Abstract

Genesis 49 shows the scene that takes place at the deathbed of the patriarch
Jacob. In the face of his upcoming death, Jacob calls all of his sons
that they may listen to and accept his words of valediction. The patriarch
addresses each of them individually. This piece of text serves an example
of the Biblical poetry in which metaphors play an important role. In the
Hebrew text there are words and phrases that raise many doubts and questions.
Not only contemporary translators and biblical scholars contend
with these difficulties, but ancient and medieval commentators did as well.
The Aramaic Targums testify to the early Jewish exegesis and interpretation
of Gen 49. This article presents the paraphrase and discusses a few
selected verses of the Aramaic version of Torah (Tg. Onq., Tg. Neof., Frgm.
Tg., Tg. Ps.-J.). Based on the above examples, the development of principal
Jewish views on eschatology (49:1-2) and of Messianic expectations in
context of Jacob’s blessing of the tribe of Judah (49:8-12) is portrayed. The
last part of this article comprises the rendering and the meaning of the
Targumic animal metaphors based on the examples of Issachar (49:14-15)
and of Benjamin (49:27) that significantly differ from the Hebrew text.