The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

272 The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context
originated in actual synagogal worship. 21
The Palestinian Targums (Neofiti, Fragmentary Targums and Ctg
Br) add further interpretations of HT 'opposite Suph', and state that
the Israelites provoked their God at the sea and that they rebelled at
the Sea of Reeds (cf. also Onqelos). These interpretations, which do
not tell us how the Israelites rebelled or how they angered their God,
may be influenced by Ps. 106.7 ('They rebelled at the sea, at the Red
Sea') 22 and Ps. 32 ('They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah').
The words 'opposite Suph' in Deut. 1.1 are linked with Ps. 106.7 in
Sifre 1 and in ARN A 34 (see also Exod. R. 1.36; 23.10; 24.1; Num.
R. 16.24 etc.) and this link was most likely implicit in what Shinan
calls 'the targumic tradition', 23 i.e., the common heritage shared by all
the Targums. In our present verse Pseudo-Jonathan trims down the
'the targumic tradition' and does not mention any provocation or
rebellion at the sea. In doing so this Targum gives us a clearer and
smoother text than the other Palestinian Targums. Here we have
another example of how Pseudo-Jonathan exercises considerable
freedom in his use of traditional targumic material, putting his
personal stamp on that material so that his work has its own individual
style.
Unworthy Response
Having recalled what God had done for his people Pseudo-Jonathan
goes on to outline Israel's unworthy response to God's goodness by
saying: 'but you deviated from his word (mbtr mymryh)'. This phrase
forms an appropriate transition to Moses' complaint against the
people. The complaint begins with the accusation 'You angered him
('rgztwn qdmwy) at Paran'. We may note that at the beginning of the
accusations Pseudo-Jonathan uses two verbs, 'deviate (sty)' and 'anger
(rgzY. The Palestinian Targums (Neofiti, Fragmentary Targums, Ctg
Br) are similar, except that they use the verbs 'anger (rgzY and 'rebel
(srb; lit. "refuse")', in that order.
21. Maher, Genesis pp. 4 n. 29, 10. See however Sanchez Caro, 'Recensiones',
pp. 622-23, who regards the reference to the ways through the sea in Pseudo-
Jonathan Deut. 1.1 as a later addition to the text.
22. Cf. b. Arak. 15a.
23. A. Shinan, "Targumic Additions" in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan', Textus
(Studies of the Hebrew University Bible Project) 16 (1991), pp. 143-44.