Parashat Toldot — Fifth Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 26:30 – 27:27 · פרשת תולדות, חמישי

The covenant feast at Beer Sheva, Eisov’s Chitite wives, and Yaakov in Eisov’s garments before his blind father, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 26:30–33: The covenant feast and the well named Shiva
• Unit 2 — Bereshit 26:34–35: Eisov’s Chitite wives
• Unit 3 — Bereshit 27:1–9: Yitzchok sends Eisov to hunt, and Rivkah hears
• Unit 4 — Bereshit 27:10–18: Yaakov’s fear, and Rivkah dresses him for the blessing
• Unit 5 — Bereshit 27:19–27: The voice of Yaakov, the hands of Eisov
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. The aliyah opens as Yitzchok’s dealings with his visitors come to a close: he makes them a feast, in the morning they swear to one another and leave in peace, and that same day his servants report water in the well they have dug, which he names Shiva. At forty Eisov marries two Chitite women, Yehudis and Bosmas, who become a grief to Yitzchok and Rivkah. Then the story of the blessing begins. Old and nearly blind, Yitzchok sends Eisov to hunt game and prepare him a dish so that he may bless him before he dies. Rivkah overhears, tells Yaakov to bring two kids from the flock, and answers his fear of being found out. She cooks the dish, dresses him in Eisov’s garments and covers his hands and neck with goatskins. Yaakov goes in to his father as Eisov; Yitzchok questions the speed of the hunt, touches him, hears Yaakov’s voice yet feels Eisov’s hands, eats and drinks, kisses him, smells his garments and begins to bless 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 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.

• Food named by cooking, not by taste. The Hebrew mat’ammim, “tasty dishes”, is rendered tavshilin (תַבְשִׁילִין), “cooked dishes”, in all five verses where it occurs (27:4, 27:7, 27:9, 27:14, 27:17).
• A word for “now”. Every Hebrew particle na in the aliyah becomes ke’an (כְּעַן), “now”, and the same word renders ve-‘attah, “and now”. In 27:3, where the Hebrew has both, the Aramaic reads “now … now”.
• Idioms turned into plain speech. “Listen to my voice” becomes “accept from me” (קַבֵּל מִנִי) both times Rivkah says it (27:8, 27:13); Yaakov’s “sit” becomes “turn around” (27:19); the general “your gear” becomes “your weapons” (27:3).
• Two verses that say more than the Hebrew. Eisov’s wives are “defiant and provoking against the word of” Yitzchok and Rivkah (26:35), and Rivkah’s “upon me be your curse” becomes a statement that it was said to her in prophecy that the curses will not come upon Yaakov (27:13).
• Links that survive translation. Onkelos keeps the Hebrew’s shared roots: “feast” and “drank” (26:30), “trap” and “game” (27:3), Yaakov’s smooth skin and the smooth part of his neck (שְׁעִיעַ, שְׁעִיעוּת; 27:11, 27:16), one root קרב for every “come close” and “bring close” (27:21-27), and smell and fragrance (27:27).
• The printed text and the Yemenite text. Several of the points the notes make hold for the printed Onkelos only, for instance the name “the Well of Sheva” (26:33) and “the day that I will die” (27:2), where the Yemenite text keeps the Hebrew wording. The textual notes mark these where they occur.

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 26:30–33: The covenant feast and the well named Shiva

Yitzchok holds a feast for his visitors; in the morning they swear to one another and part in peace. That same day his servants report that they have found water, and he names the well Shiva, the origin of the name Beer Sheva.

Bereshit 26:30

Torah

Translation

He [Yitzchok] made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

What Onkelos tells us

• “He made a feast”. A literal rendering. The Hebrew verb of making, vaya’as (וַיַּעַשׂ), is rendered by the Aramaic va’avad (וַעֲבַד).
• “A feast … and drank”. In the Hebrew, mishteh (“feast”, literally a drinking) and vayishtu (“they drank”) share a root. Onkelos keeps the link: mishteya (מִשְׁתְּיָא) and u-shti’u (וּשְׁתִיאוּ) are both built on the Aramaic שתי.

Words to note: וַעֲבַד va’avad — he made (וַיַּעַשׂ) · מִשְׁתְּיָא mishteya — a feast (מִשְׁתֶּה) · וּשְׁתִיאוּ u-shti’u — and they drank (וַיִּשְׁתּוּ)

Bereshit 26:31

Torah

Translation

They got up early in the morning, and they each swore to the other. Yitzchok sent them away and they left in peace.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They got up early in the morning, and they each swore to the other. Yitzchok sent them away and they left from him in peace.

What Onkelos tells us

• “They got up early in the morning”. The Hebrew vayashkimu ba-boker becomes ve-akdimu vetzafra (וְאַקְדִימוּ בְצַפְרָא): a different verb, meaning “to be early”, and the Aramaic word for morning. The sense is unchanged.
• “They each swore to the other”. For vayishave’u, “they swore”, Onkelos writes ve-kayyimu (וְקַיִּימוּ), literally “they confirmed” or “established”; in context it denotes the taking of an oath. The idiom “a man to his brother” (ish le-ahiv) is reproduced word for word as gevar le-ahuhi (גְּבַר לְאָחוּהִי).
• “From him in peace”. The Hebrew me-itto, “from (with) him”, is rendered by the Aramaic preposition mi-levateh (מִלְוָתֵהּ), and be-shalom by bi-shlam. A literal rendering.

Words to note: וְאַקְדִימוּ ve-akdimu — and they got up early (וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ) · בְצַפְרָא vetzafra — in the morning (בַבֹּקֶר) · וְקַיִּימוּ ve-kayyimu — and they swore (literally, confirmed) (וַיִּשָּׁבְעוּ) · גְּבַר gevar — a man (here: each) (אִישׁ) · מִלְוָתֵהּ mi-levateh — from him (מֵאִתּוֹ) · בִּשְׁלָם bi-shlam — in peace (בְּשָׁלוֹם)

Bereshit 26:32

Torah

Translation

On that day Yitzchok’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug; and they said to him, We have found water.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

It was on that day, [that] Yitzchok’s servants came and told him about the matter of the well they had dug; and they said to him, We have found water.

What Onkelos tells us

• “About the matter of the well”. The Hebrew uses the compound preposition al odot (עַל אֹדוֹת), “concerning”. Onkelos renders it with al eisak (עַל עֵיסַק), “about the matter (business) of”, an ordinary Aramaic phrase with the same meaning.
• “We have found water”. Ashkahna (אַשְׁכַּחְנָא) renders the Hebrew matzanu, “we have found”. The Aramaic verb is spelled with the letters שכח, which in Hebrew mean “to forget”; in Aramaic this form means “to find”. The two are homographs, not the same word.
• “The well”. The Hebrew ha-be’er becomes the Aramaic beira (בֵּירָא), with the emphatic ending in place of the article. Otherwise the verse is a literal rendering.

Words to note: וְחַוִּיאוּ ve-havvi’u — and they told (וַיַּגִּדוּ) · עֵיסַק eisak — the matter (אֹדוֹת) · בֵּירָא beira — the well (הַבְּאֵר) · אַשְׁכַּחְנָא ashkahna — we have found (מָצָאנוּ)

Bereshit 26:33

Torah

Translation

He named it Shiva. Therefore the city is called Beer Sheva until this very day.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He named it Shiva. Therefore the name of the city [is] the Well of Sheva (another version: Beer Sheva) until this very day.

What Onkelos tells us

• “He named it Shiva”. A literal rendering. The name Shiv’ah (שִׁבְעָה) is kept exactly as in the Hebrew.
• “The name of the city”. The Hebrew construct shem ha-ir is rendered with the Aramaic genitive particle: shema de-karta (שְׁמָא דְקַרְתָּא), “the name of the city”.
• “The Well of Sheva”. In the main printed text Onkelos does not simply repeat the place name Be’er Sheva (בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע). He writes be’era de-sheva (בְּאֵרָא דְשֶׁבַע), turning the first element into an Aramaic noun with the emphatic ending and linking the two parts with the genitive particle. The meaning of the name, “the well of Sheva”, is thus spelled out, which may be meant to tie it to the well reported in 26:32. Even so, he uses the form be’era, close to the Hebrew be’er, not beira (בֵּירָא), the word for the well in 26:32; perhaps this keeps the name recognisable.
• “Another reading: Beer Sheva”. The printed text itself adds in parentheses an alternative reading, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, which keeps the Hebrew name unchanged.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text has only בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, the Hebrew name unchanged, matching the alternative reading given in parentheses in the printed text. The translated name “the Well of Sheva” holds for the printed text only. The Yemenite text also reads שְׁמַהּ דְּקַרְתָּא, “its name, of the city”, for שְׁמָא דְקַרְתָּא, without change of sense.

Words to note: דְקַרְתָּא de-karta — of the city (הָעִיר) · בְּאֵרָא be’era — the Well (בְּאֵר) · דְשֶׁבַע de-sheva — of Sheva (שֶׁבַע) · הָדֵין hadein — this (הַזֶּה)

Unit 1 summary

Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely through this unit, using his ordinary Aramaic equivalents: va’avad for “made”, ve-akdimu for “got up early”, ve-kayyimu for “swore”, al eisak for al odot, and ashkahna for “we have found”. He keeps the link between “feast” and “drank”, and the idiom “a man to his brother”. The one notable point is the place name in 26:33: the printed text spells out Be’er Sheva as be’era de-sheva, “the Well of Sheva”, while a reading noted in the printed text itself, and the Yemenite text, keep the Hebrew name unchanged.

Unit 2 — Bereshit 26:34–35: Eisov’s Chitite wives

At forty, Eisov marries two Chitite women, Yehudis and Bosmas, and they become a source of grief to Yitzchok and Rivkah.

Bereshit 26:34

Torah

Translation

Eisov was forty years old and he married Yehudis, the daughter of Be’eri, the Chittite and Bosmas, the daughter of Eylon the Chittite.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Eisov was forty years old and he took as a wife Yehudis, the daughter of Be’eri the Chitite, and Bosmas, the daughter of Eylon the Chitite.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Forty years old”. The Hebrew has the singular shanah after the number forty; Onkelos has the plural shenin (שְׁנִין), a small grammatical smoothing. The idiom “son of forty years” is kept: bar for ben.
• “He took as a wife”. The Hebrew vayikkah ishah, literally “he took a wife”, is rendered word for word: u-nesiv itteta (וּנְסִיב אִתְּתָא). The object marker et before each wife’s name is matched by yat.
• “The Chitite”. The Hebrew gentilic with the article, ha-Hitti (הַחִתִּי), becomes the Aramaic gentilic hitta’ah (חִתָּאָה), whose emphatic ending does the work of the Hebrew article. The personal names are kept unchanged.

Words to note: בַּר bar — old (literally, son of) (בֶּן) · שְׁנִין shenin — years (שָׁנָה) · וּנְסִיב u-nesiv — and he took (וַיִּקַּח) · אִתְּתָא itteta — a wife (אִשָּׁה) · חִתָּאָה hitta’ah — the Chitite (הַחִתִּי)

Bereshit 26:35

Torah

Translation

They were rebellious of spirit to Yitzchok and Rivkah.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They were defiant and provoking against the word of Yitzchok and Rivkah.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Defiant and provoking”. The Hebrew describes Eisov’s wives with a single noun phrase, morat ruah (מֹרַת רוּחַ), “rebellion (or bitterness) of spirit”. Onkelos replaces it with two feminine plural participles: mesarvan (מְסָרְבָן), “defiant” or “refusing”, and u-meraggezan (וּמְרַגְּזָן), “and provoking [anger]”. The word ruah, “spirit”, has no counterpart. Since the Hebrew morat can be heard either as “rebellion” or as “bitterness”, the pair of verbs may be an attempt to convey both: defiance on the wives’ part and the anger it caused.
• “Against the word of Yitzchok and Rivkah”. Where the Hebrew says simply “to Yitzchok and to Rivkah”, Onkelos writes al meimar (עַל מֵימַר), “against the word of”. The defiance is thus directed at what Yitzchok and Rivkah said, rather than at their persons; this suggests a reading in which the wives’ offence was disregard of their parents-in-law’s wishes. A single meimar governs both names, so the repeated “to” of the Hebrew (le-Yitzhak u-le-Rivkah) is not reproduced.
• “They were”. The Hebrew feminine plural vatihyena is matched by the Aramaic feminine plural va-hava’ah (וַהֲוָאָה).

Words to note: וַהֲוָאָה va-hava’ah — they were (feminine) (וַתִּהְיֶיןָ) · מְסָרְבָן mesarvan — defiant (מֹרַת) · וּמְרַגְּזָן u-meraggezan — and provoking · מֵימַר meimar — the word

Unit 2 summary

The report of Eisov’s marriages is rendered literally, with small grammatical adjustments such as the plural shenin, “years”, and the gentilic hitta’ah, “the Chitite”. The interpretive weight falls on 26:35. In place of the Hebrew’s terse “rebellion of spirit to Yitzchok and Rivkah”, Onkelos describes the wives as “defiant and provoking against the word of” Yitzchok and Rivkah: two verbs where the Hebrew has one noun phrase, and an added meimar that directs their defiance at what the parents said. This perhaps reflects an understanding of the Hebrew as describing conduct towards Yitzchok and Rivkah rather than a state of spirit.

Unit 3 — Bereshit 27:1–9: Yitzchok sends Eisov to hunt, and Rivkah hears

Old and nearly blind, Yitzchok asks Eisov to hunt game and prepare him a dish so that he may bless him before he dies. Rivkah overhears and begins instructing Yaakov.

Bereshit 27:1

Torah

Translation

And when Yitzchok grew old his eyesight faded and he could not see. He called Eisov, his elder son, and said to him, My son. [Eisov] said to him, Here I am.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And it was, when Yitzchok grew old, and his eyes faded from seeing, and he called Eisov, his elder son, and said to him, My son. And he said to him, Here I am.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Grew old”. The Hebrew zaken is rendered by the Aramaic verb siv (סִיב), “grew old”. The same root returns in 27:2, seivit, for the Hebrew zakanti.
• “His eyes faded from seeing”. Onkelos keeps the Hebrew structure word for word. His verb (וְכָהֲיָּא) is from the same root as the Hebrew va-tikhhena, and the Hebrew infinitive me-re’ot, “from seeing”, becomes the Aramaic infinitive mil-mehezei (מִלְּמֶחֱזֵי), from the usual Aramaic verb for seeing, חזי.
• “His elder son”. The Hebrew ha-gadol, literally “the great one”, is matched by the Aramaic rabbah (רַבָּה), which also means both “great” and “elder”. The double sense of the Hebrew is kept.
• “Here I am”. The single Hebrew word hineni becomes two words in Aramaic, ha ana (הָא אָנָא), literally “behold, I”. This is the ordinary Aramaic way of answering a call.

Words to note: סִיב siv — grew old (זָקֵן) · וְכָהֲיָּא ve-khahayya — [and] faded (וַתִּכְהֶיןָ) · מִלְּמֶחֱזֵי mil-mehezei — from seeing (מֵרְאֹת) · רַבָּה rabbah — elder (literally ‘great’) (הַגָּדֹל) · הָא אָנָא ha ana — here I am (literally ‘behold, I’) (הִנֵּנִי)

Bereshit 27:2

Torah

Translation

[Yitzchok] said, Behold, if you please, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And he said, Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day that I will die.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Behold now”. The Hebrew particle na is rendered khe’an (כְעַן), “now”. Onkelos uses the same word for na again in 27:3 and 27:9, and also for the Hebrew ve-‘attah, “and now”, in 27:3 and 27:8.
• “I do not know”. The Hebrew perfect yada’ti becomes a present-tense phrase, leit ana yeda (לֵית אֲנָא יְדַע), literally “I am not knowing”. The meaning is unchanged; Aramaic expresses a present state this way.
• “The day that I will die”. Where the Hebrew has a noun, yom moti, “the day of my death”, the printed Onkelos has a verb clause, yoma de-eimut (יוֹמָא דְאֵימוּת), “the day that I will die”. The change is one of style, perhaps to avoid a noun with a possessive suffix. In 27:7, however, the printed text keeps the noun moti for the same Hebrew word, and in 27:4 “before I die” is a verb in both languages.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads yom moti (יוֹם מוֹתִי), “the day of my death”, the same words as the Hebrew. The point that Onkelos turns the noun into a verb clause holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: כְעַן khe’an — now (נָא) · סֵיבִית seivit — I am old (זָקַנְתִּי) · לֵית אֲנָא יְדַע leit ana yeda — I do not know (יָדַעְתִּי) · יוֹמָא דְאֵימוּת yoma de-eimut — the day that I will die

Bereshit 27:3

Torah

Translation

Now [therefore] please take your equipment, your sword and your bow, and go out to the field and trap [deer] for me.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And now take, now, your weapons, your sword and your bow, and go out to the field and trap game for me.

What Onkelos tells us

• “And now take, now”. Onkelos uses one word, ke’an, for two different Hebrew words: u-khe’an (וּכְעַן) renders ve-‘attah, “and now”, and ke’an (כְּעַן) renders the particle na. The result is the repetition “now … now”, which the Hebrew does not have.
• “Your weapons”. The Hebrew kelekha is a general word, “your gear” or “your vessels”. Onkelos uses zeinakh (זֵינָךְ), “your weapons”, a narrower word that may reflect the context of hunting with sword and bow.
• “Your sword”. The rare Hebrew telyekha is rendered sayfakh (סַיְפָךְ), “your sword”. Onkelos thus commits to one specific meaning for an uncommon Hebrew word.
• “To the field”. The Hebrew ha-sadeh has no preposition; the direction is implied. Onkelos adds one, le-hakla (לְחַקְלָא), “to the field”, as Aramaic requires.
• “Trap game”. The verb and noun share a root in both languages: Hebrew tzudah … tzayid, Aramaic tzud … tzeida (צֵידָא). Onkelos’s noun is the ordinary Aramaic word for game, so it does not show whether he read the written form (צידה) or the read form tzayid.

Words to note: וּכְעַן u-khe’an — and now (וְעַתָּה) · כְּעַן ke’an — now (נָא) · זֵינָךְ zeinakh — your weapons (כֵלֶיךָ) · סַיְפָךְ sayfakh — your sword (תֶּלְיְךָ) · לְחַקְלָא le-hakla — to the field (הַשָּׂדֶה) · צֵידָא tzeida — game (צַיִד)

Bereshit 27:4

Torah

Translation

Make it into a tasty dish for me, the way I like it, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul will bless you before I die.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And make for me cooked dishes, the way I like, and bring [them] in to me, that I may eat, so that my soul will bless you before I die.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Cooked dishes”. The Hebrew mat’ammim, “tasty foods”, comes from the root for taste. Onkelos uses tavshilin (תַבְשִׁילִין), “cooked dishes”, from the root בשל, “to cook”. He describes the food by how it is prepared rather than by its flavour. He does the same each time the word occurs in this passage (27:7, 27:9).
• “The way I like”. The Hebrew ahavti is rendered di-rheimit (דִרְחֵימִית), from the Aramaic root רחם, Onkelos’s usual equivalent of the Hebrew אהב, “to love”. The same root returns in 27:9 for Yitzchok’s taste.
• “Bring [them] in”. For the Hebrew ve-havi’ah, “bring”, Onkelos uses ve-a’el (וְאָעֵל), “bring in”. In 27:5 and 27:7 he renders the same Hebrew verb with a different Aramaic verb, from the root אתי (le-ayta’a, aytei). Here the Aramaic perhaps pictures the food being brought in to where Yitzchok is.
• “Before I die”. The Hebrew be-terem amut is rendered with the Aramaic idiom ‘ad la eimut (עַד לָא אֵימוּת), literally “while I do not yet die”. The meaning is the same.

Words to note: וְעִבֵיד ve-‘iveid — and make (וַעֲשֵׂה) · תַבְשִׁילִין tavshilin — cooked dishes (מַטְעַמִּים) · דִרְחֵימִית di-rheimit — [that] I like (אָהַבְתִּי) · וְאָעֵל ve-a’el — and bring in (וְהָבִיאָה) · תְבָרֵכִנָּךְ tevarekhinnakh — will bless you (תְּבָרֶכְךָ) · עַד לָא אֵימוּת ‘ad la eimut — before I die (בְּטֶרֶם אָמוּת)

Bereshit 27:5

Torah

Translation

Rivkah had [over]heard what Yitzchok said to his son, Eisov. Eisov went out to the field to trap [deer] to bring it [home.]

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And Rivkah was listening when Yitzchok spoke to his son, Eisov. And Eisov went to the field to trap game to bring [it].

What Onkelos tells us

• “Was listening”. Both languages use a participle: Hebrew shoma’at, Aramaic shema’at (שְׁמַעַת). Rivkah’s listening is presented as going on while Yitzchok speaks.
• “When Yitzchok spoke”. The Hebrew uses an infinitive with a prefix, be-dabber, “in the speaking of”. Onkelos turns it into a clause with a finite verb, kad mallil (כַּד מַלִּיל), “when [he] spoke”, a common Aramaic smoothing.
• “To his son”. The Hebrew el is rendered levat (לְוַת), “to”. In 27:6 Onkelos renders the same Hebrew preposition after the same verb with ‘im, “with”.
• “To bring [it]”. The Hebrew le-havi becomes le-ayta’a (לְאַיְתָאָה), from the root אתי, “come”, in its causative form “bring”. Compare 27:4, where the same Hebrew verb is rendered “bring in”.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads ‘im (עִם), “with”, in place of levat, the same preposition the printed text uses after “speaking” in 27:6.

Words to note: שְׁמַעַת shema’at — was listening (שֹׁמַעַת) · כַּד מַלִּיל kad mallil — when [he] spoke (בְּדַבֵּר) · לְוַת levat — to (אֶל) · וַאֲזַל va-azal — and [he] went (וַיֵּלֶךְ) · לְמֵיצַד le-meitzad — to trap (לָצוּד) · לְאַיְתָאָה le-ayta’a — to bring (לְהָבִיא)

Bereshit 27:6

Torah

Translation

Rivkah said to her son Yaakov, saying, Behold, I heard your father speaking to your brother Eisov, saying,

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And Rivkah said to her son Yaakov, saying, Behold, I heard your father speaking with your brother Eisov, saying,

What Onkelos tells us

• “Said to … speaking with”. The Hebrew uses el twice in this verse, after “said” and after “speaking”. Onkelos renders the first levat (לְוַת), “to”, and the second ‘im (עִם), “with”. Since 27:5 has levat after the same verb of speaking, the choice does not seem to be fixed by the verb.
• “Behold”. The Hebrew hinneh is rendered ha (הָא), Onkelos’s usual equivalent.
• “Speaking”. The Hebrew participle medabber is matched by the Aramaic participle memallel (מְמַלֵּל), from מלל, Onkelos’s regular verb for the Hebrew דבר.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text has “to Yaakov” with a simple prefix, le-Ya’akov (לְיַעֲקֹב), rather than levat. It also reads “I heard from your father” (min, מִן), where the printed text has the object marker yat, as the Hebrew has et.

Words to note: לְוַת levat — to (אֶל) · שְׁמָעִית shema’it — I heard (שָׁמַעְתִּי) · מְמַלֵּל memallel — speaking (מְדַבֵּר) · עִם ‘im — with (אֶל) · אַחוּךְ ahukh — your brother (אָחִיךָ)

Bereshit 27:7

Torah

Translation

Bring back [deer] for me and make it into a tasty dish for me and I will eat. I will then bless you in the presence of Hashem before I die.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Bring game for me and make for me cooked dishes, and I will eat, and I will bless you before Hashem, before my death.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Bring”. The Hebrew havi’ah is rendered aytei (אַיְתִי), from the root אתי, as in 27:5, not with the verb “bring in” used in 27:4.
• “Cooked dishes”. Again tavshilin (תַבְשִׁילִין) for the Hebrew mat’ammim, as in 27:4.
• “Before Hashem, before my death”. The Hebrew repeats one word, lifnei, for “before Hashem” and “before my death”. Onkelos repeats one word too, kodam (קֳדָם), so the parallel is kept. Here the printed text keeps the noun moti, “my death”, unlike its verb clause in 27:2.
• “And I will bless you”. The Aramaic ve-evarekhinnakh (וֶאֱבָרֵכִנָּךְ) is a literal rendering of the Hebrew va-avarekhekha.

Words to note: אַיְתִי aytei — bring (הָבִיאָה) · צֵידָא tzeida — game (צַיִד) · תַבְשִׁילִין tavshilin — cooked dishes (מַטְעַמִּים) · וֶאֱבָרֵכִנָּךְ ve-evarekhinnakh — and I will bless you (וַאֲבָרֶכְכָה) · קֳדָם kodam — before (לִפְנֵי) · מוֹתִי moti — my death (מוֹתִי)

Bereshit 27:8

Torah

Translation

Now my son, listen to me, concerning that which I command you.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And now, my son, accept from me, concerning that which I command you.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Accept from me”. The Hebrew idiom shema be-koli, literally “listen to my voice”, meaning “obey me”, is rendered kabbel mini (קַבֵּל מִנִי), “accept from me”. Onkelos replaces the image of hearing a voice with the plain sense of obeying.
• “That which I command you”. The Hebrew participle metzavvah is matched by an Aramaic participle, mefaked (מפַקֵד), from פקד, the Aramaic verb for commanding.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads mefakkeda (מְפַקְּדָא), a feminine form of the participle, matching the feminine Hebrew metzavvah spoken by Rivkah. The printed mefaked has the masculine form.

Words to note: וּכְעַן u-khe’an — and now (וְעַתָּה) · קַבֵּל kabbel — accept (שְׁמַע) · מִנִי mini — from me · מפַקֵד mefaked — command (מְצַוָּה)

Bereshit 27:9

Torah

Translation

Go, please, to the sheep and take for me from there two choice young goats, and I will make [from] them a tasty dish for your father as he likes.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Go now to the sheep and take for me from there two choice kids, (offspring of) goats, and I will make them [into] cooked dishes for your father as he likes.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Go now”. Once again the particle na is rendered ke’an (כְּעַן), “now”.
• “To the sheep”. The Hebrew el is rendered levat (לְוַת), and the Hebrew ha-tzon by ‘ana (עָנָא), the Aramaic word for a flock of sheep and goats.
• “Kids, (offspring of) goats”. The Hebrew gedayei ‘izzim is rendered gadyei … ‘izzin (גַדְיֵי … עִזְּין). Between them the printed text has var ((בַר)), “son” or “offspring”, in parentheses, which marks it as a word some texts include and others do not.
• “As he likes”. The Hebrew ahev is again rendered from the root רחם, rehem (רְחֵם), as Yitzchok’s own words were in 27:4. Rivkah’s report repeats his wording in both languages.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks var, reading gedayei ‘izzin (גְּדָיֵי עִזִּין) as in the Hebrew. It also reads tavin (טָבִין), the masculine form of “good”, like the Hebrew tovim, where the printed text has the feminine tavan, which may agree with “goats”.

Words to note: אִזֵיל izeil — go (לֶךְ) · עָנָא ‘ana — sheep, flock (הַצֹּאן) · מִתַּמָּן mi-tamman — from there (מִשָּׁם) · גַדְיֵי gadyei — kids (גְּדָיֵי) · (בַר) var — offspring · טָבָן tavan — choice (טֹבִים)

Unit 3 summary

Onkelos follows this dialogue closely, and most of his changes are matters of Aramaic idiom. The word ke’an does double duty, standing for both Hebrew ve-‘attah (“now”) and the particle na, so that in 27:3 it appears twice in a row. The “tasty dishes” (mat’ammim) become “cooked dishes” (tavshilin) every time they are mentioned, and the one Hebrew verb “bring” is rendered by two different Aramaic verbs. Rivkah’s “listen to my voice” becomes “accept from me”, and Yitzchok’s “the day of my death” becomes, in the printed text, “the day that I will die”, though the Yemenite text keeps the noun. The prepositions also vary: the single Hebrew el becomes levat or ‘im depending on the verse. None of this changes the story; it shows Onkelos turning compact Hebrew expressions into ordinary Aramaic speech.

Unit 4 — Bereshit 27:10–18: Yaakov’s fear, and Rivkah dresses him for the blessing

Yaakov fears that his father will touch him and find him out, and Rivkah reassures him; she then cooks the dish, dresses him in Eisov’s garments and the goatskins, and he goes in to his father.

Bereshit 27:10

Torah

Translation

You will [then] bring it to your father to eat, in order that he will bless you before he dies.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

You will bring (another version: bring in) [it] to your father to eat, in order that he will bless you before he dies.

What Onkelos tells us

• “You will bring”. וְתַיְתִי is a causative form, ‘bring’, and matches the Hebrew וְהֵבֵאתָ. The alternative reading printed in parentheses, וְתָעֵל, is the causative of עלל, ‘enter’, and so means ‘bring in’.
• “In order that he will bless you”. The Hebrew בַּעֲבֻר אֲשֶׁר is rendered בְּדִיל followed by the relative ד joined to the verb (דִּיְבָרְכִנָּךְ). Otherwise a literal rendering: the Hebrew ‘and he will eat’ is kept as וְיֵכוּל, and ‘before his death’ as קֳדָם מוֹתֵהּ.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads וְתַעֵיל, ‘bring in’, agreeing with the alternative reading recorded in the printed text (וְתָעֵל) rather than with its main reading וְתַיְתִי, ‘bring’.

Words to note: וְתַיְתִי ve-tayti — you will bring (וְהֵבֵאתָ) · וְיֵכוּל ve-yekhul — to eat (literally ‘and he will eat’) (וְאָכָל) · בְּדִיל bedil — in order that (בַּעֲבֻר) · דִּיְבָרְכִנָּךְ di-yvarkhinnakh — that he will bless you (יְבָרֶכְךָ) · קֳדָם kodam — before (לִפְנֵי)

Bereshit 27:11

Torah

Translation

Yaakov said to Rivkah, his mother, Behold, Eisov, my brother is a hairy person and I am a smooth-skinned person.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Yaakov said to Rivkah, his mother, Behold, Eisov, my brother is a hairy person and I am a smooth-skinned person.

What Onkelos tells us

• “A hairy person … a smooth-skinned person”. Onkelos keeps the balanced pair of the Hebrew, using גְּבַר for both occurrences of אִישׁ. ‘Hairy’ is the adjective שַׂעֲרָן, from the same root as the Hebrew שָׂעִר. For חָלָק he uses a different root, שְׁעִיעַ, the Aramaic word for ‘smooth’.
• A link kept. In the Hebrew, Yaakov’s חָלָק skin here and the חֶלְקַת, ‘smooth part’, of his neck in 27:16 share the root חלק. Onkelos uses one root, שעע, in both places (שְׁעִיעַ here, שְׁעִיעוּת there), so the connection between the two verses survives in the Aramaic.
• “Behold”. הָא renders the Hebrew הֵן. A literal rendering otherwise.

Words to note: הָא ha — behold (הֵן) · גְּבַר gevar — person (literally ‘man’) (אִישׁ) · שַׂעֲרָן sa’aran — hairy (שָׂעִר) · שְׁעִיעַ she’ia — smooth-skinned (חָלָק)

Bereshit 27:12

Torah

Translation

Suppose my father touches me. I will be in his eyes as an impostor. I will bring upon myself a curse—not a blessing.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Suppose my father touches me. I will be in his eyes as a mocker. I will be bringing (another version: and I will be bringing) upon myself curses and not blessings.

What Onkelos tells us

• “As a mocker”. The Hebrew כִּמְתַעְתֵּעַ is a rare form, from the root תעע. Onkelos renders it כְּמִתְלָעָב, a reflexive participle of לעב, ‘to mock, make sport’. Where the Hebrew word may carry the sense of deceiving, the Aramaic has Yaakov fear that he will look as though he were making fun of his father. This is perhaps an interpretive choice for a word whose meaning is not obvious.
• “I will be bringing”. For the single Hebrew verb וְהֵבֵאתִי the printed Onkelos has a compound, וְאֵהֵי מַיְתֵי, ‘I will be’ with the participle ‘bringing’. The sense is the same; the form perhaps presents the consequence as a state Yaakov would be in rather than a single act. The alternative reading in parentheses differs from the main text only in vowels.
• “Curses and not blessings”. The Hebrew nouns קְלָלָה and בְרָכָה are singular. Onkelos puts both in the plural, לְוָטִין and בִרְכָן.
• “Suppose”. מָאִים renders the Hebrew אוּלַי, and אַבָּא stands for אָבִי, ‘my father’.
• Textual note. Where the printed text has the compound וְאֵהֵי מַיְתֵי, ‘I will be bringing’, the Yemenite text has the simple verb וְאַיְתִי, ‘I will bring’, like the Hebrew. The note on the compound form holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: מָאִים ma’im — suppose (אוּלַי) · אַבָּא abba — my father (אָבִי) · כְּמִתְלָעָב ke-mitla’av — as a mocker (כִּמְתַעְתֵּעַ) · מַיְתֵי maytei — bringing (וְהֵבֵאתִי) · לְוָטִין levatin — curses (קְלָלָה) · בִרְכָן virkhan — blessings (בְרָכָה)

Bereshit 27:13

Torah

Translation

His mother said to him, Your curse shall be upon me, my son; but listen to me. Go bring them to me.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

His mother said to him, Upon me it was said in prophecy that the curses will not come upon you, my son; but accept from me. Go bring [them] to me.

What Onkelos tells us

• “It was said in prophecy that the curses will not come upon you”. The Hebrew has Rivkah accept the curse herself: עָלַי קִלְלָתְךָ, ‘upon me be your curse’. Onkelos keeps the opening עֲלַי, but continues with a new statement: אִתְאַמַּר בִּנְבוּאָה, ‘it was said in prophecy’, that the curses will not come upon Yaakov. Here עֲלַי may mean ‘to me’ or ‘concerning me’. Instead of a mother calling a curse down on herself, the Aramaic gives the basis of her confidence. Perhaps Onkelos preferred not to put a self-curse in Rivkah’s mouth; that is an inference.
• “The curses”. The Hebrew ‘your curse’ is singular, with a possessive suffix. Onkelos has the plural לְוָטַּיָּא, ‘the curses’, with ‘upon you’ (עֲלָךְ) as a separate word. The plural matches his לְוָטִין in 27:12.
• “Accept from me”. The Hebrew שְׁמַע בְּקֹלִי, ‘listen to my voice’, becomes קַבֵּל מִנִּי, ‘accept from me’. The idiom of hearing a voice is replaced by one of accepting instruction.
• “Go bring [them]”. וְאִזְּיל סַב לִי follows the Hebrew וְלֵךְ קַח לִי word for word; סַב is the Aramaic for ‘take’. ‘But’ is בְּרַם for אַךְ.

Words to note: אִתְאַמַּר it’amar — it was said · בִּנְבוּאָה bi-nvu’ah — in prophecy · יֵיתוּן yetun — will come · לְוָטַּיָּא levatayya — the curses (קִלְלָתְךָ) · קַבֵּל kabbel — accept (שְׁמַע) · סַב sav — take; rendered ‘bring’ here (קַח)

Bereshit 27:14

Torah

Translation

He went, took [them], and brought [them] to his mother. His mother made a tasty dish as his father liked.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He went, took [them], and brought [them] to his mother. His mother made cooked dishes as his father liked.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Cooked dishes”. The Hebrew מַטְעַמִּים, from the root טעם, ‘taste’, names the food by its flavour. Onkelos uses תַּבְשִׁילִין, from בשל, ‘cook’, naming it by its preparation. The same Aramaic word returns in 27:17.
• “As his father liked”. כְּמָא דִּרְחֵם renders כַּאֲשֶׁר אָהֵב; the Hebrew verb of loving, אהב, is matched by the Aramaic רחם. A literal rendering otherwise: the three verbs ‘went, took, brought’ are kept in order (וַאֲזַל, וּנְסִיב, וְאַיְתִי).

Words to note: וַאֲזַל va-azal — he went (וַיֵּלֶךְ) · וּנְסִיב u-nesiv — took (וַיִּקַּח) · וְאַיְתִי ve-ayti — brought (וַיָּבֵא) · תַּבְשִׁילִין tavshilin — cooked dishes (מַטְעַמִּים) · דִּרְחֵם di-rhem — [that] liked (אָהֵב)

Bereshit 27:15

Torah

Translation

Rivkah took the garments of Eisov, her elder son, [the garments] that were precious [to him] that were in her keeping in the house, and put them on Yaakov, her younger son.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Rivkah took the garments of Eisov, her elder son, the clean [ones], that were in her keeping in the house, and put them on Yaakov, her younger son.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The clean [ones]”. The Hebrew הַחֲמֻדֹת describes the garments as ‘desirable’ or ‘precious’. Onkelos has דָּכְיָתָא, ‘the clean ones’, describing them by their condition rather than their worth. This may suggest that he understood the ‘desirable’ garments as the clean, fine set kept for special use; it is an inference.
• “Elder … younger”. The Hebrew pair הַגָּדֹל and הַקָּטָן, literally ‘great’ and ‘small’, becomes רַבָּא and זְעֵירָא, the ordinary Aramaic words for ‘great’ and ‘small’. ‘Son’ is בְּרַהּ for בְּנָהּ, and ‘garments’ לְבוּשֵׁי for בִּגְדֵי.
• “Put them on”. וְאַלְבִּישַׁת is the causative ‘clothe’, matching the Hebrew וַתַּלְבֵּשׁ. The phrase ‘that were in her keeping’ is דִּי עִמַּהּ, literally ‘which [were] with her’.

Words to note: וּנְסִיבַת u-nesivat — took (וַתִּקַּח) · לְבוּשֵׁי levushei — the garments of (בִּגְדֵי) · רַבָּא rabba — elder (הַגָּדֹל) · דָּכְיָתָא dakhyata — the clean [ones] (הַחֲמֻדֹת) · וְאַלְבִּישַׁת ve-albishat — and put [them] on (וַתַּלְבֵּשׁ) · זְעֵירָא ze’eira — younger (הַקָּטָן)

Bereshit 27:16

Torah

Translation

The skins of the young goats she placed on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The skins of the kids, offspring of goats, she placed on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The kids, offspring of goats”. The Hebrew construct גְּדָיֵי הָעִזִּים, ‘kids of the goats’, becomes גַּדְיֵי בַּר עִזֵּי, with בַּר, literally ‘son of’, between the two nouns. The phrase marks the young animals as belonging to the goat kind; the sense is unchanged. The skins are מַשְׁכֵי for the Hebrew עֹרֹת.
• “The smooth part”. The Hebrew חֶלְקַת is matched by the abstract noun שְׁעִיעוּת, ‘smoothness’, from the same root as שְׁעִיעַ in 27:11 (see the note there).
• “His neck”. The Hebrew צַוָּארָיו has a plural form; Onkelos has the singular צַוְרֵהּ. ‘His hands’, יְדוֹהִי, stays plural like יָדָיו.
• Textual note. For גַּדְיֵי בַּר the Yemenite text reads דִּגְדֵי בְנֵי, ‘of kids, sons of’, with the relative ד and the plural ‘sons’. The meaning is the same, but the construction differs from the printed text discussed in the note.

Words to note: מַשְׁכֵי mashkhei — the skins of (עֹרֹת) · גַּדְיֵי gadyei — kids (גְּדָיֵי) · בַּר bar — offspring of (literally ‘son of’) · עִזֵּי izzei — goats (הָעִזִּים) · שְׁעִיעוּת she’iut — the smooth part (literally ‘smoothness’) (חֶלְקַת) · צַוְרֵהּ tzavreh — his neck (צַוָּארָיו)

Bereshit 27:17

Torah

Translation

She placed the tasty dish and the bread which she had made, in the hand of Yaakov, her son.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

She placed the cooked dishes and the bread which she had made, in the hand of Yaakov, her son.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The cooked dishes”. As in 27:14, the Hebrew הַמַּטְעַמִּים is rendered תַּבְשִׁילַיָּא, from the root בשל, ‘cook’.
• “In the hand of Yaakov”. The Hebrew construct בְּיַד יַעֲקֹב is opened up with ד: בִּידָא דְיַעֲקֹב. The sense is unchanged. Otherwise a literal rendering, with וִיהָבַת, ‘gave’, for וַתִּתֵּן.

Words to note: וִיהָבַת vi-havat — she placed (וַתִּתֵּן) · תַּבְשִׁילַיָּא tavshilayya — the cooked dishes (הַמַּטְעַמִּים) · לַחְמָא lahma — the bread (הַלֶּחֶם) · בִּידָא bi-yda — in the hand (בְּיַד)

Bereshit 27:18

Torah

Translation

He came to his father and said, My father. [Yitzchok] said, Here I am. Who are you my son?

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He went in to his father and said, My father. [Yitzchok] said, Here I am. Who are you my son?

What Onkelos tells us

• “He went in”. The Hebrew וַיָּבֹא, ‘he came’, is rendered וְעַל, from עלל, ‘enter’. The Aramaic pictures Yaakov entering where his father was; the Hebrew verb can carry this sense too, so the change is small. ‘To’ is לְוַת for the Hebrew אֶל.
• “Here I am”. The Hebrew הִנֶּנִּי is rendered by two words, הָא אֲנָא, literally ‘behold, I’. ‘My father’ is אַבָּא for אָבִי, and ‘who’ is מָן for מִי. A literal rendering.

Words to note: וְעַל ve-‘al — he went in (וַיָּבֹא) · לְוַת levat — to (אֶל) · אַבָּא abba — my father (אָבִי) · אֲנָא ana — I (הִנֶּנִּי) · מָן man — who (מִי)

Unit 4 summary

For most of the unit Onkelos is close and literal, and his changes cluster in the dialogue. The largest is in 27:13: Rivkah’s ‘upon me be your curse’ becomes ‘upon me it was said in prophecy that the curses will not come upon you’, perhaps to avoid putting a self-curse in her mouth. In 27:12 the rare כִּמְתַעְתֵּעַ is rendered as ‘a mocker’ (כְּמִתְלָעָב), and both curse and blessing become plural, a plural carried into ‘the curses’ of 27:13. Some changes concern vocabulary: the ‘tasty dishes’ are ‘cooked dishes’ (תַּבְשִׁילִין) in 27:14 and 27:17, Eisov’s ‘desirable’ garments are ‘the clean ones’ (דָּכְיָתָא), ‘listen to my voice’ becomes ‘accept from me’, and Yaakov ‘goes in’ rather than ‘comes’ to his father. Onkelos keeps the Hebrew link between Yaakov’s smooth skin in 27:11 and the smooth part of his neck in 27:16 by using one Aramaic root, שעע, in both verses.

Unit 5 — Bereshit 27:19–27: The voice of Yaakov, the hands of Eisov

Yaakov comes before his blind father as Eisov. Yitzchok questions how the hunt was so quick, touches him and hears Yaakov’s voice yet feels Eisov’s hands, then eats, drinks, kisses him and, smelling his garments, begins to bless him.

Bereshit 27:19

Torah

Translation

Yaakov said to his father, It is I, Eisov your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Rise, if you please, sit up and eat of my trapping so that your soul will bless me.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Yaakov said to his father, It is I, Eisov your firstborn. I have done as you spoke with me (another version: to me). Rise now, turn around and eat of my trapping so that your soul will bless me.

What Onkelos tells us

• “It is I, Eisov your firstborn”. Yaakov’s claim is translated word for word: ana Esav bukhrakh (אֲנָא עֵשָׂו בּוּכְרָךְ). Onkelos neither softens nor qualifies the statement.
• “As you spoke with me”. The Hebrew dibbarta elai, “you spoke to me”, becomes malleilta immi (מַלֵּילְתָּא עִמִּי), “you spoke with me”, with the preposition of conversation rather than of address. The printed text gives li, “to me”, as an alternative reading, which matches the Hebrew preposition more closely.
• “Rise now”. The Hebrew particle of request na is rendered ke’an (כְּעַן), “now”. Onkelos does the same with na in 27:21 and 27:26.
• “Turn around”. For the Hebrew shevah, “sit”, Onkelos does not use a verb of sitting but istahar (אִסְתַּחַר), from סחר, “go around, turn”. This may picture a man lying down who turns himself about to sit up and eat, or a diner reclining at a meal; either way the Aramaic describes the movement rather than simply the posture.
• “So that your soul will bless me”. A literal rendering: bedil di, “so that”, for ba’avur, and nafshakh, “your soul”, kept as in the Hebrew.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads de-malleilta immi (דְּמַלֵּילְתָּא עִמִּי) with no alternative; the printed parenthetical li, “to me”, is absent there.

Words to note: בּוּכְרָךְ bukhrakh — your firstborn (בְּכֹרֶךָ) · מַלֵּילְתָּא malleilta — you spoke (דִּבַּרְתָּ) · כְּעַן ke’an — now (נָא) · אִסְתַּחַר istahar — turn around (שְׁבָה) · בְּדִיל bedil — so that (lit. for the sake of) (בַּעֲבוּר)

Bereshit 27:20

Torah

Translation

Yitzchok said to his son, How is it that you found it so quickly my son? He [Yaakov] said, Because Hashem, your God, brought it about for me.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Yitzchok said to his son, How is it that you found it so quickly my son? He said, Because Hashem, your God, prepared it for me.

What Onkelos tells us

• “How is it that you found it so quickly”. A literal rendering: ma dein, “what is this”, for mah zeh; oheita, “you hastened”, for miharta; and le-ashkaha, “to find”, the usual Aramaic verb, for limtzo.
• “Prepared it”. The Hebrew hikrah (הִקְרָה), from קרה, “happen, occur”, says that Hashem “made it happen”. Onkelos writes zammin (זַמִּין), “prepared, arranged”. The Hebrew verb is related to words for chance; the Aramaic speaks only of something made ready. This may reflect a preference for wording that leaves no suggestion of accident in an act ascribed to God, though the Hebrew too names Hashem as the cause.
• “For me”. The Hebrew lefanai, “before me”, is matched exactly by kodamai (קֳדָמַי), “before me”.

Words to note: אוֹחֵיתָא oheita — you hastened (found it so quickly) (מִהַרְתָּ) · לְאַשְׁכָּחָא le-ashkaha — to find (לִמְצֹא) · זַמִּין zammin — prepared (הִקְרָה) · קֳדָמַי kodamai — before me (for me) (לְפָנָי)

Bereshit 27:21

Torah

Translation

Yitzchok said to Yaakov, Come close, if you please, and let me touch you, my son. Are you my son Eisov or not?

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Yitzchok said to Yaakov, Come close now and let me touch you, my son. Are you my son Eisov or not?

What Onkelos tells us

• “Come close now”. For the Hebrew geshah na (גְּשָׁה נָּא) Onkelos writes kereiv ke’an (קְרֵיב כְּעַן), from קרב. Every form of the Hebrew verb of approaching in these verses (geshah, va-yiggash, haggishah, va-yaggesh), “come close” and “bring close” alike, is rendered with קרב (27:21, 27:22, 27:25 twice, 27:26, 27:27).
• “Let me touch you”. Onkelos uses the cognate verb: Hebrew va-amushkha (וַאֲמֻשְׁךָ) becomes ve-emushinnakh (וֶאֱמֻשִּׁנָּךְ). The question “Are you my son Eisov or not?” is also literal, with dein, “this”, for zeh.

Words to note: קְרֵיב kereiv — come close (גְּשָׁה) · וֶאֱמֻשִּׁנָּךְ ve-emushinnakh — and let me touch you (וַאֲמֻשְׁךָ) · הַאַתְּ ha-at — are you (הַאַתָּה)

Bereshit 27:22

Torah

Translation

Yaakov came close to Yitzchok, his father, and he [Yitzchok] touched him. He said, The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisov.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Yaakov came close to Yitzchok, his father, and he touched him. He said, The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisov.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The voice is the voice of Yaakov”. Where the Hebrew uses construct chains (kol Ya’akov, yedei Esav), Onkelos marks possession with the particle ד: kala de-Ya’akov (קָלָא דְיַעֲקֹב), and for the hands yedohi de-Esav (יְדוֹהִי דְעֵשָׂו), literally “his hands, of Eisov”, an Aramaic idiom that anticipates the owner with a suffix. The meaning is unchanged, and the balanced contrast of voice and hands is kept without explanation.
• “He touched him”. U-mashyeh (וּמָשְׁיֵהּ) renders vay-mushehu with the cognate verb, as in 27:21. Levat, “to”, renders el.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text distributes the idiom the other way: kaleih de-Ya’akov (קָלֵיהּ דְּיַעֲקֹב), “his voice, of Yaakov”, but yedei Esav (יְדֵי עֵשָׂו), a plain construct as in the Hebrew. The meaning is the same; the remark on the two constructions holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: לְוַת levat — to (אֶל) · וּמָשְׁיֵהּ u-mashyeh — and he touched him (וַיְמֻשֵּׁהוּ) · קָלָא kala — the voice (הַקֹּל) · יְדוֹהִי yedohi — the hands (lit. his hands) (יְדֵי)

Bereshit 27:23

Torah

Translation

He [Yitzchok] did not recognize him because his hands were like those of Eisov, his brother—they were hairy—and [thus] he blessed him.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He did not recognize him because his hands were like those of Eisov, his brother—they were hairy (another version: full of hair)—and he blessed him.

What Onkelos tells us

• “He did not recognize him”. The Hebrew hikkiro (הִכִּירוֹ) becomes ishtemode’eh (אִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעֵהּ), a form of ידע, “know”: Onkelos expresses recognition as knowing.
• “Like those of Eisov”. The word kidei, “like the hands of”, is identical in both texts (כִּידֵי). “Hairy” is also kept: Hebrew se’irot and Aramaic se’iran (שְׂעִירָן) share the root שער and are both feminine plural, agreeing with “hands”.
• “And he blessed him”. U-varkheh (וּבָרְכֵהּ) renders vay-varkhehu with the same root, ברך.
• Textual note. For “hairy” the printed text gives an alternative, sa’aranyan (שַׂעֲרַנְיָן), a fuller adjective of the same root; the Yemenite text has this form, spelled with ס: sa’aranyan (סַעֲרָנְיָן). The meaning is the same.

Words to note: אִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעֵהּ ishtemode’eh — recognize him (הִכִּירוֹ) · הֲוָאָה havaah — were (הָיוּ) · כִּידֵי kidei — like those of (כִּידֵי) · שְׂעִירָן se’iran — hairy (שְׂעִרֹת)

Bereshit 27:24

Torah

Translation

He said, Are you indeed my son, Eisov? [Yaakov] said, I am.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He said, Are you indeed my son, Eisov? He said, Behold, I am.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Behold, I am”. The Hebrew answer is a single word, ani. Onkelos adds ha (הָא), “behold, here”: ha ana. The addition may simply be the natural Aramaic way of answering “it is I”, or perhaps gives the reply a more emphatic, presentative tone.
• One word for two pronouns. Yaakov’s “I” is anokhi in 27:19 and ani here; Onkelos renders both ana (אֲנָא).
• “Are you indeed”. At dein, “you, this”, follows the Hebrew attah zeh exactly.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks ha and reads only ana (אֲנָא), “I”, exactly as the Hebrew. The remark on the added word holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: אַתְּ דֵּין at dein — are you indeed (lit. you this) (אַתָּה זֶה) · הָא ha — behold · אֲנָא ana — I (אָנִי)

Bereshit 27:25

Torah

Translation

He said, Bring it close to me and I will eat from my son’s trappings, so that my soul will bless you. He brought it close to him and he ate. He [then] brought him wine and he drank.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He said, Bring it close before me and I will eat from my son’s trappings, so that my soul will bless you. He brought it close to him and he ate. He brought (another version: brought in) him wine and he drank.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Bring it close before me”. The causative “bring close”, Hebrew haggishah (הַגִּשָׁה), becomes kareiv (קָרֵיב), from קרב, the same root Onkelos uses for “come close” in 27:21-22. The link the Hebrew makes between coming close and bringing close is thus kept. For li, “to me”, Onkelos writes kodamai (קֳדָמַי), “before me”, the expression for setting food in front of someone.
• “So that”. The Hebrew changes conjunction, ba’avur in 27:19 and lema’an here; Onkelos uses bedil di for both, so the two “so that … will bless” clauses read alike in the Aramaic.
• “He brought him wine”. Ve-ayti (וְאַיְתִי), “he brought”, renders va-yave; the printed text offers ve-a’el (וְאָעֵל), “he brought in”, as an alternative. Wine is hamra (חַמְרָא), the ordinary Aramaic word for yayin.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads kareiv li (קָרֵיב לִי), “bring close to me”, as in the Hebrew; the remark on “before me” holds for the printed text only. It also reads ve-a’eil (וְאַעֵיל), “he brought in”, agreeing with the printed alternative.

Words to note: קָרֵיב kareiv — bring close (הַגִּשָׁה) · קֳדָמַי kodamai — before me (לִּי) · מִצֵידָא mi-tzeida — from the trappings (מִצֵּיד) · וְאַיְתִי ve-ayti — he brought (וַיָּבֵא) · חַמְרָא hamra — wine (יַיִן)

Bereshit 27:26

Torah

Translation

His father Yitzchok said to him, Come close to me and kiss me, my son.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

His father Yitzchok said to him, Come close now and kiss me (another version: and kiss me), my son.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Come close now and kiss me”. A literal rendering. As in 27:21, geshah na becomes kereiv ke’an (קְרֵיב כְּעַן), “come close now”. “Kiss” keeps the root of the Hebrew, נשק: u-neshak (וּנְשַׁק).
• Textual note. The printed text gives an alternative, ve-shak li (וְשַׁק לִי), the same verb with its nun assimilated; the Yemenite text reads only this form (וְשַׁק). The meaning does not change.

Words to note: קְרֵיב kereiv — come close (גְּשָׁה) · וּנְשַׁק u-neshak — and kiss (וּשְׁקָה)

Bereshit 27:27

Torah

Translation

He came close and kissed him. He [Yitzchok] smelled the fragrance of his garments, and he blessed him. He said, See, my son’s fragrance is like the fragrance of a field blessed by Hashem.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He came close and kissed him. He smelled the fragrance of his garments, and he blessed him. He said, See, my son’s fragrance is like the fragrance of a field blessed by Hashem.

What Onkelos tells us

• “He smelled the fragrance”. In the Hebrew the verb va-yarah and the noun re’ah share a root; Onkelos keeps the pairing with va-arah (וַאֲרַח) and reiha (רֵיחָא). “Fragrance” occurs three times in each text, so the sound pattern of the verse survives in the Aramaic.
• “Of his garments”. Di-levushohi (דִּלְבוּשׁוֹהִי) uses levush, “garment”, for begadav, with possession marked by ד, as in 27:22.
• “Blessed by Hashem”. The same verb, ברך, describes Yitzchok blessing Yaakov (u-varkheh) and Hashem blessing the field (varakheh), as in the Hebrew. “Field” is hakla (דְחַקְלָא), and “see” is hazei (חֲזֵי).

Words to note: וַאֲרַח va-arah — he smelled (וַיָּרַח) · רֵיחָא reiha — the fragrance (רֵיחַ) · דִּלְבוּשׁוֹהִי di-levushohi — of his garments (בְּגָדָיו) · חֲזֵי hazei — see (רְאֵה) · דְחַקְלָא de-hakla — of a field (שָׂדֶה)

Unit 5 summary

Onkelos renders the encounter closely and translates Yaakov’s claims (“It is I, Eisov your firstborn”) word for word. His changes are mostly of vocabulary and idiom: the particle na becomes ke’an, “now”, each time; every form of the Hebrew verb for “come close” and “bring close” is rendered with קרב; “sit” becomes istahar, “turn around”; and the two Hebrew conjunctions for “so that” share one Aramaic phrase. Two small shifts touch the meaning: Hashem “prepared” the game rather than “made it happen”, and Yaakov answers “Behold, I am” rather than a bare “I”. Possession is marked with ד, including the idiom “his hands, of Eisov”, while the wordplay of smelling and fragrance and the single verb for Yitzchok’s and Hashem’s blessing are kept.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from peace to rivalry. It begins with a covenant meal, an oath “a man to his brother”, a parting in peace and the discovery of water, all rendered by Onkelos with his ordinary Aramaic equivalents. The short notice of Eisov’s marriages turns the mood, and here Onkelos gives the Hebrew’s terse “rebellion of spirit” a concrete form. The long scene of the blessing then unfolds in dialogue: Yitzchok’s charge to Eisov, Rivkah’s instructions, Yaakov’s fear, the disguise, and the encounter between Yaakov and his father. Through this scene Onkelos stays close to the Hebrew, translating even Yaakov’s claim “It is I, Eisov your firstborn” word for word; his changes are mostly matters of Aramaic idiom and vocabulary, with one larger addition in Rivkah’s answer to Yaakov’s fear of a curse.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “The Well of Sheva” (26:33). The printed text spells out the name as be’era de-sheva (בְּאֵרָא דְשֶׁבַע), which may tie it to the well of 26:32; a reading noted in the printed text, and the Yemenite text, keep Be’er Sheva unchanged.
2. “Defiant and provoking” (26:35). Two participles (מְסָרְבָן וּמְרַגְּזָן) replace the single phrase morat ruah, perhaps to convey both the wives’ defiance and the anger it caused, and al meimar (עַל מֵימַר) directs that defiance at what Yitzchok and Rivkah said.
3. “And now take, now” (27:3). One Aramaic word, ke’an, stands for both ve-‘attah and na, producing a repetition the Hebrew does not have.
4. “Your sword” (27:3). For the rare telyekha Onkelos commits to one specific meaning, sayfakh, and the general kelekha becomes zeinakh, “your weapons”, which may reflect the context of hunting.
5. “Cooked dishes” (27:4). Tavshilin describes the food by how it is prepared rather than by its flavour, and the rendering holds through the passage.
6. “Accept from me” (27:8). The image of hearing a voice gives way to the plain sense of obeying; Rivkah uses the same words again in 27:13.
7. “As a mocker” (27:12). The rare kimta’te’a becomes ke-mitla’av (כְּמִתְלָעָב): Yaakov fears looking as though he were making fun of his father, perhaps an interpretive choice for an unclear word. Curse and blessing both become plural.
8. “It was said in prophecy” (27:13). Onkelos keeps Rivkah’s opening “upon me” but continues with it’amar bi-nvu’ah (אִתְאַמַּר בִּנְבוּאָה), that the curses will not come upon Yaakov. The note suggests, as an inference, that he preferred not to put a self-curse in her mouth.
9. “The clean ones” (27:15). Eisov’s “desirable” garments become dakhyata (דָּכְיָתָא), described by their condition rather than their worth; the note offers this as an inference.
10. “Turn around” (27:19). For shevah, “sit”, Onkelos writes istahar (אִסְתַּחַר), describing the movement of turning to sit up and eat rather than the posture.
11. “Hashem prepared it” (27:20). Zammin (זַמִּין), “prepared”, replaces hikrah, a verb related to words for chance; this may reflect a preference for wording that leaves no suggestion of accident in an act ascribed to God.
12. “The voice of Yaakov” (27:22). Possession is marked with ד, as in kala de-Ya’akov (דְיַעֲקֹב) and “his hands, of Eisov”, and the contrast of voice and hands is kept without explanation.

Recurring features

• A literal base. Many verses are described in the notes as literal renderings, and through the narrative, from the feast to the kiss, Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely, translating verb for verb and keeping its idioms where Aramaic allows.
• Hebrew constructions recast as Aramaic ones. Construct chains are often opened up with ד, as in “the name of the city” (26:33) and “the voice of Yaakov” (27:22); an infinitive becomes a clause with a finite verb (kad mallil, 27:5), a Hebrew perfect becomes a present phrase (leit ana yeda, 27:2), and the one-word hineni becomes ha ana (27:1, 27:18).
• One Aramaic word for several Hebrew words. Ke’an serves for na and ve-‘attah; ana for both anokhi and ani; bedil di for both ba’avur and lema’an; and kodam for lifnei in “before Hashem, before my death” (27:7), keeping the Hebrew repetition.
• One Hebrew word, several Aramaic words. The verb “bring” is rendered both “bring in” and “bring” (27:4, 27:5, 27:7), and the printed alternatives at 27:10 and 27:25 offer “bring in” for “bring”; the preposition el becomes levat or ‘im depending on the verse (27:5, 27:6).
• Shared roots kept. Where the Hebrew builds a link from one root, Onkelos usually finds an Aramaic root that does the same: feast and drink, trap and game, smooth and smoothness, come close and bring close, smell and fragrance, and the single verb ברך for Yitzchok’s blessing and Hashem’s (27:27).
• Plain sense over image. Expressions are rendered by their meaning: “accept from me” for “listen to my voice”, “weapons” for “gear”, “turn around” for “sit”, “prepared” for “made it happen”.
• Printed and Yemenite readings diverge. In several places the Yemenite text stands closer to the Hebrew than the printed text, and in others it agrees with the printed text’s own parenthetical alternative; the notes say when a point holds for the printed text only.

Aliyah takeaway

In this aliyah Onkelos is above all a close translator of a story of disguise. He does not soften Yaakov’s “It is I, Eisov your firstborn”, and he keeps the balanced contrast of the voice of Yaakov and the hands of Eisov without comment. His interventions are small and selective: food named by its preparation, idioms resolved into plain speech, a rare word given one meaning, and a few places, above all Rivkah’s prophecy in 27:13 and Hashem’s “preparing” of the game in 27:20, where the notes cautiously suggest a concern with how something is put. Read alongside the Hebrew, the Aramaic shows both how much of the text a close, idiomatic translation carries across and the few points at which the translator chose to say more.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 26:30 – 27:27, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 27:28).

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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