30 September 420 A.D. Jerome—Education, Canon, Translation, Monastery, Letters
30 September 420 A.D. Jerome—Education, Canon, Translation, Monastery,
Letters
Jerome’s full name was Sophronius
Eusebius Hieronymous. He was born to Christian parents in northeastern
Italy. He went to Rome to study. He was baptized at age 19. He was devoted to the Lord. He was attracted
to monasticism. He went to Gaul and Syria. He lived in a desert area near the
ancient town of Chalcis, Syria. He began to master Hebrew and Greek. Next, he
shifted to Constantinople and studied under Gregory of Nazianzus, a Cappadocian
father who influenced him on the Trinity.
In 382, the bishop of Rome, Mr.
Damascus, commissioned Jerome to produce a standardized Latin text. Jerome claimed there were as many texts as
there were manuscripts.
In 386, he moved to Bethlehem and
was an overseer of a monastery there. He
wrote voluminously including letters, a bibliography of authors, and
commentaries on nearly every Biblical book.
He produced and translated the
Gospels, the whole NT, and then Acts-Revelation. He produced 3 editions of the Psalms. During 390-404, he produced an edition of the
entire Old Testament. He differentiated
the canonical OT books as 39 saying, “Anything outside of these [39 OT books]
must be place within the Apocrypha,” 14 volumes of doubtful inspiration.
The Protestants—Reformed,
Anglican and Lutheran—followed Jerome on the OT canon while the Council of
Trent canonized the Apocrypha.
Sources:
Archer, Gleason L. A Survey of the Old Testament Introduction. Chicago:
Moody, 1964.
Budrele, J.N. “Vulgate, The.”
NIDCSS. 1024.
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Peabody, MA:
Henrickson, 1999.
Metzger, Bruce M. The Early Versions of the New Testament. Oxford:
Clarendon, 1977. 330-62.
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church. 3:
205-14, 967-988.
Schnucker, Robert. “Jerome
(Eusebius Hieronymus)(c. 345-c. 419).” NIDCC. 528.
Unger, Merrill F. Introductory Guide to the Old Testament. 2nd
ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1956. 82-114.
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