A Thousand-Year Influence
Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.
Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah
How often when I was living in the desert, parched by a burning sun, did I fancy myself among the pleasures of Rome! Sackcloth disfigured my unshapely limbs, and my skin long neglected had become as black as an Ethiopian’s. And although in my fear of hell I had consigned myself to this prison, where I had no companions but scorpions and wild beasts, I often thought myself in the company of many girls. My face grew pale, and my frame chilled with fasting; yet my mind was burning with desire, and the fires of lust kept bubbling up before me when my flesh was as good as dead. Helpless, I cast myself at the feet of Jesus.1
Does this sound like a man who is considered one of the most revered Christian scholars of his time and for centuries to follow? Nonetheless, these words are found in a letter Jerome wrote to a trusted friend and are informative about his character.
Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius—better known as Jerome—was born in what is now Ljubljana, Slovenia, to a wealthy Christian family. He received an excellent education in Rome, studying what most scholars of the day did: grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy. At the age of nineteen he was baptized, beginning a life of service in the church, although decidedly not a typical life.
Some believe that genius comes at the cost of civility. This might be impossible to prove, but there are plenty of examples indicating the greater the intellect, the greater the social awkwardness. Albert Einstein was brilliant in many ways but biographers indicate he was not particularly adept as a husband and father. Isaac Newton wrote abusive letters and made critical accusations about other scientists. At times it seems as if mental brilliance dims other aspects of life, and Jerome fit that category.
A Nightmare
Jerome was a man driven by a desire to obey, to live a life of purity and righteousness. He was plagued by the same sensual desires as men with lesser intellect and training and he hated himself for it. That and his desire for learning drove him to an ascetic lifestyle—a lifestyle of self-denial. He first encountered asceticism while continuing his education and during his travels, and he became a believer in the spiritual power and discipline of monastic living.
Jerome had received training in the classics and loved them, especially the writing of the Roman writer, orator, and statesman Cicero, who lived a century before Christ. One night, during Lent of 375, he had a nightmare. He saw himself at the judgment seat, but instead of receiving praise for living a life of sacrifice and choosing to give up the wealth he was born into, he instead heard scathing condemnation: “You are a follower of Cicero, not Christ.” The dream so hurt him he swore off reading classic writings. He moved to the Syrian desert to live as a hermit. The life was hard and lonely. He begged for letters. He spent lonely days praying, fasting, copying manuscripts, and learning Hebrew from Jewish Christians.
Jerome’s gift with languages and translation were quickly recognized and Bishop Paulinus of Antioch ordained him as a priest—only after it was agreed that he would never have to do priestly duties. He wanted to serve God through the church but knew that he would make an inadequate parish priest.
He continued his studies, listened to lectures by famous theologians, and met with other scholars. Then came a summons to Rome, where he would serve as secretary to Bishop Damasus. This was a highly esteemed position and put him in place to be Damasus’ successor.
A New Translation
It was Damasus who set in motion a work that would span centuries. The church had grown in two directions: the Eastern and the Western Church. The Western Church would become known as the Roman Church. Damasus felt a Bible in the common language of the West would strengthen the church and further the spread of the gospel. The problem rested in the original languages of the Bible: Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek. The Old Testament had already been translated into Greek six centuries before and was in popular use. This translation was called the Septuagint because it was the work of seventy (some say seventy-two) translators. When the apostle Paul quoted the Old Testament in his letters that would become part of the New Testament, he quoted from the Septuagint.
While Greek was fine for the East, Latin was the predominate language in the West. What was needed was a good Latin translation of the Bible. Other translations existed but they were considered inferior and the result of poor scholarship. This fact bothered Jerome. He wrote to Damasus:
If we are to pin our faith to the Latin texts, it is for our opponents to tell us which; for there are almost as many forms of texts as there are copies. If, on the other hand, we are to glean the truth from a comparison of many, why not go back to the original Greek and correct the mistakes introduced by inaccurate translators, and the blundering alterations of confident but ignorant critics, and, further, all that has been inserted or changed by copyists more asleep than awake?2
Here is Jerome’s genius. Instead of embarking on what could have been a lengthy revision process of comparing one Latin Bible with another and then determining which most accurately reflected the original Greek, Jerome decided that a direct translation was needed. He put aside the many flawed earlier works and started from scratch. And he didn’t stop with the New Testament. It would take over twenty years for him to complete the work. The New Testament, being smaller, came about fairly quickly. The Old Testament was more demanding. Jerome, while versed in Hebrew, sought the advice of Hebrew scholars in the Holy Land. He had moved there from Rome when Damasus died in 384. Jerome had not been selected as his successor after all, probably for many reasons, including his sharp tongue. He settled in Bethlehem and continued his work.
Here Jerome’s brilliance shines again. He started his work the same way others had, but then decided the translation should be based on the original Hebrew, not the Greek rendition. He saw no sense in making a translation of a translation.
Today, scholars have many tools available to them that were undreamt of in Jerome’s time. There are many more manuscripts available, as well as many tools made possible via the advent of computers. Jerome had to use the best Hebrew manuscripts he could find and, with the help of Jewish scholars, convert from Hebrew to Latin.
Jerome’s translation work became known as the Latin Vulgate. Vulgate comes from the Latin for “common.” It would endure for a millennium. When it was finished the Western Church had a uniform translation, free from frequent error and poor scholarship.
Jerome wrote many other works, including commentaries, but the Vulgate was his pinnacle. He has been called the greatest Christian scholar of all time. Few would argue.
He was a man born into wealth but preferred the hermit’s life. He was ordained a priest but only after the bishop agreed he wouldn’t have to do priestly duties. He preferred books to people, held women and marriage in low regard, and wrestled with his physical passions. He was curt and at times verbally abusive. He was often intolerant of others’ scholarship. Still, he was aware of his problems and sought only to serve the church.