The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

ALEXANDER The Targum of the Song of Songs 323
I have drunk my wine with my milk,
Eat, friends, drink,
Be drunk, lovers!
The Targum renders:
The Holy One, blessed be he, said to his people, the House of Israel: 'I
have come into my Temple, which you have built for me, my sister,
Assembly of Israel, who is likened to a chaste bride. I have caused my
Shekhinah to reside among you. I have received with favour the incense
of your spices which you have offered for my name. I have sent fire from
heaven and it has consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifice of the
holy things. The libations of red wine and of white wine which the priests
pour upon my altar have been received with favour before me. Now
come, priests, lovers of my precepts, eat what is left of the offerings, and
enjoy the bounty that has been prepared for you!'
As a parallel to this the commentators quite naturally quote Shir
Rabba 5.1.1:
I HAVE COME INTO MY GARDEN. R. Menahem, the son-in-law of
R. Eleazar b. Abuna, said in the name of R. Simeon b. Jusna: It does not
say here, 'I have come into the garden,' but, 'I have come into my garden
(ganni),' as if to say, to my bridal-chamber (ginnuni): to the place which
was my home originally; for was not the original home of the Shekhinah
in the lower realm, as it says, 'And they heard the voice of the Lord God
walking in the garden' (Gen. 3.8)?... When did the Shekhinah rest upon
the earth? On the day when the Tabernacle was set up...I HAVE
GATHERED MY MYRRH WITH MY SPICE: this refers to the incense
of spices and the handful of frankincense. I HAVE CONSUMED MY
HONEYCOMB WITH MY HONEY: this refers to the parts of the burnt
offerings and the sacrificial parts of the most holy things. I HAVE
DRUNK MY WINE WITH MY MILK: this refers to the drink offerings
and the sacrificial parts of the lesser holy things. EAT, FRIENDS: these
are Moses and Aaron. DRINK, BE DRUNK, LOVERS: these are Nadab
and Abihu, who became drunk to their hurt.
Now there can be no dispute that both these texts reflect a broadly
similar reading of the biblical verse, but it would be careless to ignore
the differences. Shir Rabba refers the verse to the Tabernacle, and so
contextualizes it to the wilderness period; the Targum sees a reference
to the Temple and so contextualizes it to the reign of Solomon. For
Shir Rabba the 'garden' is the world, and the word suggests an allusion
to the Garden of Eden; for the Targum the 'garden' is the
Temple, an equation which the targumist uses elsewhere. For Shir