The God Whose Word Was My Helper on the Way

Midrash Aggadah Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 35:3 View source

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 12, 2025

"We will arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar unto Eloha, who heard my prayer in the day when I was afflicted, and whose Memra was my helper in the way that I went." Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Genesis 35:3) gives Jacob's summons to his household its fullest form.

Two phrases stand out. "Who heard my prayer in the day when I was afflicted" — this refers back to Bethel itself, to the night Jacob fled from Esau and slept on the stone and saw the ladder. "Whose Memra was my helper in the way that I went" — the Memra, the divine Word, a central concept in Targumic theology.

What is the Memra?

The Memra in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is not a separate being. It is how the Targum speaks of God's active, creating, guiding presence in the world — God insofar as He speaks and acts. When Jacob says the Memra was his helper on the road, he means the speaking presence of God accompanied him every step from Bethel to Padan Aram and back.

The Targum's language here is precious. God is not only the destination (Bethel, the altar). God is also the companion (the Memra, the way). You go to meet God, but God has been with you on the road the whole time.

The takeaway: the God you climb the mountain to find is also the God who walked with you up the mountain.

Themes

Patriarchs Prayer Mysticism Holy Land

Biblical References

Genesis 35:3

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