Editing Targum (section)

==Targum Ketuvim==
The Talmud explicitly states that no official ''targumim'' were composed besides these two on Torah and Nevi'im alone, and that there is no official ''targum'' to [[Ketuvim]] ("The Writings").  The Talmud stories state:<ref>Megilah 3a</ref>
{{blockquote|The Targum of the Pentateuch was composed by Onkelos the proselyte from the mouths of R. Eleazar and R. Joshua. The Targum of the Prophets was composed by Jonathan ben Uzziel under the guidance of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi,<ref>Jonathan b. Uzziel was a disciple of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]], so he had traditions handed down from them ([[Maharsha]])</ref> and the [[land of Israel]] [thereupon] quaked over an area of four hundred parasangs by four hundred parasangs, and a [[Bath Kol]] (heavenly voice) came forth and exclaimed, "Who is this that has revealed My secrets to mankind?" Jonathan b. Uzziel arose and said, "It is I who have revealed Thy secrets to mankind. It is fully known to Thee that I have not done this for my own honour or for the honour of my father's house, but for Thy honour I have done it, that dissension may not increase in Israel." He further sought to reveal [by] a targum [the inner meaning] of Ketuvim, but a Bath Kol went forth and said, "Enough!" What was the reason? Because the date of the Messiah is foretold in it.<ref>A possible reference to the end of the [[book of Daniel]].</ref>}}

Nevertheless, most books of Ketuvim (with the exceptions of Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah, which both contain Aramaic portions) have ''targumim'', whose origin is mostly Palestinian rather than Mesopotamian. But they were poorly preserved and less well known for lack of a fixed place in the liturgy. From Palestine, the tradition of targum to Ketuvim made its way to Italy, and from there to medieval [[Ashkenaz]] and [[Sepharad]]. The targumim of Psalms, Proverbs, and Job are generally treated as a unit, as are the targumim of the five scrolls (Esther has a longer "[[Targum Sheni|Second Targum]]" as well.) The targum of Chronicles is quite late, possibly medieval. It is traditionally attributed to "Rav Yosef" (meaning either [[Rav Yosef]]<ref>[https://www.daat.ac.il/encyclopedia/value.asp?id1=2842 אנציקלופדיה יהודית דעת: יוסף]</ref> or Rav [[Yosef bar Hama]]<ref name=daat>[https://www.daat.ac.il/encyclopedia/value.asp?id1=2153 אנציקלופדיה יהודית דעת: תרגום יונתן לנביאים]</ref>). (The targum to Neviim is also sometimes referred to as the targum of Rav Yosef.<ref name=daat/>)