Onkelos is the name of a famous convert to Judaism in Talmudic times (c.35-120 AD). He is considered to be the author of the famous Targum Onkelos (c.110 AD). // Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Categories: Judaism-related stubs | Jewish texts ...

Onkelos in the Talmud

Onkelos is mentioned several times in the Talmud. According to the traditional Jewish sources, he was a prominent Roman nobleman, a nephew of the Roman emperor Titus. His conversion is the subject of a story whereupon he first consulted with the spirits of three deceased enemies of Israel to see how Israel fared in the next world (Gittin 56b). The first was his uncle Titus, who was blamed for the destruction of the Second Temple; the second was the seer Balaam, hired by Balak king of Moab to curse Israel; and the last was Yeshu, a name used for those who sought to lead Jews astray to idolatry, in particular an idolatrous former student of Rabbi Joshua ben Perachiah in the Hasmonean period as well as king Manasseh of Judah. (In later writings Yeshu is used for Jesus, but opinions differ over whether it can be understood this way in the Talmud.) Onkelos is said to have seen all of them subject to humiliating punishments for harming Israel. All three urged Onkelos to complete his conversion. The earlier Jerusalem Talmud gives the subject of these stories as Aquila, another convert to Judaism who translated the Bible into Greek. Stories about the two men had become confounded due to the similarity of names. The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... Jewish eschatology is concerned with Mashiach (the Jewish Messiah) the continuation of the Davidic line, and Olam Haba (Hebrew for the world to come; i. ... This is about the emperor of ancient Rome. ... Drawing of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great A stone (2. ... Balaam (Hebrew בִּלְעָם, Standard Hebrew BilÊ»am, Tiberian Hebrew Bilʻām; could mean glutton or foreigner, but this etymology is uncertain), is a prophet in the Bible, his story occurring in the Book of Numbers. ... Balak was king of Moab around 1200 BC. When the Israelites reached Moab, Balak ordered Balaam, a prophet, to curse Israel. ... This article is about references to the name Yeshu in classical Jewish rabbinic literature. ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BC to 37 BC was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BC. Origin of the Hasmonean dynasty The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is... Manasseh of Judah was the king of Judah and only son and successor of Hezekiah. ... This article is about references to the name Yeshu in classical Jewish rabbinic literature. ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ...

After his conversion, the Talmud records a story of how the Roman emperor tried to have Onkelos arrested (Avodah Zarah 11a). Onkelos cited verses from the Tanakh to the first Roman legion, who then converted. The second legion was also converted, after he juxtaposed God's personal guidance of Israel in the Book of Numbers to the Roman social hierarchy. A similar tactic was used for the third legion, where Onkelos compared his mezuzah to a symbol of God guarding the home of every Jew, in contrast to a Roman king who has his servants guard him. The third legion also converted and no more were sent. Roman Emperor is the title historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Avodah Zarah (meaning idolatry - lit. ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... The Roman legion (from the Latin legio, meaning levy) was the basic military unit of ancient Rome. ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus), until its radical reformation in what was later to be known as the Byzantine Empire. ... Mezuzah (Hebrew מזוזה literally doorpost, plural: mezuzot), in Judaism, is a small case affixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes, synagogues, and business establishments. ...

The Targum of Onkelos

According to tradition, Onkelos authored his Targum as an exposition of the "official" interpretation of the pshat (or basic meaning) of the Torah, as received by Rabbi Eliezer. This helped canonise the status of both Onkelos and his Targum in the Jewish tradition. Categories: Judaism-related stubs | Jewish texts ...

References

• Onkelos and Aquila on Gates of Jewish Heritage