The Syriac Version of Genesis IV 1-16

Author(s): tan Levine

Source: Vetus Testamentum, Vol. 26, Fasc. 1 (Jan., 1976), pp. 70-78
Published by: BRILL
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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,speculation and literarycreativity
based upon the manytantalizingdetailsleftexplainedby the Hebrew
Bible: Why was Cain's offeringrejected,and how was this rejection
conveyedto him? What is the precise meaningof God's admonition
and warning to Cain? What were Cain's actual words to Abel?
What was the fullreason for Cain's murderinghis brother,and what
was the actual method of homicide? How could Cain conceivably
be hidden fromGod's sight?What was the natureof the sign given
to Cain? 1)
The Syriac version of this incident contains several surprising
variants. The purpose of this study is to demonstratethat these
variants,in concertconstitutecumulativeevidence of a narrativein
which there are four protagonists:Cain and Abel, God and Satan.
The Peshittadeals in simple,undeveloped style,with motifsthat
are found in expanded form, in other literature.It is therefore,
possible to reconstructthe relationshipof the Syriac version to the
New Testamentand Hellenistictexts,to the Aramaic versions,and
to polemical works wherein Cain and Abel evolve into the prototypesof thehereticand the saint2).
derhel1) Cf. V. APTOWITZER,Kain undAbel in der Agada, denApokryphen,
christlichen
undmuhammedanischen
lenistischen,
Literatur,
Leipzig1922; B. OPPENHEIM,
Alon, Jerusalem1968, pp. 27-68;
"Qayin we-Hebel", SeferZikaronle-Gedalyahu
Menahem KASHER, Torah Shlemah,Jerusalem 1938, II, pp. 302 ff.; M. THEODOR
and C. ALBECK, MidrashBereshitRabba, Berlin 1931-36,I, pp. 204 f.; Louis
GINZBERG,Legendsof theJews,Philadelphia 1946, I and V, passim; 1EtanLEVINE,
"Parallels to Genesis of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and Neophyti 1, "Alejandro

DfEZ-MACHO

Palestinense
Ms. dela Biblioteca
ed.,MS. Neophyti
1, Targum
Vaticana,

Madrid 1970, II, ad loc.

Encyclopedia,
2) As brieflysummarized by Robert GORDIS, in the UniversalJewish
II, p. 626. To the Hellenistic Jews, especially, the brothersbecame the archsymbol
of the conflictbetween good and evil. Abel is the lover of godly righteousness
Vetus Teslamentum,
Vol. XXVI, Fasc. 1

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SYRIAC

VERSION

OF GENESIS

IV

1-16

71

VariantsintheSyriacVersion3) (MT] S)
Substantive
iv 5 "and hisfacefell"] "and his facedarkened"
6 "and why has your face fallen?"] "and why has your face
darkened?"
7 "thereis liftingup"] "I receive"
7 "And unto you is its desire,but you can controlit".]
"You shall turn to it (him?), and it (he?) shall control you".
8 -] "Let us descendintothevalley".
8 "in thefield"] "in thevalley".
9 -] "therefore"
13 "My sin is too greatto be borne"] "My sin is too greatto be
forgiven".
15 "Therefore"],,No. Thus..."
15 "a signto Cain"] "a signon Cain"
AnalysisoftheVariants
1. In the Hebrew Bible, Gen. iv 8 reads, "And Cain said (wayyo
mer) to Abel; and it came to pass when theywere in the field,that
Cain rose up over Abel his brother,and killed him." Since the
Hebrew 'mr("said") is never synonymouswith dbr("spoke") 4), the
apparent lacuna encompassing Cain's statementto his brother has
5). And the biblical versions
long been regarded as self-evident
Book I, 2:1; Bookof Adam andEve, ii 1-15) whose faith
(JOSEPHUS,Antiquities,

moreacceptablethanCain's (Heb. xi 4). Abel is theleaderof all

madehis sacrifice
themartyrs
in Sheol(EnochXXXV 3-6), and thejudge of all mortalsin the other
world (Testament
of Abraham,recensionA, ch. 13; recensionB, ch. 11.) The
innocentblood ofAbel was neverreallyabsorbedbytheearth(Apocalypse
ofMoses,
Abel's blood is therefore
40), and so it retainedfor all timea magicalefficacy.
invokedin maledictionsfoundin the SyriacCave of Treasures
and the Ethiopic
BookofAdam,and Jesusrefersto "the blood of Abel therighteous"in his curse
Abel is theprototype
ofthe
upon thePharisees(Mt. xxiii25). In gnosticliterature,
law-abidingman, and Cain representsevil (with one gnosticsect, called The
Cainites,practicingcomplete antinomianism.)Cf. sources q. supra,note 1.
ratherthan
3) The Peshittaalso containsseveralvariantswhich are stylistic,
substantive.
4) Albert EHRMAN, "What did Cain say to Abel?", JQR LIII 1962-3,pp.
164-7claimsthattheHebrew 'amaris a polaricverb meaningboth topraiseand
diametric
opposite,todespise.
5) ContrastS. E. LOEWENSTAMMand J. BLAU,Thesaurus
of theLanguageof the
Bible,Jerusalem1957, p. xxx: "Sometimesa difficult
passage is susceptibleof
explanationas it stands,and can onlylose by emendation.It shouldnot be supposed that the copyistsomittedwords which are so clear and so apparently
of the text; and it seems moreprobable
necessaryto the properunderstanding
thatwe haveherean archaicuse of V1=1"in the sense of 1S'I"1"and he spoke",
which needs no amplification".

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72

E. LEVINE

all include Cain's enticementto Abel: Samaritan Bible: nlk' hsdh

eLqTo0re8ov,Peshitta:
("Let us go to thefield"),Septuagint:aL'X06[jv
nrd'Ipq't' ("Let us descend into the valley."), Vulgate: Egrediamur
l'py br" ("Come, let us both
foras,TargumNeophyti: .yta' wnpqtrynn
out
the
go
upon
field."), FragmentaryTargum: lyt' wnpql'py br'
("Come, let us go out upon the field."), Targum Pseudo-Jonathan:
Ibr' ("Come, let us both go out to the field.").
wnpwqtrwynn
1yty
On the strengthof these texts,it has been maintainedthat "hence
nlkhhsdh(let us go to the field) is to be supplied with Samaritan,
Septuagint, Peshitta, Vulgata, Targum Jerushalmi..." 6). Furtherof renditions
more,as one Syriacscholarhas asserted,"The similarity
in the versions witnessesto the existenceof an ancient midrashto
whichtheyare all referring
in theirrespectivelanguages." 7) However,
the factis thatthe versionsare similarbutnotidentical:whereas all of
the otherversionshave Cain invitingAbel to go out to the field,the
Syriacreads, "Let us descend into the valley." 8) And this seemingly
trivial variation, in concert with the other variants in the Syriac
text, actually indicates an independent exegetical tradition. This
exegeticaltraditionis incorporatedinto a Syriac commentarywhich
reads, "At the top of a mountain,the Satan convinced Cain that he
should kill his brotheron account of Laboda and because he had
offereda sacrificewhich had not been accepted by God, whereas the
sacrificeof Abel had been accepted. And he repeatedlyaroused
Cain against his brother. And when they descended
into the valley,
Cain arose over Abel his brother,and killed him with a flintstone
plough handle. And Cain therebybecame guilty of murder"9).
2. Although numerous midrashim refer to Cain chasing Abel
6) John SKINNER,Genesis(ICC), Edinburgh 1910, p. 107. Contrast S. ZEITLIN,

"Some Reflections
on the Text of the Pentateuch,"
JQR LI 1961,p. 327: "The
us is whether(the) versiongiven in the Targumand the
problemconfronting
textand our textis incorrect,
or whetherthis
Septuagintwas in thepentateuchal
versionis just an explanationto elucidatethe text.This problemmustremain
unsolvedforlackofevidence."
Berlin1929,p. 5,note7.
7) ChaimHELLER,Peshitta,
8) The Syriacroot pqC (relatedto Biblical Hebrew bqc invariablysignifies
"valley", "gorge" or "notch". It is true thatthe later TalmudicAramaicbqc
does also includethe widermeaningof cultivatedland. (See Marcus JASTROW,
A Dictionary
theTalmudBabli and Yerushalmi
and theMidrashic
of theTargumim,
New York 1950, I, p. 186 f.) However, in additionto the semantic
Literature,
fieldof the Syriacpq', its meaningof "valley" is further
reinforced
by the verb
nrd = "letus descend",whichis foundonlyinthePeshitta'saccount.
9) Ma'rat ha-Gaga',ed., BEZOLD, f. 34 (q. THEODOR-ALBECK, op. cit.,p. 214,
notes.)

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SYRIAC VERSION OF GENESIS IV 1-16

73

over mountaintops and down into valleys10),it is thisparticular

accountwhichtouchesupon othervariantscontainedin the Syriac
thepresenceof
For it is precisely
versionof theCain-Abelnarrative.
themeaningof Cain's"darkenedface"(vss.5, 6.)
Satanthatunderlies
Cain was of satanicalancestry,
Accordingto widespreadtradition,
with
satanical
features
was
endowed
and
11).
theverse,"AndAdamknewEve hiswife.And
Thus,inparaphrasing
sheconceivedand boreCain.And shesaid: I haveacquireda manof
theLord (iv)", an Aramaictargumreads,"AdamknewthatEve had
become pregnant
by the angel Samma'el.And sheboreCain,who
"Adam
celestialbeingsratherthanmortals"12). Similarly,
resembled
him
ofCain,therefore
hedidnotresemble
wasnotthebiologicalfather
with
Samma'el
of
Cain
The
association
(i.e. the
13).
physically"
that
that
is
Star
of
Evil
and
tradition
Saturn
the
the
brings
Satan),
calamity
upon Israel,is whatgave riseto thewordplayin Hebrew
the biblicalqyn(Cain) as kywn(Saturn),
exegesiswhichinterpreted
his
face
and wyplw
pnyw("and his face
pnyw("and
fell") as wy'plw
darkened"14). The Syriacversiontoo rendersthe Hebrew nplhv
themidrashic
equationof
("fell") as 'tkmry
("darkened"),reflecting
of Cain.This
withwy'aplw
andalludingtothesatanicalfeatures
wyplw
further
reinforces
Satan'spresence
inthenarrative.
3. Having alreadyrenderedthe biblical"fallen"as "darkened"
theHebrew
translate
(vss. 5, 6), theSyriacversioncouldnotliterally
it paraPt as "lifting"or "uplift"(vs. 7). Consequently,
infinitive
oftheAramaic
phrasesthewordas qblt= "I receive",independently
versionswhich translateit to mean forgiveness
15). The Syriac's
10) Shemot Rabbah xxxi 17; Midrash Tanhuma', Mishpatzm 13; Midrash HaGadol, I, adloc.
11) Cf.M. KASHER, op. cit.,II, p. 304,and THEODOR-ALBECK, op. cit.,I, 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 cAbodahZarah 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)ubin18B.
27A; Pesiqta' Rabbati xx 96a, 203a. See discussion
14) Beraita' de MaZgalot
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', Tesawweh15, and Midrash
Shirha-Shirim28 B.
15) Cf. EPHRAIM ad loc. The independence of the Syriac translatoris 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

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74

E. LEVINE

translationof the verb apparentlyis intendedto convey 'acceptance'

or 'reception'16)-even for the son of Satan. If nothing else, this
paraphraseproves that the Syriac's renderingof "fallen" as "darkened" was purposeful, and deemed of sufficientimportance to
warrantparaphrasinga biblical verb in a followingverse.
4. The warningin the biblical narrative,". . . its desireis for you,
but you can control it" (vs. 7) is widely regardedas a dittography
of the Adam and Eve narrative(iii, 16)17), despite the distance
separatingthe verses, and despite the inversion of genders. The
Syriac version of the Cain-Abel narrative presents the opposite
18).
meaning: "You will turnto it (him?), and it (he?) willcontrolyou"
as
h.tt't
rbs
is
understood
"sin
the
Hebrew
Although
generally
and
crouches", the firstword is vocalized as feminine(i.e., ha.ttat),
thereforerequires a femininepredicative(robeset).This irregularity
has been cited in support of the rabisumhypothesis,whereby the
biblical robesis understood to have originallysignifieda demonic
being lurking by the doorway19). Interestingly,the Palestinian
Aramaic versions all understandh.t't as the "Evil Urge". Thus,
Targum Neophytireads, "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 reversingthe emphasisof the Hebrew, and renderingthe
phrase"it (he?) will controlyou," the Syriacparaphrasehas intimated
thatfor Cain, the choice between"doing well" and "not doing well"
amounts to a choice between being controlledby God and being
controlledby "him", i.e., Satan. Or, as one exegetical Syriac commentaryputs it, "You will turnto it' refersto the sacrifice;'and it
shall controlyou' refersto Sin. Cain thinksof his sacrifice,forgetting
thattheEvil One is crouchingnearthedoor. His sacrificecannotobtain
remissionof his sins,hence Sin must,in theend, overpowerhim" 20).
XV (1961),
by ProfessorKahle, and to Targum Onkelos," Studia Theologica
bycombinatargumsexpress"forgiveness'
p. 145.In vss. 7 and 13,thePalestinian
tionof 'It and jlt.
16)

As noted by WERNBERG-MOLLER,

loc. cit., Theodotian too understands the

rendersit
biblicalnt1 as meaning"reception"or "acceptance",and therefore
aeXTov.
17)
18)

See e.g., J. SKINNER, op. cit., p. 107, and ChaimHELLER, Peshitta, ad h. 1.

This is accomplishedby simplyreversingthe suffixes;(cf. text supra.)

19) See E. SPEISER, Genesis,New York (Anchor Bible) 1964, p. 32 f. for the

versionof an original
argumentthattheO.T. narrativeitselfis a demythologized
accountin whicha demonlurksin thebackground.
553, f. 5A. (an East Syriacexegeticaltextin Nestoriancharac20) Ms. Mingana
ters. Written10 August 1930, it mightcontaina textfromthe IXth or Xth
centuries.)

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SYRIAC

VERSION

OF GENESIS

IV 1-16

75

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 "forgiven")21), and b. he will henceforthbe hidden from God's sight
(presence?). Both are theologicallyproblematic,since the theoretical
possibility implied by Cain's statementis 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 translatinglkn ("therefore")
as 1' kn (No! Thus") 22). God's response contradictsCain's supposition. This emendation refutesboth premises contained in Cain's
statement;thereis no sin which cannot be absolved by God's grace,
and there is only one universal domain - that of God 23). God
controlsthe battlefieldon which Satan pits sin againstgrace.
6. There is wide diversityin midrashliteratureas to the natureof
the sign given to Cain: God caused the sun to shine as a sign that
him
animals were not to slay him; God marked Cain by afflicting
with leprosy; God gave Cain a dog to signal him upon the approach
of dangerousanimals; God markedCain witha hornon his forehead;
God punished Cain as a sign to futurewould-be murderers;God
partiallycondoned Cain as a sign of encouragementto futuresinners
who repent; God allowed Cain to live untilthe flood 24).
The Syriactextreads wsmmy' 't' bqyn = "And God put a mark
on Cain." This reflectsboth the biblical referencesto protective
marks(usuallyplaced on the forehead)25) intended to indicate that
the bearerbelonged to a particularprotectivedeity26), as well as the
PotioriInsidiari,
41; Targum
21) So too LXX ad h.l., and PHILO,Quod Deterius
theHebrewminsi'as "to be forgiven".
Onqelos too translates
"A New Edition of the
22) On the basis of MS. evidence,W. EmeryBARNES,
Pentateuchin Syriac,"JTSXV 1914,pp. 41-44statesthat"In iv 15 thetextof the
MSS (if it will stand)is to be rendered:- "No! Thus [shallitbe] withany slayer
[ofCain]: Cainshallbe avengedsevenfold".
23) The problemand its solutionare indicatedin PIILO, op. cit.,41: 150 f.:
"What do you say,dear sir? If you were cast out fromthe entireearth,would
you even thenbe hidden?Would it be possiblefora man or any creatureto be
hiddenfromGod, who is presenteverywhere,
whose sightreachesto theends of
theearth,who fillstheuniverseofwhichnottheslightest
is hidden?"
Rabbah,xxii 12f.
24) See Bereshit
25) Cf. Ex. xiii 6, xxviii38, Dt. vi 8, Ez. iv 6.
to God's namemarkedon Cain's face,cf.Neophyti
26) For Aramaicreferences
and Pseudo-Jonathan
ad h. 1. (and midrashin Pirqe de Rabbi 'Eli'ezer, xxi.)
For Syriaccommentary,
cf.A. LEVENE,TheEarlySyrianFathersin Genesis,
London
1951, pp. 166f.For ancientparallelsin Code of Hammurapi,see W. R. SMITIH,
TheReligion
London 1914,pp. 226f.(q. AssouanPapyri,ed. COWLEY,
ofTheSemnites,

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76

E. LEVINE

tradition,foundin theAramaictargum,thatGod's name,or a letterof

thename,was inscribedon Cain's face.By specifyingbqyn("on Cain"),
the Syriaceliminatesthe numerousalternativetraditionsconcerning
the sign given "to" Cain", in favor of the physicalinscription"on
Cain". The Syriaccompletestheevolution: Cain now belongsto God.
His physical appearance testifiesto his spiritualconversion: from
Saturnalian lustre, through interim darkness, to the sign of the
Lord. The son of Satannow bearsGod's mark.
ThePeshittaand theAramaic Targums
A related, expanded (albeit highly attenuated) version of this
Satan-Cain-God-Abelmotifis found in the Targum Neophyti (iv 8.)
Cain is depicted as AdvocatusDiaboli, refutingdivine justice, the
rule of mercy,the after-life,
and reward and punishment.Abel is
as
Advocatus
Dei
depicted
27).
The other extant Palestinian targum texts-Pseudo-Jonathan,
FragmentaryTargum and Genizah fragments28)-contain similar
readings. And the variationswithin and between these texts have
No. 28: 4f.) Comparecitationsin 1 Ki. xx 41, Is. xliv 5, Lev. xix 28, xxi 5,
Dt. xiv 1. Practicesof Hellenizedand apostateJews similarto the Dionysian
to by PHILO,de Spec.Leg.
brandingwithan oak leaf(3 Macc. ii 29) are referred
of 'mark' or
I 8 (cf. HERODOTUS,
Historyii 113.) Note the threeinterpretations
'sign' in theNew Testament:Gal. vi 17 (aTiyLacoca),Rev. vii 3f.aOpocytcTcoLuv...
andxiii16f.(Xo0pocyac).
7rlTCzv
VerTc'7Trv(),
'Come, let us go out to the field.' And when
27) "Cain said to Abel his brother,

outtothefield,Cain spokeand said to Abel,'I knowthattheworldwas

they
hadgone
not createdthroughmercy,and thatit is not governedaccordingto thefruitof
in judgement.That is whyyouroffering
good deeds,and thatthereis favoritism
was acceptedwithfavorwhereasmy offering
was not acceptedfromme with
favor.'Abel repliedand said to Cain,'I knowthattheworldwas createdthrough
mercy,and is governedaccordingto thefruitof good deeds. Since myoffering
was betterthan yours,my offering
was acceptedfromme with favorwhereas
was notacceptedfromyouwithfavor.'Cainrepliedand saidto Abel,
youroffering
'Thereis no judgementand thereis no Judge.Thereis no otherworld,noris there
the givingof good rewardto therighteousnor punishment
of thewicked.'And
Abel repliedand said to Cain,'There is judgementand thereis a Judge.Thereis
anotherworld, and thereis the giving of good rewardto the righteousand
of the wickedin the world-to-come.'On accountof thisissue they
punishment
were arguing in the field, and Cain arose againstAbel his brother,and he slew him
(iv 8.)" For earlier sources, see Jubilees iv 2; cf. PHILO, Liber Antiquitatum
Biblicarum: De Abrahamo xiii, and Quod deteriuspotiori insidiarisoleat i 10f., 14.

See parallelsand relatedtextslistedin sources9. supra,noteI.

28) Pseudo-Jonathan is found in British Museum Add. Aram. Ms. 27031;

Fragmentary Targum is found in Codex Vaticanus 440, Codex Paris 110, Codex

1, Codex Leipzig 1 and Biblica Rabbinica ed. Venice 1517-18. Caro

Nurenberg

Genizah fragmentis found in Paul KAHLE, Masoretendes WlVstens

I-II, Stuttgart

1927-30,Ms. B.

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SYRIAC VERSION OF GENESIS IV 1-16

77

betweenthe
been carefullycompared,to reveal the inter-relationship
targumim29).
Detailed comparisonof the entireCain-Abelnarrativeaccordingto
the SyriacPeshittaand theAramaicTargums would requirereproducing in parallel the Aramaic texts. And thereis littleto be gained
from definingthe relationshipby examining the syntactical and
morphological characteristicsof the Peshitta's Syriac in light of
Palestinianor BabyloniantargumicAramaic. The presenceof dialectical affinitiesand the question of literarydependence are separate
issues; the correspondanceof grammaticalspecificsin the Syriacand
in the Palestinian Aramaic versions does not constituteproof of
thephraseologiliteraryinfluencein eitherdirection30). Furthermore,
cal discrepanciesbetweenthePeshittaand theextantAramaictargums
thanthe similarities,
whichare
to Gen. iv 3-16 31) are more significant
oftensimplydialectical.However, on the basis of a literaryexamination of the Peshittain comparisonwith the Aramaic targumsand the
midrashliterature32), several observationsof a general nature may
be made:
29) P. GRELOT, "Les Targums du Pentateuque;Etude comparatived'apres
materialis foundin
Genese IV, 3-16," SemiticaIX 1959, pp. 59-88. Interesting

Roger LE DEAUT, "Traditions targumiques dans le Corpus Paulinien," Biblica

XLII 1961, pp. 30-36, and in Alejandro DiEZ MACHO, "The Recently Discovered

PalestinianTargum; Its Antiquityand RelationshipwithotherTargums,"SVT

VII 1959. Also see tTAN IEVINE, "British Museum Aramaic Additional Ms.
27031." ManuscriptaXVI 1972, pp. 3-13. Geza VERMES,"The Targumic Versions
OrientalSocietyLII 1961-2,
of Genesis IV, 3-16," The Annual of theLeeds University

pp. 81-144,elaborateson thefactthattheword "not" (L') does notappearin one

But the word has simply
of Cain's statementsin Targum Pseudo-Jonathan.
been haplographically
omittedby thecopyist:thephraseshouldread,"the world
is notgovernedaccordingto mercy,"witnessMs. Neophyti
1, as well as thefact
that Abel's responsecould hardlyconstituteagreementwith what Cain had
asserted! VERMES correctly warns that "Students of Targums must therefore

the firstand foremost

alwaysbear in mind that,in the presentstateof affairs,
task is to determinethe antiquityof an exegesis,not by measuringits length,
butbyexaminingitscontents,and to do so withoutpreconceivedideas as to how
thevarioussourcesshouldrelateto one another(op.cit.,107)".
op. cit.,p. 129.
30) This pointis convincingly
arguedby P. WERNBERG-MOLLER,
reversedword-order,
"give to you itsstrength
31) Note, e.g., thatthePeshitta's
(v. 12)" is not found in the Palestiniantargum,nor is its "therefore"(vs. 9,
added to stressthatthe questionis rhetorical)foundthere.Whereasthe Peshitta
paraphrases"And the Lord said" (vs. 10), the targumfollows the Massoretic
reading.The importantHeb. seet(vs. 7) is understoodas "received" by the
Rabbah22:6) understandsit to mean
Peshitta,whereasthe targum(like Bereshit
The listcouldbe increasedsignificantly.
"forgiveness".
32) See sourceslistedsupra,notes9-14,21, 24, 26-29.

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78

E. LEVINE

a) The Syriacversion presentsin terse,crypticallusion, motifsthat

are expanded and developed in the targum and midrash. This
accords with the general principle that the simpler and less
developed a targumictradition,theolderitis 33).
A
knowledgeof both the Hebrew originaland the Jewishexegetib)
cal traditionis so apparent,thattherecan be no doubt of Jewish
influence on the Peshitta. The translator(s)consulted JewishAramaic traditionwhich was available to themin the targumsin
a dialectsimilarto theirown Syriac34).
c) The Syriac Pentateuch,particularlythe older texts of it (e.g.
BARNES MS. D.: BritishMuseum Add. Ms. 14425) is an important
assetin thestudyof thetargumtextsthatare currently
available 35).
midrashic
and
texts
illuminate
Conversely,targumic
mayfrequently
thebroad outlinesof thePeshitta'sintentand meaning.
d) Whereasthe targumsto the Cain-Abel controversyare apparently
a reactionagainst 2nd centuryheresy36), the substantivevariants
in the Peshitta indicate an ancient traditionin which Satan is
involved actively.This is the conceptual-literary
foundationfrom
which evolve the traditionsof Cain and Abel as the firstheretic
and the firstmartyr.
This principle has been stated by Alejandro DIEZ MACHO, op. cit.,244.
This is the conclusionreachedby E. WURTHWEIN,The Text of theOld
New York 1957, p. 60. (Cf. P. WERNBERG-M0LLER, op. cit. 180f. for
Testament,
33)

34)

an insightful
analysisand carefuldocumentation.)
35) See Paul KAHLE, TheCairo Geniza,revised ed. London 1959, 265ff.
zu den neuent36) See A. MARMORSTEIN, "Einige vorlaufige Bemerkungen
decktenFragmentendes jerusalemischen
(palastinensischen)
Targums,"ZAIW
XLIX 1931, p. 236. For indicationsof the targumreactingto Marcionism,cf.
of Pseudo-Jonathan
tftan LEVINE, "Some Characteristics
Targumto Genesis,"
IX 1971, pp. 94ff.Importantobservationsare made by P.
Auzgustinianum

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 aussermasoretischen Obereinstimmingen zwischen der Septuaginta und der Peshitta in der
Genesis," BZAW XX 1911, pp. llff. marshalls impressive supportive data.

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