Was the earth "formless" and "void"? What does "tohu va vohu" mean?Aramaic Bible Study Genesis 1:2

Can the Aramaic Targum traditions help us better understand the Hebrew "tohu va vohu" (תוהו ובוהו)? Do these terms mean "formless" and "void"?
The following is from my Aramaic Bible Study series, covering the second line of the Bible, Genesis 1:2, in the various Aramaic Targum traditions, including the Syriac Peshitta. How can the Aramaic versions of Genesis 1:2 better inform our understanding of the verse?
*After viewing the video, I should have focused on the the action of the Spirit "blowing" should help us conceive the idea that rukha refers to "spirit, breath, wind" here and that a Divine Wind is a way of understanding the idea of the Spirit of God.
Students of Bible Aramaic should naturally progress to reading the Aramaic Targums of the Old Testament, though few get the opportunity to do so. I hope by examining the Aramaic Targums, former students of Biblical Aramaic can reignite their Aramaic skills and develop new insights by reading texts that they would normally only read in Hebrew.
#creation #aramaic #biblestudy

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

After viewing the video, I should have focused on the the action of the Spirit "blowing" should help us conceive the idea that rukha refers to "spirit, breath, wind" here and that a Divine Wind is a way of understanding the idea of the Spirit of God.

[@Shinehead3]

Thumbs Up on the Breakdown Brother. Your making it significantly easier for this Western Man to actually parse thru a Chumash 😊 I am curious now if know of any commentary from Rashi, Rambam, or Radak (is it true that Radak aka Kim Chi 😊 did not really want to discuss the first verses of Bereshit?) On the Spirit of Mercies or Ruach Ha Qodesh ?

[@Maurice-Navel]

If you look at the Hebrew for Ezekiel 37 (Valley of the Dry Bones), the word that stands out has nothing to do with bones; it is ruah. But translations into English have a hard time with it because they sometimes use wind, sometimes spirit, sometimes breath. For Ezekiel himself, my guess (!) is that he would not see the difference between those English words.

[@JV591]

Thanks for the point on Japanese, I have always wondered and immediately thought of it when you were explaining it here

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

There are a few of us kindred spirits out there! ありがとう

[@HAChrist]

Now, that was an awesome teaching, comparing the different Targums against the Hebrew. Loved it, job well done! Blessings be upon you!! Didn't realize that there was a targum Jerusalem. Yes, Aramaic and Akkadian should be elevated more, especially the Syriac for the NT, since it actually corrects apparent contradictions from the Greek.

[@martagilvazartlife]

Thank you P.Michael, i can't claim i know exact numbers on the lack or increase in interest toward the Aramaic language although i have noticed the high level of prayer choice on youtube, this of course could be a prophetic sign more than anything, i must admit when i heard the sound of the language and it's regional variations it was as if i had spoken and heard it before, "it's in the blood" echo through , i appreciate the time and effort you put into sharing your knowledge, God bless you

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Thanks for your support. Hopefully Aramaic language awareness and knowledge will continue to grow.

[@user-nb3we6uy4u]

It's the same mysterious SPIRIT of LIFE that converted Adam in a Living Soul and that makes the whole Earth and Universe alive, thinking and feeling .

[@AgapeOTsion]

Thank you prof. I was checking interpretation of Gen. 2:18 "helper" in Targum. But couldn't find any beside helper =ally. Do you have a plan to make a video for this particular verse?

[@user-nu4ee8fl1o]

Ezer is a helper in this verse עזר Root is ayn-yod-resh

[@CC-td7si]

Professor, would you consider doing a video on the difference, similarities between El, Elohim, Yah, Yhwh, and the various meanings of Lord divine and political?

[@HacolHavel]

It's interesting that Targum Onkelos introduces צדיא and ריקנייא for the first time as the translation of תהו ובהו. But later Targums preferred to keep תהו ובהו but at the same time kept the Onkelos' translation as well. So now we have two pairs: תהו ובהו and then צדיא וריקנייא.

[@katathoombz]

Such interesting takes the _Targumin_ have! I'll have to find out what kind of communities they come from. _Elevating Aramaic_ would not be a good band name, but maybe a good name for a KZbin channel. Or a periodical. ___ 5:32 these shifts are so interesting! I've planned to make my BA & MA on the sibilants of Akkadian, somehow or another - maybe on the new vision of pronouncing them in OB, or more relevantly to this mention, the š/s-shifting b/w the northern and southern dialects. Maybe I'd get to touch on the wacky "š>l at certain positions" kerfuffle as well. That is if I don't get bored to death with phonological notation b/f the end of it.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Have you connected with Parpola? I'm pretty sure I've read about this in some of his works (but maybe it was in the footnotes, I don't recall).

[@katathoombz]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert not yet! He apparently visits the Centre from time to time, but I've never been around at the time. If I get lazy I might have to book a time for an interview to learn from the source : D

[@user-nu4ee8fl1o]

Tehom can be abyss. Tohu ubohu “and the land in it (shortened ve Bo hu) abysmal and darkness over the depth and gds wind above the water” meaning it was not yet touched by gd but he was ruling over the flooded abyss of darkness as it’s all in his “kingdom”, his “creation”. Mel’akha and “mamlakha”

[@JeffreyHMcDade-nc1hz]

Do you use George M. Lamsa's Aramaic of the Peshitta in your studies?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

No. I never use it.

[@maryjemyfreeman7639]

U are classed with

[@maryjemyfreeman7639]

U are classed with murad of sneakerscorner, a native arab, fluent knowledge of Arabic Aramaic ans and hebrew

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I'm not sure I know what that means, but thank you?

[@Maurice-Navel]

So the Peshitta tried much harder to be a direct translation, than do the Targumim.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

That's a fair assessment. The Targumim regularly feature interpretive or explanatory elements. Targum Onkelos though tends to be more straightforward.

[@atheist_2023]

I downloaded Aramaic Peshitta PDF, Estrangela with Niqquð... but I didn't find any Peshitta Tanakh on the entire Google... does anyone have Peshitta Tanakh typed in PDF?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

email me at [e-mail] and I will send you a copy of the Syriac Pentateuch.

[@atheist_2023]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert I sent you an e-mail... sorry it took me too long to respond, was not feeling well yesterday earlier

[@mariatalayman19]

ܬܘܕܝ ܣܓܝ P ، ܦ ܡܝܫܐܝܠ ܡܝܩܪܐ ܡܪܝܐ ܢܚܝܠܟܼܽܘܢ ܐܠܗܐ. Thank you very much for your words P, Dr. Michael God bless you dear ❤❤❤💛💛💛🤝🤝🤝🕊🕊🕊👏👏👏💪💪💪👨‍💻👨‍💻👨‍💻

[@AjumentaDaTriboDeIssacar]

So, Noahs Ark before genesis 1:1?

[@user-nb3we6uy4u]

MERCY and JUSTICE Arena another TWO MYSTERIES , that belong to The DIVINE NATURE of GOD and the created frim Him Human Race. We recognize a Human Being through having and practising those two phenomrna.