The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

KOPFSTEIN Jewish Traditions in the Writings of Jerome 425
rebuilt; the people started to act according to this message on the
twenty-fourth day of the same month. The interval of twenty-two days
corresponds to the number of Hebrew letters which constitute the fundamental
elements of God's law. 26 One cannot help feeling that such a
calculation did not originate in Jerome's mind. He knows that a more
ancient Hebrew script existed and thought it was still in use with the
Samaritans (antiquis Hebraeorum literis, quibus usque hodie utuntur
Samaritani... 21 ). This piece of information, although not quite accurate,
parallels the Talmud (Sank. 2la), which says that the Jews had
chosen the new script but stuck to the Hebrew language, whereas the
kutim (i.e. the Samaritans) had preferred the new Aramaic language
while preserving the ancient script. His informant must have drawn
for him the ancient in, 'X', when discussing Ezekiel's prophecy concerning
the pious men in Jerusalem 'that sigh and that cry for all the
abominations' (Ezek. 9.4) upon whose foreheads a sign (in) should be
set. Jerome is happy to note that this sign looks like a cross On...
crucis habet similitudinem, quae in Christianorum frontibus pingitur):
it is the mark that adorns a Christian's forehead.
The claim that Jerome did not distinguish between shin and sin is
unfounded. When he explains that the consonantal sequence mo could
be interpreted either as 'seven' (saeba1) or as 'satisfied' (sabea')29 hea
obviously refers to the text-form of his days, unvocalized and without
diacritical marks. Indeed, some textual variants result from a confusion
between these two graphically identical consonants. Thus, for
example, while *?':>{0D TO: (Jer. 50.9) is understood by the Septuagint,
Symmachus and Peshitta as 'an expert warrior' (using sin), Jerome
translates it as 'a warrior that kills and makes childless (interfectorY
(using sin); but in this he follows Jewish tradition (cf. Aquila,
Targum, rabbinical commentators).
The unvocalized text allows of variant readings: DT-I may be read
D'ln, 'lovers' (amatores), or D'ln, 'shepherds' (pastores), Jerome
explains to his Latin readers; 29 both readings seem philologically
legitimate to him. Thus more than once Jerome comments on variants
side by side; one is reminded of the dabar 'aher ('another explanation
may be offered') and 'al-tiqre ('a variant reading may be suggested')
26. Commentarii in Aggaeum, on Hag. 2.14; VI, p. 752.
27. Commentarii in Ezechielem, on Ezek. 9.4-6; V, pp. 95ff.
28. Quaestiones Hebraicae in Genesin, on Gen. 41.29; III, p. 366.
29. Commentarii in Jeremiam, on Jer. 3.1; IV, p. 856.