St. Jerome of Stridon, the Translator
Greek/Latin EUSEBIUS HIERONYMUS; Spanish GERONIMO
IV/V Centuries
From 391-406, Eusebius Hieronymus completed
and published a translation of the Bible that became the standard edition
of Scripture
for the Western church. St. Jerome's translation of the Old
Testament came in large part from the Masoretic
Hebrew, not from the Septuagint, and his
translation of the New Testament was based on Greek texts of older origin
than those used for the previous "Old Latin" translation.
St. Jerome was born
c. 347 in Stridon, Dalmatia, to wealthy Christian parents.
He was educated at Rome and studied under the grammmarian Aelius Donatus.
Jerome was baptized at 19 (or 20) and soon joined an ascetic group under
the Bishop Valerian. In 378, Jerome was ordained a priest, although he had
no pastoral duties. He was secretary to Pope Damasus I from 382-385 and
later settled in Bethlehem, where he lived in a double monastery
established by his friend, St. Paula. He reposed in 420.
In addition to the Bible, Jerome translated homilies of Origen (whose
Biblical commentaries he liked but whose theology he rejected) and several
works of Eusebius
of Cæsarea, including the Chronicle and the
Book of the
Interpretation of Hebrew Place Names. Jerome wrote original works
defending the perpetual viginity of Mary and monastic celibacy; he
attacked Pelagianism and Origenism. The best known of
St. Jerome's Biblical
commentaries is
Opus prophetale, a commentary on all the prophetic books
of the Bible. Jerome's first published work was a life of Paul the Hermit.
Jerome was the first Latin Biblical scholar to rely on Hebrew texts in his
commentary on Ecclesiastes.
Karen Rae Keck
- ABOUT:
- J. N. D. Kelly:
Jerome, (1975).
New York: Harper and Row, 1975.
The standard scholarly biography in English,
but also extremely readable.
- WORKS:
- Against Jovinian: ---CCEL
- Against the Pelagians: ---CCEL
- Contra Vigilantium
(Against Vigilantius).
PL 23:339.
Vigilantius anticipated many Protestant ideas:
he opposed the veneration of relics, the use
of candles in churches, prayer for the dead,
belief in saintly intercession, etc.
Fremantle translation, 1893.
--- SPL
- Apology Against
the Books of Rufinus: --- CCEL
- On
the Best Method of Translating ---CCEL
- Commentary on the
Apostles' Creed: --- CCEL
- Dialogue
against the Luciferians ---CCEL
- Letters
---CCEL
-
Letter 146:
About deacons, that they are not as high-ranking
as priests. Seems almost to equate bishops and priests.
--- SPL
-
Life of Fabiola.
Baker translation.
--- Vitae Patrum
- Life
of Hilarion ---CCEL
- Life
of Malchus ---CCEL
-
Life of Marcella.
Baker translation.
--- Vitae Patrum
- Vita Sancti Pauli
(Life of St. Paul of Thebes).
PL 23:25.
Extremely influential hagiographic work,
both in the West and in the East. Also contains
some remarkable comments about
centaurs and fauns.
Fremantle translation, 1893.
--- SPL
Life of Paula.
Baker translation.
--- Vitae Patrum
To
Pammachius against John of Jerusalem ---CCEL
The
Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mary ---CCEL
Prefaces from other writings of Jerome: ---CCEL
Associated Places:
CÆSAREA;
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