The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

26 The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context
('wohl nur von Leuten, die den Text auswendig wussten, bzw. den
Konsonantentext daneben batten'). 19
The newly discovered serugin texts of Targum record one or
several opening words of each verse, or just the first letters of each
word from the full text of Onqelos, regardless of their content, vocalization
or accentuation. One must agree that this sort of abbreviation
can be useful only to someone who has already memorized most of the
Targum. This leads us to the conclusion that the new targumic serugin
texts were prepared by, or for, the official Meturgeman, as a
preparatory learning device and/or as a mnemonic aid for use during
the synagogal Torah reading. In fact, the small dimensions of these
manuscripts would seem to confirm that they were intended as a sort
of 'crib notes' for inconspicuous use in the synagogue where, by strict
rule, the Meturgeman was forbidden to read the Targum from a
written text, during the public worship. 20 These miniature serugin
texts of Targum shed some new light on the performance of the
Meturgeman in the medieval eastern synagogue.
b. Fragment Targum of Onqelos. The Fragment Targum phenomenon
is known from a number of medieval manuscripts, early Biblia
Rabbinica and more recently from several Genizah fragments. 21
However, this targumic genre of selected phrases and verses from a
larger text was attested only for the Palestinian targumim, and traditionally
called Targum Yerushalmi in the rabbinic bibles. I can now
report that there is at least one, and possibly several, Genizah fragments
of this targum-type for Onqelos as well. The fragment that has
been definitely identified was discovered in the Old Series at
Cambridge, and contains sporadic passages of Onqelos from the book
of Numbers. I will mention just a couple of its characteristics.
(1) Only five of the 14 phrases selected for inclusion by the editor are
the same as those chosen by any of the Palestinian Fragment Targums.
It is clear that although the respective editors employ similar anthological
methods, there is no textual or redactional relationship
19. P. Kahle, 'Beitrage zur Geschichte der hebraischen Punktation', ZAW 21
(1901), p. 274.
20. Cf. y. Meg. 74d.
21. See M.L. Klein, The Fragment-Targuins of the Pentateuch (Rome: Biblical
Institute Press, 1980); Genizah Manuscripts of Palestinian Targum, MSS Br, DD
and H.