The Syriac Version of Genesis IV 1-16

8/20/2019 The Syriac Version of Genesis IV 1-16

1/10

The Syriac Version of Genesis IV 1-16

Author(s): Étan LevineSource: Vetus Testamentum, Vol. 26, Fasc. 1 (Jan., 1976), pp. 70-78Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1517110 .Accessed: 10/02/2014 21:06

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2/10

THE

SYRIAC VERSION OF

GENESIS IV 1-16

BY

ETAN LEVINE

Haifa

Introduction

In

antiquity,

the terseness of the

biblical Cain-Abel

narrative

(Gen.

iv

3-16)

evoked

curiosity,

peculation

and

literary reativity

based

upon

the

many

antalizing

etails eft

xplained

by

the Hebrew

Bible:

Why

was

Cain's

offering ejected,

nd

how was

this

rejection

conveyed

to him?

What s

the

precise

meaning

of

God's admonition

and

warning

to

Cain?

What

were

Cain's

actual words

to

Abel?

What was

the

full

reason for Cain's

murdering

is

brother,

nd what

was the actual

method

of

homicide?

How

could

Cain

conceivably

be

hidden

from

God's

sight?

What was

the

nature

of

the

sign

given

to

Cain?

1)

The Syriac version of this incident contains several surprising

variants. The

purpose

of

this

study

is

to demonstrate hat these

variants,

n

concert

constitute

umulative

vidence

of a narrative

n

which

there are

four

protagonists:

Cain and

Abel,

God and

Satan.

The Peshitta

deals

in

simple,

undeveloped

style,

with motifs hat

are found

in

expanded

form,

n

other literature.

t is

therefore,

possible

to

reconstruct he

relationship

f the

Syriac

version

to

the

New Testament

and

Hellenistic

texts,

o the

Aramaic

versions,

and

to polemical works wherein Cain and Abel evolve into the proto-

types

f the

heretic

nd

the

saint

2).

1)

Cf.

V.

APTOWITZER,

Kain

undAbel in

der

Agada,

den

Apokryphen,

er

hel-

lenistischen,

hristlichen

nd

muhammedanischen

iteratur,

eipzig

1922;

B.

OPPENHEIM,

"Qayin

we-Hebel",

Sefer

ikaron

e-Gedalyahu

lon,

Jerusalem

968,

pp.

27-68;

Menahem

KASHER,

Torah

Shlemah,

Jerusalem

1938, II,

pp.

302

ff.;

M. THEODOR

and

C.

ALBECK,

Midrash

Bereshit

abba,

Berlin

1931-36, ,

pp.

204

f.;

Louis

GINZBERG,

Legends f

the

Jews,

Philadelphia

1946,

I

and

V,

passim;

1Etan

LEVINE,

"Parallels

to Genesis

of

Targum

Pseudo-Jonathan

and

Neophyti

1,

"Alejandro

DfEZ-MACHO

ed.,MS. Neophyti,Targumalestinenses. de aBiblioteca aticana,

Madrid

1970, II,

ad loc.

2)

As

briefly

ummarized

by

Robert

GORDIS,

in the

UniversalJewish

ncyclopedia,

II,

p.

626. To the

Hellenistic

Jews,

especially,

the brothersbecame the

archsymbol

of

the

conflict

between

good

and evil. Abel is the lover

of

godly righteousness

Vetus

Teslamentum,

ol.

XXVI,

Fasc.

1


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3/10

SYRIAC VERSION OF GENESIS

IV

1-16

Substantive

ariants

n

the

yriac

Version

)

(MT]

S)

iv 5 "and his facefell"] "and hisfacedarkened"

6

"and

why

has

your

face

fallen?"]

"and

why

has

your

face

darkened?"

7

"there

s

lifting p"]

"I

receive"

7 "And unto

you

is its

desire,

but

you

can control

t".]

"You shall

turn

to

it

(him?),

and

it

(he?)

shall control

you".

8

-]

"Let us descend nto the

valley".

8

"in

the

field"]

"in the

valley".

9

-] "therefore"

13

"My

sin is

too

great

to be

borne"]

"My

sin

is

too

great

to be

forgiven".

15

"Therefore"]

,No.

Thus..."

15 "a

sign

to

Cain"]

"a

sign

on Cain"

Analysis

f

the Variants

1. In

the Hebrew

Bible,

Gen.

iv

8

reads,

"And

Cain

said

(wayyo

mer)

to

Abel;

and

it

came to

pass

when

they

were

in

the

field,

hat

Cain

rose

up

over

Abel

his

brother,

and

killed him."

Since the

Hebrew

'mr

"said")

is never

synonymous

with dbr

"spoke")

4),

the

apparent

acuna

encompassing

Cain's

statement

o

his brother has

long

been

regarded

as

self-evident

).

And the biblical

versions

(JOSEPHUS,

Antiquities,

ook

I,

2:1;

Book

of

Adam and

Eve,

ii

1-15)

whose

faith

made

his sacrifice ore

cceptable

hanCain's

Heb.

xi

4).

Abel is

the

eader

f all

the

martyrs

n

Sheol

Enoch

XXXV

3-6),

and

the

udge

of all

mortals

n

the other

world

(Testament

f

Abraham,

ecension

A,

ch.

13;

recension

B,

ch.

11.)

The

innocent loodofAbel was never eallybsorbed ythe arthApocalypsefMoses,

40),

and

so it

retained or all timea

magical

efficacy.

bel's blood

is

therefore

invoked

n

maledictions ound n

the

Syriac

Cave

of

Treasures

nd the

Ethiopic

Book

of

Adam,

nd

Jesus

efers

o

"the

blood

of

Abel the

righteous"

n

his

curse

upon

the

Pharisees

Mt.

xxiii

5).

In

gnostic

iterature,

bel

s

the

prototype

f the

law-abiding

man,

and Cain

represents

vil

(with

one

gnostic

sect,

called The

Cainites,

racticing omplete

antinomianism.)

f.

sources

q. supra,

note 1.

3)

The

Peshitta lso

contains everalvariants

which

are

stylistic,

ather han

substantive.

4)

Albert

EHRMAN,

"What

did Cain

say

to

Abel?",

JQR

LIII

1962-3,

pp.

164-7

claims

hat

he

Hebrew amar

s

a

polaric

verb

meaning

oth to

praise

nd

diametricpposite, odespise.

5)

Contrast .

E.

LOEWENSTAMM

nd

J.

BLAU,

Thesaurus

f

the

Language f

the

Bible,

Jerusalem

957,

p.

xxx:

"Sometimes

difficult

assage

is

susceptible

f

explanation

s it

stands,

nd

can

only

ose

by

emendation.t should not be

sup-

posed

that the

copyists

mittedwords which are so clear and

so

apparently

necessary

o

the

properunderstanding

f the

text;

and

it

seems more

probable

that

we

have

here

n archaic se of

V1=1" n

the

sense of

1S'I"1

and

he

spoke",

which

needs no

amplification".

71




4/10

E.

LEVINE

all

include Cain's

enticement o

Abel:

Samaritan

Bible:

nlk' hsdh

("Let

us

go

to

the

field"),Septuagint: L'£X06[j£vLq

o0

e8ov,

Peshitta:

nrd'

pq't'

("Let

us

descend into

the

valley."), Vulgate:

Egrediamur

foras,

Targum

Neophyti:

.yta'

wnpq

rynn

'py

br"

"Come,

let us both

go

out

upon

the

field."),

Fragmentary

argum:

lyt'

wnpq

'py

br'

("Come,

let

us

go

out

upon

the

field."),

Targum

Pseudo-Jonathan:

1yty

npwq

rwynn

br'

("Come,

let us

both

go

out to

the

field.").

On

the

strength

f

these

texts,

t

has

been

maintained

hat

"hence

nlkhhsdh

let

us

go

to

the

field)

s to

be

supplied

with

Samaritan,

Septuagint,

Peshitta,

Vulgata, Targum

Jerushalmi..

"

6).

Further-

more, s one

Syriac

cholarhas asserted, The

similarity

f renditions

in

the

versions

witnessesto

the

existenceof

an

ancient midrash

to

which

they

re

all

referring

n

their

espective

anguages."

7)

However,

the

fact s that

the

versions

are

similar ut

not

dentical:

hereas

all of

the other

versions

have

Cain

inviting

Abel to

go

out to

the

field,

he

Syriac

reads,

"Let

us descend nto

the

valley." 8)

And this

seemingly

trivial

variation,

n

concert with

the other

variants

n

the

Syriac

text,

actually

indicates

an

independent

exegetical

tradition. This

exegeticaltraditions

incorporated

nto a

Syriac

commentary

hich

reads,

"At

the

top

of a

mountain,

he

Satan

convinced

Cain that

he

should

kill

his

brotheron account

of

Laboda

and

because

he had

offered

sacrificewhich

had

not

been

accepted by

God,

whereas the

sacrifice

of

Abel had

been

accepted.

And he

repeatedly

aroused

Cain

against

his

brother.

And when

they

descendednto the

valley,

Cain

arose

over Abel his

brother,

nd killed

him

with a

flintstone

plough

handle.

And Cain

thereby

became

guilty

of

murder"

9).

2. Although numerous midrashimrefer to Cain chasing Abel

6)

John

SKINNER,

Genesis

ICC), Edinburgh

1910,

p.

107. Contrast S.

ZEITLIN,

"Some

Reflectionsn

the

Text

of

the

Pentateuch,"

QR

LI

1961,

p.

327: "The

problem onfronting

s is

whether

the)

version

given

n

the

Targum

and the

Septuagint

as

in the

pentateuchal

ext

nd

our

text

s

incorrect,

r whether his

version

s

just

an

explanation

o

elucidate he

text.This

problem

must

remain

unsolved or ackof

evidence."

7)

Chaim

HELLER,

eshitta,

erlin

929,

p.

5,

note7.

8)

The

Syriac

root

pqC

(related

to Biblical

Hebrew

bqc

invariably

ignifies

"valley", "gorge" or "notch". It is true thatthe laterTalmudic Aramaicbqc

does also

includethe

wider

meaning

f

cultivatedand.

(See

Marcus

JASTROW,

A

Dictionary

f

the

Targumim,

he

Talmud abli

and Yerushalmind

theMidrashic

Literature,

ew

York

1950, I,

p.

186

f.)

However,

n

addition o the

semantic

field f the

Syriac

q',

its

meaning

f

"valley"

s

further

einforced

y

the

verb

nrd

=

"letus

descend",

which s

found

nly

n the

Peshitta'sccount.

9)

Ma'rat

ha-Gaga', d.,

BEZOLD,

f. 34

(q.

THEODOR-ALBECK,

op.

cit.,

p.

214,

notes.)

72




5/10

SYRIAC

VERSION OF GENESIS

IV

1-16

over

mountain

ops

and down

into

valleys

0),

t is this

particular

accountwhich ouches

pon

other

ariants

ontained

n

the

Syriacversion f theCain-Abel arrative.or t s

precisely

he

presence

f

Satan

hat nderlieshe

meaning

f Cain's darkened ace"

vss. ,

6.)

According

o

widespread

radition,

ain

was of

satanical

ncestry,

and

wasendowed

with

atanical eatures

1).

Thus,

n

paraphrasing

he

erse,

AndAdamknew ve hiswife.

nd

sheconceived

nd

bore

Cain.

And she

said: have

acquired

man

of

the

Lord

iv)",

an Aramaic

argum

eads,

Adam

knew

hat ve

had

become

pregnant

y

the

angel

Samma'el.

And she bore

Cain,

who

resembledelestial

eings

atherhanmortals"

2).

Similarly,Adam

was

not

he

iological

ather

f

Cain,

hereforee did

notresemble

im

physically"

3).

The association

of Cain

with

Samma'el

i.e.

the

Satan),

nd

the

tradition

hat

Saturn

s

the

Starof Evil

that

brings

calamity

pon

srael,

s

what

gave

rise

to

theword

play

n

Hebrew

exegesis

which

nterpreted

he biblical

yn Cain)

as

kywn

Saturn),

and

wyplw

nyw

"and

his face

fell")

as

wy'plw

nyw

"and

his face

darkened"

4).

The

Syriac

version

too renders

he Hebrew

nplhv

("fell")as 'tkmry"darkened"), eflectinghe midrashicquation f

wyplw

ith

wy'aplw

nd

lluding

o

the

atanical eatures

f Cain.

This

furthereinforcesatan's

resence

n the

narrative.

3.

Having

already

endered he

biblical

"fallen" as

"darkened"

(vss.

5,

6),

the

Syriac

ersion ould

not

iterally

ranslate

he

Hebrew

infinitive

t

as

"lifting"

r

"uplift"

vs.

7).

Consequently,

t

para-

phrases

he

word s

qblt

"I

receive",

ndependently

f

the

Aramaic

versions

which

translate

t

to

mean

forgiveness

5).

The

Syriac's

10)

Shemot

Rabbah

xxxi

17;

Midrash

Tanhuma',

Mishpatzm

13;

Midrash

Ha-

Gadol,

I,

adloc.

11)

Cf.

M.

KASHER,

op.

cit., I,

p.

304,

and

THEODOR-ALBECK,

op.

cit., ,

pp.

206.

214.

On

Cain's

splendor

at

birth,

cf.

Targum

Yerushalmi

ad Gen.

iv

1; IRENAEUS,

Adv.

Haer.

I,

3:1

ff.;

Slavonic

Enoch xxxi

16;

Babylonian

Talmud,

Shabbat

146A

and

cAbodah

Zarah 22B. See later midrash in

Pirqe

de Rabbi

'EliCeger,

xxxi.

12)

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

ad

loc.

13)

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan,

loc.

cit.

et ad

Gen. v

3;

cf.

Babylonian

Talmud,

CEr)ubin 8B.

14)

Beraita' de

MaZgalot

27A; Pesiqta' Rabbati xx 96a, 203a. See discussion

in

Louis

GINZBERG,

op.

cit., I,

p. 105

and

V,

p.

135.

An

alternative

tradition

explains

the

darkening

or

"blackening"

of

Cain's face

being

due

to

the

descending

smoke

of his

rejected

offering:

Midrash

Tanhuma',

Tesawweh

15,

and

Midrash

Shirha-Shirim 8 B.

15)

Cf.

EPHRAIM ad

loc. The

independence

of the

Syriac

translator s

noted

by

P.

WERNBERG-MOLLER,

"Some

Observations on

the

Relationship

of

the Peshitta

Version

of

the Book

of Genesis to the

Palestinian

Targum Fragments

Published

73




6/10

E. LEVINE

translation f

the verb

apparently

s

intended

o

convey

acceptance'

or

'reception'16)-even

for the son

of

Satan.

If

nothingelse,

this

paraphrase

proves

that the

Syriac's rendering

f

"fallen" as

"dark-

ened" was

purposeful,

and deemed

of sufficient

mportance

to

warrant

araphrasing

biblical

verb

in a

following

verse.

4. The

warning

n the

biblical

narrative,

. . . its

desire

s for

you,

but

you

can

control t"

(vs. 7)

is

widely

regarded

as

a

dittography

of

the Adam

and

Eve narrative

iii, 16)17),

despite

the distance

separating

the

verses,

and

despite

the

inversion of

genders.

The

Syriac

version of the Cain-Abel narrative

presents

the

opposite

meaning:

"You will turnto it

(him?),

and t

(he?)

will

controlyou"

8).

Although

the Hebrew

h.tt't bs is

generally

understood

as

"sin

crouches",

the

first

word

is vocalized

as

feminine

i.e.,

ha.ttat),

nd

therefore

equires

a

feminine

predicative

robeset).

his

irregularity

has

been cited

in

support

of the rabisum

ypothesis,

whereby

the

biblical

robes

s understood

to

have

originally

ignified

demonic

being

lurking by

the

doorway19).

Interestingly,

he Palestinian

Aramaic versions

all

understand

h.t't as the "Evil

Urge".

Thus,

Targum

Neophyti

reads,"I have

placed

in

your

hands the controlof

the Evil

Urge,

that

you may

govern

it,

to be innocent

or to sin

(vs.

7.)" By

reversing

he

emphasis

of

the

Hebrew,

and

rendering

he

phrase

it

(he?)

will control

you,"

the

Syriac

paraphrase

has intimated

thatfor

Cain,

the choice between

"doing

well" and

"not

doing

well"

amounts to

a

choice between

being

controlled

by

God and

being

controlled

by

"him",

i.e.,

Satan.

Or,

as one

exegetical

Syriac

com-

mentary

uts

it,

"You

will turn

to it'

refers

o the

sacrifice;

and

it

shall controlyou' referso Sin. Cain thinks f his sacrifice,orgetting

that

heEvil One is

crouching

earthedoor.

His

sacrifice annotobtain

remission

f

his

sins,

hence

Sin

must,

n

the

nd,

overpower

him"

20).

by

Professor

Kahle,

and to

Targum

Onkelos,"

Studia

Theologica

V

(1961),

p.

145.

n

vss.

7

and

13,

thePalestinian

argums

xpress forgiveness'

y

combina-

tion

of

'It

and

lt.

16)

As

noted

by

WERNBERG-MOLLER,

loc.

cit.,

Theodotian

too understands

the

biblical

nt1

as

meaning

reception"

r

"acceptance",

nd

therefore enders

t

aeXTov.

17)

See e.g.,

J.

SKINNER,

op. cit.,p.

107,and Chaim

HELLER,

Peshitta,ad h. 1.

18)

This is

accomplished

y

simply

reversing

he

suffixes;

cf.

text

supra.)

19)

See

E.

SPEISER, Genesis,

New

York

(Anchor

Bible)

1964,

p.

32

f.

for the

argument

hat heO.T.

narrative

tself

s

a

demythologized

ersion

f an

original

account

n

which demon

urks

n the

background.

20)

Ms.

Mingana

53,

f.

5A.

(an

East

Syriac xegetical

ext

n

Nestorian

harac-

ters.

Written 0

August

1930,

it

might

ontain

text

from

he

IXth or

Xth

centuries.)

74




7/10

SYRIAC VERSION OF GENESIS IV

1-16

5.

Cain's

response

(vss.

13,

14)

in

the

biblical

account

includes

his

evaluation

that,

a.

his sin

is too

great

to

be

borne

(Syriac

"for-

given")21),

and b. he

will

henceforth e

hidden

from

God's

sight

(presence?).

Both are

theologically roblematic,

ince the theoretical

possibility implied

by

Cain's statement

s

reinforced,

by

God's

reply,

which

begins

with the word

"Therefore",

i.e.,

"Lest

that

happen".

This

dual

(and,

in

all

likelihood,

dualistic) theological

problem

is

resolved

by

the

Syriac

version's

translating

kn

("therefore")

as

1'

kn

(No Thus")

22).

God's

response

contradicts

ain's

supposi-

tion. This emendation refutesboth

premises

contained in Cain's

statement;

here

s

no

sin which cannot

be

absolved

by

God's

grace,

and there is

only

one universal

domain

-

that of

God

23).

God

controlsthe battlefield

n which

Satan

pits

sin

against

grace.

6.

There is wide

diversity

n midrash iterature s to the

nature

of

the

sign

given

to

Cain:

God

caused

the

sun

to shine

as a

sign

that

animals

were

not to

slay

him;

God

marked Cain

by

afflicting

im

with

eprosy;

God

gave

Cain

a

dog

to

signal

him

upon

the

approach

ofdangerous nimals;God markedCainwith hornon hisforehead;

God

punished

Cain as

a

sign

to

futurewould-be

murderers;

God

partially

ondoned

Cain

as

a

sign

of

encouragement

o future inners

who

repent;

God

allowed Cain

to live

until

the flood

24).

The

Syriac

extreads

wsm

my'

't'

bqyn

=

"And God

put

a

mark

on

Cain." This reflectsboth the

biblical

references

o

protective

marks

usually

placed

on

the

forehead) 5)

intended

to

indicate

that

the bearer

belonged

to a

particular

rotective

eity

6),

as

well

as

the

21)

So too LXX ad

h.l.,

and

PHILO,

uod

Deterius

otiori

nsidiari,

1;

Targum

Onqelos

too translatesheHebrewminsi'

s

"to

be

forgiven".

22)

On the

basis

of

MS.

evidence,

W.

Emery

BARNES,

A

New Edition

of

the

Pentateuch

n

Syriac,"JTS

XV

1914,

pp.

41-44

tates hat

In

iv

15 thetext f

the

MSS

(if

t

will

stand)

s

to

be rendered:- "No

Thus

shall

t

be]

with

ny slayer

[of

Cain]:

Cain

shallbe

avenged

evenfold".

23)

The

problem

nd

its

solution re indicated

n

PIILO,

op.

cit.,

41: 150 f.:

"What

do

you

say,

dear sir?

f

you

were

cast

out from

he

entire

arth,

would

you

even

thenbe hidden?Would

it

be

possible

for

man

or

any

creature

o

be

hidden

rom

God,

who

is

present

verywhere,

hose

sight

eaches o

the

ends

of

the arth,who fills heuniversefwhichnotthe lightestshidden"

24)

See

Bereshit

abbah,

xii

12f.

25)

Cf. Ex.

xiii

6,

xxviii

8,

Dt. vi

8,

Ez.

iv

6.

26)

For

Aramaic eferences

o

God's namemarked n

Cain's

face,

f.

Neophyti

and

Pseudo-Jonathan

d h.

1.

(and

midrash n

Pirqe

de Rabbi

'Eli'ezer,

xxi.)

For

Syriac

ommentary,

f.A.

LEVENE,

he

arly

yrian

athers

n

Genesis,

ondon

1951,

pp.

166f.

For ancient

parallels

n

Code of

Hammurapi,

ee W.

R.

SMITIH,

The

Religion

f

The

emnites,

ondon

1914,

pp.

226f.

q.

Assouan

apyri,

d.

COWLEY,

75




8/10

E.

LEVINE

tradition,

ound n

the

Aramaic

argum,

hat

God's

name,

or a letter

f

the

name,

was

nscribed n Cain's

face.

Byspecifyingqyn"on Cain"),

the

Syriac

eliminates he numerous

lternative raditions

oncerning

the

sign given

"to"

Cain",

in

favor

of

the

physical nscription

on

Cain".

The

Syriac

ompletes

he

evolution:

Cain

now

belongs

to God.

His

physical appearance

testifies

o his

spiritual

conversion:

from

Saturnalian

lustre,

through

interim

darkness,

to

the

sign

of the

Lord. The

son

of Satan now

bears God's mark.

ThePeshitta

nd

theAramaic

Targums

A

related,

expanded

(albeit

highly attenuated)

version

of

this

Satan-Cain-God-Abelmotif s found n the

Targum

Neophyti

iv

8.)

Cain is

depicted

as

Advocatus

Diaboli,

refuting

divine

justice,

the

rule

of

mercy,

he

after-life,

nd

reward

and

punishment.

Abel

is

depicted

s

AdvocatusDei

27).

The other extant Palestinian

targum

texts-Pseudo-Jonathan,

Fragmentary

Targum

and Genizah

fragments

8)-contain

similar

readings.

And the variations within

and

between these texts have

No. 28:

4f.) Compare

citations n 1 Ki. xx

41,

Is. xliv

5,

Lev. xix

28,

xxi

5,

Dt. xiv 1. Practices

f

Hellenized and

apostate

Jews

similar o the

Dionysian

branding

with

n oak leaf

3

Macc.

ii

29)

are referred

o

by

PHILO,

de

Spec.

Leg.

I 8

(cf.

HERODOTUS,

istory

i

113.)

Note the three

nterpretations

f

mark' or

'sign'

n the

New Testament:

Gal.

vi 17

(aTiyLacoca),

Rev.

vii

3f.

OpocytcTcoLuv...

7rl

Czv

erTc'7Trv(),

nd xiii

16f.

Xo0pocy¥ac).

27)

"Cain said to Abel

his

brother,

Come,

let

us

go

out to

the field.' And

when

they adgone

ut

o

he

ield,

ain

spoke

nd said to

Abel,

I

know

that he

worldwas

not

created

hroughmercy,

nd that t is not

governed ccording

o

the fruit

f

good

deeds,

nd that here

s

favoritism

n

judgement.

hat s

whyyour

offering

was acceptedwith favorwhereasmyoffering as not acceptedfromme with

favor.'

Abel

replied

nd

said

to

Cain,

I

know

that he

worldwas

created

hrough

mercy,

nd

is

governed

ccording

o the fruit

f

good

deeds. Since

my

offering

was better han

yours,

my offering

as

accepted

from

me

with favorwhereas

your

ffering

as

not

ccepted

rom

ou

with avor.'

Cain

replied

nd said

to

Abel,

'There

s

no

judgement

nd there s

no

Judge.

There

s

no other

world,

nor

s there

the

giving

f

good

reward o

the

righteous

or

punishment

f

the

wicked.'

And

Abel

replied

nd said to

Cain,

There

s

judgement

nd there s

a

Judge.

There

s

another

world,

and there s the

giving

of

good

reward

o the

righteous

nd

punishment

f the

wicked

n

the

world-to-come.'

n

account

of this ssue

they

were

arguing

in

the

field,

and Cain arose

against

Abel

his

brother,

nd

he

slew

him

(iv 8.)" For earlier sources, see Jubilees iv 2; cf. PHILO, Liber Antiquitatum

Biblicarum:

De

Abrahamo

xiii,

and

Quod

deterius

otiori

nsidiari

oleat

i

10f.,

14.

See

parallels

nd related

exts

isted

n

sources

.

supra,

ote

.

28)

Pseudo-Jonathan

is found in British Museum Add. Aram. Ms.

27031;

Fragmentary Targum

is

found

in

Codex

Vaticanus

440,

Codex Paris

110,

Codex

Nurenberg

,

Codex

Leipzig

1

and Biblica Rabbinica ed.

Venice 1517-18. Caro

Genizah

fragment

s

found

in

Paul

KAHLE,

Masoreten es WlVstens

-II,

Stuttgart

1927-30,

Ms. B.

76




9/10

SYRIAC VERSION

OF GENESIS

IV 1-16

been

carefully ompared,

o reveal the

nter-relationship

etween

the

targumim

9).

Detailed

comparison

f the

entire

Cain-Abel narrative

ccording

to

the

Syriac

eshitta

nd

theAramaic

Targums

would

require

reproduc-

ing

in

parallel

the

Aramaic texts.

And

there

s little

to

be

gained

from

defining

the

relationship

by

examining

the

syntactical

and

morphological

characteristics

f the Peshitta's

Syriac

in

light

of

Palestinian

or

Babylonian

targumic

Aramaic. The

presence

of

dialec-

tical

affinitiesnd the

question

of

literary

ependence

are

separate

issues;

the

correspondance

f

grammatical pecifics

n the

Syriac

nd

in the PalestinianAramaic versions does not constitute

proof

of

literary

nfluence

n

either

irection

0).

Furthermore,

he

phraseologi-

cal

discrepancies

etween

he

Peshitta

nd the extant

Aramaic

targums

to Gen.

iv

3-16

31)

are

more

significant

han

the

similarities,

hich

are

often

imply

dialectical.

However,

on

the

basis of a

literary

xamina-

tion of the

Peshitta

n

comparison

with

the

Aramaic

targums

nd

the

midrash

iterature

2),

several observations of

a

general

nature

may

be made:

29)

P.

GRELOT,

"Les

Targums

du

Pentateuque;

Etude

comparative

d'apres

Genese

IV, 3-16,"

Semitica

X

1959,

pp.

59-88.

nteresting

aterial

s

found n

Roger

LE

DEAUT,

"Traditions

targumiques

dans le

Corpus

Paulinien,"

Biblica

XLII

1961,

pp.

30-36,

and

in

Alejandro

DiEZ

MACHO,

"The

Recently

Discovered

Palestinian

argum;

ts

Antiquity

nd

Relationship

ith

other

Targums,"

VT

VII

1959. Also

see

tTAN

IEVINE,

"British

Museum Aramaic

Additional

Ms.

27031."

Manuscripta

XVI

1972,

pp.

3-13.

Geza

VERMES,

The

Targumic

Versions

of

Genesis

IV, 3-16,"

The Annual

of

theLeeds

University

riental

ociety

II

1961-2,

pp. 81-144, laborates nthefact hat heword"not" (L') doesnotappear none

of

Cain's

statements

n

Targum

Pseudo-Jonathan.

ut the

word

has

simply

been

haplographically

mitted

y

the

copyist:

he

phrase

hould

read,

the

world

is not

governed

ccording

o

mercy,"

witness

Ms.

Neophyti

,

as

well

as the

fact

that Abel's

response

could

hardly

onstitute

greement

with what

Cain

had

asserted

VERMES

correctly

warns

that "Students of

Targums

must

therefore

always

bear in mind

that,

n

the

present

tateof

affairs,

he first

nd

foremost

task is to determine

he

antiquity

f an

exegesis,

not

by measuring

ts

length,

but

by

examining

ts

contents,

nd

to

do

so

without

reconceived

deas

as to

how

the

various

ources

hould

relate o one

another

op.

cit.,

07)".

30)

This

point

s

convincinglyrguedby

P.

WERNBERG-MOLLER,

op.

cit.,

p. 129.

31)

Note,e.g.,that hePeshitta's eversed ord-order,givetoyou ts trength

(v.

12)"

is not found

n the Palestinian

argum,

or is its "therefore"

vs.

9,

added

to

stress hat he

question

s

rhetorical)

ound

here.

Whereas

he

Peshitta

paraphrases

And

the Lord

said"

(vs. 10),

the

targum

follows

the Massoretic

reading.

The

important

eb.

seet

vs. 7)

is

understood

s

"received"

by

the

Peshitta,

whereas

he

targum like

Bereshit abbah

2:6)

understands

t

to

mean

"forgiveness".

he list ouldbe increased

ignificantly.

32)

See sources isted

upra,

notes

-14, 1,

24,

26-29.

77




10/10

E.

LEVINE

a)

The

Syriac

version

presents

n

terse,

cryptic

llusion,

motifs

hat

are

expanded

and

developed

in

the

targum

and midrash. This

accords with the general principle that the simpler and less

developed

a

targumic

radition,

he

older

t

s

33).

b)

A

knowledge

of

both

the Hebrew

original

nd

the

Jewish

xegeti-

cal tradition

s

so

apparent,

hat

therecan

be no

doubt of

Jewish

influence

on

the

Peshitta.

The

translator(s)

consulted

Jewish-

Aramaic

tradition

which

was

available

to

them

n

the

targums

n

a

dialect

similar o

theirown

Syriac 4).

c)

The

Syriac

Pentateuch,

particularly

he older

texts of it

(e.g.

BARNES

MS. D.: BritishMuseumAdd. Ms. 14425)is an important

asset

n the

study

f

the

targum

exts

hat

re

currently

vailable

35).

Conversely,

argumic

nd

midrashic

exts

may

frequently

lluminate

thebroad

outlines f

thePeshitta's ntent

nd

meaning.

d)

Whereas

the

targums

o

the Cain-Abel

controversy

re

apparently

a reaction

gainst

2nd

century eresy

6),

the

substantive ariants

in

the

Peshitta indicate

an

ancient

tradition

n

which

Satan is

involved

actively.

This is

the

conceptual-literary

oundation rom

whichevolve the traditions f Cain and Abel as the first eretic

and the

first

martyr.

33)

This

principle

has been

stated

by Alejandro

DIEZ

MACHO,

op.

cit.,

244.

34)

This is the conclusion

reached

by

E.

WURTHWEIN,

The

Text

of

the Old

Testament,

ew

York

1957,

p.

60.

(Cf.

P.

WERNBERG-M0LLER,

op.

cit.

180f. for

an

nsightful

nalysis

nd

careful

ocumentation.)

35)

See

Paul

KAHLE,

The

Cairo

Geniza,

evised

ed.

London

1959,

265ff.

36)

See A.

MARMORSTEIN,

"Einige

vorlaufige

Bemerkungen

u

den neuent-

deckten

Fragmenten

es

jerusalemischenpalastinensischen)argums,"

ZAIW

XLIX 1931,p. 236. For indicationsf thetargum eacting o Marcionism,f.

tftan

LEVINE,

"Some

Characteristicsf

Pseudo-Jonathan argum

to

Genesis,"

Auzgustinianum

X

1971,

pp.

94ff.

mportant

observations re made

by

P.

WERNBERG-M0LLER,

Prolegomenon

to

a

Re-Examination

of the Palestinian

Targum Fragments

of

the

book

of

Genesis Published

by

P.

Kahle,

and their

Relationship

to the

Peshitta,"

JSS

VII

1962,

in

which

the

independance

of the

Peshitta,

is

frequently

demonstrated.

Similarly,

J.

HXNEL,

"Die

aussermasore-

tischen

Obereinstimmingen

zwischen

der

Septuaginta

und

der

Peshitta

in

der

Genesis,"

BZAW XX

1911,

pp.

llff.

marshalls

impressive

supportive

data.

78

The Syriac Version of Genesis IV 1-16

Documents