Midrasz do Nehemiasza 8:8

Again said R. Jeremiah and, according to others, R. Chiya b. Abba: "The Targum (Chaldaic version) of the Torah was composed by Onkelos, the proselyte, by dictation of R. Eliezer and R. Joshua; the Targum of the Prophets was composed by Jonathan b. Uzziel by dictation of [the prophets] Haggai, Zeehariah and Malachi. At that moment the land of Israel quaked [as if by earthquake] four hundred Parsaoth (miles) square, and a heavenly voice went forth saying: 'Who is the one that has revealed My secrets to man?' Thereupon Jonathan b. Uzziel arose and said: 'I am the one who hath revealed Thy secrets to man, but it is known and revealed unto Thee that not for my honor, nor for the honor of the house of my father, have I done this, but merely for Thy glory, to prevent controversies in Israel.' He intended to reveal the Targam of the Hagiographa, when a heavenly voice went forth and said: 'Enough for thee!' Why so? Because therein (in the Hagiographa) are contained intimations about the Messianic period [the Book of Daniel]." And the Targum of the Torah, you say, was composed by Onkelos, the proselyte? Behold! R. Ika, in the name of R. Cliananel, who quoted Rab, said: "What is the meaning of the passage (Neh. 8, 8) So they read in the Book, in the law of God distinctly, and exhibited the sense; so that they [the people] understood what was read; i.e., so they read in the Book of God, refers to the Biblical text; distinctly, refers to the Targum; and exhibited the sense, refers to the division of the verses; so that they understood what was read, refers to the signs of punctuation, and according to others, it refers to the Massoroth." Hence the Targum existed already in the days of Ezra? It was forgotten and Onkelos merely restored it. Why was it that at the translation of the Pentateuch, the land of Israel did not tremble, but at the translation of the Prophets, it did tremble? Because in the Pentateuch everything is explained; but in the Prophets some things are explained and some are not sufficiently explained; as for example, (Zec. 12, 2) On that day will the lamentation be great in Jerusalem, like the lamentation at Hadarimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And R. Joseph said: "Were it not for the Targum, I would not have understood the meaning of this passage." How does the Targum translate it? "On that day will the lamentation in Jerusalem be as it was over Ahab ben Amri, that was killed by Hada-rimmon ben Tabrimon in the city of Ramoth Gilead, and as they mourned over Joshia ben Amon, who was killed by Pharaoh, the lame one, in the valley of Megiddon."

"And he said, “Blessed be Hashem, the God of Shem; let Canaan be a slave to them (Genesis 9:26)": Reish Lakish said: "Yet from Japheth they stood in the tents of Shem". "And he said, “Blessed be Hashem, the God of Shem; Let Canaan be ", "May God enlarge Japheth (Genesis 9:27)": this is Cyrus who decreed the rebuilding of the Temple. " And let him dwell [veyishkon] in the tents of Shem": the shekhinah does not rest except "in the tents of Shem". Bar Kappara said: "Let the words of the Torah be spoken in the [Greek] language of Japheth in the midst of the "tents of Shem". Rabbi Yudan said: "This applies to a translation of the Torah. See! It is written: "They read from the scroll of the Teaching of God" (Nehemiah 8:8)": this is the Torah reading. "Translating it": this is the translation. "And giving the sense": these are the accents. "So they understood the reading": these are the beginnings of the verses". Rabbi Huna son of Lollianus says: "These are the grammatical constructions and pieces of evidence". The Rabbis of Caesarea said: "A reference to the vocalic tradition". Rabbi Zeira and Rabbi Chananel in the name of Rabbi: "Even if a man is knowledgeable in the Torah like Ezra, if there was no scroll of Esther there, he does not read it or write it". There they say: "He wrote two scrolls: he hid the first and published the second".