The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

86 The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context
This way of editing the Targums raises many problems: where is
the editorial management and where is the fidelity to the sources?
Walton's edition is the most complete one ever made in the field of the
Targums, but is it a reliable edition, or is it a second-hand presentation
of the original sources? In each book, in each verse, and in each
quotation of this Targum, the edition must be checked against the MSS
to test its fidelity.
What can be said about the Targums published in the Polyglot
Bibles? As far as my personal experience has taught me, I would be
sure only about the first Polyglot, the Complutensian Polyglot, reliable
in its consonantal text, but not so trustworthy in its vocalization
(it may be that behind this vocalization there were either superlinear
vocalized MSS, or MSS without vocalization at all); our confidence lies
in the method employed, because it was made on written sources
without editorial interference while the other Polyglots underwent
strict editorial work, either influenced by the biblical Aramaic
(Antwerp-Arias Montano, Paris Polyglot—depending totally on the
former), or by biblical Aramaic and Targum Onqelos Aramaic
(Basle, London Polyglot).
What can be said about the Targums in the Rabbinic Bibles? The
consonantal text is trustworthy, but the vocalization is not so reliable.
The Madrid Polyglot. We have here two completely different issues,
what has been projected and what has been done.
The project: In 1957 the project for the whole Spanish third
Polyglot Bible, the Madrid Polyglot was published. Times and
methods changed; the handwritten sources to be checked were enormous;
the synoptic project of a Polyglot was no longer possible, therefore
each language would have its own column, but in separate
volumes.
The Aramaic (Targum edition) column was headed by J.M. Millas
Vallicrosa and A. Diez Macho, but the former published nothing. 76
Dfez Macho offered two columns: IV (Palestinian Targum), the
recently discovered Neofiti 1 would be the main novelty, and in that
column nothing more was offered. V (Targum Onqelos and Jonathan):
76. Biblia Polyglotta Matritensia, Cura et studio Ayuso T, Belief P, Bover J
M, Camera F, Diez Macho A, Fernandez Galian M, Millas Vallicrosa J
M, O'Callaghan J, Ortiz de Vrbina I, Perez Castro F, aliisque plurimis
collaborantibus peritis (Madrid: CSIC, 1957).