(also turgeman; lit. "translator"). Person who stood beside the reader of the Torah in the ancient synagogue and recited the Targum (Aramaic translation of the Bible) verse by verse for the Pentateuch, and three verses at a time for the Prophets.
Rules governing the meturgeman are set forth in the Talmud and in related rabbinic literature. He was to stand upright next to the reader, reciting orally (not from a written text) and not raising his voice louder than that of the reader. These rules were invoked in order to preserve the primacy of the original Hebrew text. The blind and minors are explicitly qualified to serve in this function.
The terms meturgeman, turgeman and Amora are also applied to an assistant in the ancient talmudic academy, who stood beside the rabbinic scholar and served as his public mouthpiece or amplifier. The rabbi would deliver his lesson or homily in a low voice, and the meturgeman would repeat it loudly for the audience to hear. In this case, the repetition was in the same language, and, with few exceptions, without alteration or elaboration (Kid. 31b; Sot. 40a).
