14th November, 2005

TONY TOWNSEND

Recognised as an outstanding Biblical scholar of his time, the influence of Jerome’s writings can still be felt in much of the Western church today.

Born in the Italian town of Stridon in 340, Jerome’s parents were wealthy Catholics and he was sent to Rome for his higher education, embracing the works of classical Latin authors.

WHERE CHRIST WAS BORN: In 386 AD, St Jerome retired to Bethlehem. He would remain there until his death 34 years later during which time he would complete his translation of the Bible into Latin. PICTURE: Yacoub Hazboun. “I am not so stupid as to think that any of the Lord’s words either need correcting or are not divinely inspired; but the Latin manuscripts of the Scriptures are proved faulty by the variations which are found in all of them. My aim has been to restore them to the form of the Greek original, from which my critics do not deny that they have been translated” - St Jerome

With a love for travel, Jerome journeyed through Gaul (modern France) where he converted to an ascetic form of Christianity (which includes an approach of extreme self-denial) and lived in an ascetic community at Aquilia in Italy. It was here that Jerome would have a life changing experience.

With a love and preoccupation for secular literature and philosophy, he had a dream about whether he truly followed Christ or not. Biblical historian and writer Bruce Shelly describes the experience as “the voice of conscience” speaking to Jerome; in any case it was one which caused him to renounce a secular career in order to pursue spiritual work.
 
Jerome withdrew to the Syrian desert where he lived an ascetic lifestyle, mastering the Hebrew language and perfecting his Greek. Ordained at Antioch and studying theology in Constantinople, he went on, in 382, to undertake a secretarial role with Pope Damasus in Rome. It was the Pope’s request that Jerome make improvements to the Latin translation of the Bible which provided the impetus that would see Jerome embark on a 23-year journey.

Previous Latin translations based on the Greek Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) had proved to be poor, corrupted and chaotic. In his letters Jerome explains his work: “I am not so stupid as to think that any of the Lord’s words either need correcting or are not divinely inspired; but the Latin manuscripts of the Scriptures are proved faulty by the variations which are found in all of them. My aim has been to restore them to the form of the Greek original, from which my critics do not deny that they have been translated”.
 
Jerome felt compelled to base the Old Testament translation on the original Hebrew Bible, the purpose being, as he suggests, to,  “give my Latin readers the hidden treasures of Hebrew erudition”.

Following the death of Pope Damasus, Jerome would moved to Bethlehem where he settled in 386, embracing life as a monk and continuing his translation work (he would remain there until his death in 420).

Seen by some as a Biblical scholar rather than a theologian, Jerome completed the Vulgate Latin Bible in 405. Despite being subject to corruption during the Middle Ages, it stands today as the classical Latin Bible.
 
Jerome would go on to write commentaries on the Bible, relying heavily on Jewish tradition and authorities of the early church. These commentaries were compiled with tremendous speed - he wrote his exposition of Galatians, for example, at the rate of 1,000 lines a day.
 
Church historian and writer Bruce Shelly says that while Jerome was “no creative theologian, no great teacher of the church”, his “reputation as a Biblical scholar endures”.
 

Sources:
Shelley, Bruce. L. Church History in Plain Language (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1982)
Demarest, Bruce A. “Jerome” in The History of Christianity, A Lion Handbook. Organising Editor, Dr. Tim Dowley. (Oxford: Lion Publishing, Revised Edition 1990)
Kuiper, B.K. The Church in History (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Reprinted 2002.)
Shelley, Bruce. L. “Jerome” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Edited by Walter A. Elwell, 12th Edition. (Michigan: Baker Book House, 1996)
 

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