Translation of the Bible (382–405) , 1607, at St John's Co-Cathedral,
Valletta, Malta Jerome was a scholar at a time when being a scholar implied a fluency in Greek. He knew some Hebrew when he started his
translation project, but moved to
Jerusalem to strengthen his grip on Jewish scripture commentary. A wealthy Roman aristocrat, Paula, funded Jerome's stay in a monastery in the nearby city of
Bethlehem, where he settled next to the
Church of the Nativity – built half a century prior on orders of
Emperor Constantine over what was reputed to be the site of the
Nativity of Jesus – and he completed his translation there. He began in 382 by correcting the existing Latin-language version of the New Testament, commonly referred to as the
Vetus Latina. By 390 he turned to translating the
Hebrew Bible from the original Hebrew, having previously translated portions from the
Septuagint which came from Alexandria. He believed that the mainstream
Rabbinical Judaism had rejected the Septuagint as invalid Jewish scriptural texts because of what were ascertained as mistranslations along with its
Hellenistic heretical elements. He completed this work by 405. Prior to Jerome's Vulgate, all Latin translations of the
Old Testament were based on the Septuagint, not the Hebrew. Jerome's decision to use a Hebrew text instead of the previously translated Septuagint went against the advice of most other Christians, including
Augustine, who thought the Septuagint
inspired. Some modern scholars believe that the Greek
Hexapla is the main source for
Jerome's "iuxta Hebraeos" (i.e. "close to the Hebrews", "immediately following the Hebrews") translation of the Old Testament. Some scholarship has cast doubts on the actual quality of Jerome's Hebrew knowledge, however, detailed studies have shown that to a considerable degree Jerome was a competent Hebraist.
De Viris Illustribus Between 392 and 393 Jerome produced a biobibliography covering four centuries of primarily Christian writers from the
apostolic age up until Jerome himself. The text was modeled after earlier Greek and Latin authors.
De Viris Illustribus (
On Illustrious Men) circulated widely soon after its completion, becoming an influential Christian biographical collection and defining a canon of knowledge. It was written as an
apologetic work to demonstrate the accomplishments of prominent Christian authors, including Jerome himself, at a time when Christian writing was seen as inferior.
Biblical onomastica Jerome also produced two
onomastica which were commonly found in subsequent Bibles until the Reformation: •
Liber de Nominibus Hebraicis, a list of names of people in the Bible and etymologies, based on a work attributed to
Philo and expanded by
Origen; • A translation and expansion of the
Onomasticon of Eusebius, listing and commenting on places mentioned in the Bible.
Commentaries (405–420) '' by
Antonello da Messina, c. 1474 For the next 15 years, until he died, Jerome produced a number of commentaries on Scripture, often explaining his translation choices in using the original Hebrew rather than suspect translations. His
patristic commentaries align closely with Jewish tradition, and he indulges in
allegorical and
mystical subtleties after the manner of
Philo and the
Alexandrian school. Unlike his contemporaries, he emphasizes the difference between the Hebrew Bible "Apocrypha" and the
Hebraica veritas of the
protocanonical books. In his
Vulgate's prologues, he describes some portions of books in the Septuagint that were not found in the Hebrew as being non-
canonical (he called them
apocrypha); for
Baruch, he mentions by name in his
Prologue to Jeremiah and notes that it is neither read nor held among the Hebrews, but does not explicitly call it apocryphal or "not in the canon". His
Preface to the Books of Samuel and Kings (commonly called the
Helmeted Preface) includes the following statement: This preface to the Scriptures may serve as a "helmeted" introduction to all the books which we turn from Hebrew into Latin, so that we may be assured that what is not found in our list must be placed amongst the Apocryphal writings.
Wisdom, therefore, which generally bears the name of Solomon, and the book of
Jesus, the Son of Sirach, and
Judith, and
Tobias, and the
Shepherd are not in the canon. The
first book of Maccabees I have found to be Hebrew,
the second is Greek, as can be proved from the very style. , 1639,
Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe Historical and hagiographic writings Jerome as a historian Jerome's most famous work of historical writing was the
Chronicon, a translation, reworking, and continuation of the
Chronicon of Eusebius. Written in Constantinople around 380 it became an influential text in Latin Christendom even though it is not without errors. In his other works he evoked historical events and used history as an example and source of argument. Even though Jerome engaged in historical writing, he did not consider himself bound by the rules of historians and his output in this domain has to be judged accordingly.
Description of vitamin A deficiency The following passage, taken from Jerome’s hagiography, appears to be the earliest account of the
etiology, symptoms and cure of severe
vitamin A deficiency: exhorting to the
ascetic life and renunciation of the
world, or debating his theological opponents, he gives a vivid picture not only of his own mind, but of the age and its peculiar characteristics. (See
Plowboy trope.) Because there was no distinct line between personal documents and those meant for publication, his letters frequently contain both confidential messages and treatises meant for others besides the one to whom he was writing. Due to the time he spent in Rome among wealthy families belonging to the Roman upper class, Jerome was frequently commissioned by women who had taken a vow of virginity to write to them in guidance of how to live their life. As a result, he spent a great deal of his life corresponding with these women about certain abstentions and lifestyle practices. '' by
Jacopo Palma il Giovane,
Theological writings , 1522
Eschatology Jerome warned that those substituting fake interpretations for the actual meaning of Scripture belonged to the "synagogue of the Antichrist". "He that is not of Christ is of Antichrist," he wrote to
Pope Damasus I. He believed that "the mystery of iniquity" written about by Paul in was already in action when "every one chatters about his views." To Jerome, the power restraining this mystery of iniquity was the Roman Empire, but as it fell this restraining force was removed. He warned a noblewoman of
Gaul: He that letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near. Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus Christ "shall consume with the spirit of his mouth". "Woe unto them," he cries, "that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days." ... Savage tribes in countless numbers have overrun all parts of Gaul. The whole country between the Alps and the Pyrenees, between the Rhine and the Ocean, has been laid waste by hordes of
Quadi,
Vandals,
Sarmatians,
Alans,
Gepids, Herules,
Saxons,
Burgundians,
Allemanni, and – alas! for the commonweal! – even
Pannonians. His
Commentary on Daniel was expressly written to offset the criticisms of
Porphyry, who taught that Daniel related entirely to the time of
Antiochus IV Epiphanes and was written by an unknown individual living in the second century BC. Against Porphyry, Jerome identified Rome as the fourth kingdom of chapters two and seven, but his view of chapters eight and eleven was more complex. Jerome held that chapter eight describes the activity of Antiochus Epiphanes, who is understood as a "type" of a future antichrist; 11:24 onwards applies primarily to a future antichrist but was partially fulfilled by Antiochus. Instead, he advocated that the "little horn" was the Antichrist: We should therefore concur with the traditional interpretation of all the commentators of the Christian Church, that at the end of the world, when the Roman Empire is to be destroyed, there shall be ten kings who will partition the Roman world amongst themselves. Then an insignificant eleventh king will arise, who will overcome three of the ten kings. ... After they have been slain, the seven other kings also will bow their necks to the victor. In his
Commentary on Daniel, Jerome, despite being opposed to Origen, was influenced by Origenism in his soteriology. Although he taught that the Devil and the unbelieving will be eternally punished (unlike Origen), he believed that the punishment for Christian sinners, who have once believed but sin and fall away, will be temporal in nature. Some scholars such as J.N.D Kelly have also interpreted
Ambrose to have held similar views considering the judgement of Christians. Although Augustine does not name Jerome personally, the view that all Christians would eventually be reunited to God was criticized by Augustine in his treatise "on faith and works".
Reception by later Christianity Jerome is the second-most voluminous writer – after
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) – in ancient Latin Christianity. The
Catholic Church recognizes him as the
patron saint of translators, librarians, and
encyclopedists. Jerome translated many biblical texts into Latin from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. His translations formed part of the
Vulgate; the
Vulgate eventually superseded the preceding Latin translations of the Bible (the
Vetus Latina). The
Council of Trent in 1546 declared the
Vulgate authoritative "in public lectures, disputations, sermons, and expositions". Jerome showed more zeal and interest in the ascetic ideal than in abstract speculation. He lived as an ascetic for 4~5 years in the Syrian desert, and later near Bethlehem for 34 years. Nevertheless, his writings show outstanding scholarship and his correspondence has great historical importance. The
Church of England honours Jerome with a
commemoration on 30 September. == In art ==