David Shepherd, «The Case of The Targum of Job in the Rabbinic Bible and the Solger Codex (MS Nürnberg)», Vol. 79 (1998) 360-380
It is a well-known fact that even in its earliest edition, an Aramaic translation or targum was amongst the vast and varied material assembled for inclusion in the Rabbinic Bible. But in contrast to the comparative wealth of information we possess regarding the circumstances surrounding its publication, we possess little knowledge with regard to the sources used by Felix de Prato when he took up the task of editing the 1517 Rabbinic Bible for the Venetian publisher Daniel Bomberg. While prior research has shown the importance of the targum text preserved in the Solger Codex (Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg) in any attempt to solve the puzzle of the pre-history of the Rabbinic Bible's targum text, many pieces of this puzzle remain as yet unexamined. The present study locates the targum text preserved in MS Nürnberg (Solger Codex) within the stemmatological framework proposed by D. Stec in the introduction to his critical edition of the Targum of Job. More importantly, the present paper presents decisive evidence (through the detection of editorial errors) that the editor of the first Rabbinic Bible (Felix de Prato) copied his targum text of Job directly from Codex Solger preserved in the Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg.
insertion mark is clear, its location is in fact not far from the end of T1 (where one might normally have expected to find it) and this may help to explain de Prato's error.
Finally two smaller, yet no less significant, pieces of evidence are presented by the margins of Nürnberg. Only Group 3 texts preserve an alternative targum to chapter 12 verse 6 (See Illustr. 4). However, this otherwise unattested alternative targum (T2) is preserved not in the margin but rather in the body of the Nürnberg text itself. The targum common to 15 witnesses is found in the margin of Nürnberg and true to form de Prato has included it in Bomberg as the second targum (identical in every respect to Nürnberg) to the verse. While most of the otherwise unattested readings preserved in this targum consist of variation of matres lectionis or transposition of words, there is one exception. The targum, triggered by the MT's mention of robbers and enemies, supplements its base translation text, supplying the names of Israel's conventional enemies.
While all other witnesses to this verse provide dyb Nwrsmty, Bomberg provides a unique variant, reading instead dyb Nwrs)ty. While it is true that an ithpa'el formation of rs) is attested 38, and in fact provides tolerable sense in the context, it is an unexpected formulation when compared to the comparatively common expression which employs rsm. In fact this stock expression occurs in two other locations in the targum of Job and in neither case do we find any witness presenting significant variation 39. Nürnberg seems to provide a good explanation for this unexpected variation on the part of Bomberg. The key lies in the fact that unlike the square Ashkenazic script utilized by the scribe responsible for Nürnberg itself, the hand responsible for the marginal material favoured, as Klein puts it, "a cursive rabbinic hand" 40. As with other examples of square script, certain letters within the body of Nürnberg (w and y, d and r, h and x) resemble each other to the extent that they may easily be confused 41. While ) and m (non-final) are