Parashat Vayera — Fifth Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 21:5 – 21:21 · פרשת וירא, חמישי

The birth and weaning of Yitzchok, the sending away of Hagar and her son, and the lad saved in the desert, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 21:5–13: The birth of Yitzchok and the son of the slave-woman
• Unit 2 — Bereshit 21:14–21: Hagar and the lad in the desert
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. Yitzchok is born to the hundred-year-old Avraham, and Sarah greets the birth with joy. At the feast of his weaning Sarah sees the son of Hagar mocking and demands that the slave-woman and her son be driven out; Avraham is distressed, but God tells him to heed Sarah and promises that the son of the slave-woman too will become a nation. Avraham sends Hagar away with bread and a skin of water. When the water runs out she sets the lad under one of the bushes and weeps; an angel calls to her from heaven, her eyes are opened to a well, and the lad grows up in the desert, becomes an archer, and settles in the desert of Paran, where his mother takes him a wife from Egypt.

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.

• Two kinds of laughter. The Hebrew root of Yitzchok’s name runs through 21:6 and 21:9. Onkelos renders Sarah’s laughter as joy (חֶדְוָא, hedva) and the son of Hagar’s laughter as mocking (מְחָיִיךְ, mehayikh), so the wordplay disappears but the difference is spelled out.
• Sarah’s question expanded. In 21:7 the printed text adds ‘trustworthy’ (מְהֵימָן) and ‘fulfilled’ (קַיָּם), turning the question toward the One who promised and kept His word; the Yemenite text reads it as a declaration.
• Elokim becomes Hashem. Every time Elokim appears in this aliyah, the Aramaic has ה׳, in Sarah’s words, in God’s speech to Avraham, and throughout the Hagar narrative.
• Recasting language about God. ‘God heard’ becomes ‘it was heard before Hashem’ (וּשְׁמִיעַ קֳדָם ה׳), ‘God opened’ becomes ‘Hashem uncovered’, and ‘God was with the lad’ becomes ‘the Memra of Hashem was in the aid of the lad’ (מֵימְרָא דַּה׳).
• Idioms by their sense. ‘Listen to her voice’ becomes ‘accept from her’ (קַבֵּל), and ‘seed’ becomes ‘children’ (21:12) and ‘your son’ (21:13).
• One word for the lad. Ravya (רַבְיָא) stands for both the Hebrew yeled and na’ar in the desert scene, so the Hebrew’s alternation between the two words is not visible.
• Lexical shifts in the desert. The bushes become trees, the rare kimtahavei kashet becomes ‘the drawing of a bow’, and goy, ‘nation’, becomes am, ‘people’.

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 21:5–13: The birth of Yitzchok and the son of the slave-woman

Yitzchok is born to the hundred-year-old Avraham, and Sarah responds with joy; at the feast of his weaning Sarah sees Hagar’s son mocking and demands that he and his mother be sent away. Avraham is distressed, but God tells him to heed Sarah, promising that Yishmael too will become a nation.

Bereshit 21:5

Torah

Translation

Avraham was one hundred years old when his son Yitzchok was born to him.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham was one hundred years old when his son Yitzchok was born to him.

What Onkelos tells us

• “One hundred years old”. A literal rendering. The idiom ‘son of a hundred years’ is kept (bar me’ah shenin), but the Hebrew singular shanah becomes the plural shenin, a grammatical smoothing that does not show in English.
• “When … was born”. The Hebrew uses an infinitive with a preposition (be-hivvaled, ‘in the being born’); Onkelos turns it into a clause with a finite passive verb, kad ityelid, ‘when [he] was born’. He keeps the object marker yat before Yitzchok’s name, matching the Hebrew et even with a passive verb.

Words to note: שְׁנִין shenin — years (שָׁנָה) · כַּד kad — when · אִתְיְלִיד ityelid — was born (בְּהִוָּלֶד) · בְּרֵהּ bereh — his son (בְּנוֹ)

Bereshit 21:6

Torah

Translation

Sarah said, God has given me laughter. All who hear will laugh with me.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Sarah said, Hashem has given me joy. All who hear will rejoice with me.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Joy” … “will rejoice”. The Hebrew plays twice on the root of Yitzchok’s name: tzehok, ‘laughter’, and yitzhak li, ‘will laugh with me’. Onkelos renders both from the root חדי: hedva, ‘joy’, and yehedei, ‘will rejoice’. The wordplay on the name is lost, but the laughter is defined as gladness. Compare 21:9, where the same Hebrew root is rendered quite differently.
• “Hashem”. The Hebrew has Elokim; both the printed and the Yemenite Aramaic have ה׳. This may reflect a sense that Sarah is acknowledging the fulfilment of a personal promise, but the text gives no reason.
• “Has given me”. Avad, ‘made’, matches the Hebrew asah exactly.

Words to note: חֶדְוָא hedva — joy (צְחֹק) · עֲבַד avad — has given (made) (עָשָׂה) · דִּשְׁמַע di-shma — who hears (הַשֹּׁמֵעַ) · יֶחֱדֵּי yehedei — will rejoice (יִצְחַק)

Bereshit 21:7

Torah

Translation

She said, Who said to Avraham, that Sarah would nurse children? For I have given birth to a son in his old age.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

She said, Who [is] trustworthy, who said to Avraham [and] fulfilled [it], that Sarah would nurse children? For I have given birth to a son in his old age.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Who [is] trustworthy, who said … [and] fulfilled [it]”. The Hebrew asks a short rhetorical question: ‘Who said to Avraham that Sarah would nurse children?’ Onkelos expands it: man meheiman da-amar le-Avraham kayyam, ‘Who is trustworthy, who said to Avraham, fulfilled’. The question now points to the reliability of the One who made the promise and kept it, which suggests Onkelos read Sarah’s words as praise rather than as simple astonishment. Kayyam, ‘established, fulfilled’, has no counterpart in the Hebrew.
• “Said”. The Hebrew uses the uncommon verb millel; Onkelos uses the ordinary amar.
• “That Sarah would nurse”. The Hebrew perfect heinikah (‘nursed’) becomes de-tonik, introduced by de-, ‘that’, making it the content of what was promised.
• “In his old age”. Le-sivtohi renders li-zkunav literally.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks man, ‘who’, and reads ve-kayyeim, ‘and fulfilled’ (וְקַיֵּים): ‘Trustworthy [is He] who said to Avraham and fulfilled’. That makes the verse a direct declaration rather than a question; the rhetorical question kept in the translation above holds for the printed text only.

Words to note: מְהֵימָן meheiman — trustworthy · דַּאֲמַר da-amar — who said (מִלֵּל) · קַיָּם kayyam — fulfilled · דְּתוֹנִיק de-tonik — that [she] would nurse (הֵינִיקָה) · לְסִיבְתוֹהִי le-sivtohi — in his old age (לִזְקֻנָיו)

Bereshit 21:8

Torah

Translation

The child grew and was weaned. Avraham made a great feast on the day Yitzchok was weaned.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The child grew and was weaned. Avraham made a great feast on the day Yitzchok was weaned.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Grew” … “great”. A literal rendering. The Hebrew links va-yigdal, ‘grew’, and gadol, ‘great’; the Aramaic u-reva and rabba keep a similar echo of sound.
• “Was weaned”. Both Hebrew forms of ‘weaned’ (va-yiggamal, higgamel) become the same Aramaic verb ithasil. The Hebrew infinitive in ‘on the day of being weaned’ becomes a relative clause, be-yoma de-ithasil, ‘on the day that [he] was weaned’.

Words to note: רַבְיָא ravya — the child (הַיֶּלֶד) · וְאִתְחֲסִיל ve-ithasil — and was weaned (וַיִּגָּמַל) · מִשְׁתְּיָא mishteya — feast (מִשְׁתֶּה) · רַבָּא rabba — great (גָדוֹל)

Bereshit 21:9

Torah

Translation

Sarah saw that the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, that she had born to Avraham, was mocking.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Sarah saw that the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, that she had born to Avraham, was mocking.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Mocking”. The Hebrew metzahek is from the same root as Sarah’s tzehok and yitzhak in 21:6. Onkelos used חדי (‘rejoice’) there, but here he uses mehayikh, from a root meaning to laugh or jest. One Hebrew root is thus split between two Aramaic roots, perhaps to separate Sarah’s joy from Yishmael’s laughter, which the context marks as objectionable.
• “The Egyptian”. A literal rendering: mitzreita for ha-mitzrit, and di-lidat for asher yaledah.

Words to note: וַחֲזַת va-hazat — saw (וַתֵּרֶא) · מִצְרֵיתָא mitzreita — the Egyptian (הַמִּצְרִית) · דִּילִידַת di-lidat — that she had born (יָלְדָה) · מְחָיִיךְ mehayikh — mocking (מְצַחֵק)

Bereshit 21:10

Torah

Translation

She said to Avraham, Drive out this slave-woman and her son, for the son of this slave-woman will not inherit with my son, with Yitzchok.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

She said to Avraham, Drive out this slave-woman and her son, for the son of this slave-woman will not inherit with my son, with Yitzchok.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Drive out this slave-woman”. A literal rendering, word for word. Tarekh, ‘drive out’, renders garesh; amta, ‘slave-woman’, renders amah both times; yerat, ‘will inherit’, is the Aramaic cognate of yirash.

Words to note: תָּרֵךְ tarekh — drive out (גָּרֵשׁ) · אַמְתָא amta — slave-woman (הָאָמָה) · הָדָא hada — this (הַזֹּאת) · יֵרַת yerat — will inherit (יִירַשׁ)

Bereshit 21:11

Torah

Translation

This thing was very wrong in the eyes of Avraham, on account of his son.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

This thing was very wrong in the eyes of Avraham, on account of his son.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Was very wrong”. A literal rendering. U-ve’eish, ‘was bad’, renders va-yera; pitgama, ‘the thing, matter’, renders ha-davar; lahada, ‘very’, renders me’od.
• “On account of”. The Hebrew al odot becomes al eisak, ‘concerning the matter of’, the usual idiomatic equivalent.

Words to note: וּבְאֵישׁ u-ve’eish — was wrong (וַיֵּרַע) · פִּתְגָּמָא pitgama — thing (הַדָּבָר) · לַחֲדָא lahada — very (מְאֹד) · עֵיסַק eisak — account (matter) (אוֹדֹת)

Bereshit 21:12

Torah

Translation

God said to Avraham, Do not consider this wrong in your eyes on account of the boy and your slave-woman. Regarding all that Sarah tells you, listen to her voice, for [only] through Yitzchok will seed be considered yours.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Hashem said to Avraham, Do not consider this wrong in your eyes on account of the boy and on account of your slave-woman. Regarding all that Sarah tells you, accept from her, for through Yitzchok will children be considered yours.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Hashem said”. As in 21:6, the Hebrew has Elokim and both Aramaic texts have ה׳.
• “Accept from her”. The Hebrew idiom ‘listen to her voice’ (shema be-kolah) becomes kabbel minnah, ‘accept from her’. The sense, to do what she says, is given without the image of hearing a voice.
• “Children”. The Hebrew ‘seed will be called to you’ (yikkarei lekha zara) becomes yitkerun lakh benin, ‘children will be called to you’. The collective singular ‘seed’ is replaced by a plural noun with a plural verb; compare 21:13, where ‘your seed’ becomes ‘your son’.
• “Do not consider this wrong”. La yav’esh, ‘let it not be bad’, is the same root as u-ve’eish in 21:11, matching the Hebrew yera and va-yera.

Words to note: יַבְאֵשׁ yav’esh — consider wrong (be bad) (יֵרַע) · עוּלֵימָא uleima — the boy (הַנַּעַר) · קַבֵּל kabbel — accept (שְׁמַע) · יִתְקְרוּן yitkerun — will be considered (called) (יִקָּרֵא) · בְּנִין benin — children (זָרַע)

Bereshit 21:13

Torah

Translation

[But] also the son of the slave-woman I will make into a nation, for he is [of] your seed.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

And also the son of the slave-woman I will make into a nation, for he is your son.

What Onkelos tells us

• “For he is your son”. The Hebrew says ‘for he is your seed’ (zarakha); Onkelos has venakh, ‘your son’. Together with ‘children’ in 21:12, this suggests Onkelos rendered ‘seed’ here by the concrete relationship it describes.
• “Into a nation”. Le-am renders le-goy; ashavvinneh, ‘I will make him’, renders asimennu literally.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads בְּרָךְ (berakh), the usual Aramaic word for ‘your son’, in place of the printed form; the meaning ‘your son’ rather than ‘your seed’ holds for both texts.

Words to note: וְאַף ve-af — and also (וְגַם) · לְעַם le-am — into a nation (לְגוֹי) · אֲשַׁוִּנֵּהּ ashavvinneh — I will make him (אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ) · בְנָךְ venakh — your son (זַרְעֲךָ)

Unit 1 summary

Onkelos follows the narrative closely, but at the points where the Hebrew plays on the root of Yitzchok’s name he chooses between meanings. Sarah’s ‘laughter’ and the hearers’ laughing in 21:6 become ‘joy’ and ‘rejoicing’ (from חדי), while Yishmael’s ‘mocking’ in 21:9 comes from a different root (mehayikh, ‘mocking’); the wordplay on Yitzchok’s name is not kept in the Aramaic, but the distinction between joyful and scornful laughter is made explicit. Sarah’s terse question in 21:7 is expanded, in the printed text, into a question about the faithfulness of the One who promised and fulfilled. In both speeches where the Hebrew has Elokim (21:6, 21:12) the Aramaic has ה׳. Idioms are rendered by their sense: ‘listen to her voice’ becomes ‘accept from her’, and ‘seed’ becomes ‘children’ in 21:12 and ‘your son’ in 21:13. Elsewhere the rendering is literal, with routine shifts such as infinitive clauses turned into finite ones (‘when … was born’, ‘on the day that … was weaned’).

Unit 2 — Bereshit 21:14–21: Hagar and the lad in the desert

Avraham sends Hagar away with bread and a skin of water; when the water runs out she sets the lad down and weeps. An angel calls to her, her eyes are opened to a well, and the lad grows up in the desert of Paran.

Bereshit 21:14

Torah

Translation

Avraham got up early in the morning. He took bread and a skin [pouch] of water, and gave it to Hagar. He placed it on her shoulder with the lad, and sent her away. She went and lost her way in the desert of Beer Sheva.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham got up early in the morning. He took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar. He placed it on her shoulder with the lad, and sent her away. She went and lost her way in the desert (another reading: in the desert of) Beer Sheva.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Got up early in the morning”. A literal rendering: ve-akdeim (וְאַקְדֵּים), ‘rose early’, renders va-yashkem, and be-tzafra (בְּצַפְרָא) is the ordinary Aramaic for ‘in the morning’.
• “A skin of water”. The Hebrew hemat (וְחֵמַת) is rendered rakba (וְרָקְבָּא), a skin bottle. The same Aramaic word stands for hemat each time it recurs in this passage (21:15, 21:19).
• “He placed it on her shoulder”. Shavei (שַׁוֵי) renders sam, and katpah (כַּתְפַּהּ), ‘her shoulder’, renders shikhmah. The verb from שוי returns in 21:18 for the Hebrew ‘I will make him’.
• “The lad”. The Hebrew here says ha-yeled, ‘the child’. Onkelos uses ravya (רַבְיָא), the same word he uses later in the passage for ha-na’ar (21:17-21:20), so the Hebrew’s alternation between yeled and na’ar is not visible in the Aramaic.
• “Lost her way”. Ve-ta’at (וְתָעַת) corresponds to the Hebrew va-teta, with the same letters תע; a literal rendering.
• “In the desert (another reading: in the desert of) Beer Sheva”. The printed text has the definite form be-madbera, ‘in the desert’, with Beer Sheva standing beside it, and notes in parentheses the alternative be-madbar, the construct form ‘in the desert of’, which matches the Hebrew be-midbar.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text reads u-te’at (וּטְעָת), spelled with ט rather than ת; the meaning, ‘lost her way’, is the same, but the observation that the Aramaic shares the letters תע with the Hebrew holds for the printed text only.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text has only the construct be-madbar (בְּמַדְבַּר), ‘in the desert of’, which is the printed text’s parenthetical reading.

Words to note: וְאַקְדֵּים ve-akdeim — got up early (וַיַּשְׁכֵּם) · וְרָקְבָּא ve-rakba — and a skin (וְחֵמַת) · כַּתְפַּהּ katpah — her shoulder (שִׁכְמָהּ) · רַבְיָא ravya — the lad (הַיֶּלֶד) · וְתָעַת ve-ta’at — and lost her way (וַתֵּתַע)

Bereshit 21:15

Torah

Translation

The water in the skin was used up, and she threw the lad under one of the bushes.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The water in the skin was used up, and she threw the lad under one of the trees.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Was used up”. U-shelimu (וּשְׁלִימוּ), ‘came to an end’, renders va-yikhlu; the plural verb with ‘water’ is kept as in the Hebrew.
• “She threw”. U-remat (וּרְמַת) renders va-tashlekh; a literal rendering.
• “Under one of the trees”. The Hebrew has ha-sihim, ‘the bushes’. Onkelos writes ilanaya (אִילָנַיָּא), ‘trees’, a more general word. He also spells out the partitive with min: had min ilanaya, ‘one of the trees’, where the Hebrew uses a construct, ahad ha-sihim.

Words to note: וּשְׁלִימוּ u-shelimu — was used up (וַיִּכְלוּ) · וּרְמַת u-remat — and she threw (וַתַּשְׁלֵךְ) · אִילָנַיָּא ilanaya — the trees (הַשִּׂיחִם)

Bereshit 21:16

Torah

Translation

She went and sat facing him, about [the distance] of bow-shots away. She said, Let me not see the lad die. She sat facing him and wept in a loud voice.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

She went and sat facing him; she moved far away (another reading: at a distance), about the drawing of a bow. She said, Let me not see the lad die. She sat facing him and wept in a loud voice.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Facing him”. Mi-kovel (מִקֳּבֵל), ‘opposite’, renders mi-neged both times it occurs in the verse.
• “She moved far away”. The Hebrew harhek is an infinitive used adverbially, ‘at a distance’. The printed Onkelos turns it into a finite verb, arheikat (אַרְחֵיקַת), ‘she went far off’, adding a separate action to the sequence. The parenthetical reading arhik is closer in form to the Hebrew.
• “About the drawing of a bow”. The Hebrew kimtahavei kashet uses a rare plural, usually understood as ‘bow-shooters’. Onkelos replaces it with a verbal noun, ke-meigad kashta (כְּמֵיגַד קַשְׁתָּא), ‘as the drawing of a bow’, perhaps measuring the distance by the reach of a bowshot rather than by the archers.
• “Let me not see the lad die”. La ehezei be-mota de-ravya (literally ‘I will not see the death of the lad’) follows the Hebrew be-mot ha-yeled closely, with the Aramaic genitive de-.
• “Wept in a loud voice”. The Hebrew idiom ‘lifted up her voice’ (va-tissa et kolah) becomes va-areimat yat kalah (וַאֲרֵימַת יָת קָלַהּ), ‘raised her voice’.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks the parenthetical arhik and reads ke-meigad be-kashta (כְּמֵיגַד בְּקַשְׁתָּא), ‘as drawing with a bow’; the meaning is the same.
• Textual note. For be-mota the Yemenite text has be-moteih (בְּמוֹתֵיהּ), ‘his death, of the lad’, an anticipatory pronoun; the meaning is unchanged.

Words to note: מִקֳּבֵל mi-kovel — facing (מִנֶּגֶד) · אַרְחֵיקַת arheikat — she moved far away (הַרְחֵק) · כְּמֵיגַד ke-meigad — about the drawing of (כִּמְטַחֲוֵי) · בְּמוֹתָא be-mota — the death of (בְּמוֹת) · וַאֲרֵימַת va-areimat — and she raised (וַתִּשָּׂא)

Bereshit 21:17

Torah

Translation

God heard the voice of the lad. An angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, What is the matter, Hagar? Do not fear. God has heard the voice of the lad in the place where he is.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

It was heard before Hashem, the voice of the lad. An angel of Hashem called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, What is the matter, Hagar? Do not fear. It has been heard before Hashem, the voice of the lad in the place where he is.

What Onkelos tells us

• “It was heard before Hashem”. Twice in this verse the Hebrew says ‘God heard’ (va-yishma Elokim, shama Elokim). Onkelos both times turns the active verb into a passive with ‘before’: u-shemi’a kodam Hashem (וּשְׁמִיעַ קֳדָם ה׳). This may indicate a reluctance to make God the direct subject of a verb of sense perception. The accusative marker yat (יָת) remains before ‘the voice’, as if the active construction were still in mind.
• Hashem for Elokim. All three occurrences of Elokim in the Hebrew, including ‘an angel of Elokim’, are rendered with the Name, Hashem, in the Aramaic.
• “The voice of the lad”. Kaleh de-ravya (קָלֵהּ דְּרַבְיָא), literally ‘his voice, of the lad’, is the regular Aramaic genitive with an anticipatory pronoun. Ravya here renders ha-na’ar, the word that rendered ha-yeled in 21:14-21:16.
• “Do not fear”. La tidhali (תִדְחֲלִי), from דחל, renders al tir’i.
• “In the place where he is”. The Hebrew ba-asher hu sham becomes ba-atar de-hu tamman (בַּאֲתַר דְּהוּא תַמָּן), ‘in the place that he is there’; Onkelos supplies the noun atar, ‘place’, for the Hebrew relative asher.
• Textual note. In the second half of the verse the Yemenite text has no yat before kaleih (קָלֵיהּ); the remark about the accusative marker after the passive holds there only for the first half of the verse.

Words to note: וּשְׁמִיעַ u-shemi’a — it was heard (וַיִּשְׁמַע) · קֳדָם kodam — before · תִדְחֲלִי tidhali — fear (תִּירְאִי) · בַּאֲתַר ba-atar — in the place (בַּאֲשֶׁר)

Bereshit 21:18

Torah

Translation

Get up and lift up the lad. Keep your hand strong on him, for I will make him a great nation.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Get up and lift up the lad. Keep your hand strong on him, for I will make him a great people.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Lift up”. Tuli (טוּלִי) renders se’i, and ve-atkifi (וְאַתְקִיפִי), ‘make strong’, renders ve-haheziki; a literal rendering of the commands.
• “A great people”. The Hebrew goy gadol, ‘a great nation’, becomes am saggi (לְעַם סַגִּי): goy is rendered with am, ‘people’, and gadol with saggi.
• “I will make him”. Ashavvinneh (אֲשַׁוִּנֵּהּ), from שוי, renders asimennu; the same Aramaic verb rendered sam, ‘placed’, in 21:14, as the Hebrew uses שׂם in both places.

Words to note: טוּלִי tuli — lift up (שְׂאִי) · וְאַתְקִיפִי ve-atkifi — keep strong (וְהַחֲזִיקִי) · לְעַם le-am — a people (לְגוֹי) · סַגִּי saggi — great (גָּדוֹל) · אֲשַׁוִּנֵּהּ ashavvinneh — I will make him (אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ)

Bereshit 21:19

Torah

Translation

God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad to drink.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Hashem uncovered her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad to drink.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Hashem uncovered her eyes”. The Hebrew va-yifkah Elokim, ‘God opened’, becomes u-gela Hashem (וּגְלָא ה׳), ‘uncovered, revealed’, with Elokim again rendered by the Name. The choice suggests that the well was there all along and that her eyes were opened to it, though the Hebrew verb can carry the same sense.
• “A well of water”. Beira de-maya (בֵּירָא דְמַיָּא) renders be’er mayim with the Aramaic genitive; a literal rendering.
• “Gave the lad to drink”. Ve-ashkiat (וְאַשְׁקִיאַת) is the causative ‘gave to drink’, matching va-tashk. Rakba again renders ha-hemet.

Words to note: וּגְלָא u-gela — uncovered (וַיִּפְקַח) · בֵּירָא beira — a well (בְּאֵר) · וְאַשְׁקִיאַת ve-ashkiat — and gave to drink (וַתַּשְׁקְ)

Bereshit 21:20

Torah

Translation

God was with the lad and he grew up. He settled in the wilderness, [where] he became an expert archer.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

The Memra of Hashem was in the aid of the lad, and he grew up. He settled in the wilderness, and he became an expert archer.

What Onkelos tells us

• “The Memra of Hashem was in the aid of the lad”. The Hebrew says simply ‘God was with the lad’. Onkelos interposes the Memra (מֵימְרָא) of Hashem and turns ‘with’ into be-sa’deh (בְּסַעְדֵהּ), ‘in his aid’, literally ‘in his aid, of the lad’. God’s presence becomes active help, and the ‘with’ is perhaps avoided as too physical a way of placing God beside a person.
• “He grew up” and “an expert archer”. The Hebrew uses two different words, va-yigdal, ‘he grew’, and roveh, ‘archer’. Onkelos writes u-reva (וּרְבָא), ‘he grew’, and ravei kashta (רָבֵי קַשְׁתָּא), ‘a master of the bow’. Together with ravya, ‘the lad’, the verse thus has three Aramaic words built on the letters רב, and ravei echoes the sound of the Hebrew roveh; whether this was intended can only be guessed.
• “He settled”. Vi-teiv (וִיתֵב) renders va-yeshev; a literal rendering.

Words to note: מֵימְרָא meimra — the Memra · בְּסַעְדֵהּ be-sa’deh — in the aid of · וּרְבָא u-reva — and he grew up (וַיִּגְדָּל) · רָבֵי ravei — an expert (master of) (רֹבֶה) · קַשְׁתָּא kashta — the bow (archer) (קַשָּׁת)

Bereshit 21:21

Torah

Translation

He lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

What Onkelos tells us

• “His mother took a wife for him”. A literal rendering. U-nesivat (וּנְסִיבַת) renders va-tikkah, with the same verb that rendered ‘he took’ in 21:14; ‘the desert of Paran’ and ‘the land of Egypt’ are expressed with the Aramaic genitive de-.

Words to note: וּנְסִיבַת u-nesivat — took (וַתִּקַּח) · אִתְּתָא itteta — a wife (אִשָּׁה)

Unit 2 summary

Onkelos follows the narrative closely, but its language about God is systematically recast: Elokim becomes Hashem in every instance, ‘God heard’ becomes ‘it was heard before Hashem’, ‘God opened her eyes’ becomes ‘Hashem uncovered her eyes’, and ‘God was with the lad’ becomes ‘the Memra of Hashem was in the aid of the lad’. Elsewhere the changes are lexical: one Aramaic word, ravya (רַבְיָא), stands for both the Hebrew yeled and na’ar; the bushes become trees; the rare kimtahavei kashet becomes ‘the drawing of a bow’; goy becomes am. The Hebrew infinitive harhek is turned into a finite verb in the printed text, and in 21:20 three words built on the letters רב (ravya, u-reva, ravei) cluster in a single verse.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from joy to expulsion and from danger to rescue. It opens with the birth of the long-promised son and Sarah’s delight, turns at the weaning feast to conflict between the two sons and their mothers, and passes through Avraham’s distress to God’s double assurance: Yitzchok will carry Avraham’s line, and the son of the slave-woman will also become a nation. The second half follows Hagar and the lad into the desert, where the water runs out and the lad is near death, until the voice of the lad is heard, a well is revealed, and the lad grows to manhood in the wilderness. Onkelos follows this course closely, rendering much of it literally, while marking the turning points with choices of word and with a reworked way of speaking about God.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “Joy” (21:6). Sarah’s tzehok becomes חֶדְוָא, hedva, and ‘will laugh with me’ becomes ‘will rejoice with me’; the laughter is defined as gladness.
2. “Mocking” (21:9). The same Hebrew root is rendered mehayikh (מְחָיִיךְ), perhaps to separate Sarah’s joy from the laughter that the context marks as objectionable.
3. “Who [is] trustworthy, who said … [and] fulfilled [it]” (21:7). The printed text expands Sarah’s question so that it points to the reliability of the One who made the promise; the Yemenite text, lacking man, makes it a direct declaration.
4. “Accept from her” (21:12). Kabbel minnah (קַבֵּל) gives the sense of ‘listen to her voice’, to do what she says, without the image of hearing a voice.
5. “Children” (21:12) and “your son” (21:13). The collective ‘seed’ becomes בְּנִין, ‘children’, and then בְנָךְ, ‘your son’, which suggests ‘seed’ is rendered by the concrete relationship it describes.
6. Hashem for Elokim (21:6, 21:12). In both speeches of the first unit where the Hebrew has Elokim, the Aramaic has ה׳; the notes observe that the text gives no reason.
7. “Under one of the trees” (21:15). The Hebrew ‘bushes’ become אִילָנַיָּא, ‘trees’, a more general word.
8. “She moved far away” (21:16). The printed text turns the adverbial infinitive harhek into a finite verb, adding a separate action; the parenthetical reading is closer to the Hebrew.
9. “About the drawing of a bow” (21:16). The rare kimtahavei kashet is replaced by a verbal noun, כְּמֵיגַד, perhaps measuring the distance by the reach of a bowshot.
10. “It was heard before Hashem” (21:17). Twice the active ‘God heard’ becomes the passive וּשְׁמִיעַ קֳדָם ה׳, which may indicate a reluctance to make God the subject of a verb of sense perception.
11. “Hashem uncovered her eyes” (21:19). וּגְלָא, ‘uncovered’, suggests that the well was there all along, though the Hebrew verb can carry the same sense.
12. “The Memra of Hashem was in the aid of the lad” (21:20). ‘With’ becomes active help through the Memra (מֵימְרָא דַּה׳), perhaps avoiding too physical a way of placing God beside a person.

Recurring features

• Elokim rendered as Hashem. All seven occurrences of Elokim in this aliyah, including ‘an angel of Elokim’, are rendered with ה׳ in the Aramaic.
• Indirect language for God’s actions. Hearing becomes ‘heard before Hashem’, opening becomes uncovering, and presence becomes the aid of the Memra.
• Infinitives made finite. ‘When … was born’ (21:5), ‘on the day that … was weaned’ (21:8) and, in the printed text, ‘she moved far away’ (21:16) turn Hebrew infinitives into finite verbs or clauses.
• Idioms rendered by sense. ‘Listen to her voice’, ‘seed’ and ‘lifted up her voice’ are given in plainer or concrete terms.
• Consistent vocabulary. וְרָקְבָּא, rakba, renders hemat each time it occurs; ravya covers both yeled and na’ar in the desert scene; לְעַם, le-am, renders le-goy in both 21:13 and 21:18; the verb from שוי renders שׂם in 21:14 and 21:18.
• Literal rendering elsewhere. Much of the narrative, such as Sarah’s demand in 21:10 and the closing verse, is rendered word for word, with the Aramaic genitive de- in place of the Hebrew construct.
• Echoes of sound. Words built on the letters רב cluster in 21:8 and 21:20 (ravya, u-reva, rabba, ravei); whether this was intended can only be guessed.

Aliyah takeaway

In this aliyah Onkelos is for the most part a close, literal translator, but at a few points his choices interpret the story. He separates the joy around Yitzchok’s birth from the mocking of Hagar’s son, reads Sarah’s words as an acknowledgement of a promise kept, and consistently reshapes the way the text speaks of God: the Name in place of Elokim, hearing ‘before’ Hashem, and the Memra’s aid in place of God being ‘with’ the lad. The care for God’s providence over the son of the slave-woman is not lessened by these changes; it is expressed in terms Onkelos considers fitting.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 21:5 – 21:21, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 21:22).

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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