The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

Preface 11
The conference was intended in a sense to coincide with the end of
one particular project, that of 'The Aramaic Bible'. The conference did
more than this. It reflected present scholarly thinking in the various
fields of targumic interest. What the Consultative Committee finds
particularly gratifying is that the conference went beyond the present,
into the future. The Dublin meeting was the occasion for the formation
of an 'International Organisation for the Study of the Targums'
(IOST). This in the years ahead will meet in conjunction with 'The
International Organisation for the Study of the Old Testament'
(IOSOT), and will hold its first meeting in Cambridge, England, on
12-13 July 1995.
On behalf of the Royal Irish Academy the Consultative Committee
wishes to express its gratitude to all who travelled from far and near
to read papers, and to those who came to listen, to question and to
contribute to discussion, in the conference chamber and outside it. The
success of the conference is due to all their selfless dedication to the
Aramaic Bible and to the wealth of tradition and learning which these
Targums enshrine. The Academy is grateful to Sheffield Academic
Press for undertaking the publication of these papers on its behalf,
thus bringing the message of the conference to a wider audience. It is
happy to be involved in the future of Targum studies, in all their
ramifications, through its publication and through the International
Organisation for the Study of the Targums.
D.R.G. Beattie
M.J. McNamara