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Bible Dictionaries
Targum
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary
or This word is not in the Bible, but as the Jews very much prize their Targum, it may not be amiss, just in a cursory way to notice it. The name itself signifies explanation. Sometimes the word is found in the plural number, Targumim, meaning that more than one subject is explained. No doubt, the Targum, took its rise from the Chaldee Paraphrase of the books of the Old Testament. And it is more than probable that this Targum was read to the people at the reading of the Scriptures after their return from Babylon; for it is said that when they read in the book of the law, "they gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."‘ (Nehemiah 8:8)
The Jews speak with great confidence of the Targum. They have what is called the Targum of Jonathan, and the Targum of Onkelos. Jonathan was about 30 years before the coming of our Lord, and Onkelos somewhat later. They are said to be but short; the former chiefly on the prophecies, and the latter on the five books of Moses.
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Hawker, Robert D.D. Entry for 'Targum'. Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/pmd/t/targum.html. London. 1828.
