A targum ( 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the "Tanakh") that a professional translator ( "mǝturgǝmān") would give in the common language of the listeners when that was not Hebrew. This had become necessary near the end of the first century BCE, as the common language was Aramaic and Hebrew was used for little more than schooling and worship. The translator frequently expanded his translation with paraphrases, explanations and examples, so it became a kind of sermon.