Parashat Vayera — Second Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 18:15 – 18:33 · פרשת וירא, שני

Sarah’s denial, Hashem’s deliberation over Sedom, and Avraham’s plea for the city, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 18:15–21: Sarah’s denial, and Hashem’s deliberation over Sedom
• Unit 2 — Bereshit 18:22–28: Avraham pleads for Sedom: fifty and forty-five
• Unit 3 — Bereshit 18:29–33: Forty, thirty, twenty, ten
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. Sarah denies that she laughed and is contradicted. The visitors rise and set out toward Sedom, with Avraham accompanying them, and Hashem resolves not to conceal from Avraham what He is about to do: the outcry against Sedom and Amorah is great, and He will examine it. The men go on toward Sedom while Avraham remains before Hashem and challenges the justice of destroying the innocent with the guilty. In a descending bargain, from fifty to forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty and finally ten, Hashem agrees each time to spare the city. The conversation ends, Hashem departs, and Avraham returns to his place.

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.

• Language about God. Where the Hebrew says that God knows, descends, sees, is angry or goes, Onkelos speaks of what is ‘revealed before’ Him, of His revealing Himself and judging, of things being ‘harsh before’ Him, and of ‘the Glory of Hashem’ withdrawing.
• Speech ‘before’ Hashem. Avraham’s words ‘to my Master’ and ‘to Him’ become words spoken ‘before Hashem’ and ‘before Him’.
• A courtroom vocabulary. The righteous and the wicked become the innocent and the guilty (zakka’ah, hayyava), and ‘far be it from You’ becomes ‘Your judgments are truth’.
• An expanded conditional in 18:21. The terse Hebrew becomes a two-sided statement: destruction if they do not repent, no punishment if they do.
• Two verbs of destruction kept apart. Tispeh is rendered with teshetzei, tashhit and ashhit with the root חבל.
• Words filled out. ‘I will not do’ becomes ‘I will not make an end’ (gemera), ‘bear with the place’ becomes ‘forgive the place’, and ‘the way of Hashem’ becomes ‘the ways that are proper before Hashem’.
• Textual notes. The printed text and the Yemenite text differ at several points, including the readings in 18:25, 18:30 and 18:32; these are marked 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 18:15–21: Sarah’s denial, and Hashem’s deliberation over Sedom

Sarah denies having laughed and is contradicted. The visitors set out toward Sedom with Avraham accompanying them, and Hashem resolves to share with Avraham His intention to examine the outcry against Sedom and Amorah.

Bereshit 18:15

Torah

Translation

Sarah denied it saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. He said, Not so, for you did laugh.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Sarah denied [it] saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. He said, Not so, but you did laugh.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Sarah denied”. The Hebrew va-tekhahesh (root כחש) is rendered ve-khaddivat, from the root כדב, whose basic sense is to speak falsely. The Aramaic verb may therefore carry a slightly sharper sense than ‘deny’, closer to ‘she lied’; the translation keeps ‘denied’ since the word is the standard Aramaic match here.
• “For she was afraid … but you did laugh”. The Hebrew uses ki twice. Onkelos renders the first, which gives a reason, with arei (‘for’), and the second, which contradicts Sarah, with beram (‘but’). The one Hebrew particle is translated by its sense in each clause.
• “Laugh”. The Hebrew root צחק is rendered by the same Aramaic verb in both occurrences (hayyekhit, hayyakht), keeping the echo between Sarah’s denial and the reply.

Words to note: וְכַדִּיבַת ve-khaddivat — and [she] denied (וַתְּכַחֵשׁ) · חַיֵּכִית hayyekhit — I laughed (צָחַקְתִּי) · דְחֵלַת dehelat — she was afraid (יָרֵאָה) · בְּרַם beram — but (כִּי) · חַיָּכְתְּ hayyakht — you laughed (צָחָקְתְּ)

Bereshit 18:16

Torah

Translation

The men stood up from where they were, and they gazed upon Sedom. Avraham went with them to send them [on their way].

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The men stood up from where they were, and they gazed upon Sedom. Avraham went with them to accompany them.

What Onkelos tells us

• “They gazed”. The Hebrew va-yashkifu is rendered ve-istekhi’u, the ordinary Aramaic verb for looking; al appei Sedom matches the Hebrew al penei Sedom word for word.
• “To accompany them”. The Hebrew le-shallehem, literally ‘to send them’, is rendered le-alvo’eihon, ‘to accompany them’. The Aramaic makes explicit that Avraham was escorting his guests on their way rather than dismissing them - a clarification of the idiom rather than a change of sense.
• Textual note. The Hebrew holekh is a participle (‘was going’). The printed text vocalizes the Aramaic as a past tense, azal (‘went’), while the Yemenite text has the participle azeil, which matches the Hebrew form more closely.

Words to note: גֻּבְרַיָּא guvrayya — the men (הָאֲנָשִׁים) · וְאִסְתְּכִיאוּ ve-istekhi’u — and they gazed (וַיַּשְׁקִפוּ) · אָזַל azal — went (הֹלֵךְ) · לְאַלְווֹאֵיהוֹן le-alvo’eihon — to accompany them (לְשַׁלְּחָם)

Bereshit 18:17

Torah

Translation

Hashem said, Shall I conceal from Avraham what I am about to do?

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Hashem said, Shall I conceal from Avraham what I am about to do?

What Onkelos tells us

• A literal rendering. Onkelos keeps the rhetorical question with the interrogative ha- (ha-mekhassei ana) and renders the relative asher with di. The participles of the Hebrew (mekhasseh, oseh) are matched by Aramaic participles (mekhassei, aved).

Words to note: הַמְכַסֵּי ha-mekhassei — shall [I] conceal (הַמְכַסֶּה) · עָבֵד aved — am about to do (עֹשֶׂה)

Bereshit 18:18

Torah

Translation

Avraham is indeed to become a great and mighty nation, and through him shall be blessed all the nations of the world.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham is indeed to become a great and mighty people, and for his sake shall be blessed all the peoples of the world.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Is indeed to become”. The Hebrew doubles the verb (hayo yihyeh) for emphasis; Onkelos reproduces the construction with the same Aramaic verb (mehava yehevei).
• “People … peoples”. Both goy and goyei are rendered with am (le-am, ammei), ‘people’. Onkelos thus uses one word where the Hebrew uses goy.
• “Great and mighty”. Gadol becomes saggi, a word whose basic sense is ‘much, abundant’, and atzum becomes takkif, ‘strong’.
• “For his sake”. The Hebrew nivrekhu vo, ‘shall be blessed through him’, becomes yitbarekhun bedileh, ‘shall be blessed for his sake’ or ‘on his account’. The Aramaic may suggest that the nations are blessed because of Avraham’s merit rather than by invoking him.

Words to note: מֵהֲוָה יֶהֱוֵי mehava yehevei — is indeed to become (הָיוֹ) · לְעַם le-am — a people (לְגוֹי) · סַגִּי saggi — great (גָּדוֹל) · וְתַקִּיף ve-takkif — and mighty (וְעָצוּם) · בְּדִילֵהּ bedileh — for his sake (בוֹ) · עַמְמֵי ammei — peoples of (גּוֹיֵי)

Bereshit 18:19

Torah

Translation

For I have given him special attention because he commands his children, and his household after him, and they will preserve the way of Hashem, doing charity and justice, so that Hashem will bring upon Avraham all that which He has spoken of him.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

For it is revealed before Me (another reading: I have known him) because he will command his children and the people of his household after him, and they will preserve the ways that are proper before Hashem, doing charity and justice, so that Hashem will bring upon Avraham that which He has spoken of him.

What Onkelos tells us

• “It is revealed before Me”. The Hebrew yedativ, ‘I have known him’ (rendered by Metsudah as ‘I have given him special attention’), becomes geli kodamai, ‘it is revealed before Me’. This impersonal phrasing may reflect a reluctance to describe God’s knowledge of a person with the same verb used of human knowing.
• “The people of his household”. The Hebrew beito, ‘his house’, is rendered enash beiteh, ‘the people of his house’, making explicit that the household means its members.
• “The ways that are proper before Hashem”. The Hebrew derekh Hashem, ‘the way of Hashem’, becomes arhan de-takkenan kodam Hashem: the noun is plural, the qualifier ‘that are proper’ is added, and ‘of Hashem’ becomes ‘before Hashem’. The rephrasing perhaps avoids speaking of a ‘way’ that belongs to God, presenting it instead as conduct that is right in His sight.
• “Because … so that”. Both occurrences of lema’an are rendered bedil, keeping the Hebrew’s repetition. The verb yetzavveh is rendered by the imperfect yefakked, ‘he will command’.
• Textual note. The printed text adds in parentheses an alternative reading, yeda’tinneh, ‘I have known him’, which follows the Hebrew literally. The Yemenite text lacks it and reads only gelei kodamai, ‘it is revealed before Me’.

Words to note: גְּלִי קֳדָמַי geli kodamai — it is revealed before Me (יְדַעְתִּיו) · יְפַקֵּד yefakked — he will command (יְצַוֶּה) · אֱנַשׁ enash — the people of · אָרְחָן arhan — ways (דֶּרֶךְ) · דְּתַקְּנָן de-takkenan — that are proper · בְּדִיל bedil — so that (לְמַעַן)

Bereshit 18:20

Torah

Translation

[Thus] Hashem said, The wailing concerning Sedom and Amorah is so great, and their sin is so very grave.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Hashem said, The complaint concerning Sedom and Amorah is so great, and their sin is so very severe.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The complaint”. The Hebrew za’akat, ‘outcry’, is rendered kevelat, from the root קבל, ‘to complain’. The Aramaic perhaps frames the cry as a grievance brought against Sedom.
• “So great”. Rabbah becomes segi’at, related to saggi, which rendered gadol in 18:18.
• “Severe”. Kavedah, ‘heavy, grave’, becomes tekifat, ‘strong, severe’, from the same root as takkif, which rendered atzum (‘mighty’) in 18:18. One Aramaic root thus serves two different Hebrew roots in this passage.
• “Their sin”. Hattatam is rendered hovathon, from a root whose basic sense is ‘debt’; sin is spoken of as a debt owed.

Words to note: קְבֵלַת kevelat — the complaint concerning (זַעֲקַת) · סְגִיאַת segi’at — is great (רָבָּה) · וְחוֹבָתְהוֹן ve-hovathon — and their sin (וְחַטָּאתָם) · תְקִיפַת tekifat — is severe (כָבְדָה) · לַחֲדָא lahada — very (מְאֹד)

Bereshit 18:21

Torah

Translation

I will descend now and see, if their wailing which has come to Me is indicative of their conduct; destruction [shall come upon them]. If not I will know.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

I will reveal Myself now and judge, if according to their complaint which has come before Me they have done; I will make destruction with them if they do not repent, and if they repent I will not exact punishment.

What Onkelos tells us

• “I will reveal Myself … and judge”. The Hebrew erdah na ve-er’eh, ‘I will descend now and see’, becomes itgelei khe’an ve-eddun, ‘I will reveal Myself now and judge’. Descending is replaced by self-revelation and seeing by judging; both changes may reflect a wish to avoid picturing God as moving or needing to look.
• “Their complaint”. The Hebrew ha-ke-tza’akatah has a singular feminine suffix (‘her outcry’, that of the city); Onkelos writes kevilthon, ‘their complaint’, in the plural. He uses the same root קבל as for za’akat in 18:20, so the two Hebrew spellings (with ז and with צ) are rendered by one Aramaic word.
• An expanded conditional. The Hebrew is terse: ‘whether they have done according to its outcry - destruction; and if not, I will know.’ Onkelos fills it out:
  • kalah becomes a full clause, e’bed immehon gemira, ‘I will make destruction with them’;
  • a condition is added, im la tayvin, ‘if they do not repent’;
  • ve-im lo becomes ve-im tayvin, ‘and if they repent’;
  • eda’ah, ‘I will know’, becomes la etpera, ‘I will not exact punishment’. The result reads the verse as a judgment that still leaves room for repentance, an interpretive addition with no direct counterpart in the Hebrew words.

Words to note: אִתְגְּלֵי itgelei — I will reveal Myself (אֵרְדָה) · וְאֶדּוּן ve-eddun — and judge (וְאֶרְאֶה) · קְבִלְתְּהוֹן kevilthon — their complaint (הַכְּצַעֲקָתָהּ) · גְּמִירָא gemira — destruction (כָּלָה) · תָיְבִין tayvin — they repent · אֶתְפְּרָע etpera — I will exact punishment (אֵדָעָה)

Unit 1 summary

Onkelos follows the narrative closely but shows several characteristic habits. Where the Hebrew speaks of God knowing a person, descending, or seeing, the Aramaic says that things are ‘revealed before’ Him, that He ‘reveals Himself’ and that He ‘judges’, perhaps to avoid language that pictures God in human terms. He also regularizes vocabulary: ‘nation’ becomes ‘people’, the Hebrew za’akah and tze’akah are both rendered from the single root קבל (‘complaint’), and one root (תקף) serves for both ‘mighty’ and ‘grave’. The most expansive move is in 18:21, where the elliptical Hebrew ‘they have done - destruction; and if not, I will know’ becomes an explicit two-sided conditional: destruction if they do not repent, no punishment if they do. Smaller touches - ‘to accompany them’ for ‘to send them’, ‘for his sake’ for ‘through him’, ‘the ways that are proper before Hashem’ for ‘the way of Hashem’ - smooth idioms or shade the theology without changing the course of the story.

Unit 2 — Bereshit 18:22–28: Avraham pleads for Sedom: fifty and forty-five

The men set off toward Sedom while Avraham remains before Hashem and challenges the justice of destroying the innocent with the guilty. Hashem agrees to spare the city for fifty, and then for forty-five.

Bereshit 18:22

Torah

Translation

The men turned from where they were, and went toward Sedom. Avraham was still standing before Hashem.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The men turned from where they were, and went to Sedom. Avraham was until now ministering in prayer before Hashem.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Ministering in prayer”. The Hebrew says only that Avraham was ‘standing’ (omed, עֹמֵד) before Hashem. Onkelos writes meshammesh bi-tzlo (מְשַׁמֵּשׁ בִּצְלוֹ), ‘ministering in prayer’. This suggests he understood the standing as an act of prayer, which also prepares for the plea that follows.
• “Until now”. Hebrew odennu (עוֹדֶנּוּ), ‘he was still’, is rendered ad ke’an (עַד כְּעַן), ‘until now’. The sense is the same; the Aramaic simply uses an adverbial phrase where the Hebrew uses a particle with a suffix.
• “Went to Sedom”. The Hebrew directional ending (Sedomah) becomes the preposition li- in li-Sdom (לִסְדוֹם). Otherwise the first half of the verse is a literal rendering.

Words to note: וְאִתְפְּנִיאוּ ve-itpeniu — turned (וַיִּפְנוּ) · גֻּבְרַיָּא guvrayya — the men (הָאֲנָשִׁים) · עַד כְּעַן ad ke’an — until now (עוֹדֶנּוּ) · מְשַׁמֵּשׁ meshammesh — ministering (עֹמֵד) · בִּצְלוֹ bi-tzlo — in prayer

Bereshit 18:23

Torah

Translation

Avraham came forward and said, Will You [actually] destroy the righteous with the wicked ?

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham came forward and said, Will You in anger destroy the innocent with the guilty?

What Onkelos tells us

• “In anger”. The Hebrew ha-af (הַאַף) is the question particle with af, ‘even, indeed’. Onkelos writes ha-virgaz (הֲבִרְגַז), ‘in anger’. He seems to have read af as the homograph meaning ‘anger’ (as in the idiom for wrath), so that Avraham asks whether God will destroy in anger rather than whether He will ‘indeed’ destroy.
• “The innocent with the guilty”. For tzaddik and rasha Onkelos uses zakka’ah and hayyava (זַכָּאָה, חַיָּבָא), words that also mean ‘acquitted’ and ‘liable’ in a court. This may sharpen the legal tone of Avraham’s argument, which goes on to speak of the Judge of all the earth.
• “Destroy”. Tispeh (תִּסְפֶּה), ‘sweep away’, is rendered teshetzei (תְּשֵׁיצֵי), ‘destroy, make an end of’.

Words to note: וּקְרֵב u-krev — came forward (וַיִּגַּשׁ) · הֲבִרְגַז ha-virgaz — in anger (הַאַף) · תְּשֵׁיצֵי teshetzei — destroy (תִּסְפֶּה) · זַכָּאָה zakka’ah — the innocent (צַדִּיק) · חַיָּבָא hayyava — the guilty (רָשָׁע)

Bereshit 18:24

Torah

Translation

Suppose there are fifty righteous people in the midst of the city, will You still destroy it, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people inside it?

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Suppose there are fifty innocent people in the midst of the city, will You in anger destroy [it], and not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty innocent people inside it?

What Onkelos tells us

• “In anger”. As in 18:23, ha-af tispeh is rendered ha-virgaz teshetzei (הֲבִרְגַז תְּשֵׁיצֵי), ‘will You in anger destroy’.
• “Forgive the place”. The Hebrew tissa (תִשָּׂא), ‘bear with, carry’, is rendered tishbok (תִשְׁבּוֹק), ‘let go, forgive’. The Aramaic chooses the sense of ‘bearing’ a sin, that is, pardoning, rather than the physical image of carrying.
• “The place”. Ha-makom is rendered atra (לְאַתְרָא), the ordinary Aramaic word for a place. The rest of the verse is literal: ma’im for ulai, be-go karta for ‘in the midst of the city’.

Words to note: מָאִים ma’im — suppose (אוּלַי) · בְּגוֹ קַרְתָּא be-go karta — in the midst of the city · תִשְׁבּוֹק tishbok — forgive (תִשָּׂא) · לְאַתְרָא le-atra — the place (לַמָּקוֹם) · בְּדִיל bedil — for the sake of (לְמַעַן)

Bereshit 18:25

Torah

Translation

It would be sacrilege [to attribute] to You such an act, to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. It would be sacrilege to attribute this to You : Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Your judgments are truth, [far] from doing such an act, to kill the innocent with the guilty, so that the innocent would be like the guilty. Your judgments are truth; the One Who judges all the earth will not do justice?

What Onkelos tells us

• “Your judgments are truth”. Twice the Hebrew says halilah lekha (חָלִלָה לְּךָ), an exclamation of the ‘far be it from You’ kind. Onkelos replaces it both times with a positive statement, kushta innun dinakh (קוּשְׁטָא אִנּוּן דִּינָךְ), ‘Your judgments are truth’. This may reflect reluctance to have Avraham address God with a formula of rebuke; the affirmation turns the protest into an appeal to God’s own justice. The connection to what follows (mi-lemebad, ‘from doing’) is left loose, much as in the Hebrew.
• “To kill”. Le-hamit is rendered le-kattala (לְקַטָּלָא), ‘to kill’. Contrast the different verb for ‘destroy’ in 18:23–24.
• “The One Who judges”. The Hebrew asks ha-shofet (הֲשֹׁפֵט), ‘Shall the Judge…?’. The printed Onkelos has de-dayin (דְּדָיִן), ‘the One Who judges’, with no question particle, and keeps the negative la (לָא); the question must be inferred from context. Onkelos also brings the verb din into both halves of the clause: ‘the One Who judges (dayin) … justice (dina)’.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads le-shetza’ah (לְשֵׁיצָאָה), ‘to destroy’, for ‘to kill’, the same verb used for tispeh in 18:23–24; the contrast drawn above holds for the printed text only.
• Textual note. At the end of the verse the Yemenite text reads ha-dayyan (הֲדַיָּין), ‘Is the Judge…?’, with a question particle, and beram (בְּרַם), ‘surely’, instead of ‘not’: ‘Shall the Judge of all the earth — surely He will do justice’. The observation that the question is only implicit holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: קוּשְׁטָא kushta — truth · דִּינָךְ dinakh — Your judgments · מִלְּמֶעְבַּד mi-lemebad — from doing (מֵעֲשֹׂת) · כְּפִתְגָּמָא ke-fitgama — such [an act] (כַּדָּבָר) · לְקַטָּלָא le-kattala — to kill (לְהָמִית) · דְּדָיִן de-dayin — the One Who judges (הֲשֹׁפֵט)

Bereshit 18:26

Torah

Translation

Hashem said; If, in Sedom, I find fifty righteous within the city, I will bear with the entire place for their sake.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Hashem said; If, in Sedom, I find fifty innocent within the city, I will forgive the entire place for their sake.

What Onkelos tells us

• “I will forgive”. As in 18:24, Hebrew nasa (‘bear with’) is rendered with shevak: ve-eshbok (וְאֶשְׁבּוֹק), ‘I will forgive’. Hashem’s answer thus uses the same verb as Avraham’s request, as in the Hebrew.
• “I find”. Emtza is rendered ashkah (אַשְׁכַּח). Otherwise a literal rendering, with bedilhon (בְּדִילְהוֹן) for ‘for their sake’.

Words to note: אַשְׁכַּח ashkah — I find (אֶמְצָא) · וְאֶשְׁבּוֹק ve-eshbok — I will forgive (וְנָשָׂאתִי) · בְּדִילְהוֹן bedilhon — for their sake (בַּעֲבוּרָם)

Bereshit 18:27

Torah

Translation

Avraham responded and said, Here I have begun to speak to my Master, and I am but dust and ashes.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham responded and said, Here, now, I have begun to speak before Hashem, and I am but dust and ashes.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Before Hashem”. The Hebrew el Adonai (אֶל אֲדֹנָי), ‘to my Master’, becomes kodam Hashem (קֳדָם ה׳), ‘before Hashem’. Speech is addressed ‘before’ God rather than ‘to’ Him, a pattern repeated in 18:29 and 18:31.
• “I have begun”. Ho’alti (הוֹאַלְתִּי) is rendered shareti (שָׁרֵיתִי), ‘I have begun’.
• “Dust and ashes”. Onkelos keeps afar (עָפָר) but renders efer with ktam (וּקְטָם). The Hebrew sound-play afar va-efer is therefore not carried into the Aramaic.

Words to note: וַאֲתֵב va-atev — responded (וַיַּעַן) · הָא כְעַן ha khe’an — here, now (הִנֵּה נָא) · שָׁרֵיתִי shareti — I have begun (הוֹאַלְתִּי) · לְמַלָּלָא le-mallala — to speak (לְדַבֵּר) · וּקְטָם u-ktam — and ashes (וָאֵפֶר)

Bereshit 18:28

Torah

Translation

But suppose they lack five of the fifty righteous? Will You destroy all the city because of five? He said, I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

But suppose they lack five of the fifty innocent? Will You destroy all the city because of five? He said, I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Destroy”. Here the Hebrew changes verb, from tispeh (18:23–24) to tashhit (הֲתַשְׁחִית). Onkelos changes with it, from teshetzei to hathabbel (הַתְחַבֵּל) and ahabbel (אֲחַבֵּל). In this aliyah every form of the Hebrew verb hishhit is rendered with the Aramaic root חבל.
• “Will You destroy”. Unlike the earlier question, Onkelos adds no ‘in anger’ here, since the Hebrew has no af. Otherwise a literal rendering.

Words to note: יַחְסְרוּן yahserun — they lack (יַחְסְרוּן) · הַתְחַבֵּל hathabbel — will You destroy (הֲתַשְׁחִית) · אֲחַבֵּל ahabbel — I will destroy (אַשְׁחִית) · תַּמָּן tamman — there (שָׁם)

Unit 2 summary

Onkelos carries Avraham’s argument into the vocabulary of a courtroom: the righteous and the wicked become the innocent and the guilty (zakka’in, hayyava), and the bold oath-like halilah lekha is turned into an affirmation, ‘Your judgments are truth’ (kushta innun dinakh). He reads the particle ha-af as ‘in anger’ (ha-virgaz), perhaps taking the homograph as the noun ‘anger’. Language about God is handled with care: Avraham ‘ministers in prayer’ before Hashem rather than simply standing, and he speaks ‘before Hashem’ rather than ‘to my Master’. Throughout, the Hebrew’s two verbs of destruction stay distinct, tispeh rendered by teshetzei and tashhit by hathabbel, and ‘bear with the place’ becomes ‘forgive the place’ (tishbok).

Unit 3 — Bereshit 18:29–33: Forty, thirty, twenty, ten

Avraham continues to bargain, down to ten righteous people, and Hashem agrees each time. The conversation ends, Hashem departs, and Avraham returns to his place.

Bereshit 18:29

Torah

Translation

He [Avraham] continued to speak to Him and said, Suppose there are forty found there? He said, I will not do it for the sake of the forty.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He continued again to speak before Him and said, Suppose there are forty found there? He said, I will not make an end for the sake of the forty.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Before Him”. Elav (אֵלָיו), ‘to Him’, becomes kodamohi (קֳדָמוֹהִי), ‘before Him’.
• “I will not make an end”. The Hebrew says only lo e’eseh (לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה), ‘I will not do’. Onkelos supplies an object: la e’bed gemera (לָא אֶעְבְּד גְּמֵרָא), ‘I will not make an end’, that is, a complete destruction. The added word names what the Hebrew leaves implicit. It is the same noun as gemira (גְּמִירָא) in 18:21, rendered there ‘destruction’.

Words to note: וְאוֹסִף ve-osif — continued (וַיֹּסֶף) · קֳדָמוֹהִי kodamohi — before Him (אֵלָיו) · יִשְׁתַּכְחוּן yishtakhun — will be found (יִמָּצְאוּן) · גְּמֵרָא gemera — an end

Bereshit 18:30

Torah

Translation

He said, Let not my Master show anger and I will [continue] to speak. Suppose thirty are found there? He said, I will not do it if I find thirty there.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He said, Let it not, now, be harsh before Hashem (another version: the anger of Hashem), and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there? He said, I will not make an end if I find thirty there.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Let it not be harsh before Hashem”. The Hebrew al na yihar la-Adonai (אַל נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי) uses the idiom ‘let it not be hot to my Master’, that is, ‘let my Master not be angry’. The printed Onkelos reads la khe’an yitkef kodam Hashem (לָא כְעַן יִתְקֵף קֳדָם ה׳), ‘let it not be harsh before Hashem’. This avoids making God the subject of anger, perhaps out of reverence.
• “Another version”. The printed text carries in parentheses an alternative reading, marked as another version: rugza de-Hashem (רוּגְזָא דַּה׳), ‘the anger of Hashem’, which keeps the anger but attaches it to Hashem as a noun.
• “I will not make an end”. As in 18:29, lo e’eseh is filled out with gemera (גְּמֵרָא).
• Textual note. The Yemenite text has no ‘before Hashem’ and reads only yitkaf rugza de-Hashem (יִתְקַף רוּגְזָא דַּה׳), ‘let the anger of Hashem not grow strong’, which is the ‘other version’ noted in the printed text. The remarks on avoiding God as the subject of anger hold for the printed main text only.

Words to note: יִתְקֵף yitkef — be harsh (יִחַר) · רוּגְזָא rugza — anger · וַאֲמַלֵּל va-amallel — and I will speak (וַאֲדַבֵּרָה) · תְּלָתִין telatin — thirty (שְׁלֹשִׁים) · גְּמֵרָא gemera — an end

Bereshit 18:31

Torah

Translation

He said, Here I wished to speak to my Master. Suppose twenty are found there? He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the twenty.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He said, Here, now, I have begun to speak before Hashem. Suppose twenty are found there? He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the twenty.

What Onkelos tells us

• “I have begun to speak before Hashem”. As in 18:27, ho’alti (הוֹאַלְתִּי) is shareti (שָׁרֵיתִי), ‘I have begun’, and ‘to my Master’ is ‘before Hashem’.
• “I will not destroy”. Ashhit is rendered ahabbel (אֲחַבֵּל), as in 18:28. Otherwise a literal rendering.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads asgiti (אַסְגִּיתִי), ‘I have spoken much’, for shareti, ‘I have begun’. The parallel with 18:27 drawn above holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: שָׁרֵיתִי shareti — I have begun (הוֹאַלְתִּי) · קֳדָם ה׳ kodam Hashem — before Hashem (אֲדֹנָי) · אֲחַבֵּל ahabbel — I will destroy (אַשְׁחִית)

Bereshit 18:32

Torah

Translation

He said, Let not my Master show anger, and I will speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there? He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the ten.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He said, Let it not, now, be harsh before Hashem (another version: the anger of Hashem), and I will speak just this time. Suppose ten are found there? He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the ten.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Let it not be harsh before Hashem”. The same rendering as in 18:30, again with the alternative reading rugza de-Hashem in parentheses.
• “Just this time”. Akh ha-pa’am (אַךְ הַפַּעַם), ‘just this once’, is rendered beram zimna hada (בְּרַם זִמְנָא הָדָא), ‘just this time’, with the Aramaic word for ‘time, occasion’ and a demonstrative.
• Textual note. As in 18:30, the Yemenite text lacks ‘before Hashem’ and reads ‘let the anger of Hashem not grow strong’ (rugza de-Hashem), the reading the printed text gives as an alternative.

Words to note: וֶאֱמַלֵּל ve-emallel — and I will speak (וַאֲדַבְּרָה) · בְּרַם זִמְנָא הָדָא beram zimna hada — just this time (אַךְ הַפַּעַם) · עַשְׂרָא asra — ten (עֲשָׂרָה) · אֲחַבֵּל ahabbel — I will destroy (אַשְׁחִית)

Bereshit 18:33

Torah

Translation

Hashem departed when He finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The Glory of Hashem withdrew when He finished speaking with Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The Glory of Hashem withdrew”. For va-yelekh Hashem (וַיֵּלֶךְ ה׳), ‘Hashem went’, Onkelos writes ve-istallak yekara de-Hashem (וְאִסְתַּלַּק יְקָרָא דַּה׳), ‘the Glory of Hashem withdrew’. Both changes, the ‘Glory’ and a verb of withdrawing in place of walking, suggest a wish to avoid describing God as moving from place to place.
• “Finished”. Killah is rendered shetzi (שֵׁצִי), from the same Aramaic verb that renders ‘destroy’ in 18:23–24 (teshetzei), whose basic sense is ‘to bring to an end’.
• “With Avraham” … “his place”. El Avraham becomes im Avraham (עִם אַבְרָהָם), ‘with Avraham’, and li-mkomo becomes le-atreh (לְאַתְרֵהּ), the same noun used for ‘the place’ in 18:24 and 18:26.

Words to note: וְאִסְתַּלַּק ve-istallak — withdrew (וַיֵּלֶךְ) · יְקָרָא yekara — the Glory · שֵׁצִי shetzi — finished (כִּלָּה) · תָּב tav — returned (שָׁב) · לְאַתְרֵהּ le-atreh — to his place (לִמְקֹמוֹ)

Unit 3 summary

In this unit Onkelos repeatedly fills out or softens the Hebrew’s brief expressions. The bare ‘I will not do’ becomes ‘I will not make an end’ (gemera), naming what would not be done. Avraham’s fear that ‘it be hot to my Master’ becomes ‘let it not be harsh before Hashem’, with a marginal reading ‘the anger of Hashem’ that the Yemenite text has as its main reading. Speech ‘to’ God becomes speech ‘before’ Him, and at the close it is ‘the Glory of Hashem’ that ‘withdrew’, rather than Hashem who ‘went’. The numbers, the repeated formula and the verbs of destruction are otherwise rendered closely, keeping the rhythm of the descending bargain.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from a domestic scene to a cosmic deliberation and then to a sustained dialogue. Sarah’s denial is answered with the same verb for laughing that she used, and the visitors’ departure toward Sedom opens the question of what Hashem will do. Hashem’s reasons for telling Avraham, rooted in the conduct Avraham will teach his household, lead into the announcement about Sedom. The men leave, and Avraham, ‘ministering in prayer’ in the Aramaic, argues his case step by step. Onkelos follows this movement closely, keeping the numbers and the repeated formula of the bargain, while consistently adjusting the way God is spoken of and filling out the Hebrew’s briefest expressions.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “Sarah denied” (18:15). Ve-khaddivat, from a root whose basic sense is to speak falsely, may be slightly sharper than ‘denied’.
2. “To accompany them” (18:16). Le-alvo’eihon makes clear that Avraham was escorting his guests rather than sending them off.
3. “For his sake” (18:18). Bedileh may suggest that the nations are blessed on account of Avraham’s merit rather than by invoking him.
4. “It is revealed before Me” (18:19). Geli kodamai replaces ‘I have known him’, perhaps avoiding the verb used of human knowing.
5. “The ways that are proper before Hashem” (18:19). ‘The way of Hashem’ becomes conduct that is right in His sight.
6. “The complaint” (18:20-21). One Aramaic root, קבל, renders both za’akat and tza’akatah.
7. “I will reveal Myself and judge” (18:21). Descending and seeing become self-revelation and judging, and the verse becomes a judgment that leaves room for repentance.
8. “Ministering in prayer” (18:22). Avraham’s standing before Hashem is understood as prayer, preparing for the plea that follows.
9. “In anger” (18:23). Ha-virgaz seems to read af as the homograph ‘anger’.
10. “Your judgments are truth” (18:25). The twice-repeated halilah lekha becomes a positive affirmation of God’s justice.
11. “Let it not be harsh before Hashem” (18:30). The printed text avoids making God the subject of anger; its marginal reading, and the Yemenite text, have ‘the anger of Hashem’.
12. “The Glory of Hashem withdrew” (18:33). ‘Hashem went’ becomes a withdrawal of His Glory, avoiding a picture of God moving from place to place.

Recurring features

• Reverent language about God. Knowing, descending, seeing, anger and going are rephrased throughout (18:19, 18:21, 18:30, 18:32, 18:33).
• ‘Before’ rather than ‘to’. Speech addressed to God is rendered as speech ‘before’ Him (18:27, 18:29, 18:31).
• Legal vocabulary. Zakka’in and hayyava for the righteous and the wicked, din for judging and justice, shevak for forgiving the place.
• Consistent pairings. Tispeh with teshetzei, hishhit with חבל, nasa with shevak, and goy with am.
• Filling out the terse. The added gemera in 18:29-30, the expanded conditional in 18:21, and ‘the people of his household’ in 18:19 name what the Hebrew leaves implicit.
• Close rendering elsewhere. The doubled verb of 18:18, the rhetorical question of 18:17, the numbers and the repeated formula of the bargain are carried over closely.

Aliyah takeaway

Onkelos tells this story almost word for word, yet the way he speaks of God shapes how the reader hears it. God is not pictured as descending, looking or walking away; things are revealed before Him, He judges, and His Glory withdraws. Avraham’s bold challenge is cast in the language of a court and framed as an affirmation that God’s judgments are true, and the verdict on Sedom is read as one that still leaves room for repentance. The changes are small, but together they give the aliyah a consistent reverence and a sharper sense of justice.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 18:15 – 18:33, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 19:1).

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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