Should We Trust the Targums to Define the Afterlife?
Should We Trust the Targums to Define the Afterlife?
The rise of modern arguments for Annihilationism , the belief that the wicked will one day cease to exist , has led many to dig through ancient documents to support their view. One such tactic is quoting from the Targums, a collection of ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrases of the Old Testament, as if they hold weight in matters of eternal destiny.
But is this valid? Should we treat the Targums as theologically authoritative , especially when it comes to matters as serious as the afterlife, fire, judgment, or the fate of the wicked?
The short answer is no , and here’s why.
What Are the Targums?
The Targums were not divinely inspired Scripture. They were Aramaic paraphrases and interpretive translations of the Hebrew Bible used in synagogues after the Babylonian exile. Their purpose was not merely to translate, but to explain, expand, and interpret. They often inserted commentary, added ideas not found in the Hebrew texts, and reflected the theological trends of the day.
These writings began developing roughly 200 years before Christ and continued through several centuries after. The most commonly cited ones , like Targum Jonathan and Targum Onkelos , were finalized long after the Old Testament canon closed.
That makes the Targums commentary, not revelation. They are not Scripture, nor do they carry the weight of prophetic authority.
What Do the Targums Say About the Afterlife?
The Targums are far from unified in their views on the afterlife. Their language is often poetic, metaphorical, and shaped by fear-based religious speculation during a period when God was not speaking prophetically , the 400-year intertestamental silence.
Among their ideas:
- Sheol is often mentioned as a place of silence or death.
- Gehenna appears as a realm of punishment or destruction, mirroring concepts absorbed from Zoroastrianism and Greek dualism.
- Some Targums suggest destruction of the wicked in fire , a theme Annihilationists seize upon.
- Others seem to suggest torment or exclusion from God’s presence.
But again, these ideas are all non-canonical and inconsistent. They reflect a Judaism wrestling with God’s silence, not a theology built on fresh revelation from heaven.
Why Quoting the Targums Is Theologically Inconsequential
Despite their historical interest, quoting the Targums as proof of Annihilationism is utterly misplaced for several reasons:
1. They Are Not Canon
The Targums were never included in the canon of Scripture. They were not recognized as divinely inspired by Jews or Christians. To elevate them as authoritative for eternal doctrine , when they are essentially early sermon commentaries , is a dangerous inversion of God’s voice.
2. They Were Written During a Period of Divine Silence
Between Malachi and Matthew, there were no prophets, no visions, no direct revelations from God. This “intertestamental period” was spiritually dark. And it was in this very period that the Targums were formed , full of conjecture, borrowing, and fear-based ideas.
That’s why Jesus so often had to rebuke the religious leaders of His day. They were drawing from tradition, not truth. The Targums reflect the very pharisaical systems Christ dismantled , systems built on human additions to the Word of God.
3. They Conflict With the Canon
Targumic theology , including speculative descriptions of Gehenna, torment, or destruction , contradicts the broader biblical arc of redemptive restoration. God’s fire is not for sadistic punishment or final obliteration. It is refining, corrective, and ultimately purifying (see Malachi 3:2–3, Zechariah 13:9, and 1 Corinthians 3:13–15).
When Jesus spoke of fire, He was not reinforcing Jewish tradition. He was fulfilling and clarifying God’s plan , a plan in which judgment serves restoration, not finality.
4. Jesus Never Quoted the Targums
If Jesus , the Word made flesh , never leaned on the Targums to explain the afterlife, why should we? He quoted the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms , the canonical Scriptures. He brought new light, not borrowed shadows.
When He described punishment, He used hyperbolic, parabolic, and apocalyptic language , not to affirm the Targumic view of annihilation or eternal torment, but to call men to repentance, mercy, and the kingdom of God.
The Real Problem: An Attempt to Fill in the Blanks Without Christ
Using the Targums to define the fire of judgment is like building a house on the sand of speculation , during a time when the Rock had not yet spoken. It’s grasping for theology in a silent era, reaching into the noise of man’s imagination while ignoring the clear voice of the Son of God.
And that’s the irony , Annihilationism, though it may reject the torment theology of Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT), still roots itself in the same broken soil: fear, retribution, and incomplete redemption.
A Better Story: The Fire That Saves
Scripture presents a fire that purifies, not annihilates.
It is the fire of God’s presence, His jealous love, His unyielding mercy.
“For everyone will be salted with fire.” (Mark 9:49)
The fire of God is not a final act of vengeance , it is an instrument of purification, refinement, and correction. It is not designed to destroy people, but to destroy sin , so that nothing unclean remains, and all things may be made new.
And that is the heart of Universal Reconciliation , not a doctrine created to make people feel better, but the clear, consistent witness of Scripture: that Christ will reconcile all things to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven (Colossians 1:20).
The Targums knew nothing of this. They were still stumbling in the dark.
But Jesus is the Light of the World , and He reveals a gospel far greater than extinction or torture.
Final Word
To use the Targums to define eternal fire is to replace the voice of Christ with the whispers of tradition. It is to drink from broken cisterns while the fountain of living water stands before you.
Don’t go back to the synagogue wall, scribbled with human guesses.
Go to the cross , and then to the empty tomb.
There, you’ll find that the fire of judgment is not the end of the story.
It’s the beginning of rebirth.
