Targum of Joel

Abstract

The Tg of Joel, like Tgs in general, must be judged in relation with MT, which Tg tries to translate, by adding features and changes according to its trend to clarify and up-date the Hebrew text. The Tg of Joel gives a new vision to the locust’s plague and the prophetic invitation to repentance. The first becomes a symbole of the nations who have attacked and humiliated Israel. The repentance is understood as a final conversion of Israel in the eschatological times, which are near, when God in his judgment will condemn the wicked, the enemies of Israel, and will compensate his people with every kind of goods. In this Tg it is no mention of Messiah. The hermeneutic devices and the doctrinal contents found in this Tg are an evident proof that Tg of Joel, in spite of its brevity, represents an outstanding example of the targumic genre.