Editing Jerome (section)

===Translation of the Bible (382–405)===
[[File:St Jerome by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.jpeg|left|thumb|''Saint Jerome Writing'', by [[Caravaggio]], 1607, at St John's Co-Cathedral, [[Valletta, Malta]]]]
{{main|Vulgate}}
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 Judaism|Hellenistic]] [[Heresy|heretical]] elements.{{efn|name=ndq}} 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 [[St. Augustine|Augustine]], who thought the Septuagint [[Biblical inspiration|inspired]]. Some modern scholars believe that the Greek [[Hexapla]] is the main source for [[Iuxta Hebraeos|Jerome's "iuxta Hebraeos"]] (i.e. "close to the Hebrews", "immediately following the Hebrews") translation of the Old Testament.<ref>Pierre Nautin, article "Hieronymus", in: ''Theologische Realenzyklopädie'', Vol. 15, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin & New York 1986, pp. 304–315, [309–310].</ref>  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.<ref>Michael Graves, ''Jerome's Hebrew Philology: A Study Based on his Commentary on Jeremiah'', Brill, 2007: 196–198 [197] (ISBN 978-90-47-42181-8): "In his discussion he gives clear evidence of having consulted the Hebrew himself, providing details about the Hebrew that could not have been learned from the Greek translations."</ref>