The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

68 The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context
versehen (Strasbourg, 1902) (MS Berlin Or. Qu. 578). Targum Hosea:
J. Ferrier i Costa, 'El Targum d'Oseas en tradicio iemenita'
(dissertation, Central University, Barcelona, 1990).
Editions of Pentateuch Targum. H. Barnstein, 'The Targum of
Onkelos to Genesis. A Critical Inquiry into the Value of the Text
Exhibited by Yemen MSS compared with the European recension
together with some Specimen chapters of the oriental Text' (Leipzig,
1896, doctoral dissertation, Heidelberg).
Sperber's Yemenite Edition 42
Reading Sperber's introduction to his edition of the two first volumes,
43 one may be confused about what the Babylonian tradition is,
or what Sperber understood by the Babylonian tradition. In Volume I
he presents manuscripts with Babylonian Vocalization (MS Or. 2363;
MS Or. 1467; MSS Or. 2228-30, all of them from the British Museum
MS Socin n. 84 of the Libr. of the Deutsche Morgenlandische
Gesellschaft); in Volume II appear MS Or. 2210, MS Or. 2371, MS
Or. 1472, MS Or. 1471 all from the British Museum, MS Or. qu. 578
of the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin (= Tubingen): all these MSS are
Yemenite, not Babylonian.
It may be interesting to hear D. Barthelemy's judgement 44 on
Sperber's work and on the Targum in general: 45
C'est a propos du T[argum] que le defaut d'une veritable Edition critique
se fait le plus lourdement sentir. L'e"dition qu'en a donne" Sperber ne
me"rite en effet guere ce litre. La tradition textuelle du T est certes trop
complexe pour que Ton puisse reproduire le texte d'un MS yemenite,
parfois mal choisi, en pretendant y trouver 'le Targum'. C'est pourquoi
nous avons toujours ajoute aux donne"es fournies par Sperber d'autres
donne"es empruntees a des temoins varies dont un certain nombre n'ont
42. Cf. A. Dfez Macho, Review of A. Sperber The Bible in Aramaic IVB: The
Targums and the Hebrew Bible, JSJ 3 (1975), pp. 217-36; J.M. Mulder, BO 34
(1977), pp. 97-98.
43. A Sperber, The Bible in Aramaic. Based on Old Manuscripts and Printed
Texts. I. The Pentateuch according to Targum Onkelos (Leiden: Brill, 1959); idem,
II. The Former Prophets according to Targum Jonathan (Leiden: Brill, 1959).
44. D. Barthdlemy, Critique Textuelle de I'Ancien Testament. III. Ezechiel,
Daniel et les 12 Prophetes (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 50\3; Fribourg: Editions
Universitaires; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992), p. ccix.
45. The phrases in italics are in the original of Barthelemy's words.