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Targum Neofiti Reader

Read Targum Neofiti in source order, passage by passage, with the close English translation where available and the original source text for checking.

Page 1 of 1 · passages 1-2Targum Neofiti, Genesis 1 – Targum Neophyti on Exodus 20:1Work Overview →

Contents on This Page2
Contents on This Page
1Targum Neofiti, Genesis 12Targum Neophyti on Exodus 20:1
1

The Palestinian Targum on Creation

Targum Neofiti, Genesis 1CC0Source text

Source Text

In the beginning and in great wisdom, God created and finished the heavens and the earth.

And the earth was void and formless, desolate from humans and animals alike. It was empty of all planted vegetation and trees. Darkness was spread on the surface of the depths, and a merciful spirit from before God blew across the water.

And God said: Let there be light, and there was light as he commanded.

God saw that the light was good, and he separated (by word) between light and dark.

And God called the light day, and to the dark he called night, and it was day and night; the first day of the Genesis order.

And God said: Let there be a separation in the middle of the waters, and there was a separation between the earth-waters and the heaven-waters.

And God created the separation, which separated the water below the line of separation and the water above the line of separation, and it was thus as his word.

And God called the separation "Heavens," and it was day and night, the second day of the Genesis order.

2

How The Ten Commandments Were Given

Targum Neophyti on Exodus 20:1CC0Adaptation
Editorial adaptation — no source text has been imported for this passage yet. This is a JewishMythology.com retelling, not the original.

It was a spectacle. The Targum Neophyti on (Exodus 20:1) describes it as shooting stars, lightning, and fiery torches all rolled into one. Can you picture that? A blazing, celestial phenomenon erupting from the Divine.

This wasn't just any light show. It was a word taking flight, soaring through the heavens with incredible speed. It flew, it wheeled, and then… it returned.

What did the people do? They were terrified. Understandably so! Imagine witnessing something so… otherworldly.

The journey wasn't over. This fiery word, this divine spark, didn't just vanish. Instead, it hovered over the camps of Israel, a powerful presence watching over them. And then, in its final act, it descended and became engraved on the tablets of the covenant. All of Israel saw it.

Then, a voice boomed out: "I Yahweh am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage" (Exod. 20:2).

But it didn't stop there. According to the tradition, each and every subsequent word, each of the Ten Commandments, was given in the same awe-inspiring way. Shooting stars, fiery torches, winging swiftly through the air…each one a cosmic event.

This elaborate description, this incredible imagery, really underscores the sheer importance of the Ten Commandments. It emphasizes the world-shaking nature of the event. This wasn't just a set of rules being handed down. It was a moment that redefined the relationship between God and the Israelites, between the Divine and humanity. It was a moment, as the Targum Neophyti implies, that forever changed the cosmos.