלֵמַיָא ulemaya — the lads (הַנְּעָרִים) · וְחָלָק ve-halak — and the portion (וְחֵלֶק) · גֻבְרַיָא guvraya — the men (הָאֲנָשִׁים) · יְקַבְּלוּן yekabbelun — they may receive (יִקְחוּ)

Unit 1 summary

Onkelos follows the exchange closely, but a few touches stand out. The printed text twice records alternative verbs in parentheses (14:21, 14:24), while the Yemenite text has a single word in each place. In 14:22 Avram’s raised hand becomes raised hands ‘in prayer’ (bi-tzlo), lifted ‘before’ Hashem, and the divine title ‘Possessor of heaven and earth’ becomes a relative clause, ‘Whose possession are heaven and earth’ (de-kinyaneh). Since the king’s ‘possessions’ in 14:21 are also kinyana, the Aramaic ties the two speeches together through one noun, perhaps sharpening the contrast between what the king offers and what belongs to the Most High. Elsewhere the unit is rendered word for word, with Aramaic vocabulary for the thread and shoe strap and yekabbelun, ‘they may receive’, for the allies’ share.

Unit 2 — Bereshit 15:1–6: Fear not: the promise of an heir

Hashem reassures Avram in a prophetic vision; Avram protests that he has no child and that his steward will inherit him; Hashem promises a son of his own and descendants as numerous as the stars, and Avram believes.

Bereshit 15:1

Torah

Translation

After these events, the word of Hashem came to Avram in a vision, saying: Fear not Avram, I am your shield [My Word is your strength], your reward is very great.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

After these events, the word of Hashem was with Avram in prophecy, saying: Fear not, Avram, My Memra is strength for you, your reward is very great.

What Onkelos tells us

• “These events … the word of Hashem”. Hebrew הַדְּבָרִים means both ‘words’ and ‘matters, events’, and the same noun then appears in דְבַר. Onkelos keeps the echo with one Aramaic noun in both places: פִּתְגָמַיָא and פִּתְגָמָא (pitgamaya, pitgama).
• “Was with Avram”. הֲוָה matches הָיָה, but the preposition changes: עִם, ‘with’, instead of ‘to’ (אֶל). The change appears again in 15:4.
• “In prophecy”. בַּמַּחֲזֶה, ‘in a vision’, becomes בִּנְבוּאָה (bi-nvu’ah), ‘in prophecy’. The Aramaic names the kind of communication rather than its visual form.
• “My Memra is strength for you”. The Hebrew ‘I am a shield to you’ (אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ) is rendered מֵימְרִי תְּקוֹף לָךְ (meimri tekof lakh). Two changes: ‘I’ becomes ‘My Memra’ (Word), and the metaphor of the shield is replaced by what it stands for, ‘strength’. Both may reflect a reluctance to speak of God in concrete physical terms.
• “Your reward is very great”. A literal rendering: אַגְרָךְ סַגִי לַחֲדָא (agrakh sagi lahada).

Words to note: פִּתְגָמַיָא pitgamaya — events (lit. words, matters) (הַדְּבָרִים) · בִּנְבוּאָה bi-nvu’ah — in prophecy (בַּמַּחֲזֶה) · תִדְחַל tidhal — fear (תִּירָא) · מֵימְרִי meimri — My Memra (אָנֹכִי) · תְּקוֹף tekof — strength (מָגֵן) · אַגְרָךְ agrakh — your reward (שְׂכָרְךָ)

Bereshit 15:2

Torah

Translation

Avram said: My Master, God, what will You give me since I continue to be childless, and the manager of my household [this supplier who is in my house] is Eliezer of Damascus.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avram said: Hashem, God, what will You give me since I continue to be without a child, and this manager who is in my house is Eliezer the Damascene.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Hashem, God”. The Hebrew address is אֲדֹנָי ה׳: Adonai, ‘my Master’, followed by the Name, which is read here as Elokim. Onkelos writes ה׳ אֱלֹקִים, ‘Hashem, God’. The title ‘my Master’ is not translated as such; the Aramaic gives the Name and Elokim, perhaps following the way the pair is read.
• “What will You give me”. The printed text מַה תִּתֶּן לִי is identical to the Hebrew words.
• “Without a child”. The rare Hebrew עֲרִירִי, ‘childless’, is unpacked as בְּלָא וְלָד (be-la velad), ‘without a child’. The verb ‘continue’ (אָזֵיל, ‘go’) renders הוֹלֵךְ literally.
• “This manager who is in my house”. For וּבֶן־מֶשֶׁק בֵּיתִי Onkelos has וּבַר פַּרְנָסָא (u-var parnasa), literally ‘son of provision’, the one who supplies the household, and adds הָדֵין, ‘this’, turning ‘of my house’ into a clause, דִבְּבֵיתִי, ‘who is in my house’. The Hebrew sound-play between מֶשֶׁק and דַּמֶּשֶׂק is lost, since the two words are translated by unrelated Aramaic words.
• “Eliezer the Damascene”. ‘Of Damascus’ (דַּמֶּשֶׂק) becomes the gentilic דַמַשְׂקָאָה (damaska’ah), ‘the Damascene’.
• Textual note. For מַה תִּתֶּן the Yemenite text reads מָא תִּתֵּין, Aramaic forms of the same words; the observation that the printed words are identical to the Hebrew holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: אָזֵיל azeil — continue (lit. go) (הוֹלֵךְ) · בְּלָא be-la — without · וְלָד velad — child · פַּרְנָסָא parnasa — manager (lit. provision) (מֶשֶׁק) · דִבְּבֵיתִי di-vveiti — who is in my house (בֵּיתִי) · דַמַשְׂקָאָה damaska’ah — the Damascene (דַּמֶּשֶׂק)

Bereshit 15:3

Torah

Translation

And Avram said: Behold, You have not given me children, and thus one of my household will be my heir.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And Avram said: Behold, You have not given me a child, and thus one of my household will be my heir.

What Onkelos tells us

• “A child”. The Hebrew זָרַע, ‘seed’, becomes וְלָד (velad), ‘child’ — the same word Onkelos used for the childless Avram in 15:2. The metaphor is made plain, and the two verses are linked by one Aramaic word where the Hebrew has two different ones.
• “One of my household will be my heir”. Otherwise a literal rendering: הָא for הֵן, יְהַבְתְּ (yehavt) for נָתַתָּה, and בַר בֵיתִי for בֶן־בֵּיתִי. The participle יָרִיתּ (yarit) matches יוֹרֵשׁ.

Words to note: יְהַבְתְּ yehavt — You have given (נָתַתָּה) · וְלָד velad — child (זָרַע) · יָרִיתּ yarit — will be heir to (יוֹרֵשׁ)

Bereshit 15:4

Torah

Translation

Suddenly the word of Hashem came to him, saying: That one will not be your heir; only he that will come from within your body [a son that you will beget] will be your heir.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Suddenly the word of Hashem [was] with him, saying: That one will not be your heir; only a son that you will beget will be your heir.

What Onkelos tells us

• “With him”. As in 15:1, ‘to him’ (אֵלָיו) becomes ‘with him’ (עִמֵהּ). Neither text has a verb here.
• “A son that you will beget”. The Hebrew ‘he that will come from within your body’ (אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִמֵּעֶיךָ) becomes בַּר דְתוֹלִיד (bar de-tolid), ‘a son that you will beget’. The bodily image is replaced by its meaning, and the heir is named explicitly as a son.
• “Will be your heir”. The Hebrew verb יִירָשְׁךָ appears twice; Onkelos repeats one verb likewise, יִרְתִינָךְ (yirtinakh), from the same root as יָרִיתּ in 15:3.

Words to note: עִמֵהּ imeh — with him (אֵלָיו) · יִרְתִינָךְ yirtinakh — will be your heir (יִירָשְׁךָ) · בַּר bar — a son · דְתוֹלִיד de-tolid — that you will beget (יֵצֵא)

Bereshit 15:5

Torah

Translation

He [then] took him outside and said: Look towards the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them. He then said to him: So [numerous] will your descendants be.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He took him outside and said: Look now towards the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them. He then said to him: So will your children be.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Look now … count”. A literal rendering: אִסְתְּכִי (istekhi) for הַבֶּט, and כְעַן (khe’an) for נָא. The Hebrew uses the root ספר for both ‘count’ and ‘to count’, and Onkelos likewise uses one root for both (וּמְנֵי, לְמִמְנֵי).
• “So will your children be”. The Hebrew זַרְעֶךָ, ‘your seed’, becomes בְּנָךְ (benakh), ‘your children’, and the singular verb יִהְיֶה becomes the plural יְהוֹן to agree with it. As in 15:3, the metaphor of ‘seed’ is translated by a plain word for offspring, here a different one (וְלָד there, בְּנָךְ here).

Words to note: וְאַפֵּיק ve-appeik — he took out (וַיּוֹצֵא) · לְבָרָא le-vara — outside (הַחוּצָה) · אִסְתְּכִי istekhi — look (הַבֶּט) · כְעַן khe’an — now (נָא) · וּמְנֵי u-menei — and count (וּסְפֹר) · בְּנָךְ benakh — your children (זַרְעֶךָ)

Bereshit 15:6

Torah

Translation

He believed in [the Word of] Hashem, and this He accounted to him for righteousness.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He believed in the Memra of Hashem, and this He accounted to him for merit.

What Onkelos tells us

• “In the Memra of Hashem”. Belief ‘in Hashem’ (בַּה׳) becomes belief בְּמֵימְרָא דַה׳ (be-meimra da-Hashem), ‘in the Memra (Word) of Hashem’. The Memra was introduced in 15:1, where Hashem says ‘My Memra is strength for you’; here Avram’s trust is directed to that same Memra.
• “For merit”. צְדָקָה, ‘righteousness’, becomes לְזָכוּ (le-zakhu), ‘for merit’. The Aramaic word stresses something credited to Avram’s account, which fits the bookkeeping verb וְחָשְׁבַהּ (ve-hashvah), ‘and He accounted it’, from the same root as וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ.

Words to note: וְהֵימִין ve-heimin — he believed (וְהֶאֱמִן) · בְּמֵימְרָא be-meimra — in the Memra (בַּה׳) · וְחָשְׁבַהּ ve-hashvah — and He accounted it (וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ) · לְזָכוּ le-zakhu — for merit (צְדָקָה)

Unit 2 summary

In this unit Onkelos is most active in the language about God and in the metaphors of the dialogue. The word of Hashem is ‘with’ Avram rather than ‘to’ him (15:1, 15:4); the ‘vision’ is called ‘prophecy’ (bi-nvu’ah); ‘I am a shield to you’ becomes ‘My Memra is strength for you’ (meimri tekof lakh), and Avram believes ‘in the Memra of Hashem’ (15:6). The Hebrew images are made plain: the rare ariri becomes ‘without a child’, ‘seed’ becomes ‘child’ (velad, 15:3) and ‘children’ (benakh, 15:5), and ‘he that will come from within your body’ becomes ‘a son that you will beget’. Righteousness (tzedakah) is reckoned as ‘merit’ (zakhu). The sound-play of meshek and Dammesek in 15:2 disappears, since the steward is called bar parnasa. Throughout, the Aramaic keeps the structure and word order of the Hebrew closely while resolving its figures of speech.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from a negotiation over property to a conversation about inheritance. In the first unit Onkelos follows the exchange with the king of Sedom closely, adding only a few touches: Avram’s gesture is defined as prayer, and the noun kinyana links what the king offers to the One ‘Whose possession are heaven and earth’. In the second unit, where Hashem speaks to Avram, the Aramaic becomes more active. The language about God is adjusted, with the word of Hashem ‘with’ Avram, the vision named as prophecy, and the Memra standing in for ‘I’; and the images of the dialogue, the shield, the seed and the body, are replaced by what they stand for. Throughout, the structure and word order of the Hebrew are kept closely.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “Take the possessions” (14:21). The printed text gives two verbs for ‘take’, sav in parentheses and devar; the parentheses mark an alternative reading, and the Yemenite text has only sav.
2. “The people” (14:21). The collective singular ‘soul’ becomes the plural nafshata, ‘persons’, making clear that a group is meant.
3. “In prayer before Hashem” (14:22). Bi-tzlo names the gesture as prayer, and kodam, ‘before’, replaces ‘to’; the notes suggest the Hebrew may imply an oath, while the Aramaic presents prayer.
4. “Whose possession are heaven and earth” (14:22). The participle ‘Possessor’ becomes a relative clause with de-kinyaneh, the same noun used for the king’s possessions, perhaps setting the king’s property against the One to whom all belongs.
5. “They may receive their portion” (14:24). Yekabbelun, ‘they will receive’, rather than the verb for ‘take’, may present the allies’ share as given rather than seized.
6. “In prophecy” (15:1). ‘In a vision’ becomes bi-nvu’ah, naming the kind of communication rather than its visual form.
7. “My Memra is strength for you” (15:1). ‘I’ becomes ‘My Memra’ and the shield is replaced by what it stands for; the note suggests this may reflect a reluctance to speak of God in concrete physical terms.
8. “This manager who is in my house” (15:2). Bar parnasa, ‘son of provision’, renders the steward, and the Hebrew sound-play between meshek and Dammesek is lost.
9. “A child” (15:3). ‘Seed’ becomes velad, the same word used for the childless Avram in 15:2, linking the two verses with one Aramaic word.
10. “A son that you will beget” (15:4). The bodily image is replaced by its meaning, and the heir is named explicitly as a son.
11. “So will your children be” (15:5). ‘Your seed’ becomes benakh, with the verb made plural to agree.
12. “For merit” (15:6). Righteousness becomes zakhu, ‘merit’, something credited to Avram’s account, and he believes ‘in the Memra of Hashem’.

Recurring features

• Metaphors resolved. Shield, seed and ‘from within your body’ are rendered by the plain sense: strength, child or children, a son you will beget.
• Careful language about God. ‘With’ for ‘to’ (15:1, 15:4), ‘before’ for ‘to’ (14:22), prophecy for vision, and the Memra (15:1, 15:6).
• Echoes kept, and sometimes created. One noun renders ‘events’ and ‘word’ in 15:1, as in the Hebrew; one noun ties 14:21 to 14:22 and one word ties 15:2 to 15:3 where the Hebrew uses different words.
• Repetitions mirrored. Where the Hebrew repeats a word (portion in 14:24, heir in 15:4, count in 15:5), Onkelos repeats one Aramaic word likewise.
• Close word order. Even where vocabulary changes, the Aramaic keeps the structure and order of the Hebrew sentence.
• Printed and Yemenite texts differ in small details. Parenthesized alternatives in the printed text (14:21, 14:24) and Aramaic forms in the Yemenite text where the printed text repeats the Hebrew words (15:2).

Aliyah takeaway

Onkelos reads this aliyah with a light hand in the business with the king of Sedom and a firmer one in the dialogue with Hashem. The few changes in the first unit, prayer for an oath and a shared word for ‘possession’, frame Avram’s refusal against the One to whom heaven and earth belong. In the second unit the Aramaic speaks of God through the Memra and through prophecy, and turns the images of shield, seed and body into strength, children and a son, so that the promise and Avram’s belief in it are stated in plain terms.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 14:21 – 15:6, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 15:7).

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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