A targum (Hebrew: תרגום, plural: targumim, lit. "translation, interpretation") is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) written or compile from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages (late first millennium). The two major genres of Targum reflect two geographical and cultural centers of Jewish life during the period of their creation, namely the Land of Israel and Babylonia. Aramaic was the dominant Jewish language or lingua franca for hundreds of years in these major Jewish communities.