from an Aramaic approach. In view of their history, the Targums are of less moment for reconstructing the dialect of Jesus than are the discoveries at Qumran, Naḥal Ḥeber and Murabbaʿat. (6) A Targum of a date later than the New Testament might, on occasion, represent a tradition which was current in the period of the New Testament, albeit not in a targumic context (instancing Pseudo-Jonathan Leviticus 22:18 and Luke 6:36 (“be merciful …”). (7) On rare occasions, a Targum might provide us with a
Page 11