In Today's article, I will be revisiting some verses we have gone over before that focus on the Word of Jehovah/The Angel of Jehovah. Except this time, instead of using Biblehub.com to go to the Hebrew Scriptures, I will be quoting from the Pentateuchal Targumims. Specifically the Targums of Genesis. Much of this will appear to be repetitive from the Previous Articles, however it is always important to revisit information to make sure it is memorized and kept to memory. I will be quoting from the New World Translation 2013 ED then quoting from the Targums beneath them. 7 And Jehovah God went on to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living person. 8 Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And the Lord God created man in two formations; and took dust from the place of the house of the sanctuary, and from the four winds of the world, and mixed from all the waters of the world, and created him red, black, and white; and breathed into his nostils the inspiration of life, and there was in the body of Adam the inspiration of a speaking spirit, unto the illumination of the eyes and the hearing of the ears. [JERUSALEM. And Adam became a soul of life.] And a garden from the Eden of the just was planted by the Word of the Lord God before the creation of the world, and He made there to dwell the man when He had created him.
In the Targum, we are told the Lord God created man, Adam. Then It says that the Word of the Lord created Eden and planted it where HE created man, Adam. So the Word of the Lord God is also God.
16
Jehovah God also gave this command to the man: “
From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. 17
But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will certainly die.”
And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat. But of the tree of whose fruit they who eat (become) wise to know between good and evil, thou shalt not eat: for in the day that thou eatest thou wilt be guilty of death. 8 Later they heard the voice of Jehovah God as he was walking in the garden about the breezy part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the face of Jehovah God among the trees of the garden. 9 And Jehovah God kept calling to the man and saying to him: “Where are you?” 10 Finally he said: “I heard your voice in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11 At that he said: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” And they heard the voice of the word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the repose of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Is not all the world which I have made manifest before Me; the darkness as the light? and how hast thou thought in thine heart to hide from before Me? The place where thou art concealed, do I not see? Where are the commandments that I commanded thee? [JERUSALEM. Walking in the garden in the strength of the day......And the Word of the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Behold, the world which I have created is manifest before Me; and how thinkest thou that the place in the midst whereof thou art, is not revealed before Me? Where is the commandment which I taught thee?] And he said, The voice of Thy Word heard I in the garden, and I was afraid, because I am naked; and the commandment which Thou didst teach me, I have transgressed; therefore I hid myself from shame. And He said, Who showed thee that thou art naked? Unless thou hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded that thou shouldst not eat.
Back in Chapter 2 verse 16-17, we are told the Lord God commanded that Adam and Eve do not eat from the Tree. Then in Chapter 3, we are told the Word of the Lord was walking in the Garden and Adam and Eve hid from Him. Then the Word asks if they have eaten from the tree which HE COMMANDED not to eat from.
5 Consequently, Jehovah saw that man’s wickedness was great on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time. 6 Jehovah regretted that he had made men on the earth, and his heart was saddened. 7 So Jehovah said: “I am going to wipe men whom I have created off the surface of the ground, man together with domestic animals, creeping animals, and flying creatures of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them.” And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and all the imagery of the thought of his heart was only evil every day. And it repented the Lord in His Word that He had made man upon the earth; and He passed judgment upon them by His Word [JERUSALEM. And there was repentance before the Lord in His Word that He had made man upon the earth...And He said, and judged in His heart.] And the Lord said, I will abolish by My Word man, whom I have created upon the face of the earth, from man to cattle, to the reptile, and to the fowl of the heavens; because I have repented in My Word that I have made them
So the Lord God who created man, regretted that He made man, then the Targum states their understanding of the verse saying that the Word of the Lord being God, regretted making man. Then saying the God who is the Word of the Lord then vowed to destroy everything upon the earth.
16 So they went in, male and female of every sort of flesh, just as God had commanded him. After that Jehovah shut the door behind him. And they coming entered, male and female, of all flesh unto him, as the Lord had instructed him; and the Word of the Lord covered over the door of the ark upon the face thereof.
Here we are told that the Word of the Lord closed the door of Noah's ark. Every other Bible translation says the Lord or God shut the door, but interestingly the Targum says it was the Word of the Lord.
17 Then Jehovah struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And the Word of the Lord sent great plagues against Pharoh and the men of his house, on account of Sara, Abram's wife.
So originally we are told that God sent plagues to afflict the Pharoah because of Sarai, but then the Targum tells us that it was the Word of the Lord who sent the plagues.
After this the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying: “Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield for you. Your reward will be very great.” 2 Abram replied: “Sovereign Lord Jehovah, what will you give me, seeing that I continue childless and the one who will inherit my house is a man of Damascus, Eliezer?” 3 Abram added: “You have given me no offspring, and a member of my household is succeeding me as heir.” 4 But look! Jehovah’s word in reply to him was, “This man will not succeed you as heir, but your own son will succeed you as heir.” 5 He now brought him outside and said: “Look up, please, to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to do so.” Then he said to him: “So your offspring will become.” 6 And he put faith in Jehovah, and He counted it to him as righteousness.
Thereupon was the word (pithgama) of the Lord with Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not; for if these men should gather together in legions and come against thee, My Word (Memra) will be thy shield: and also if these fall before thee in this world, the reward of thy good works shall be kept, and be prepared before Me in the world to come, great exceedingly. And Abram said, Lord God, great blessings hast Thou given me, and great (are they which it is) before Thee to give me: nevertheless, what profit is to me, when I pass from the world without children, and Eliezer the manager (bar pharnasath, the son of sustenance) of my house, by whose hands signs were wrought for (or to) me in Darmasek, expects to be my heir? And Abram said, Behold, to me Thou hast not given a son; and, behold, the manager of my house will be my heir. And, behold, a word from before the Lord was to him, saying, He shall not be thine heir; but a son whom thou wilt beget shall be thy heir. And He brought him forth without, and said, Look up now to the heavens, and number the stars, if thou art able to number them: and he said, So will be thy sons. And he believed in the Lord, and had faith in the (Memra) Word of the Lord, and He reckoned it to him for righteousness
Now I have gone over this passage before but only in detail of the NWT. In the Targum we read that the Word of the Lord is a shield. Then we see Abram call the Word of the Lord, Lord God. Then at the end we are told that Abram believed in the Lord and had faith in the Word of the Lord. Where as before in the NWT we are told that Abram put faith in JEHOVAH.
7 Then he added: “I am Jehovah, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.” And He said to him, I am the Lord who brought thee out of the fiery furnace of the Kasdai, to give thee this land to inherit.
This a reassuring verse that I have gone over before but remember that Abram was speaking to the Word of the Jehovah/Lord.
7 Later Jehovah’s angel found her at a spring of waters in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said: “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” To this she said: “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 Jehovah’s angel then said to her: “Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hand.” 10 Then Jehovah’s angel said: “I will greatly multiply your offspring, so that they will be too numerous to count.” 11 Jehovah’s angel added: “Here you are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son, and you must name him Ishmael, for Jehovah has heard your affliction. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him, and he will dwell opposite all his brothers.” 13 Then she called on the name of Jehovah, who was speaking to her: “You are a God of sight,” for she said: “Have I here actually looked upon the one who sees me?” 14 That is why the well was called Beerlahairoi. (It is between Kadesh and Bered.) And the Angel of the Lord found her at the fountain of waters in the desert; at the fountain of waters which is in the way to Chagra. [JERUSALEM. Chalitza.] And He said, Hagar, handmaid of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither does thou go? And she said, From before Sara my mistress I have escaped. And the Angel of the Lord said to her, Return to thy mistress, and be subject under her hand. And the Angel of the Lord said to her, Multiplying I will multiply thy sons, and they shall not be numbered for multitude. And the Angel of the Lord said to her, Behold, thou art with child, and thou wilt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because thy affliction is revealed before the Lord. And he shall be like the wild ass among men: his hands shall take vengeance of his adversaries, and the hands of his adversaries be put forth to do him evil; and in the presence of all his brethren shall he be commingled, (yitharbeb, Arabized,) and shall dwell. And she gave thanks before the Lord whose Word spake to her, and thus said, Thou art He who livest and art eternal; who seest, but art not seen! · for she said, For, behold, here is revealed the glory of the Shekina of the Lord after a vision. (JERUSALEM. And Hagar gave thanks, and prayed in the Name of the Word of the Lord, who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be Thou, Eloha, the Living One of all Ages, who hast looked upon my affliction. For she said, Behold, Thou art manifested also unto me, even as Thou wast manifested to Sara my mistress.] Wherefore she called the well, The Well at which the Living and Eternal One was revealed; and, behold, it is situate between Rekam and Chalutsa.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Haggi and tells her that He will mutiply her offspring and then tells her that she will have a son and what his personality will be like before he is even born. Then the Targum says that is was the Word of the Lord who was manifested before her there and she was praying in HIS name. She called Him the LIVING ONE OF ALL AGES who looked upon her affliction. Then the Targum tells us that the well is called where the LIVING AND ETERNAL ONE was revealed.
Afterward, Jehovah appeared to him among the big trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing some distance from him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground. 3 Then he said: “Jehovah, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. 4 Please, let a little water be brought and have your feet washed; then recline under the tree. 5 Seeing that you have come here to your servant, let me bring a piece of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. Then you may go on your way.” At this they said: “All right. You may do as you have spoken.” 6 So Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah and said: “Quick! Get three measures of fine flour, knead the dough, and make loaves of bread.” 7 Next Abraham ran to the herd and chose a tender and good young bull. He gave it to the attendant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then took butter and milk and the young bull that he had prepared and set the food before them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they were eating. 9 They said to him: “Where is your wife Sarah?” He replied: “Here in the tent.” 10 So one of them continued: “I will surely return to you next year at this time, and look! your wife Sarah will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance, which was behind the man. 11 Abraham and Sarah were old, being advanced in years. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah began to laugh to herself, saying: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I really have this pleasure?” 13 Then Jehovah said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Am I really going to give birth even though I am old?’ 14 Is anything too extraordinary for Jehovah? I will return to you next year at this appointed time, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh!” for she was afraid. At this he said: “Yes! You did laugh.” 16 When the men got up to leave and looked down toward Sodom, Abraham was walking with them to escort them. 17 Jehovah said: “Am I keeping hidden from Abraham what I am going to do? 18 Why, Abraham is surely going to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by means of him. 19 For I have come to know him in order that he may command his sons and his household after him to keep Jehovah’s way by doing what is right and just, so that Jehovah may bring about what he has promised concerning Abraham.” 20 Then Jehovah said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is very heavy. 21 I will go down to see whether they are acting according to the outcry that has reached me. And if not, I can get to know it.” 22 Then the men left from there and went toward Sodom, but Jehovah remained with Abraham. 23 Then Abraham approached and said: “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are 50 righteous men within the city. Will you, then, sweep them away and not pardon the place for the sake of the 50 righteous who are inside it? 25 It is unthinkable that you would act in this manner by putting the righteous man to death with the wicked one so that the outcome for the righteous man and the wicked is the same! It is unthinkable of you. Will the Judge of all the earth not do what is right?” 26 Then Jehovah said: “If I find in Sodom 50 righteous men in the city, I will pardon the whole place for their sake.” 27 But Abraham again responded: “Please, here I have presumed to speak to Jehovah, whereas I am dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the 50 righteous should lack five. Because of the five will you destroy the whole city?” To this he said: “I will not destroy it if I find there 45.” 29 But yet again he spoke to him and said: “Suppose 40 are found there.” He answered: “I will not do it for the sake of the 40.” 30 But he continued: “Jehovah, please, do not become hot with anger, but let me go on speaking: Suppose only 30 are found there.” He answered: “I will not do it if I find 30 there.” 31 But he continued: “Please, here I have presumed to speak to Jehovah: Suppose only 20 are found there.” He answered: “I will not destroy it for the sake of the 20.” 32 Finally he said: “Jehovah, please, do not become hot with anger, but let me speak just once more: Suppose only ten are found there.” He answered: “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.” 33 When Jehovah finished speaking to Abraham, he went his way and Abraham returned to his place. AND the glory of the Lord was revealed to him in the valley of Mamre; and he, being ill from the pain of circumcision, sat at the door of the tabernacle in the fervour (or strength) of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three angels in the resemblance of men were standing before him; (angels) who had been sent from the necessity of three things;--because it is not possible for a ministering angel to be sent for more than one purpose at a time;--one, then, had come to make known to him that Sarah should bear a man-child; one had come to deliver Lot; and one to overthrow Sedom and Amorah. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of the tent, and bowed himself on the earth. [JERUSALEM. Three angels were sent to our father Abraham; and the three were sent for three things;--because it is not possible that one of the high angels should be sent for more things than one. The first angel was sent to announce to our father Abraham, that, behold, Sarah would bear Izhak; the second angel was sent to deliver Lot from the midst of the overthrow; the third angel was sent to overthrow Sedom and Amorah, Admah and Zeboim. Therefore was there a word of prophecy from before the Lord unto Abraham the Just, and the Word of the Lord was revealed to him in the valley of vision; and he sat in the door of the tabernacle, comforting himself from his circumcision in the fervour (or strength) of the day.] And he said, I beseech, by the mercies (that are) before Thee, O Lord, if now I have found favour before Thee, that the glory of Thy shekina may not now ascend from Thy servant, until I have set forth provisions under the tree. And I will bring food of bread, that you may strengthen your hearts, and give thanks in the Name of the Word of the Lord, and afterwards pass on. For therefore at the time of repast are you come, and have turned aside to your servant to take food. And they said, Thou hast spoken well; do according to thy word. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said to her, Hasten three measures of flour-meal, mix and make cakes. And unto the flock ran Abraham, and took a calf, tender and fat, and gave to a young man, and hastened to make prepared meats; and he took rich cream and milk and the calf which the young man had made into prepared meats, and set them before them, according to the way and conduct (hilkath) of the creatures of the world; and he served before them, and they sat under the tree; and he quieted himself (to see) whether they would eat. And they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, she is in the tent. And ONE of them said, Returning I will return to thee in the coming year; and you shall be revived, and, behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah was hearkening at the door of the tent, and Ishmael stood behind her, and marked what the Angel said. [JERUSALEM. And He said, Returning I will return to thee at that time, to revive you, and, behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a male child. And Sarah was hearkening at the door of the tent, and Ishmael stood behind her.] But Abraham and Sarah were old, they had mounted (alu) in days, and with Sarah the way of women had ceased. And Sarah wondered in her heart, saying After that I am old shall I have conceptions, and my lord Abraham is old? [JERUSALEM. And Sarah derided in her heart, saying, After that I am old, is it possible to return to the days of my youth, for me to have conception, and Abraham old?] And the Lord said to Abraham, Why hath Sarah so laughed, saying, Can it be in truth that I shall bear, being old? Is it possible to hide anything from before the Lord? At the gracious time I will return to thee, in the time when you shall be revived, and Sarah shall have a son. And Sarah denied and said, I wondered not; for she was afraid. And the Angel said, Fear not: yet in truth thou didst laugh. And the angels, who had the likeness of men, arose from thence, and the one who had made known the tidings to Sarah ascended to the high heavens; and two of them looked toward Sedom; and Abraham went with them. [JERUSALEM. And they looked towards.] And the Lord said, with His Word, I cannot hide from Abraham that which I am about to do; and it is right that before I do it, I should make it known to him. For Abraham is to be a great and mighty people, and through him shall all the peoples of the earth be blessed. [JERUSALEM. And the Lord with His Word said, Shall I hide from Abraham, My friend, that which I am about to do? Forasmuch as the town of Sedom is among the gifts that I have given to him, it is just that I should not overthrow it, till I have made it known to him.] Because his holiness (piety, chasidutha) is manifest before Me, (and) that he will instruct his sons, and the men of his house after him, to keep the ways that are right before the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him. And the Lord said to the ministering angels, The cry of Sedom and Amorah, because they oppress the poor, and decree that whosoever giveth a morsel to the needy shall be burned with fire, is therefore great, and their guilt exceedingly weighty. I will now appear, and see whether, as the cry of a damsel torn away, which ascendeth before Me, they have made completion of their sins; (or, whether they have made an end of their sins;) and if they have wrought repentance, shall they not be as (if) innocent before Me? and as if not knowing, I will not punish. [JERUSALEM. Now will I appear and see, according as the cry of the people of Sedom and Amorah hath ascended before Me, whether they have made a complete end. It may be, that some among these sinners do not know that their works of evil are manifest before Me. And if they seek to work repentance, behold, they shall be considered before Me as if those works had not been known.] And the angels who had the likeness of men, turned thence and went towards Sedom. And Abraham now supplicated mercy for Lot, and ministered in prayer before the Lord. And Abraham prayed and said, Wilt Thou destroy in Thy displeasure the innocent with the guilty? Perhaps there are fifty innocent persons within the city, who pray before Thee,--ten for every city, of all the five cities of Sedom, Amorah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar. Wilt Thou in Thy displeasure destroy and not forgive the country, on account of the fifty innocent ones who are in it? Unholy would it be before Thee to do according to this word, to slay the innocent with the guilty, and to make the innocent to be as the guilty! That be unholy with Thee. It cannot be that One who is the Judge of all the earth should not do justice. And the Lord said, If I find in Sedom fifty innocent in the midst of the city who pray before Me, I will forgive all the land on their account. And Abraham responded, and said, I pray for mercy. Behold, now, I have begun to speak before the Lord; I, who am as dust and ashes. Perhaps of the fifty innocent persons, five may be wanting. On account of the five who may be wanting to Zoar, wilt Thou destroy the whole city? And He said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five. And he added yet to speak before Him, and said, Perhaps there may be forty found there; ten for each city of the four cities, and Zoar, whose guilt is lighter, forgive thou for Thy mercy's sake. And he said, I will not make an end for the sake of the forty innocent ones. And he said, Let not the displeasure of the Lord, the Lord of all the world, wax strong against me, and I will speak. Perhaps thirty who pray may be found there, ten for each of the three cities, and Zeboim and Zoar forgive them for Thy mercy's sake. And He said, I will not make an end if I find thirty there. And he said, Imploring mercy, I have now begun to speak before the Lord, the Lord of all the world. Perhaps twenty who pray may be found; ten in each of the two cities, and the three forgive Thou for Thy mercy's sake! And He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the twenty innocent. And he said, I implore mercy before Thee! Let not the anger of the Lord,the Lord of all the world, grow strong, and I will speak only this time. Perhaps ten may be found there; and I and they will pray for mercy upon all the land, and Thou wilt forgive them. And He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the ten who may be innocent. And the majesty of the Lord went up when He had ceased to speak with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
Reading the Targum, we are told that Word of the Lord was speaking to Abraham there and Abraham called Him the Judge of all the earth. I have gone over this before in a previous Article where I went over how we know it was Christ who came to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre. Yet remember, when you read Genesis 18, it's translated that Abraham is speaking with God, Jehovah. 24 Then Jehovah made it rain sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—it came from Jehovah, from the heavens. 25 So he overthrew these cities, yes, the entire district, including all the inhabitants of the cities and the plants of the ground. And the Word of the Lord had caused showers of favour to descend upon Sedom and Amorah, to the intent that they might work repentance, but they did it not: so that they said, Wickedness is not manifest before the Lord. Behold, then, there are now sent down upon them sulphur and fire from before the Word of the Lord from Heaven. [JERUSALEM. 24. And the Word of the Lord Himself had made to descend upon the people of Sedom and Amorah showers of favour, that they might work repentance from their wicked works. But when they saw the showers of favour, they said, So, our wicked works are not manifest before Him. He turned (then), and caused to descend upon them bitumen and fire from before the Lord from the heavens.] And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the herbage of the earth.
Again I have gone over Genesis 19:24-25 in this Article. However, if now you do not believe that it was Christ who appeared to Abraham and was called Judge of all the earth, then destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, the Targum should convince you. It says that the WORD OF THE LORD caused sulphur and fire to rain down from the Lord from the Heavens. Meaning these two are distinguished from each other yet both are called Lord and God. And the Jehovah witnesses call the Word of the Lord, aka the Word of Jehovah, Jehovah.
3 Afterward, God came by night to Abimelech in a dream and said to him: “Here you are as good as dead because of the woman whom you have taken, since she is married and belongs to another man.” 4 However, Abimelech had not gone near her. So he said: “Jehovah, will you kill a nation that is really innocent?* 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and did she too not say, ‘He is my brother’? I did this with an honest heart and innocent hands.” 6 Then the true God said to him in the dream: “I know that you did this with an honest heart, so I held you back from sinning against me. That is why I did not allow you to touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will make supplication for you and you will keep living. But if you are not returning her, know that you will surely die, you and all who are yours.” And a word came from before the Lord unto Abimelek, in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou diest, because of the woman whom thou hast carried away, and she a man's wife. But Abimelek had not come nigh to defile her; and he said, Lord, shall the son of a people who hath not sinned, and whom it is right to absolve in the judgment, be killed? Did he not tell me, She is my sister? and did not she also say, He is my brother? In the truthfulness of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this. And the Word of the Lord said to him in a dream, Before Me also it is manifest that in the truthfulness of thy heart thou didst this, and so restrained I thee from sinning before Me; therefore I would not permit thee to come near her. And now let the wife of the man return; for he is a prophet; he will pray for thee, and thou shalt live: but if thou wilt not let her return, know that dying thou shalt die, thou and all who are thine.
In the Bible, specifically the Jehovah witnesses version, it reads as God who came to Abimelech in both dreams. Yet, when reading the Targum of these particular verses, it appears clearly that it was the Word of the Lord who was appearing and speaking to Abimelech in both dreams.
17 At that God heard the voice of the boy, and God’s angel called to Hagar from the heavens and said to her: “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy there where he is. 18 Get up, lift the boy and take hold of him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water, and she went and filled the skin bottle with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. And the voice of the youth was heard before the Lord for the righteousness' sake of Abraham; and the Angel of the Lord called to Hagar from heaven, and said, What to thee, Hagar? Faint not, for the voice of the youth is heard before the Lord; neither shall judgment be according to the evil which he will do, but according to the righteousness of Abraham is mercy upon him in the place where he is. Arise, support the child, and strengthen thine hand in him: for I have set him for a great people. And the Lord opened her eyes, and showed her a well of water, and she went and filled the cruse with water, and gave the youth to drink. And the Word of the Lord was the helper of the youth, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a skilful master of the bow.
The Angel of Jehovah has the authority to call out of heaven. Remember that Hagar put her son under the bushes because she thought they would not survive the trip. So when the Lord opened her eyes to see the well of water, the Targum says the WORD OF THE LORD became the helper of the youth and remained with the boy as He grew up, when Hagar was speaking to the ANGEL OF THE LORD and not to skip by but the Jehovah witnesses translate it as GOD was with the boy as he grew up.
22 At that time Abimelech together with Phicol the chief of his army said to Abraham: “God is with you in everything you are doing. 23 So now swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me and with my offspring and with my descendants, and that you will deal with me and with the land where you have been residing with the same loyal love that I have shown you.” 24 So Abraham said: “I swear to this.” And it was at that time that Abimelek and Phikol, chief of his host, spake to Abraham, saying, The Word of the Lord is in thine aid in all whatsoever thou doest. And now, swear to me here, by the Word of the Lord, that thou wilt not be false with me, nor with my son, nor with the son of my son: according to the kindness which I have done with thee, thou shalt do with me, and with the land in which thou dwellest. And Abraham said to him, I swear.
In the Jehovah witness Bible it's translated as: ''God is with you in everything you are doing'' meanwhile the Targum reads as: ''The Word of the Lord is in thine aid in all whatsoever thou doest.'' Back to the witness Bible we also read as translated: ''So now swear to me here by God-'' and now in the Targum we read: ''And now, swear to me here, by the Word of the Lord-''
33 After that he planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of Jehovah, the everlasting God. And he planted a garden, (lit., "a paradise,") at the Well of the Seven Lambs, and prepared in the midst of it food and drink for them who passed by and who returned; and he preached to them there, Confess ye, and believe in the Name of the Word of the Lord, the everlasting God. [JERUSALEM. And Abraham planted a paradise in Beer Sheba, and prepared in the midst of it food and drink for those who arrived at the border; and they ate and drank, and sought to give him the price of what they had eaten and drunk, but he willed not to receive it from them; but our father Abraham discoursed to them of that which he had said, that the world was by His word. Pray before your Father who is in heaven, from whose bounty ye have eaten and drunk. And they stirred not from their place until the time when he had made them proselytes, and had taught them the way everlasting. And Abraham praised and prayed there in the name of the word of the Lord, the God of Eternity.]
Abraham called upon the name of Jehovah the everlasting God, yet the Targum reads as Abraham calling upon the name of the WORD OF THE LORD the EVERLASTING GOD, GOD OF ETERNITY.
Now after this the true God put Abraham to the test, and he said to him: “Abraham!” to which he replied: “Here I am!” 2 Then he said: “Take, please, your son, your only son whom you so love, Isaac, and travel to the land of Moriah and offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will designate to you.” 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his servants along with him and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and then he rose and traveled to the place that the true God indicated to him. 4 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place from a distance. 5 Abraham now said to his servants: “You stay here with the donkey, but the boy and I will go over there and worship and return to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took in his hands the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Then Isaac said to his father Abraham: “My father!” He replied: “Yes, my son!” So he continued: “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 To this Abraham said: “God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering, my son.” And both of them walked on together. 9 Finally they reached the place that the true God had indicated to him, and Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac hand and foot and put him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11 But Jehovah’s angel called to him from the heavens and said: “Abraham, Abraham!” to which he answered: “Here I am!” 12 Then he said: “Do not harm the boy, and do not do anything at all to him, for now I do know that you are God-fearing because you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me.” 13 At that Abraham looked up, and there just beyond him was a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place Jehovahjireh. This is why it is still said today: “In the mountain of Jehovah it will be provided.” 15 And Jehovah’s angel called to Abraham a second time from the heavens, 16 saying: “‘By myself I swear,’ declares Jehovah, ‘that because you have done this and you have not withheld your son, your only one, 17 I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand on the seashore, and your offspring will take possession of the gate of his enemies. 18 And by means of your offspring all nations of the earth will obtain a blessing for themselves because you have listened to my voice.’” These words were heard before the Lord of the world, and the Word of the Lord at once tried Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Behold me. [JERUSALEM. And it was after these things that the Lord tried Abraham with the tenth trial, and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Behold me.] And He said, Take now thy son, thy only one whom thou lovest, Izhak, and go into the land of worship, and offer him there, a whole burnt offering, upon one of the mountains that I will tell thee. [JERUSALEM. At Mount Moriah.] And Abraham rose up in the morning and saddled his ass, and took two young men with him, Eliezer and Ishmael, and Izhak his son, and cut the small wood and the figs and the palm, which are provided for the whole burnt offering, and arose and went to the land of which the Lord had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and beheld the cloud of glory fuming on the mount, and it was discerned by him afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, Wait you here with the ass, and I and the young man will proceed yonder, to prove if that which was promised shall be established:--So shall be thy sons:--and we will worship the Lord of the world, and return to you. And Abraham took the wood of the offering and laid it upon Izhak his son, and in his hand he took the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. And Izhak spake to Abraham his father and said, My Father! And he said, I am. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: where is the lamb for the offering? And Abraham said, The Lord will choose for Himself a lamb for the offering. And they went both of them in heart entirely as one. [JERUSALEM. And Abraham said, The Word of the Lord will prepare for me a lamb; and if not, then thou art the offering, my son! And they went both of them together with a contrite heart.] And they came to the place of which the Lord had told him. And Abraham builded there the altar which Adam had built, which had been destroyed by the waters of the deluge, which Noah has again builded, and which had been destroyed in the age of divisions; and he set the wood in order upon it, and bound Izhak his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And Izhak answered and said to his father, Bind me properly (aright), lest I tremble from the affliction of my soul, and be cast into the pit of destruction, and there be found profaneness in thy offering. (Now) the eyes of Abraham looked on the eyes of Izhak; but the eyes of Izhak looked towards the angels on high, (and) Izhak beheld them, but Abrahm saw them not. And the angels answered on high, Come, behold how these solitary ones who are in the world kill the one the other; he who slayeth delays not; he who is to be slain reacheth forth his neck. [JERUSALEM. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay Izhak his son. Izhak answered and said to Abraham his father, My father, bind my hands rightly, lest in the hour of my affliction I tremble and confuse thee, and thy offering be found profane, and I be cast into the pit of destruction in the world to come. (Now) the eyes of Abraham reached unto the eyes of Izhak; but the eyes of Izhak reaching to the angels on high. And Izhak beheld them, but Abraham saw them not. In that hour came forth the angels on high, and said, these to these, Come, behold two righteous ones alone in the midst of the world: the one slayeth, the other is slain. He who slayeth deferreth not, and he who is to be slain stretcheth out his neck.] And the Angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said to him, Abraham! Abraham! And he said, Behold me. [JERUSALEM. And He said, Abraham! Abraham! And Abraham answered in the language of the sanctuary, and said, Behold me.] And He said, Stretch not out thy hand upon the young man, neither do him any evil; for now it is manifest before Me that thou fearest the Lord; neither hast thou withheld thy son the only begotten from Me
. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw, and, behold, a certain ram which had been created between the evenings of the foundation of the world, was held in the entanglement of a tree by his horns. And Abraham went and took him, and offered him an offering instead of his son. And Abraham gave thanks and prayed there, in that place, and said, I pray through the mercies that are before Thee, O Lord, before whom it is manifest that it was not in the depth of my heart to turn away from doing Thy decree with joy, that when the children of Izhak my son shall offer in the hour of affliction, this may be a memorial for them; and Thou mayest hear them and deliver them, and that all generations to come may say, In this mountain Abraham bound Izhak his son, and there theShekina of the Lord was revealed unto him. [JERUSALEM. And Abrahm prayed in the name of the Word of the Lord, and said, Thou art the Lord who seest, and art not seen. I pray for mercy before Thee, O Lord. It is wholly manifest and known before Thee that in my heart there was no dividing, in the time that Thou didst command me to offer Izhak my son, and to make him dust and ashes before Thee; but that forthwith I arose in the morning and performed Thy word with joy, and I have fulfilled Thy word. And now I pray for mercies before Thee, O Lord God, that when the children of Izhak offer in the hour of need, the binding of Izhak their father Thou mayest remember on their behalf, and remit and forgive their sins, and deliver them out of all need. That the generations who are to arise after him may say, In the mountain of the house of the sanctuary of the Lord did Abraham offer Izhak his son, and in this mountain of the house of the sanctuary was revealed unto him the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord.] And the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham the second time from the heavens, and said, By My Word have I sworn, saith the Lord, forasmuch as thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thy only begotten, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy sons as the stars of the heavens, and they shall be as the sand which is upon the shore of the sea, and thy sons shall inherit the cities before their enemies. And all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed through the righteousness of thy son, because thou hast obeyed My word. The Lord of the World and the WORD OF THE LORD tested Abraham, asking him to go offer up his only son. When Abraham and Isaac were on top of the mountain, Isaac asks his father where the offering is, and Abraham replies by saying that THE WORD OF THE LORD will provide. As Abraham is about to kill his only son, the Angel of the Lord, once again called down out from the heavens. And says that It knows Abraham fears the Lord because he did not withheld his son from THE ANGEL. This is connect the Angel of the Lord to the Word of the Lord. Where was the Angel when Abraham was first asked? Then Abraham lifts his eyes and sees the ram stuck in the trees. Abraham prayed in the NAME OF THE WORD OF THE LORD. Abraham then spoke of characteristics of the WORD OF THE LORD in his prayer. He said the Word is, ''The Lord who seest, and art not seen I pray for mercy before Thee, O Lord. It is wholly manifest and known before Thee that in my heart there was no dividing, in the time that Thou didst command me to offer Izhak my son,-'' Abraham calls the Word of the Lord, the Lord who sees and isn't seen and was the Lord who commanded Abraham to offer up his son.
Then the Angel of the Lord calls down out of heaven once again, and says, ''By My Word have I sworn, saith the Lord forasmuch as thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thy only begotten, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy sons as the stars of the heavens, and they shall be as the sand which is upon the shore of the sea, and thy sons shall inherit the cities before their enemies. And all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed through the righteousness of thy son, because thou hast obeyed My word.''
Now I had previously gone over story and thought to argue that when the Angel says that the Lord swears by His Word, that it was the Person and not the word of mouth. So when I read this passage in the Targums, It is clear that The Lord is swearing by the Word of the Lord and the Lord swears to bless Abraham and his offspring because Abraham obeyed the Lord's Word (who commanded Abraham to offer up his son.)
Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in everything. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest one of his household, who was managing all he had: “Please put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling. And Abraham was old with days, and the Word of the Lord had blessed Abraham with every kind of blessing. And Abraham said to Eliezer his servant, the senior of his house, who had rule over all his property, Put now thy hand upon the section of my circumcision [JERUSALEM. And Abraham said to his servant, the ruler who had rule over all that was his, Put now thy hand under the thigh of my covenant.] And swear to me in the name of the Word of the Lord God, whose habitation is in heaven on high, the God whose dominion is over the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kenaanites among whom I dwell;
So in the Jehovah witness Bible we are told that Jehovah ( The Father) blessed Abraham, yet the Targum says that the Word of the Lord blessed Abraham. Then Abraham wanted his servant to swear by Jehovah the God of the heavens and earth. And next the Targum says that it is the Word of the Lord whose habitation is in heaven. Then calls the Word, God whose dominion is over the earth.
26 Later Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the chief of his army. 27 At this Isaac said to them: “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hated me and sent me away from your neighborhood?” 28 To this they said: “We have clearly seen that Jehovah has been with you. And Abimelek went to him from Gerar, and took his friends to go with him, and Phikol the chief of his host. And Izhak said to them, Why come you to me that I should pray for you, when you have hated me, and driven me from you? And they answered, Seeing, we have seen, that the Word of the Lord is for thy help, and for thy righteousness' sake all good hath been to us
The NWT Bible says that Abimelech, Ahuzzath and Phicol came to Isaac and said they see JEHOVAH has been with him, yet the Targum says that they said THE WORD OF THE LORD.
28 May the true God give you the dews of the heavens and the fertile soils of the earth and an abundance of grain and new wine. Therefore the Word of the Lord give thee of the good dews which descend from the heavens, and of the good fountains that spring up, and make the herbage of the earth to grow from beneath, and plenty of provision and wine.
So the Jehovah witnesses say that the verse reads as ''the True God'' yet the Targums say that it was the WORD OF THE LORD that was invoked here in the blessing.
This next verse is one I have gone over in great detail how we know it was Christ appearing here based on later verses where He was known as the Angel of the Lord who was called Lord=God who appeared in Jacob's dream.
11 In time he came to a place and prepared to spend the night there because the sun had set. So he took one of the stones of that place and set it to rest his head on and lay down there. 12 Then he had a dream, and look! there was a stairway set on the earth, and its top reached up to the heavens; and there were God’s angels ascending and descending on it. 13 And look! there was Jehovah stationed above it, and he said: “I am Jehovah the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, to you I am going to give it and to your offspring. 14 And your offspring will certainly become like the dust particles of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and by means of you and by means of your offspring all the families of the ground will certainly be blessed. 15 I am with you, and I will safeguard you wherever you go, and I will return you to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said: “Truly Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he grew fearful and added: “How awe-inspiring this place is! This can only be the house of God, and this is the gate of the heavens.” 18 So Jacob got up early in the morning and took the stone on which he had rested his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 So he named that place Bethel, but previously the city’s name was Luz. 20 Jacob then made a vow, saying: “If God will continue with me and will protect me on my journey and will give me bread to eat and garments to wear 21 and I return in peace to the house of my father, then Jehovah will certainly have proved to be my God. 22 And this stone that I have set up as a pillar will become a house of God, and without fail I will give you a tenth of everything you give to me.” And he prayed in the place of the house of the sanctuary, and lodged there, because the sun had gone down. And he took four stones of the holy place, and set his pillow, and slept in that place. And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was fixed in the ground, and the top of it reached to the height of heaven. And, behold, the two angels who went unto Sedom, and who had been expelled from the midst of them, because they had revealed the secrets of the Lord of the world; and being cast forth they had walked till the time that Jakob went out from the house of his father, and had accompanied him with kindliness unto Bethel, in that day had ascended to the high heavens, and said, Come, see Jakob the pious, whose likeness is inlaid in the throne of glory, and whom you have so greatly desired to behold. Then the rest of the angels of the holy Lord descended to look upon him. [JERUSALEM. Five signs were wrought for our father Jakob at the time he went forth from Beersheba to go unto Haran. The first sign: the hours of the day were shortened for him, and the sun was hidden from him before its time, because His Word had desired to speak with him. The second sign: after our father Jakob had lifted up his feet from Beersheba, the country was shortened before him, and be found himself sitting in Haran. The third sign: the stones which Jakob our father had taken in the evening, and set as the resting-place of his head, when he had risen in the morning be found had all become one stone; and that is the stone which he set up in the first covenant, pouring oil upon the top of it. The fourth sign : when all the shepherds had gathered together at the stone to roll it from the mouth of the well, and could not, then came our father Jakob and lifted it with one hand, and watered the flock, of Laban his mother's brother. The fifth sign: after our father Jakob had lifted the stone from the mouth of the well, the well overflowed, and was overflowing twenty years; all the days that our father Jakob dwelt in Haran. These five signs were wrought for our father Jakob in the time when he departed from Beersheba to go to Charan. [12. And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was fixed in the earth, and the summit of it reached to the height of heaven. And, behold, the angels who had accompanied him from the house of his father, ascended to make known to the angels on high, saying, Come, see Jakob the pious, whose likeness is in the throne of glory, and whom you have been desirous to see! And, behold, the holy angels from before the Lord ascended and descended, and looked upon him.] And, behold, the Glory of the Lord stood above him, and He said to him, I am the Lord the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Izhak, The land on which thou art lying I will give to thee and to thy sons. And thy sons shall be many as the dust of the earth, and shall become strong on the west and on the east, on the north and on the south: and all the kindreds of the earth shall through thy rightneousness and the righteousness of thy sons be blessed. And, behold, My Word is for thy help, and will keep thee in every place where thou shalt go, and will bring thee (again) to this land; for I will not leave thee until the time when I have performed all that I have told thee. And Jakob awoke from his sleep, and said, Verily the Glory of the Lord's Shekinah dwelleth in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful and glorious is this place! This place is not common, but the sanctuary of the Name of the Lord, the proper spot for prayer, set forth before the gate of heaven and founded beneath the throne of glory. And Jakob arose in the morning, and took the stone which he had placed for his pillow, and set it standing, and poured oil on the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth El; but Luz was the name of the city at the first. And Jakob vowed a vow, saying, If the Word of the Lord will be my Helper, and will keep me from shedding innocent blood, and from strange worship, and from impure converse, in this way that I am going; and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to wear, and will bring me back in peace to my father's house; the Lord shall be my God: 'and this stone which I have set (for) a pillar shall be ordained for the house of the sanctuary of the Lord, and upon it shall generations worship the Name of the Lord; and of all that Thou mayest give me, the tenth will I separate before Thee.
We are told by both accounts that Jacob was seeing God at the top of the ladder. In the Bible version, Jacob vows to God, who He was looking upon that God leads him, Jacob would give a tenth of everything he receives to God. However, in the Targum, Jacob vows to the Word of the Lord even though Jacob was seeing the Lord. And you may argue that it couldn't be the Word of the Lord at the top of the ladder because then it would be speaking about itself in the Targum version. Yet, these next verses will make you question it.
In time he heard what the sons of Laban were saying: “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father, and from what belonged to our father, he has amassed all this wealth.” 2 When Jacob would look at the face of Laban, he saw that his attitude toward him was not what it used to be. 3 Finally Jehovah said to Jacob: “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will continue with you.” 4 Then Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the field to his flock, 5 and he said to them: “I have seen that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You yourselves certainly know that I have served your father with all my power. 7 And your father has tried to cheat me and has changed my wages ten times; but God has not allowed him to do me harm. 8 If on the one hand he would say, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then the whole flock produced speckled ones; but if on the other hand he would say, ‘The striped ones will be your wages,’ then the whole flock produced striped ones. 9 So God kept taking your father’s livestock away from him and giving it to me. 10 Once when the flock got into heat, I raised my eyes and saw in a dream that the he-goats mating with the flock were striped, speckled, and spotty. 11 Then the angel of the true God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ to which I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And he continued, ‘Raise your eyes, please, and see that all the he-goats mating with the flock are striped, speckled, and spotty, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the true God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now get up, go out of this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” But he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, Jakob hath taken all that was our father's; and from that which was our father's he hath made himself all the glory of these riches. And Jakob observed the looks of Laban and, behold, they were not peaceful toward him as yesterday and as before it. And the Lord said to Jakob, Return to the land of thy fathers, and to thy native place; and My Word shall be for thy help. And Jakob sent Naphtali, who was a swift mes-senger, and he called Rahel and Leah, and they came into the field unto his flock. And he said to them, I consider the looks of your father, and, behold, they are not peaceful with me as yesterday and as before it; but the God of my father hath been to my aid. And you know that with all my strength I have served your father, but your father hath deceived me, and hath changed [JERUSALEM. Hath commuted.] my wages ten portions; yet the Lord hath not given him power to do me evil. lf now he said, The streaked shall be thy wages, all the sheep bare streaked; and if now he said, The spotted-footed shall be thy wages, all the sheep bare those which were spotted in their feet: and the Lord hath taken away the flock of your father, and hath given (it) to me. [JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord hath taken away.] And it was at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and, behold, the goats which rose upon the flock were spotted in their feet, or streaked or white in their backs. And the Angel of the Lord said to me, in a dream, Jakob. And I said, Behold me. [JERUSALEM. Jakob answered in the holy tongue, and said, Behold me.] And He said, Lift up now thine eyes and see: all the goats that rise upon the flock are spotted in their feet, or streaked or white in their backs : because all the injury that Laban hath done thee is manifest before me. I am Eloba who did reveal Myself to thee at Beth El where thou didst anoint the pillar, and swear the oath before Me. Arise now, go forth from this land, and return to the land of my birth.
In the Bible version of this text, we are told that God was taking away the flock of Laban, yet the Targum says it was the Lord, specifically the WORD OF THE LORD. Then we read the Dream of Jacob and the speckled and spotted sheep. We read the Angel the Lord comes to Jacob and says the It (The Angel of the Lord) sees all that Laban has been doing to Jacob. Which seems very incredible to see EVERYTHING someone is doing to someone else. Then the Angel tells Jacob Who It truly is. The Angel says that It is God who revealed Himself to Jacob at Bethel and made a pillar and SWORE AND OATH TO HIM. Now didn't Jacob swear an oath to the WORD OF THE LORD? So first off, The Angel not only claimed to be God, but also the Word of the Lord.
After that God said to Jacob: “Rise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar there to the true God, who appeared to you when you were running away from Esau your brother.” And the Lord said to Jakob, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make there an altar unto Eloha, who revealed Himself to thee in thy flight from before Esau thy brother.
So there is clearly a true difference between the Lord God was speaking to Jacob in this instance compared to the Lord God who appeared to Jacob at Bethel. There is a very obvious and clear distinction, God who appeared to Jacob here in Genesis 35:1 could have said 'Go back to Bethel and stay there and make and altar to Me when I appeared to you' yet God did not, He said go there to where the true God appeared to you. God is showing there is a distinction between Him and the Word of the Lord/Angel of the Lord who is also God. They are both God but have distinctions between them.
2 But Jehovah was with Joseph. As a result, he became successful and was put over the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that Jehovah was with him and that Jehovah was making everything that he did successful. And the Word of the Lord was Joseph's Helper, and he became a prosperous man in the house of his Mizraite master. And his master saw that the Word of the Lord was his Helper, and that the Lord prospered in his hand all that he did; and Joseph found favour in his eyes, and he served him, and he appointed him superintendent over his house, and all that he had he delivered in his hands.
Who was with Joseph and who did Joseph's master see with Joseph? Jehovah God the Father? No, the Word of the Lord, the Helper. However, the Egyptian wouldn't have known that the Word of the Lord 'wasn't God' when seeing Joseph. Joseph's Egyptian master saw Joseph and knew that GOD was with Joseph. So When the Targum says that the Egyptian master knew that the WORD OF THE LORD was with Joseph, it would have been referring that the master was fully believing that God was with Joseph.
21 But Jehovah continued with Joseph and kept showing loyal love to him and granting him favor in the eyes of the chief officer of the prison. 22 So the chief officer of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners in the prison, and everything that they were doing there, he was the one having it done. 23 The chief officer of the prison was looking after absolutely nothing that was in Joseph’s care, for Jehovah was with Joseph and Jehovah made whatever he did successful. And the Word of the Lord was Joseph's Helper, and extended mercy to him, and gave him favour in the eyes of the captain of the prison. And the captain of the prison confided all the prisoners who were in the house to Joseph's hands, and whatsoever was done there he commanded to be done. It was not needful for the captain of the prison to watch Joseph, after the custom of all prisoners, because be saw that there was no fault in his hands; for the Word of the Lord was his Helper, and that which he did the Lord made it to prosper.
Here again, we are seeing that a place where in the Bible of the Jehovah witnesses says Jehovah in the verse, was the Helper, yet the Targum says that it was the WORD OF THE LORD who was the Helper of Joseph.
At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River. 2 And there, coming up from the river, were seven fine-looking, fat cows, and they were feeding on the Nile grass. 3 There were seven other cows that looked ugly and thin coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood alongside the fat cows by the bank of the Nile. 4 Then the ugly, thin cows began to eat up the seven fine-looking, fat cows. At this Pharaoh woke up. It was at the end of two years, that the remembrance of Joseph came before the Word of the Lord. And Pharoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood by the river, and, behold, from the river came up seven oxen good looking and fat fleshed; and they grazed in the midst of the sedges.[1] [JERUSALEM. Grazing in the midst of the sedges] And, behold, seven other oxen came up from the river, evil looking and lean in their flesh, and stood by the side of tile oxen on the bank of the river. And the evil looking and lean fleshed oxen devoured the seven good looking and fat. And Pharoh awoke from his sleep. 2 Then God spoke to Israel in a vision by night and said: “Jacob, Jacob!” to which he said: “Here I am!” 3 He said: “I am the true God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will also bring you back from there, and Joseph will lay his hand on your eyes.” And the Lord spake to Israel in a prophecy of the night, and said, Jakob! and he said, Behold me. And He said, I am God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Mizraim on account of the servitude I have decreed with Abraham: for a great people will I make thee there. I am He who in My Word will go down with thee into Mizraim; I will regard the affliction of thy children, and My Word shall bring thee up from thence, and cause thy children to come up; but Joseph shall lay his hand upon thine eyes.
So in the Bible, we read that God came to Israel(Jacob) in a dream and called Himself the True God, the God of his father. God said that HE, HIMSELF will go down with Israel to Egypt and HE will also bring them back up. Then we get to the Targums. In the Targum, we read that the Lord came to Israel(Jacob) in a prophecy and said I am God the God of Abraham. ''I AM HE WHO IN MY WORD will go down with thee into Mizraim'' ''MY WORD SHALL BRING THEE UP FROM THENCE'' So not only does God say that He is in the Word, but the Word of the Lord will go down with Israel down to Egypt, then when Israel comes back.
3 And Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 4 And he said to me, ‘I am making you fruitful, and I will make you many, and I will transform you into a congregation of peoples, and I will give this land to your offspring after you as a lasting possession.’ And Jakob said to Joseph: El Shadai revealed Himself to me at Luz, in the land of Kenaan, and blessed me. And He said to me, Behold, I will increase thee and multiply thee, and make thee an assemblage of tribes, and will give this land to thy sons after thee for an everlasting inheritance.
Jacob talked to Joseph recounting when he saw God Almighty atop of the ladder at Luz which later became Bethel. Now We know from a later on in Genesis after Jacob's Ladder, that it was the Angel of the Lord/Word of the Lord who Jacob just called GOD ALMIGHTY(El Shadai)
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and asked: “Who are these?” 9 So Joseph said to his father: “They are my sons whom God has given me in this place.” At this he said: “Bring them to me, please, so that I may bless them.” And Israel looked at the sons of Joseph and said, From whom are these born to thee? And Joseph answered his father, They are my sons which the Word of the Lord gave me according to this writing, according to which I took Asenath the daughter of Dinah thy daughter to be my wife. And he said, Bring them now near to me, and I will bless them.
Here we read the dialog right before Jacob blesses both of Joseph's sons, and in the Bible Joseph says that these are the sons that GOD gave him. But obviously the Targum says otherwise. Remember who was with Joseph according to the Targum, The Word of the Lord. So then who would give Joseph children? Well Joseph says it, The Word of the Lord gave him children.
14 However, Israel put out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger, and he placed his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He purposely laid his hands this way, since Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 Then he blessed Joseph and said: “The true God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The true God who has been shepherding me during all my life until this day, 16 The angel who has been recovering me from all calamity, bless the boys. Let my name be called upon them and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, Let them increase to a multitude in the earth.” And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon the head of Ephraim, though be was the younger; and his left hand upon the head of Menasheh, altering his hands, for Menasheh was the firstborn. [JERUSALEM. He altered his hands.] And he blessed Joseph, and said: The Lord, before whom my fathers Abraham and Izhak, did serve; the Lord who hath fed me since I have been unto this day, be pleased that the angel whom thou didst ordain for me, to redeem me from all evil, may bless the children; and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my fathers Abrabam and Izhak. And as the fishes of the sea in multiplying are multiplied in the sea, so may the children of Joseph be multiplied abundantly in the midst of the earth.
The Benediction or blessing that we are reading here is from Israel/Jacob is doing over Joseph's children Ephraim and Manasseh. I have gone over this benediction before in this previous Article, and I had to go back and make a note on this verse in that Article because of the Targum of the verse. In the Bible version when I went over it previously that when Jacob is blessing, He is invoking the Angel to bless the boys and the ANGEL ALONE. The Targum even makes that clear by showing you how Jacob is asking the Lord to allow the ANGEL to BLESS the boys. Jacob was not asking the Lord to Bless the Boys, but for the Angel to Bless. Meaning Jacob knows this Angel has the ability to Bless in the same way the Lord can. Not only is Jacob able to know this Angel can bless, but Jacob is asking in the Benediction that the Angel will multiply their offspring increase to a great number on the earth.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph: “Look, I am dying, but God will certainly continue with you and return you to the land of your forefathers. 22 As for me, I do give you one portion of land more than to your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, my end cometh to die. But the Word of the Lord shall be your Helper, and restore you to the land of your fathers; and I, behold, I have given to thee the city of Shekem, one portion for a gift above thy brethren, which I took from the hand of the Amoraee at the time that you went into the midst of it, and I arose and helped you with my sword and with my bow.
Simply go back to Genesis 46:2-4 where the Targum says the WORD OF THE LORD will bring Israel back up out of Egypt. Now obviously the Bible is staying true to it's own translation in this connection(shockingly), and yet ever more shocking is that the Targum is accurate in it's scriptural connections.
"The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you
and give you peace." ☦
.jfif)
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