Parashat Vayera — Sixth Aliyah

Torah with Onkelos · Bereshit 21:22 – 21:34 · פרשת וירא, שישי

Avraham’s treaty with Avimelech at Beer Sheva, read through Targum Onkelos

Contents

• Orientation
• How this page is laid out
• Unit 1 — Bereshit 21:22–28: Avimelech’s oath and the covenant with Avraham
• Unit 2 — Bereshit 21:29–34: The seven ewes and the covenant at Beer Sheva
• Conclusion of the aliyah
• Aramaic word list for the aliyah
• Source note

Orientation

What happens in this aliyah. Avimelech, king of the Philistines, comes with his general Pichol and asks Avraham to swear that he will not deal falsely with him or his descendants, and to repay the kindness he has received. Avraham agrees, but first reprimands Avimelech over a well that Avimelech’s servants had seized; Avimelech replies that he knew nothing of it until that day. Avraham gives sheep and cattle, the two make a covenant, and Avraham sets aside seven ewes as proof that he dug the well. The place is named Beer Sheva, Avimelech and Pichol return to the land of the Philistines, and Avraham plants an eishel, calls in the name of Hashem, and lives on in the land of the Philistines for many days.

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.

• One root for oath, covenant and setting up. The Aramaic root kum (קום) renders the Hebrew verbs for swearing, the noun for covenant and the verb for setting up the ewes, so these acts sound alike in the Aramaic.
• The Memra of Hashem. Where Avimelech says Elokim, Onkelos has the Name introduced by meimra (מֵימְרָא דַּה׳), both in his observation in 21:22 and in the oath formula of 21:23.
• “In your support”. “God is with you” becomes “in your support” (בְּסַעְדָּךְ), which the note suggests may reflect a reluctance to speak of God as literally accompanying a person.
• Plain words for rare ones. Avimelech’s rare nin and nekhed become “my son and my son’s son”, and the elliptical Hebrew oath with im is spelled out as a negative clause.
• Prayer at Beer Sheva. In 21:33 the eishel becomes a general “planting”, and “he called in the name of Hashem” becomes “he prayed” (וְצַלִּי).
• Textual notes. The printed text and the Yemenite text differ in small points of grammatical gender and in the alternative reading of 21:33; 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 21:22–28: Avimelech’s oath and the covenant with Avraham

Avimelech and his general Pichol ask Avraham to swear not to deal falsely with them. Avraham agrees, raises the matter of a well seized by Avimelech’s servants, and the two make a covenant, after which Avraham sets aside seven ewes.

Bereshit 21:22

Torah

Translation

It was at this time, Avimelech and Pichol, his general spoke to Avraham, saying, God is with you in all that you do.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

It was at this time, Avimelech and Pichol, his general, spoke to Avraham, saying, The Memra of Hashem is in your support in all that you do.

What Onkelos tells us

• “His general”. The Hebrew title sar tzeva’o is rendered rav heileh (רַב חֵילֵהּ), literally “the chief of his army”, using ordinary Aramaic words for both parts of the title. The meaning is unchanged.
• “The Memra of Hashem is in your support”. Avimelech says simply Elokim immekha, “God is with you”. Onkelos makes two changes: the Name stands where the Hebrew has Elokim, and it is introduced by meimra (מֵימְרָא); and “with you” becomes be-sa’dakh (בְּסַעְדָּךְ), “in your support”, from סעד, “to support, help”. The Hebrew phrase is perhaps read not as presence alongside Avraham but as active help in his affairs, which may suggest a reluctance to speak of God as literally accompanying a person.
• “In all that you do”. The rest of the verse is literal; the relative asher is rendered by di (דִּי).

Words to note: בְּעִדָּנָא be-iddana — at the time (בָּעֵת) · רַב rav — chief (שַׂר) · חֵילֵהּ heileh — his army (צְבָאוֹ) · מֵימְרָא meimra — Memra (word) · בְּסַעְדָּךְ be-sa’dakh — in your support (עִמְּךָ)

Bereshit 21:23

Torah

Translation

Now, swear to me here, by God, that you will not deal falsely with me, with my son, or my grandson. The kindness that I have done to you, do to me and to the land in which you lived for a while.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Now, affirm [by oath] to me here, by the Memra of Hashem, that you will not deal falsely with me, and with my son, and with my son’s son. Like the kindness that I have done to you, do to me and to the land in which you lived.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Affirm [by oath]”. For the Hebrew hishave’ah, “swear”, Onkelos uses kayyem (קַיֵּם), the pa’el of קום, literally “establish, confirm”. The same verb answers Avraham in 21:24 (akayyem), and the same root gives keyam, “covenant”, in 21:27.
• “By the Memra of Hashem”. The Hebrew be-Elokim becomes be-meimra da-Hashem (בְּמֵימְרָא דַּה׳): as in 21:22, the Name replaces Elokim, introduced by meimra.
• “That you will not”. The Hebrew oath idiom uses im, literally “if”, to express a negative oath: “if you deal falsely” means “that you will not”. Onkelos spells out the sense with de-la (דְּלָא), “that … not”, removing the elliptical oath formula.
• “My son, and my son’s son”. The Hebrew uses two rare words, nini and nekhdi, “my offspring and my descendant”. Onkelos replaces them with the plain u-vivri u-vevar beri (וּבִבְרִי וּבְבַר בְּרִי), “and with my son and with my son’s son”, defining the generations precisely.
• “Kindness”. The Hebrew hesed is rendered tivota (כְּטִיבוֹתָא), a noun related to tav, “good”; the comparative ke-, “like”, is kept from the Hebrew.
• “In which you lived”. The Hebrew garta carries the sense of living somewhere as a resident alien. Onkelos uses de-ittotavta (דְאִתּוֹתַבְתָּא), from יתב, “to dwell, settle”, which may not convey that nuance as sharply.

Words to note: קַיֵּם kayyem — affirm [by oath] (הִשָּׁבְעָה) · תְשַׁקַּר teshakkar — deal falsely (תִּשְׁקֹר) · וּבִבְרִי u-vivri — and with my son (וּלְנִינִי) · וּבְבַר u-vevar — and with the son of (וּלְנֶכְדִּי) · כְּטִיבוֹתָא ke-tivota — like the kindness (כַּחֶסֶד) · דְאִתּוֹתַבְתָּא de-ittotavta — in which you lived (גַּרְתָּה)

Bereshit 21:24

Torah

Translation

Avraham said, I will swear.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham said, I will affirm.

What Onkelos tells us

• “I will affirm”. Avraham’s ishave’a, “I will swear”, is rendered akayyem (אֲקַיֵּם), the same verb Onkelos used for Avimelech’s request in 21:23, so request and answer still match. Anokhi is rendered by the ordinary Aramaic ana (אֲנָא).

Words to note: אֲנָא ana — I (אָנֹכִי) · אֲקַיֵּם akayyem — I will affirm (אִשָּׁבֵעַ)

Bereshit 21:25

Torah

Translation

Avraham then reprimanded Avimelech regarding the well of water that Avimelech’s servants had taken by force.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham then reprimanded Avimelech regarding the matter of the well of water that Avimelech’s servants had taken by force.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Regarding the matter of”. The Hebrew al odot, “concerning”, becomes al eisak (עַל עֵיסַק), literally “about the matter of”. The sense is the same.
• “Taken by force”. For gazlu, “they robbed”, Onkelos writes annisu (אֲנִּיסוּ), from אנס, “to seize by force”. Ve-okhah (וְאוֹכַח) keeps the Hebrew root יכח, and beira de-maya (בֵּירָא דְמַיָּא) renders the construct be’er ha-mayim with the Aramaic particle ד, “of”.

Words to note: וְאוֹכַח ve-okhah — reprimanded (וְהוֹכִחַ) · עֵיסַק eisak — matter (אֹדוֹת) · בֵּירָא beira — the well (בְּאֵר) · אֲנִּיסוּ annisu — had taken by force (גָּזְלוּ)

Bereshit 21:26

Torah

Translation

Avimelech said, I do not know who did this thing. You also never told me, and I also heard nothing of it until today.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avimelech said, I do not know who did this thing. You also never told me, and I also heard nothing [of it] until this day.

What Onkelos tells us

• A literal rendering. Avimelech’s three-part denial is kept word for word, including the twofold “also” (ve-gam … ve-gam), which Onkelos renders twice with ve-af (וְאַף). The Hebrew davar, “thing”, is rendered pitgama (פִּתְגָּמָא), and ha-yom, “today”, becomes yoma dein (יוֹמָא דֵין), “this day”.

Words to note: פִּתְגָּמָא pitgama — thing (הַדָּבָר) · וְאַף ve-af — also (וְגַם) · חַוֵּיתָ havveita — told (הִגַּדְתָּ) · יוֹמָא yoma — day (הַיּוֹם)

Bereshit 21:27

Torah

Translation

Avraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Avimelech. The two of them made a covenant.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham took sheep and oxen and gave [them] to Avimelech. The two of them made a covenant.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Took”. For va-yikkah Onkelos writes u-devar (וּדְבַר), from דבר, “to lead, take along”, a verb suited to driving animals.
• “Sheep and oxen”. The Hebrew collective bakar, “cattle”, becomes the plural noun torin (וְתוֹרִין), “oxen”.
• “Made a covenant”. The Hebrew idiom karat berit, literally “cut a covenant”, is rendered gezaru … keyam (וּגְזָרוּ … קְיָם). Gezar also means “cut” (and “decree”), so the idiom’s image is kept. The noun keyam, “covenant”, is from קום, the root Onkelos used for swearing in 21:23-24.

Words to note: וּדְבַר u-devar — took (וַיִּקַּח) · וְתוֹרִין ve-torin — and oxen (וּבָקָר) · וּגְזָרוּ u-gezaru — made (lit. cut) (וַיִּכְרְתוּ) · תַרְוֵיהוֹן tarveihon — the two of them (שְׁנֵיהֶם) · קְיָם keyam — covenant (בְּרִית)

Bereshit 21:28

Torah

Translation

Avraham set seven ewes apart by themselves.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham set up seven ewes of the flock by themselves.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Set up”. The Hebrew va-yatzev, “he stationed”, becomes va-akim (וַאֲקִים), the af’el of קום, “to set up, make stand”. Within this unit, then, one Aramaic root covers the Hebrew roots שבע (swearing, 21:23-24), ברית (covenant, 21:27) and נצב (here). The Aramaic perhaps hints that setting aside the ewes belongs to the oath and covenant, but this may simply be Onkelos’s ordinary vocabulary.
• “Seven ewes of the flock”. Sheva kivsot ha-tzon is rendered sheva hurfan de-an (שְׁבַע חוּרְפַן דְּעָאן), with the Aramaic particle ד for the construct. The Hebrew echo between shiv’a, “seven”, and the verb for swearing (שבע) is not reproduced, since Onkelos’s verb for swearing is from קום.
• “By themselves”. Bilhodeihen (בִּלְחוֹדֵיהֶן) renders levaddehen, keeping the feminine suffix.

Words to note: וַאֲקִים va-akim — set up (וַיַּצֵּב) · חוּרְפַן hurfan — ewes (כִּבְשֹׂת) · דְּעָאן de-an — of the flock (הַצֹּאן) · בִּלְחוֹדֵיהֶן bilhodeihen — by themselves (לְבַדְּהֶן)

Unit 1 summary

Onkelos follows this negotiation closely, with a few characteristic changes. The Hebrew’s Elokim, in Avimelech’s mouth, becomes “the Memra of Hashem” both in his observation that God is “with” Avraham, which becomes “in your support” (בְּסַעְדָּךְ), and in the oath formula of 21:23. Avimelech’s rare words for descendants, nin and nekhed, become the plain “my son and my son’s son”, and the Hebrew oath idiom with im is spelled out as a negative clause. The most striking feature is lexical: one Aramaic root, קום, covers the Hebrew roots for swearing (שבע), for covenant (ברית) and for setting up the ewes (נצב). In the Aramaic the oath, the covenant and Avraham’s gesture are thus bound together by a single root, while the Hebrew echo between swearing (שבע) and the number seven is not reproduced, since the Aramaic number is not linked to its verb for swearing.

Unit 2 — Bereshit 21:29–34: The seven ewes and the covenant at Beer Sheva

Avraham sets apart seven ewes as proof that he dug the well, the place is named Beer Sheva after the oath, and Avimelech and Pichol return home. Avraham plants an eishel, calls in the name of Hashem, and lives on in the land of the Philistines.

Bereshit 21:29

Torah

Translation

Avimelech said to Avraham. What is the reason for these seven ewes that you have set apart?

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avimelech said to Avraham, What are they, these seven ewes that you have set up by themselves?

What Onkelos tells us

• “What are they, these”. The Hebrew מָה הֵנָּה is literally ‘what are these’; Metsudah’s ‘what is the reason for’ is an interpretive smoothing. The printed Aramaic מָה אִנּוּן uses the plain pronoun ‘they’, and then adds the demonstrative אִלֵּין ‘these’ after the noun, so the Aramaic says ‘what are they, these seven ewes’. The question is asked as directly as in the Hebrew.
• “Ewes”. Onkelos renders the Hebrew כְּבָשֹׂת with חוּרְפַן (hurfan), the usual Aramaic word for ewe-lambs; the same word returns in 21:30.
• “That you have set up by themselves”. The Hebrew הִצַּבְתָּ (hitzavta), ‘you stationed, set up’, is rendered דַּאֲקֵמְתָּא (da’akemta), from the Aramaic root kum, ‘stand, set up’ (causative). The same root reappears in this passage for ‘made an oath’ (21:31), ‘covenant’ and ‘rose’ (21:32). The Hebrew לְבַדָּֽנָה ‘by themselves’ is matched by בִּלְחוֹדֵיהֶן (bilhodeihen), with a feminine plural suffix like the Hebrew.
• Textual note. For the printed אִנּוּן, which is masculine, the Yemenite text reads אִנִּין, the feminine form, agreeing with the feminine Hebrew הֵנָּה and with the ewes. Likewise the suffix of ‘by themselves’ is feminine in the printed text (בִּלְחוֹדֵיהֶן) but masculine in the Yemenite (בִּלְחוֹדֵיהוֹן). The two texts thus distribute gender agreement differently; the meaning is unchanged.

Words to note: אִנּוּן innun — they (הֵנָּה) · חוּרְפַן hurfan — ewes (כְּבָשֹׂת) · דַּאֲקֵמְתָּא da’akemta — that you have set up (הִצַּבְתָּ) · בִּלְחוֹדֵיהֶן bilhodeihen — by themselves (לְבַדָּֽנָה)

Bereshit 21:30

Torah

Translation

He [Avraham] said, Take these seven ewes from my hand so that it will be proof for me, that I dug this well.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He said, That seven ewes you shall accept from my hand, so that it will be proof for me, that I dug this well.

What Onkelos tells us

• “That seven ewes”. The Aramaic opens, like the Hebrew, with אֲרֵי for the Hebrew כִּי introducing the answer, and marks the object with יָת. Neither text has ‘these’ here; the Hebrew and the Aramaic both say simply ‘seven ewes’.
• “You shall accept”. Where the Hebrew has תִּקַּח ‘you shall take’, Onkelos writes תְּקַבֵּל (tekabbel), ‘you shall receive, accept’. The choice suits the context of something handed over ‘from my hand’, and perhaps presents Avimelech as receiving a gift rather than taking it.
• “Proof”. The Hebrew לְעֵדָה is rendered לְסַהֲדוּ (lesahadu), the Aramaic word for testimony or witness; בְּדִיל (bedil), ‘so that’, renders בַּעֲבוּר. The rest of the verse is literal: חֲפָרִית (hafarit), ‘I dug’, from the same root as the Hebrew.
• Textual note. For the printed הָדָא ‘this’ (feminine), agreeing with the feminine Hebrew הַזֹּֽאת, the Yemenite text reads הָדֵין, the masculine form. The meaning is the same.

Words to note: תְּקַבֵּל tekabbel — you shall accept (תִּקַּח) · בְּדִיל bedil — so that (בַּעֲבוּר) · לְסַהֲדוּ lesahadu — proof (testimony) (לְעֵדָה) · חֲפָרִית hafarit — I dug (חָפַרְתִּי) · בֵּירָא beira — well (הַבְּאֵר)

Bereshit 21:31

Torah

Translation

Therefore he called that place Beer Sheva, since the two had made an oath there.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Therefore he called that place Beer Sheva, since there the two ratified [an oath].

What Onkelos tells us

• “That place”. The Hebrew לַמָּקוֹם is rendered לְאַתְרָא (le’atra), the ordinary Aramaic word for place.
• “Beer Sheva”. Onkelos keeps the name בְּאֵר שָׁבַע as a name, untranslated.
• “Ratified [an oath]”. For the Hebrew נִשְׁבְּעוּ ‘they swore’, Onkelos writes קַיָּמוּ (kayyamu), ‘they established, confirmed’, from the root kum. In the Hebrew the name Beer Sheva echoes both the seven (sheva) ewes and the verb nishbe’u, ‘swore’. In the Aramaic the word for seven in 21:29–30 still matches the name, but the verb comes from another root, so the link between the name and the oath is not reproduced in the verb.
• “The two”. תַּרְוֵיהוֹן (tarveihon), ‘the two of them’, renders שְׁנֵיהֶֽם.

Words to note: לְאַתְרָא le’atra — place (לַמָּקוֹם) · תַמָּן tamman — there (שָׁם) · קַיָּמוּ kayyamu — ratified [an oath] (נִשְׁבְּעוּ) · תַּרְוֵיהוֹן tarveihon — the two (שְׁנֵיהֶֽם)

Bereshit 21:32

Torah

Translation

They made a covenant in Beer Sheva. Avimelech, and Pichol, his general, then rose and returned to the land of the Philistines.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

They made a covenant in Beer Sheva. Avimelech then rose, and Pichol, his general, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.

What Onkelos tells us

• “They made a covenant”. The Hebrew idiom וַיִּכְרְתוּ בְרִית, literally ‘they cut a covenant’, is matched by וּגְזָרוּ קְיָם (u-gezaru keyam): the Aramaic verb also means ‘cut’ (and ‘decree’), so the idiom is kept. The noun קְיָם (keyam), ‘covenant’, is from the root kum, like the verb of the oath in 21:31.
• “Avimelech then rose… and they returned”. As in the Hebrew, the first verb, וְקָם (ve-kam), is singular and the second, וְתָבוּ (ve-tavu), plural. Here kum renders the Hebrew וַיָּקׇם from the same root.
• “His general”. The Hebrew שַׂר צְבָאוֹ ‘commander of his army’ becomes רַב חֵילֵהּ (rav heileh), ‘chief of his army’. The Philistines are named with the Aramaic gentilic form פְּלִשְׁתָּאֵי (pelishta’ei).

Words to note: וּגְזָרוּ u-gezaru — they made (lit. cut) (וַיִּכְרְתוּ) · קְיָם keyam — covenant (בְרִית) · רַב rav — chief (general) (שַׂר) · חֵילֵהּ heileh — his army (צְבָאוֹ) · וְתָבוּ ve-tavu — and they returned (וַיָּשֻׁבוּ)

Bereshit 21:33

Torah

Translation

Avraham planted an eishel [tree] in Beer Sheva, and there he proclaimed the Name Hashem, Almighty of the universe.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

He planted a planting (another reading: a tree) in Beer Sheva, and there he prayed in the name of Hashem, the God of the universe.

What Onkelos tells us

• “He planted a planting”. The Hebrew וַיִּטַּע אֶשֶׁל, ‘he planted an eishel’, is rendered וּנְצִיב נִצְבָּא (u-netziv nitzba), a verb with its own noun as object: ‘he planted a planting’. The specific eishel is not named; the Aramaic gives only a general word for something planted. The printed text adds in parentheses an alternative reading (ilana), ‘a tree’.
• One root, two languages. The Aramaic verb of planting comes from the same root as the Hebrew verb of 21:29, hitzavta, ‘you set up’; but in Hebrew the root means ‘stand, station’ and in Aramaic ‘plant’. Onkelos rendered the Hebrew word of 21:29 not with this root but with kum.
• “He prayed”. Where the Hebrew says וַיִּקְרָא ‘he called’ (Metsudah: ‘proclaimed’), Onkelos writes וְצַלִּי (ve-tzalli), ‘and he prayed’. This suggests that he read ‘calling in the name of Hashem’ as an act of prayer rather than as a proclamation to others.
• “In the name of Hashem, the God of the universe”. בִּשְׁמָא דַּה׳ (bishma de-Hashem) is literally ‘in the name of Hashem’. The Hebrew ‘El olam’ becomes ‘the God of the world’, with the ordinary Aramaic word for God and the genitive particle de-; olam is rendered דְעַלְמָא (de-alma), ‘of the world’.
• Textual note. The Yemenite text lacks the parenthetical alternative reading ‘a tree’ and has only נִצְבָּא ‘a planting’. It also reads ‘God of the world’ as a construct phrase without the particle de-; the meaning is unchanged.

Words to note: וּנְצִיב u-netziv — he planted (וַיִּטַּע) · נִצְבָּא nitzba — a planting (אֶשֶׁל) · וְצַלִּי ve-tzalli — and he prayed (וַיִּקְרָא) · דְעַלְמָא de-alma — of the universe (עוֹלָֽם)

Bereshit 21:34

Torah

Translation

Avraham lived in the land of the Philistines for many days.

Onkelos

Onkelos in English

Avraham lived in the land of the Philistines for many days.

What Onkelos tells us

• “Lived”. The Hebrew וַיָּגׇר (from the root of ger, a resident alien) suggests sojourning as a stranger. Onkelos writes וְאִתּוֹתָב (ve-ittotav), from the ordinary root for sitting and dwelling, which does not carry that nuance. Otherwise the verse is literal: סַגִּיאִין (saggi’in) is ‘many’.

Words to note: וְאִתּוֹתָב ve-ittotav — lived (וַיָּגׇר) · יוֹמִין yomin — days (יָמִים) · סַגִּיאִין saggi’in — many (רַבִּֽים)

Unit 2 summary

Onkelos follows the Hebrew closely through the close of the treaty, but a single Aramaic root, kum (‘rise, stand, establish’), carries much of the weight: it renders the Hebrew ‘set apart’ (21:29), ‘made an oath’ (21:31), ‘covenant’ (21:32) and ‘rose’ (21:32). The setting up of the ewes, the oath and the covenant thus sound alike in the Aramaic, while the Hebrew link between sheva, ‘seven’, and nishbe’u, ‘swore’, survives only in the name Beer Sheva, not in the verb. The most marked changes come in 21:33: the eishel becomes a general ‘planting’ (with ‘tree’ as an alternative reading in the printed text), and ‘he proclaimed the Name’ becomes ‘he prayed in the name of Hashem’, which suggests that Onkelos read the Hebrew ‘call’ as an act of worship. In 21:34 the Hebrew verb of sojourning is rendered by the ordinary Aramaic verb for dwelling.

Conclusion of the aliyah

The movement of the aliyah

The aliyah moves from request to agreement to sign. Avimelech asks for an oath; Avraham agrees, raises the grievance of the seized well, and hears Avimelech’s denial; gifts are given and a covenant is made; seven ewes are set apart as proof of the well; the place receives its name from the oath; the visitors go home, and Avraham plants, prays and lives on there. Onkelos follows this sequence closely and largely literally, but his vocabulary draws its stages together: the oath requested and given, the covenant, the setting up of the ewes, the oath that names the place and Avimelech’s rising to leave are all expressed with the root kum. The close of the aliyah brings the most marked changes, as the eishel and the calling in the name of Hashem are rendered in more general and more devotional terms.

What Onkelos tells us in this aliyah

1. “The Memra of Hashem is in your support” (21:22). Onkelos replaces Elokim with the Name introduced by meimra, and renders “with you” as “in your support” (בְּסַעְדָּךְ), perhaps reading the phrase as active help rather than presence alongside Avraham.
2. “Affirm [by oath]” (21:23). For “swear” Onkelos uses קַיֵּם, literally “establish, confirm”, and Avraham answers with the same verb, אֲקַיֵּם (21:24), so request and answer still match.
3. “My son and my son’s son” (21:23). The rare nin and nekhed become the plain וּבִבְרִי וּבְבַר בְּרִי, defining the generations precisely.
4. “That you will not” (21:23). The Hebrew oath idiom with im is spelled out as דְּלָא, “that … not”, removing the elliptical formula.
5. “Taken by force” (21:25). For gazlu, “they robbed”, Onkelos writes אֲנִּיסוּ, from a root meaning “to seize by force”.
6. “Made a covenant” (21:27). Karat berit becomes וּגְזָרוּ … קְיָם; the Aramaic verb also means “cut”, so the idiom’s image is kept, and the noun for covenant is from kum.
7. “Set up” (21:28). Va-yatzev becomes וַאֲקִים, from kum. The note suggests the Aramaic perhaps hints that setting aside the ewes belongs to the oath and covenant, though this may simply be Onkelos’s ordinary vocabulary.
8. “You shall accept” (21:30). Where the Hebrew has “take”, Onkelos writes תְּקַבֵּל, which perhaps presents Avimelech as receiving a gift rather than taking it.
9. “Ratified [an oath]” (21:31). The Hebrew nishbe’u becomes קַיָּמוּ; the name Beer Sheva is kept, but its link with the verb of swearing is not reproduced in the Aramaic verb.
10. “He planted a planting” (21:33). The eishel is not named; וּנְצִיב נִצְבָּא gives only a general word for something planted, with “a tree” as an alternative reading in the printed text.
11. “He prayed” (21:33). “He called” becomes וְצַלִּי, which suggests that Onkelos read calling in the name of Hashem as an act of prayer rather than a proclamation to others.
12. “Settled” (21:34). The Hebrew verb of sojourning as a stranger is rendered וְאִתּוֹתָב, from the ordinary root for dwelling, which does not carry that nuance.

Recurring features

• The root kum. It appears in 21:23, 21:24, 21:27, 21:28, 21:29, 21:31 and 21:32, rendering Hebrew words for swearing, covenant, setting up and rising.
• The lost echo of seven. The Hebrew link between sheva, “seven”, and the verb for swearing is not reproduced in the Aramaic verb; it survives only in the name Beer Sheva.
• The Name and the Memra. Elokim in Avimelech’s mouth becomes the Name introduced by meimra in 21:22 and 21:23.
• The construct with ד. Hebrew construct phrases are repeatedly rendered with the Aramaic particle ד, “of”, as in “the well of water” (21:25) and “seven ewes of the flock” (21:28).
• Close literalism elsewhere. Avimelech’s denial in 21:26 is kept word for word, including the twofold “also”, and much of the dialogue is rendered literally with ordinary Aramaic equivalents.
• Dwelling rather than sojourning. In both 21:23 and 21:34 the Hebrew root of ger is rendered from the ordinary root for dwelling, which may not convey the sense of living as a resident alien.

Aliyah takeaway

This is a short diplomatic narrative, and Onkelos mostly lets it speak for itself. His most characteristic choices are lexical: by rendering the oath, the covenant and the setting up of the ewes with one root, he binds the treaty’s stages together in the Aramaic, even as the Hebrew wordplay on seven and swearing recedes into the place-name alone. His theological adjustments are few and concentrated where the divine is mentioned: Avimelech’s God becomes the Memra of Hashem who supports Avraham, and Avraham’s calling in the name of Hashem at Beer Sheva becomes prayer.

Aramaic word list for the aliyah

Source note

Aliyah boundary. Bereshit 21:22 – 21:34, following the aliyah divisions in Sefaria’s index of Bereshit (the next aliyah begins at Bereshit 22:1).

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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