Onkelos biography for kids
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Onkelos the Proselyte
Onkelos The Proselyte (אונקלוס הגר), son of Kalonymus (בר קלונימוס), is the supposed author of the celebrated Chaldee paraphrase of the Pentateuch called Targum Onkelos. We possess no certain data as to the time when he lived, but he is generally believed to have been a contemporary of Christ, or certainly of the apostles. Some assign A.D. 40 as the year of his birth; others make it earlier. He is reputed to have been a scholar of Gamaliel (q.v.); but, unless Onkelos was a contemporary of Christ, he must have been the disciple of Gamaliel II (q.v.), and not of the grandfather of the eminent rabbi, generally called in distinction Gamaliel I, who was the teacher of the apostle Paul (Ac 22:3; comp. on this point Gratz, Gesch. der Juden, 4:152). In the Tosiftha (Mikvaoth, vi; Kelim, 3:2; Chigigah, 3:1) Onkelos is spoken of as the disciple of Gamaliel II. This learned Jew was also the teacher of Aquila, and there are some students who confound Onkelos w
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The History and Dating of Onkelos
By Israel Drazin
The Babylonian Talmud has the earliest report of the authorship and date of Targum Onkelos. It states that an individual named Onkelos composed the translation in the first third of the second century CE. Since the nineteenth century, scholars have generally rejected this recollection and dated the Targum, or its final redaction, in the third century CE. I will show that the proper date is more likely the late fourth or early fifth century CE. This dating is supported by seeing the consistent use of the targumist of the final version of tannaitic Midrashim that were not edited until the late fourth century.
The Traditional View and its Problems
The Babylonian talmudic scholars gave preference to the literal Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch, which they called targum didan (“our translation”), over other translations.[1] However, they had but a single unreliable memory of its author.
A Palestinian Amora (in
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Lessons from Targum Onkelos, 2 volume set
Do you dutifully study Shnayim Mikra v’Echad Targum every week?
Do you wish you understood the mysteries of Onkelos’s teachings?
Most of the time, Targum Onkelos is left unexplained and underappreciated. Lessons from Targum Onkelos addresses this by teaching the fundamental yesodos of Onkelos, based on well-known mefarshim and original chiddushim. Using examples from every parashah, the author raises questions on the Chumash and elucidates Onkelos's interpretation, showing how his one-word changes or additions can hint to an entire Chazal.
This sefer, the first of its kind, will enhance the reader's appreciation for Onkelos’s translation, shed light on its nuances, and give his insights the prominence they deserve.
Rabbi Yehoshua Dovid (Shia) Portowicz studied in Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, Mirrer Yeshiva of Eretz Yisrael, and Yeshivas Birchas Mordechai. He taught in Yeshiva Nesivos Ahron, studied in the Ohr LaG