# Torah with Onkelos
## Parashat Noach — Second Aliyah
### Bereshit 7:1 – 7:16
*Noach, his household and the animals enter the ark and the Flood begins, read through Targum Onkelos*
---
## Contents
- [Orientation](#orientation)
- [How this booklet is laid out](#layout)
- [Unit 1 — Bereshit 7:1–8: Into the ark: the command and its fulfilment](#unit-1)
- [Unit 2 — Bereshit 7:9–16: The creatures enter the ark and the flood begins](#unit-2)
- [Conclusion of the aliyah](#conclusion)
- [Aramaic word list for the aliyah](#glossary)
- [Source note](#source-note)
---
## Orientation
**What happens in this aliyah.** Hashem tells Noach to enter the ark with his household, because He has seen him righteous in this generation, and to take the clean animals and birds by sevens and the unclean animals by twos; in seven more days the rain will begin, forty days and forty nights. Noach does as he is commanded. At six hundred years old he goes into the ark with his wife, his sons and their wives, and the creatures come to him two by two. After seven days, on the seventeenth day of the second month, the wellsprings of the great deep burst open and the windows of the heavens are opened. On that very day Noach, Shem, Cham, Yafes and their wives enter, together with every kind of beast, animal, creeping thing and bird, and Hashem closes the ark behind him.
**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 booklet 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.**
- **The verb of entering.** Hashem's command to "come" is rendered עוּל, "enter", and the same Aramaic verb renders every "coming" into the ark that follows, from Noach's וְעָאל in 7:7 to the creatures' entries in 7:9, 7:13, 7:15 and 7:16.
- **Male and female.** Where the Hebrew calls the animal pairs "a man and his wife" (7:2), Onkelos uses the plain words דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא, the same pair he uses for the Hebrew "male and female" in 7:3, 7:9 and 7:16.
- **Small clarifying words.** Onkelos adds "people of" (אֱנַשׁ) to "your household", "the time of" (לִזְמַן) to the seven days, and "coming down" (נָחֵת) to the rain.
- **Days and daytimes.** The Hebrew uses one word for the seven days and for the forty days set against forty nights; Onkelos has יוֹמִין for the first and יְמָמִין, "daytimes", for the second.
- **One word for the earth.** Both ארץ and אדמה are rendered אַרְעָא, so the Hebrew distinction is not kept.
- **Hashem for Elokim.** In 7:9 and 7:16, where the Hebrew has Elokim, the printed Onkelos has ה׳.
- **Hashem "shielded over him".** In 7:16 the Hebrew's "Hashem shut [the door] behind him" becomes וַאֲגֵן ... עֲלוֹהִי, an act of protection, with the printed text adding be-meimreh, "with His Memra".
---
## How this booklet 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 booklet 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 7:1–8: Into the ark: the command and its fulfilment
Hashem commands Noach to enter the ark with his household and to take clean animals and birds by sevens and unclean animals by twos, for in seven days the rain will begin. Noach complies, and at six hundred years old he enters the ark with his family and the animals.
---
### Bereshit 7:1
**Torah**
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה׳ לְנֹ֔חַ בֹּֽא־אַתָּ֥ה וְכׇל־בֵּיתְךָ֖ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה כִּֽי־אֹתְךָ֥ רָאִ֛יתִי צַדִּ֥יק לְפָנַ֖י בַּדּ֥וֹר הַזֶּֽה׃
**Translation**
Hashem said to Noach, Come into the ark, you and your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me, in this generation.
**Onkelos**
וַאֲמַר ה׳ לְנֹחַ עוּל אַתְּ וְכָל אֱנַשׁ בֵּיתָךְ לְתֵבוֹתָא אֲרֵי יָתָךְ חֲזֵיתִי זַכַּאי קֳדָמַי בְּדָרָא הָדֵין
**Onkelos in English**
Hashem said to Noach, Come, you and all the people of your household, into the ark, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me, in this generation.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Come".** The Hebrew בֹּא is rendered with עוּל, "enter". The same Aramaic verb returns in 7:7, where וַיָּבֹא ("went in") becomes וְעָאל, so command and fulfilment share one verb in the Aramaic as in the Hebrew.
- **"All the people of your household".** Where the Hebrew has "all your house" (וְכׇל בֵּיתְךָ), Onkelos adds אֱנַשׁ, "people of": וְכָל אֱנַשׁ בֵּיתָךְ. The addition spells out that "house" here means the members of the family, not the dwelling — a small clarifying expansion.
- **"Righteous before Me".** צַדִּיק is rendered זַכַּאי (*zakkai*), an Aramaic term for one who is innocent or meritorious. For לְפָנַי (literally "to My face") Onkelos uses קֳדָמַי, "before Me". The face image is not carried over in this phrase about God, though Onkelos keeps אַפֵּי, "face", for the face of the earth in 7:3 and 7:4.
- **"In this generation".** A literal rendering: בַּדּוֹר becomes בְּדָרָא.
**Words to note:** עוּל *'ul* — come (enter) (בֹּא) · אֱנַשׁ *enash* — people of · לְתֵבוֹתָא *le-tevota* — into the ark (הַתֵּבָה) · זַכַּאי *zakkai* — righteous (צַדִּיק) · קֳדָמַי *kodamai* — before Me (לְפָנַי) · בְּדָרָא *be-dara* — in the generation (בַּדּוֹר)
---
### Bereshit 7:2
**Torah**
מִכֹּ֣ל ׀ הַבְּהֵמָ֣ה הַטְּהוֹרָ֗ה תִּֽקַּח־לְךָ֛ שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וּמִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֡ה אֲ֠שֶׁ֠ר לֹ֣א טְהֹרָ֥ה הִ֛וא שְׁנַ֖יִם אִ֥ישׁ וְאִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
**Translation**
Of every [ritually] clean animal, take to yourself seven pairs, male and its mate. Of every animal that is not clean, [take] two, the male and its mate.
**Onkelos**
מִכֹּל בְּעִירָא דַכְיָא תִּסַּב לָךְ שַׁבְעָא שַׁבְעָא דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא וּמִן בְּעִירָא דְּלָא אִיתָהָא דַכְיָא הִיא תְּרֵין דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא
**Onkelos in English**
Of every clean animal, take to yourself seven [pairs], male and female. And of the animal that is not clean, [take] two, male and female.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Male and female".** The Hebrew describes the animals with human terms, אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ, "a man and his wife". Onkelos replaces them with the ordinary words for male and female, דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא. In 7:3 the Hebrew itself says זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, and Onkelos uses the same pair there, so in the Aramaic the two Hebrew expressions become one. This may suggest a preference for literal, non-figurative language when speaking of animals.
- **"Seven [pairs]".** Onkelos repeats the numeral just as the Hebrew does (שַׁבְעָא שַׁבְעָא for שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה); like the Hebrew, he does not say whether "seven seven" means seven individuals or seven pairs.
- **"That is not clean".** The Hebrew אֲשֶׁר לֹא טְהֹרָה הִוא is built with a negative and a closing pronoun. Onkelos uses the negative with the existential particle and a suffix, דְּלָא אִיתָהָא, and still keeps the pronoun הִיא, echoing הִוא. In 7:8 the Hebrew has the different form אֵינֶנָּה, yet Onkelos uses the same construction (contracted, לֵיתָהָא), so two Hebrew expressions are rendered alike.
- **Vocabulary.** הַבְּהֵמָה becomes בְּעִירָא, הַטְּהוֹרָה becomes דַכְיָא, and תִּקַּח ("take") becomes תִּסַּב.
- **Textual note.** The Yemenite text lacks the pronoun הִיא and writes the negative as one contracted word. The observation that Onkelos keeps the Hebrew pronoun הִוא holds for the printed text only.
**Words to note:** בְּעִירָא *be'ira* — animal (הַבְּהֵמָה) · דַכְיָא *dakhya* — clean (הַטְּהוֹרָה) · תִּסַּב *tissav* — take (תִּקַּח) · דְּכַר *dekhar* — male (אִישׁ) · וְנוּקְבָא *ve-nukva* — and female (וְאִשְׁתּוֹ) · אִיתָהָא *itaha* — is (it)
---
### Bereshit 7:3
**Torah**
גַּ֣ם מֵע֧וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה זָכָ֣ר וּנְקֵבָ֑ה לְחַיּ֥וֹת זֶ֖רַע עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כׇל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
**Translation**
Also of the birds of the heaven, [take] seven pairs, male and female; to keep seed alive upon the face of the earth.
**Onkelos**
אַף מֵעוֹפָא דִשְׁמַיָּא שַׁבְעָא שַׁבְעָא דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא לְקַיָּמָא זַרְעָא עַל אַפֵּי כָל אַרְעָא
**Onkelos in English**
Also of the birds of the heaven, [take] seven [pairs], male and female, to sustain seed upon the face of all the earth.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Male and female".** The Hebrew זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה is rendered דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא, the same pair Onkelos used for the Hebrew "man and his wife" in 7:2.
- **"To sustain seed".** For לְחַיּוֹת, "to keep alive", from the root חיה, Onkelos writes לְקַיָּמָא, from the root קום, "to establish, sustain". The choice perhaps shifts the focus from keeping individual creatures alive to preserving their offspring as a continuing line.
- **"The face of all the earth".** פְּנֵי becomes אַפֵּי ("the face of"), and מֵעוֹף becomes מֵעוֹפָא; otherwise a literal rendering.
**Words to note:** אַף *af* — also (גַּם) · מֵעוֹפָא *me-'ofa* — of the birds (מֵעוֹף) · דִשְׁמַיָּא *di-shmayya* — of the heaven (הַשָּׁמַיִם) · לְקַיָּמָא *le-kayyama* — to sustain (לְחַיּוֹת) · אַפֵּי *appei* — the face of (פְּנֵי)
---
### Bereshit 7:4
**Torah**
כִּי֩ לְיָמִ֨ים ע֜וֹד שִׁבְעָ֗ה אָֽנֹכִי֙ מַמְטִ֣יר עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים לָ֑יְלָה וּמָחִ֗יתִי אֶֽת־כׇּל־הַיְקוּם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשִׂ֔יתִי מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֥י הָֽאֲדָמָֽה׃
**Translation**
Because in another seven days I will bring rain on the earth [and it will rain] forty days and forty nights, and I will obliterate every living substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.
**Onkelos**
אֲרֵי לִזְמַן יוֹמִין עוֹד שַׁבְעָא אֲנָא מָחֵת מִטְרָא עַל אַרְעָא אַרְבְּעִין יְמָמִין וְאַרְבְּעִין לֵילָוָן וְאֶמְחֵי יָת כָּל יְקוּמָא דִּי עַבְדֵת מֵעַל אַפֵּי אַרְעָא
**Onkelos in English**
Because in the time of another seven days I will bring down rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will obliterate every living substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"In the time of another seven days".** For לְיָמִים Onkelos writes לִזְמַן יוֹמִין, adding לִזְמַן, "time". The added noun perhaps marks the moment at the end of the seven days when the rain is to begin, as the same addition does in 7:10.
- **"I will bring down rain".** The Hebrew uses a single causative verb, מַמְטִיר, "make it rain". Onkelos breaks it into a verb and a noun, מָחֵת מִטְרָא, "bring down rain" — an analytic rendering of a verb that is itself formed from the word for rain.
- **"Days" and "days".** The Hebrew uses one word for both counts: לְיָמִים (the seven days) and יוֹם (the forty days set against forty nights). Onkelos distinguishes them: יוֹמִין for the seven days, but יְמָמִין, "daytimes", for the forty, where day is paired with night.
- **"The earth" for two Hebrew words.** The verse has both הָאָרֶץ and הָאֲדָמָה; Onkelos renders both אַרְעָא. The same happens throughout this passage (7:3, 7:6 and 7:8), so the Hebrew distinction between ארץ and אדמה is not kept in the Aramaic.
- **"Every living substance".** Onkelos keeps the Hebrew noun הַיְקוּם in Aramaic form, יְקוּמָא, and renders וּמָחִיתִי, "I will obliterate", with וְאֶמְחֵי, from the cognate root מחי.
**Words to note:** לִזְמַן *li-zman* — in the time of · מָחֵת *mahet* — bring down (מַמְטִיר) · מִטְרָא *mitra* — rain · יְמָמִין *yemamin* — days (daytimes) (יוֹם) · וְאֶמְחֵי *ve-emhei* — and I will obliterate (וּמָחִיתִי) · יְקוּמָא *yekuma* — living substance (הַיְקוּם)
---
### Bereshit 7:5
**Torah**
וַיַּ֖עַשׂ נֹ֑חַ כְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֖הוּ ה׳׃
**Translation**
Noach did all that Hashem commanded him.
**Onkelos**
וַעֲבַד נֹחַ כְּכֹל דִּי פַקְּדֵהּ ה׳
**Onkelos in English**
Noach did according to all that Hashem commanded him.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Commanded him".** A literal rendering. צִוָּהוּ becomes פַקְּדֵהּ, from פקד ("command"), and the relative אֲשֶׁר becomes דִּי.
**Words to note:** וַעֲבַד *va-'avad* — did (וַיַּעַשׂ) · פַקְּדֵהּ *fakkedeh* — commanded him (צִוָּהוּ)
---
### Bereshit 7:6
**Torah**
וְנֹ֕חַ בֶּן־שֵׁ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וְהַמַּבּ֣וּל הָיָ֔ה מַ֖יִם עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
**Translation**
Noach was six hundred years old when the flood waters were on the earth.
**Onkelos**
וְנֹחַ בַּר שִׁתְּ מְאָה שְׁנִין וְטּוֹפָנָא הֲוָה מַיָּא עַל אַרְעָא
**Onkelos in English**
Noach was six hundred years old, and the flood was water on the earth.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Six hundred years old".** A literal rendering. Onkelos keeps the Hebrew idiom of age, "son of six hundred years": בֶּן becomes בַּר.
- **"The flood".** וְהַמַּבּוּל is rendered וְטּוֹפָנָא, "the flood"; the unusual Hebrew phrasing "the flood was water" is kept word for word.
**Words to note:** בַּר *bar* — son of (aged) (בֶּן) · שְׁנִין *shenin* — years (שָׁנָה) · וְטּוֹפָנָא *ve-tofana* — and the flood (וְהַמַּבּוּל) · הֲוָה *hava* — was (הָיָה)
---
### Bereshit 7:7
**Torah**
וַיָּ֣בֹא נֹ֗חַ וּ֠בָנָ֠יו וְאִשְׁתּ֧וֹ וּנְשֵֽׁי־בָנָ֛יו אִתּ֖וֹ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה מִפְּנֵ֖י מֵ֥י הַמַּבּֽוּל׃
**Translation**
Noach went in, and his sons, his wife, and his son's wives, with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the Flood.
**Onkelos**
וְעָאל נֹחַ וּבְנוֹהִי וְאִתְּתֵהּ וּנְשֵׁי בְנוֹהִי עִמֵּהּ לְתֵבוֹתָא מִן קֳדָם מֵי טוֹפָנָא
**Onkelos in English**
Noach went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives, with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the Flood.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Went in".** וַיָּבֹא is rendered וְעָאל, the same Aramaic verb Onkelos used for God's command עוּל in 7:1, so the fulfilment echoes the command.
- **"Because of the waters".** מִפְּנֵי (literally "from the face of") is rendered מִן קֳדָם, "from before", as לְפָנַי became קֳדָמַי in 7:1.
- **Vocabulary.** וְאִשְׁתּוֹ becomes וְאִתְּתֵהּ, אִתּוֹ becomes עִמֵּהּ, and הַמַּבּוּל becomes טוֹפָנָא; otherwise a literal rendering.
**Words to note:** וְעָאל *ve-'al* — went in (וַיָּבֹא) · וּבְנוֹהִי *u-venohi* — and his sons (וּבָנָיו) · וְאִתְּתֵהּ *ve-itteteh* — and his wife (וְאִשְׁתּוֹ) · עִמֵּהּ *immeh* — with him (אִתּוֹ) · מִן קֳדָם *min kodam* — because of (מִפְּנֵי) · טוֹפָנָא *tofana* — the Flood (הַמַּבּוּל)
---
### Bereshit 7:8
**Torah**
מִן־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ הַטְּהוֹרָ֔ה וּמִ֨ן־הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵינֶ֖נָּה טְהֹרָ֑ה וּמִ֨ן־הָע֔וֹף וְכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־רֹמֵ֖שׂ עַל־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה׃
**Translation**
Of the [ritually] clean animals, and the animals that are not [ritually] clean, of the birds, and of every thing that creeps on the earth.
**Onkelos**
מִן בְּעִירָא דַּכְיָא וּמִן בְּעִירָא דִּי לֵיתָהָא דַּכְיָא וּמִן עוֹפָא וְכֹל דִּי רָחֵשׁ עַל אַרְעָא
**Onkelos in English**
Of the clean animals, and of the animals that are not clean, and of the birds, and every thing that creeps on the earth.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"That are not clean".** The Hebrew here uses אֵינֶנָּה, a different form from the לֹא טְהֹרָה הִוא of 7:2. Onkelos renders it with דִּי לֵיתָהָא, the contracted form of the construction he used in 7:2, so the two Hebrew expressions are rendered alike.
- **"Creeps".** רֹמֵשׂ is rendered רָחֵשׁ, a different root (רחש) with the same meaning.
- **"On the earth".** הָאֲדָמָה becomes אַרְעָא, as in 7:4.
**Words to note:** בְּעִירָא *be'ira* — animal (הַבְּהֵמָה) · דַּכְיָא *dakhya* — clean (הַטְּהוֹרָה) · לֵיתָהָא *leitaha* — is not (אֵינֶנָּה) · עוֹפָא *'ofa* — birds (הָעוֹף) · רָחֵשׁ *rahesh* — creeps (רֹמֵשׂ)
---
### Unit 1 summary
Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely here, but several consistent habits show. He replaces the human image "a man and his wife" with plain words for male and female, so that two Hebrew expressions for the animal pairs become one; he renders two different Hebrew constructions for "not clean" with a single Aramaic one; and he uses one word for both ארץ and אדמה. He adds small clarifying words — "people of" your household, "the time of" seven days — breaks the causative verb "make it rain" into "bring down rain", and distinguishes the forty "daytimes" set against nights from the seven days. The verb of God's command to "come" in 7:1 returns when Noach "went in" in 7:7, keeping the echo between command and fulfilment.
---
## Unit 2 — Bereshit 7:9–16: The creatures enter the ark and the flood begins
The animals come two by two to Noach and the ark; after seven days, in Noach's six hundredth year, the deep bursts open, the rain falls forty days and nights, Noach's family and every kind of creature enter, and Hashem closes the ark behind him.
---
### Bereshit 7:9
**Torah**
שְׁנַ֨יִם שְׁנַ֜יִם בָּ֧אוּ אֶל־נֹ֛חַ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֖ה זָכָ֣ר וּנְקֵבָ֑ה כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶת־נֹֽחַ׃
**Translation**
Two by two they came to Noach into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noach.
**Onkelos**
תְּרֵין תְּרֵין עַלּוּ לְוַת נֹחַ לְתֵבוֹתָא דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא כְּמָא דִּי פַּקֵּיד ה׳ יָת נֹחַ
**Onkelos in English**
Two by two they entered to Noach into the ark, male and female, as Hashem had commanded Noach.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"They entered".** The Hebrew *ba'u*, "they came", becomes *allu* (עַלּוּ), the Aramaic verb for going into a place. The same verb renders every 'coming' into the ark in this unit (7:13, 7:15, 7:16).
- **"To Noach".** Hebrew *el* is rendered *levat* (לְוַת), "to, beside"; compare 7:15, where the printed text has *im*, "with", for the same Hebrew *el Noah*.
- **"As Hashem had commanded".** Where the Hebrew has *Elokim*, the printed Onkelos has ה׳, Hashem; the same happens in 7:16. The phrase *kema di*, "as", renders *ka'asher*.
- **"Male and female".** *Dekhar ve-nukva* is the regular Aramaic pair for *zakhar u-nekevah*.
- **Textual note.** The Yemenite text reads עָאלוּ עִם, "they entered **with** Noach", as in 7:15. The contrast drawn above between *levat* here and *im* in 7:15 holds for the printed text only.
**Words to note:** עַלּוּ *allu* — they entered (בָּאוּ) · לְוַת *levat* — to (אֶל) · לְתֵבוֹתָא *le-tevota* — into the ark (אֶל־הַתֵּבָה) · וְנוּקְבָא *ve-nukva* — and female (וּנְקֵבָה) · פַּקֵּיד *pakkeid* — had commanded (צִוָּה)
---
### Bereshit 7:10
**Torah**
וַיְהִ֖י לְשִׁבְעַ֣ת הַיָּמִ֑ים וּמֵ֣י הַמַּבּ֔וּל הָי֖וּ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
**Translation**
Seven days had passed, and the flood waters were on the earth.
**Onkelos**
וַהֲוָה לִזְמַן שִׁבְעַת יוֹמִין וּמֵי טוֹפָנָא הֲווֹ עַל אַרְעָא
**Onkelos in English**
And it was, at the time of seven days, and the flood waters were on the earth.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"At the time of seven days".** Onkelos adds *zeman*, "time" (לִזְמַן), before the number. The Hebrew *le-shiv'at ha-yamim* uses the preposition alone to mark a point in time; the added noun spells out that the flood came when the seven days were reached.
- **"Seven days".** The Hebrew has "**the** seven days", pointing back to a period already announced. The Aramaic *yomin* (יוֹמִין) is in the absolute, not the determined, state, so the definite article is not reflected.
- **"The flood waters".** *Tofana* (טוֹפָנָא) is Onkelos's word for *ha-mabbul*, the Flood.
**Words to note:** לִזְמַן *li-zman* — at the time of · יוֹמִין *yomin* — days (הַיָּמִים) · טוֹפָנָא *tofana* — the flood (הַמַּבּוּל)
---
### Bereshit 7:11
**Torah**
בִּשְׁנַ֨ת שֵׁשׁ־מֵא֤וֹת שָׁנָה֙ לְחַיֵּי־נֹ֔חַ בַּחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ הַשֵּׁנִ֔י בְּשִׁבְעָֽה־עָשָׂ֥ר י֖וֹם לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֗ה נִבְקְעוּ֙ כׇּֽל־מַעְיְנֹת֙ תְּה֣וֹם רַבָּ֔ה וַאֲרֻבֹּ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם נִפְתָּֽחוּ׃
*Note in the Masoretic edition:* (בספרי ספרד ואשכנז מַעְיְנוֹת֙)
**Translation**
In the six hundredth year of Noach's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day, all the wellsprings of the great deep, burst open, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
**Onkelos**
בִּשְׁנַת שִׁתְּ מְאָה שְׁנִין לְחַיֵּי נֹחַ בְּיַרְחָא תִּנְיָנָא בְּשִׁבְעַת עַשְׂרָא יוֹמָא לְיַרְחָא בְּיוֹמָא הָדֵין אִתְבְּזָעוּ כָּל מַבּוּעֵי תְּהוֹמָא רַבָּא וְכַוֵּי שְׁמַיָּא אִתְפַּתָּחוּ
**Onkelos in English**
In the six hundredth year of Noach's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day, all the wellsprings of the great deep burst open, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **A literal rendering.** The date formula and the two halves of the cosmic description follow the Hebrew word for word. The Aramaic has the plural *shenin*, "years", after "six hundred", where the Hebrew has the singular *shanah*; this is a matter of Aramaic usage with numbers and does not change the sense.
- **"Month".** Hebrew *hodesh* becomes *yarha* (בְּיַרְחָא), the Aramaic word for both moon and month.
- **"The wellsprings ... burst open".** *Mabbu'ei* (מַבּוּעֵי) renders *ma'yenot*; both nouns name springs. The verb *itbeza'u* (אִתְבְּזָעוּ), "burst open", from בזע, renders *nivke'u*.
- **"The windows of the heavens".** *Kavvei* (וְכַוֵּי), "windows", renders *arubbot*; the image is kept, not explained away.
**Words to note:** בְּיַרְחָא *be-yarha* — in the month (בַּחֹדֶשׁ) · תִּנְיָנָא *tinyana* — second (הַשֵּׁנִי) · אִתְבְּזָעוּ *itbeza'u* — burst open (נִבְקְעוּ) · מַבּוּעֵי *mabbu'ei* — wellsprings of (מַעְיְנֹת) · וְכַוֵּי *ve-khavvei* — and the windows of (וַאֲרֻבֹּת) · אִתְפַּתָּחוּ *itpattahu* — were opened (נִפְתָּחוּ)
---
### Bereshit 7:12
**Torah**
וַיְהִ֥י הַגֶּ֖שֶׁם עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים לָֽיְלָה׃
**Translation**
There was rain on the earth forty days and forty nights.
**Onkelos**
וַהֲוָה מִטְרָא נָחֵת עַל אַרְעָא אַרְבְּעִין יְמָמִין וְאַרְבְּעִין לֵילָוָן
**Onkelos in English**
There was rain coming down on the earth forty days and forty nights.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Coming down".** The Hebrew says only that "the rain was on the earth". Onkelos adds the participle *nahet* (נָחֵת), "descending", turning a statement of presence into a description of continuous falling over the forty days.
- **"Forty days and forty nights".** The Hebrew keeps *yom* and *laylah* in the singular after the number; the Aramaic uses plurals, *yemamin* and *leilavan*. For "days" Onkelos uses *yemamin* (יְמָמִין), "daytimes", rather than *yomin* as in 7:10, perhaps because it pairs naturally with "nights".
**Words to note:** מִטְרָא *mitra* — rain (הַגֶּשֶׁם) · נָחֵת *nahet* — coming down · יְמָמִין *yemamin* — days (יוֹם) · לֵילָוָן *leilavan* — nights (לָיְלָה)
---
### Bereshit 7:13
**Torah**
בְּעֶ֨צֶם הַיּ֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ בָּ֣א נֹ֔חַ וְשֵׁם־וְחָ֥ם וָיֶ֖פֶת בְּנֵי־נֹ֑חַ וְאֵ֣שֶׁת נֹ֗חַ וּשְׁלֹ֧שֶׁת נְשֵֽׁי־בָנָ֛יו אִתָּ֖ם אֶל־הַתֵּבָֽה׃
**Translation**
On that very day, Noach came along with Sheim, Cham, and Yafes, the sons of Noach; Noach's wife and the three wives of his sons, with them, into the ark.
**Onkelos**
בִּכְרַן יוֹמָא הָדֵין עָאל נֹחַ וְשֵׁם וְחָם וָיֶפֶת בְּנֵי נֹחַ וְאִתַּת נֹחַ וּתְלָתָא נְשֵׁי בְנוֹהִי עִמְהוֹן לְתֵבוֹתָא
**Onkelos in English**
On that very day, Noach entered along with Sheim, Cham, and Yafes, the sons of Noach; Noach's wife and the three wives of his sons, with them, into the ark.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"On that very day".** The Hebrew idiom *be-etzem ha-yom*, literally "in the bone of the day", becomes the Aramaic idiom *bi-khran yoma* (בִּכְרַן יוֹמָא), which carries the same sense of "that exact day".
- **"Entered".** *Al* (עָאל) renders *ba*, as throughout the unit. Otherwise a literal rendering.
**Words to note:** בִּכְרַן *bi-khran* — on the very (בְּעֶצֶם) · עָאל *al* — entered (בָּא) · וְאִתַּת *ve-itat* — and the wife of (וְאֵשֶׁת) · בְנוֹהִי *venohi* — his sons (בָנָיו) · עִמְהוֹן *imhon* — with them (אִתָּם)
---
### Bereshit 7:14
**Torah**
הֵ֜מָּה וְכׇל־הַֽחַיָּ֣ה לְמִינָ֗הּ וְכׇל־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ לְמִינָ֔הּ וְכׇל־הָרֶ֛מֶשׂ הָרֹמֵ֥שׂ עַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ לְמִינֵ֑הוּ וְכׇל־הָע֣וֹף לְמִינֵ֔הוּ כֹּ֖ל צִפּ֥וֹר כׇּל־כָּנָֽף׃
**Translation**
They, and every beast of its kind, and every animal of its kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth of its kind; and every flying creature of its kind, every bird, every winged creature.
**Onkelos**
אִנּוּן וְכָל חַיְתָא לִזְנַהּ וְכָל בְּעִירָא לְזְנַהּ וְכָל רִחֲשָׁא דְּרָחֵשׁ עַל אַרְעָא לִזְנוֹהִי וְכָל עוֹפָא לִזְנוֹהִי כֹּל צִפַּר כָּל דְּפָרָח
**Onkelos in English**
They, and every beast of its kind, and every animal of its kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth of its kind; and every flying creature of its kind, every bird, everything that flies.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Every creeping thing that creeps".** The Hebrew *ha-remes ha-romes* pairs a noun and a participle of the same root. Onkelos keeps the figure with his own root: *rihasha de-rahesh* (רִחֲשָׁא דְּרָחֵשׁ), both from רחש.
- **"Everything that flies".** For *kol kanaf*, "every wing", Onkelos writes *kol de-farah* (כָּל דְּפָרָח), "everything that flies". The Hebrew names the creatures by a body part; the Aramaic names them by what they do, perhaps to make plain that "wing" stands for winged creatures.
- **"Of its kind".** *Le-minah* and *le-minehu* become *lizenah* and *liznohi*, keeping the Hebrew's switch between feminine and masculine suffixes.
**Words to note:** חַיְתָא *hayeta* — beast (הַחַיָּה) · לִזְנַהּ *lizenah* — of its kind (לְמִינָהּ) · בְּעִירָא *be'ira* — animal (הַבְּהֵמָה) · רִחֲשָׁא *rihasha* — creeping thing (הָרֶמֶשׂ) · דְּרָחֵשׁ *de-rahesh* — that creeps (הָרֹמֵשׂ) · דְּפָרָח *de-farah* — that flies (כָּנָף)
---
### Bereshit 7:15
**Torah**
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ אֶל־נֹ֖חַ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה שְׁנַ֤יִם שְׁנַ֙יִם֙ מִכׇּל־הַבָּשָׂ֔ר אֲשֶׁר־בּ֖וֹ ר֥וּחַ חַיִּֽים׃
**Translation**
They came to Noach, to the ark, two by two of all the flesh in which there was a breath of life.
**Onkelos**
וְעַלּוּ עִם נֹחַ לְתֵבוֹתָא תְּרֵין תְּרֵין מִכָּל בִּשְׂרָא דִּי בֵהּ רוּחָא דְּחַיֵּי
**Onkelos in English**
They entered with Noach, to the ark, two by two of all the flesh in which there was a breath of life.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"With Noach".** The Hebrew *el Noah*, "to Noach", is rendered *im Noah* (עִם), "with Noach", where in 7:9 the printed text has *levat*, "to". In this verse the Aramaic thus suggests the creatures entering in Noach's company.
- **"A breath of life".** *Ruha de-hayyei* (רוּחָא דְּחַיֵּי) renders *ruah hayyim*, using the particle *de-* for the Hebrew construct; *bisra* renders *basar*, "flesh".
- **Textual note.** The Yemenite text has *im* in 7:9 as well, so in that text the two verses agree.
**Words to note:** וְעַלּוּ *ve-allu* — they entered (וַיָּבֹאוּ) · עִם *im* — with (אֶל) · בִּשְׂרָא *bisra* — the flesh (הַבָּשָׂר) · רוּחָא *ruha* — breath (רוּחַ)
---
### Bereshit 7:16
**Torah**
וְהַבָּאִ֗ים זָכָ֨ר וּנְקֵבָ֤ה מִכׇּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֔אוּ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה אֹת֖וֹ אֱלֹקִ֑ים וַיִּסְגֹּ֥ר ה׳ בַּֽעֲדֽוֹ׃
**Translation**
Those that came were male and female, of all flesh they came, as God had commanded him. Hashem then [protectively] shut him in [the ark.]
**Onkelos**
וְעָלַיָּא דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא מִכָּל בִּשְׂרָא עַלּוּ כְּמָא דִּי פַּקֵּיד יָתֵהּ ה׳ וַאֲגֵן ה׳ (בְּמֵימְרֵהּ) עֲלוֹהִי
**Onkelos in English**
Those that entered were male and female, of all flesh they entered, as Hashem had commanded him. And Hashem shielded (with His Memra) over him.
**What Onkelos tells us**
- **"Those that entered".** *Ve-alayya* (וְעָלַיָּא), a determined participle, renders *ve-ha-ba'im*, and *allu* renders *ba'u*, keeping the Hebrew's repetition with the verb of entering.
- **"As Hashem had commanded him".** As in 7:9, the printed Onkelos has ה׳ where the Hebrew has *Elokim*.
- **"Hashem shielded over him".** The Hebrew *va-yisgor Hashem ba'ado*, "Hashem shut [the door] behind him", describes a physical act. Onkelos writes *va-agen* (וַאֲגֵן), "shielded", with *alohi* (עֲלוֹהִי), "over him". The act of closing becomes an act of protection, which may reflect a reluctance to describe Hashem physically shutting a door.
- **"With His Memra".** The printed text adds *be-meimreh*, "with His Memra (word)", in parentheses, so the protection is carried out through Hashem's word rather than directly. The parentheses perhaps mark the word as uncertain in the printed tradition.
- **Textual note.** The Yemenite text has בְּמֵימְרֵיהּ without parentheses, as a full part of the verse; it also reads וְאַגֵּין, a different vocalization of the same verb.
**Words to note:** וְעָלַיָּא *ve-alayya* — those that entered (וְהַבָּאִים) · עַלּוּ *allu* — they entered (בָּאוּ) · וַאֲגֵן *va-agen* — and shielded (וַיִּסְגֹּר) · עֲלוֹהִי *alohi* — over him (בַּעֲדוֹ)
---
### Unit 2 summary
Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely through this unit, with a few consistent choices. Every Hebrew form of 'come' (bo'u, ba, vayyavo'u, ha-ba'im) becomes the Aramaic verb of entering (allu, al), so the narrative reads as a series of entries into the ark. He supplies small words that make the Hebrew's compressed phrases explicit: 'at the time of' seven days, rain 'coming down', 'everything that flies' for 'every wing'. Where the Hebrew repeats a root (ha-remes ha-romes), the Aramaic repeats its own root (rihasha de-rahesh). Where the Hebrew has God's name Elokim (7:9, 7:16), the printed Onkelos has Hashem. The largest change is at the end: instead of Hashem 'shutting' Noach in, Onkelos has Hashem 'shielding over him', in the printed text 'with His Memra', which may reflect a reluctance to describe God performing a physical act.
---
## Conclusion of the aliyah
### The movement of the aliyah
The aliyah moves from command to fulfilment and then to the event itself. The first unit gives Hashem's instructions about who and what is to enter the ark and when the rain will come, and closes with Noach doing as he was told and going in with his family. The second unit tells the same entry again in fuller form, with the animals coming two by two, sets a precise date for the opening of the deep and the heavens, and ends with Hashem closing the ark. Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely throughout; his choices mostly make compressed phrases explicit, smooth figurative language, and bind the narrative together with a single verb of entering.
### What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah
1. **"Come" (7:1).** עוּל, "enter", renders the command, and the same verb returns as וְעָאל when Noach goes in (7:7), so command and fulfilment share one verb in the Aramaic as in the Hebrew.
2. **"All the people of your household" (7:1).** The added אֱנַשׁ spells out that "house" means the members of the family, not the dwelling.
3. **"Before Me" (7:1).** For the Hebrew "to My face" Onkelos writes קֳדָמַי, "before Me"; the face image is dropped in this phrase about God, though אַפֵּי, "face", is kept for the face of the earth (7:3, 7:4).
4. **"Male and female" (7:2).** "A man and his wife" becomes דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא, which may suggest a preference for literal, non-figurative language when speaking of animals.
5. **"Not clean" (7:2, 7:8).** Two different Hebrew constructions are rendered with one Aramaic construction, אִיתָהָא and its contracted form לֵיתָהָא.
6. **"To sustain seed" (7:3).** לְקַיָּמָא, from the root קום, perhaps shifts the focus from keeping individual creatures alive to preserving their offspring as a continuing line.
7. **"I will bring down rain" (7:4).** The single causative verb "make it rain" becomes מָחֵת מִטְרָא, a verb and a noun.
8. **"Forty daytimes" (7:4, 7:12).** יְמָמִין, "daytimes", is used where day is paired with night, against יוֹמִין for the seven days.
9. **"Coming down" (7:12).** The added participle נָחֵת turns a statement that the rain was on the earth into a description of continuous falling.
10. **"Every creeping thing that creeps" (7:14).** Onkelos keeps the Hebrew's repeated root with a root of his own, רִחֲשָׁא דְּרָחֵשׁ.
11. **"Everything that flies" (7:14).** For "every wing" Onkelos writes דְּפָרָח, naming the creatures by what they do rather than by a body part.
12. **"Hashem shielded over him" (7:16).** Closing becomes protection, which may reflect a reluctance to describe Hashem physically shutting a door; the printed text adds be-meimreh, in parentheses.
### Recurring features
- **A close, literal base.** Most verses are rendered word for word, including the unusual phrasing "the flood was water" (7:6) and the image of "the windows of the heavens" (7:11), which is kept, not explained away.
- **One Aramaic verb of entering.** Every Hebrew form of "come" in the passage becomes a form of the verb of entering (עוּל, וְעָאל, and their relatives), so the narrative reads as a series of entries into the ark.
- **Levelling of Hebrew variety.** Two expressions for the animal pairs become דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָא; two constructions for "not clean" become one; ארץ and אדמה both become אַרְעָא.
- **Explicitating additions.** Short words make the Hebrew's compressed phrases explicit: אֱנַשׁ, לִזְמַן (7:4, 7:10), נָחֵת (7:12), and דְּפָרָח for "wing" (7:14).
- **Divine Name and divine action.** The printed Onkelos has ה׳ where the Hebrew has Elokim (7:9, 7:16), and the physical act of shutting the ark is rendered as shielding.
- **Printed and Yemenite texts.** The textual notes record small differences: the Yemenite text lacks the pronoun in 7:2, has עִם, "with", in 7:9 as in 7:15 where the printed text has לְוַת, and has the Memra in 7:16 without parentheses.
### Aliyah takeaway
In this aliyah Onkelos stays close to the Hebrew, and his changes are small but consistent. He chooses plain words over figurative ones, makes compressed phrases explicit, and uses a single verb of entering to tie Hashem's command to Noach's obedience and to each wave of creatures going into the ark. Only at the end, where Hashem closes the ark, does the Aramaic move further from the wording of the Hebrew, turning an act of shutting into an act of shielding.
---
## Aramaic word list for the aliyah
| Aramaic | Transliteration | Meaning | Hebrew in the verse |
|---|---|---|---|
| עוּל | *'ul* | come (enter) | בֹּא |
| אֱנַשׁ | *enash* | people of | — |
| לְתֵבוֹתָא | *le-tevota* | into the ark | הַתֵּבָה |
| זַכַּאי | *zakkai* | righteous | צַדִּיק |
| קֳדָמַי | *kodamai* | before Me | לְפָנַי |
| בְּדָרָא | *be-dara* | in the generation | בַּדּוֹר |
| בְּעִירָא | *be'ira* | animal | הַבְּהֵמָה |
| דַכְיָא | *dakhya* | clean | הַטְּהוֹרָה |
| תִּסַּב | *tissav* | take | תִּקַּח |
| מֵעוֹפָא | *me-'ofa* | of the birds | מֵעוֹף |
| לְקַיָּמָא | *le-kayyama* | to sustain | לְחַיּוֹת |
| אַפֵּי | *appei* | the face of | פְּנֵי |
| לִזְמַן | *li-zman* | in the time of | — |
| יְמָמִין | *yemamin* | days (daytimes) | יוֹם |
| וְאֶמְחֵי | *ve-emhei* | and I will obliterate | וּמָחִיתִי |
| יְקוּמָא | *yekuma* | living substance | הַיְקוּם |
| פַקְּדֵהּ | *fakkedeh* | commanded him | צִוָּהוּ |
| בַּר | *bar* | son of (aged) | בֶּן |
| וְטּוֹפָנָא | *ve-tofana* | and the flood | וְהַמַּבּוּל |
| וְעָאל | *ve-'al* | went in | וַיָּבֹא |
| וְאִתְּתֵהּ | *ve-itteteh* | and his wife | וְאִשְׁתּוֹ |
| עִמֵּהּ | *immeh* | with him | אִתּוֹ |
| מִן קֳדָם | *min kodam* | because of | מִפְּנֵי |
| טוֹפָנָא | *tofana* | the Flood | הַמַּבּוּל |
| רָחֵשׁ | *rahesh* | creeps | רֹמֵשׂ |
| עַלּוּ | *allu* | they entered | בָּאוּ |
| לְוַת | *levat* | to | אֶל |
| יוֹמִין | *yomin* | days | הַיָּמִים |
| בְּיַרְחָא | *be-yarha* | in the month | בַּחֹדֶשׁ |
| אִתְבְּזָעוּ | *itbeza'u* | burst open | נִבְקְעוּ |
| מַבּוּעֵי | *mabbu'ei* | wellsprings of | מַעְיְנֹת |
| וְכַוֵּי | *ve-khavvei* | and the windows of | וַאֲרֻבֹּת |
| נָחֵת | *nahet* | coming down | — |
| לֵילָוָן | *leilavan* | nights | לָיְלָה |
| בִּכְרַן | *bi-khran* | on the very | בְּעֶצֶם |
| עָאל | *al* | entered | בָּא |
| לִזְנַהּ | *lizenah* | of its kind | לְמִינָהּ |
| רִחֲשָׁא | *rihasha* | creeping thing | הָרֶמֶשׂ |
| דְּרָחֵשׁ | *de-rahesh* | that creeps | הָרֹמֵשׂ |
| דְּפָרָח | *de-farah* | that flies | כָּנָף |
| עִם | *im* | with | אֶל |
| בִּשְׂרָא | *bisra* | the flesh | הַבָּשָׂר |
| וְעָלַיָּא | *ve-alayya* | those that entered | וְהַבָּאִים |
| וַאֲגֵן | *va-agen* | and shielded | וַיִּסְגֹּר |
| עֲלוֹהִי | *alohi* | over him | בַּעֲדוֹ |
---
## Source note
**Aliyah boundary.** Bereshit 7:1 – 7:16, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria's index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 7:17).
**Torah text.** *Miqra according to the Masorah* (CC-BY-SA), the Masoretic text based on the Aleppo Codex, from Wikisource via [Sefaria](https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis?lang=he).
**Targum Onkelos.** The Aramaic is the commonly printed text, from the Torat Emet edition (Public Domain), via [Sefaria](https://www.sefaria.org/Onkelos_Genesis?lang=he).
**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 booklet. 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.