The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

KAUFMAN Dating the Language of the Palestinian Targums 121
Diez Macho was correct to criticize E.Y. Kutscher on this point. 13
These two varieties of Palestinian Aramaic are related, to be sure, but
they are not the same. In fact, however, the supposed connection with
Galilean has been driven into the scholarly consciousness to such a
degree that we even find the following question in Robert Hay ward's
introduction to his translation of Targum Jeremiah—otherwise the
only contribution in its series so far that demonstrates mastery of the
literature on the subject of the language of the targumim and gives
serious consideration to the issues involved:
May we then...see the language of Tg. Jer as a 'Classical' literary
Aramaic with its roots in Imperial Aramaic, which now includes additions
of a 'mixed Aramaic' character in a language not unlike that of the
Jerusalem Talmud and the Palestinian Targums? 14
I think that it is fair to assume from this assertion that Dr Hayward
has never studied the 'Jerusalem Talmud'. Its dialect has very little in
common, indeed, with that of Targum Jonathan of the Prophets.
I have argued that 'where the dialect of the Palestinian Targum differs
from Galilean Aramaic it is in being more "literary" and not necessarily
in being older.' 15 Now, however, I would be prepared to
modify that position somewhat and ascribe both chronological precedence
and difference in geographical origin to the targumic dialect.
For purposes of the CAL we refer to this dialect now as JTA—Jewish
Targumic Aramaic, classifying it, along with Sokoloff, as a subdialect
of JPA.
But a point I have tried to make on several occasions but whose
fundamental importance only Hayward seems to have understood,
cannot be emphasized enough. It pertains to the recognition of the
'literary', formal nature of these texts. Diez Macho's position cannot
stand. Neofiti cannot be contemporary with Qumran, because a parabiblical
text, be it targum or pseudephigraph, could never have been
composed in a colloquial dialect. Whether the Palestinian Targum was
originally written or originally only recited in the synagogue from
memory or from notes and not written down for many years, by
definition it had to have been delivered in the 'formal' dialect not in
13. A. Diez Macho, Neophyti I: vol. 4, VIII, pp. 78*-102*. See, further,
Kaufman, 'On Methodology', pp. 121-22.
14. Hayward, Jeremiah, p. 18.
15. Kaufman, 'On Methodology', p. 122.