It is Friday afternoon. The kitchen smells of challah, the candles are not yet lit, and you have a few quiet minutes with the weekly portion open in front of you. You read a verse in Hebrew. You read it again. Then you turn to the Aramaic in the next column, the words of a translator who lived many centuries ago, and suddenly a verse you have known since childhood looks a little different. One word, chosen with care, has answered a question you did not even realize you were asking. That is the quiet gift of Targum Onkelos, and it has been waiting beside the Hebrew text for a very long time.
What Is Targum Onkelos?
Targum Onkelos is the classic Aramaic translation of the Five Books of Moses. Aramaic was the everyday language of many Jews in the Land of Israel and Babylonia in late antiquity, and a translation, or targum, allowed people to understand the Torah they heard read aloud.
Many translations were made over the centuries, but Onkelos became the one. It is printed in countless editions of the Chumash, studied alongside Rashi, and read every week by people fulfilling an ancient custom. The Gefen edition describes it as the first and only rabbinically authorized translation of the Torah, and as the most popular translation of the Pentateuch in Jewish history.
Who Was Onkelos?
According to Jewish tradition, the translation was made by Onkelos the convert, a proselyte in the time of the Tannaim. The Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 3a) teaches that Onkelos the convert said the Targum of the Torah from the mouths of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua.
Pause on that for a moment. Tradition remembers the most beloved translation of the Torah as the work of someone who was not born into the Jewish people. He chose this Torah. He loved it enough to sit with its words, weigh them one by one, and carry them faithfully into another language so that others could understand. Whenever you read his Targum, you are hearing the voice of someone who came to Torah by choice and gave it everything.
Historians discuss the dating and the name in more detail. Some scholars connect the Talmud's Onkelos with Aquila, who made a Greek translation of the Torah, and Dr. Israel Drazin, one of the authors of the series discussed below, has argued from the Targum's use of the Tannaitic Midrashim that it should be dated to around 400 C.E. Whatever the scholarly picture, the tradition of the convert who translated the Torah is woven into how Jews learn it.
A Translation That Reads Like a Commentary
Every translator has to make choices. When a Hebrew word could mean two things, the translator has to pick one. When a phrase is poetic or obscure, the translator has to decide what it means. Onkelos made those choices thoughtfully, and that is why careful readers have always treated his translation as a kind of commentary.
Here is what you begin to notice when you read him closely:
- He resolves ambiguities. Where the Hebrew leaves room for more than one reading, Onkelos often quietly commits to one, and his choice tells you how the verse was understood.
- He protects the dignity of God. Onkelos is well known for avoiding anthropomorphism, the description of God in human, physical terms. Where the Torah speaks of God in bodily language, he often substitutes terms like memra (word), yekara (glory), or shekhinah (the Divine presence). Maimonides noticed this pattern and praised it in his Guide for the Perplexed.
- He echoes the rabbinic tradition. His word choices frequently reflect interpretations found in the early Midrashim, so the Targum becomes a window into how the Sages read the text.
That is the moment so many learners describe: you have read a verse a hundred times, and then a single Aramaic word reframes it. It is like having a wise teacher sitting beside you, saying softly, "Look here. This is what it means."
Twice in Hebrew, Once in Targum
For many Jews, Onkelos is not an occasional reference but a weekly companion. The Talmud (Berakhot 8a to 8b) teaches that a person should complete the weekly portion together with the community, reading it twice in the Hebrew text and once in translation. This practice is known as Shnayim Mikra v'Echad Targum, "twice Scripture and once translation," and the translation traditionally used is Targum Onkelos, often alongside Rashi.
There is something deeply grounding about this rhythm. You read the portion in Hebrew, then again, letting the words settle. Then you read Onkelos, and the text opens a little wider. Over the years, it becomes a lifelong conversation with the Torah.
But there is a challenge. If Aramaic is not your language, reading Onkelos can feel like reading through frosted glass. You can sound out the words, but you may miss exactly what makes them special: the places where he departs from a literal rendering, and why.
Onkelos on the Torah: Seeing What the Translator Is Doing
That is the gap the Onkelos on the Torah series was created to fill. Written by Dr. Israel Drazin and Rabbi Stanley M. Wagner, the series, subtitled Understanding the Bible Text, offers an English translation of Targum Onkelos together with an English commentary that explains what the Targum is doing and why.
Dr. Drazin has devoted much of his scholarly life to this translation: he is the author of seven books, five of them on Targum Onkelos. As one review in Publishers Weekly put it, the authors "translate Onkelos into modern English and supply detailed commentary on the 10,000 or so meaningful deviations the ancient translator made from the original Scriptural text." Those deviations are exactly the places where Onkelos becomes a teacher, and this series points them out for you.
The volumes bring together several layers of learning. Depending on the volume, you will find:
- The Hebrew Masoretic text, with a vocalized text of Onkelos and Rashi
- A new English translation of Onkelos, with a popular commentary
- The Haftarot, with an English translation from the Aramaic Targumim
- A scholarly appendix for readers who want to go deeper
- "Onkelos Highlights" and a "Beyond the Text" exploration of biblical themes
For a weekly Shnayim Mikra practice, this means you can read the Hebrew, read the Targum, and then actually understand the choices Onkelos made. For a teacher or a curious reader, it is a treasury of insights.
The Volumes
- Onkelos on the Torah: Genesis
- Onkelos on the Torah: Exodus
- Onkelos on the Torah: Leviticus
- Onkelos on the Torah: Numbers
- Onkelos on the Torah: Deuteronomy
- Onkelos on the Torah Boxed Set, if you would like the series together
You can begin with whichever book is being read in synagogue right now and grow your set week by week, or give the boxed set to someone whose Friday afternoons are spent with the parsha. For Hebrew readers, Gefen also offers Understanding Onkelos (Hebrew).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Targum Onkelos?
Targum Onkelos is the classic Aramaic translation of the Torah (the Five Books of Moses). It is printed in most traditional editions of the Chumash and is the translation customarily used for the weekly practice of Shnayim Mikra v'Echad Targum. Because of its careful word choices, it is often read as a commentary as well as a translation.
Who was Onkelos?
Jewish tradition attributes the translation to Onkelos the convert, who, according to the Talmud (Megillah 3a), produced it under the guidance of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. Scholars continue to discuss the identity of the translator and the date of the work.
What is Shnayim Mikra v'Echad Targum?
It is the practice, based on the Talmud (Berakhot 8a to 8b), of reviewing the weekly Torah portion twice in the original Hebrew and once in translation, traditionally Targum Onkelos. Many people complete it during the week, often on Friday or Shabbat.
Is there an English translation of Targum Onkelos with commentary?
Yes. The Onkelos on the Torah series by Dr. Israel Drazin and Rabbi Stanley M. Wagner offers an English translation of Targum Onkelos with commentary explaining how and why the Targum departs from a literal rendering, with a volume for each of the Five Books of Moses.
Ready to let Onkelos open the text for you? Explore the complete Onkelos on the Torah collection.