Targum

“Targum” is an Aramaic word that means “explanation” or “translation.” During the intertestamental period, the Jews gradually forgot their native language. After the exile, Aramaic became the common language for Jews living in the Persian diaspora. By the time of Jesus, Aramaic had become the everyday language of the Jews in Judea. When they read from the Torah or the Prophets in the synagogue, the rabbis had to explain the Hebrew Scriptures in Aramaic to accommodate the listeners, who were both unfamiliar with the language and with God’s law. These oral explanations were eventually standardized in the fifth century and compiled as the Targum, which represents the Jewish understanding of the Bible at that time.