Onkelos

Onkelos is the name of a famous convert to Judaism in Talmudic times. He is considered to be the author of the famous Targum Onkelos.

Onkelos is mentioned several times in the Talmud. According to the traditional Jewish sources, he was a prominent Roman nobleman, when he converted. His conversion is the subject of a controvercial story, whereupon he consulted with the spirits of two famous deceased to see how Israel fares in the next world (Gittin 56b). One was a Gentile sinner, namely Balaam and the other was Yoshke a Jewish apostate, identified by many scholars and authorities as Jesus. Both were seen by Onkelos as subject to humiliating punishments for leading Jews astray. Both people urged Onkelos to complete his conversion.

After his conversion, the Talmud records the story of how the Roman emperor sent to have Onkelos arrested (Avodah Zarah 11a). Onkelos cited verses from the Tanakh to the Roman legion, which became 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.

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.