Jerome (347-419 A.D.) was one of the outstanding personalities of that time. He was born to wealthy parents and was educated in Rome. He was baptised at the age of twenty and was ordained a priest in 378. He travelled extensively. It was on one of these trips that he decided to be a monk. He is one of the most outstanding scholars of his day.
He believed in monasticism and was a hermit even though this system had not yet developed in the apostate church. He is known for translating the Bible into Latin, which was the language of the Roman Empire at that time. He was the most learned, the most eloquent and the most interesting author among the people of his day.
His library became one of the most famous in the world. Many of the books had been self-copied. Everywhere he travelled, he would take his library with him. It must have been very expensive to carry all his books on his- journeys. But it shows his dedication to gaining knowledge.
In fact, he had a tremendous thirst for knowledge and continued to learn and write to the end of his life. He was one of those intellectual minds for which reading and study were as indispensable as daily bread. He could not live without books. He possessed a remarkable memory.
When Jerome wanted to write or translate, he would go into some ascetic seclusion, such as the Syrian Desert of Chalcis, Bethlehem, etc. He learned both Greek and Hebrew as these were the Bible languages. In Bethlehem, about 385 he learned Hebrew from a rabbi who, through fear of his fellow Jews, would visit Jerome by night. Jerome called upon other Jewish scholars to his aid.
Though his knowledge of Hebrew was defective, it was still better than other writers. It took him fifteen years to translate both the Old and New Testaments. Overall, his writings were immense. Apart from the Vulgate, he wrote commentaries on many of the books of the Bible.
The primary thing people remember about Jerome is his translation of the Bible into the Latin language, which would become known as the Latin Vulgate. The word “Vulgate” means “common”, thus the common language of the people. It would become the official language of the Catholic Church.
It supplied the church in that age with terms and phraseology which were used by the priest when referring to certain ordinances and sacred objects. Latin came to be looked upon as the language of the church. This Latin Bible was adopted by the Catholic Church and thus became the official Bible.
It would remain this way for one thousand years until a newer version was adopted. The significance of all of this was that Jerome’s Vulgate became a captive Bible owned and controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. During this thousand-year period, it was not given to the people but to the high officials of the Roman church. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in their houses.
Unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. No modifications were allowed, and no new translation was permitted. To oppose the church on this matter would result in serious repercussions, such as being put to death by being burned at the stake. Many had to flee their homes and country to avoid the wrath and punishments handed down to those who defied the authority of the Roman church.
Another tragedy of Jerome’s translation is that Latin would soon become a dead language, and most people in Europe could not read it even if the Vulgate was made available to them. We wonder how Jerome himself could, with a clear conscious, practice the many errors that had already entered the church by the time he began his translation of the Latin Vulgate.
By keeping the Bible in the Latin language, the Catholic Church was able to keep the people ignorant of all essential doctrines of the Scriptures. The truth is, the Bible was held hostage by the Catholic Church, preventing the people from having any access to its teachings. Even many of the priests seemingly were not aware of its teachings.
Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, had never read much of the Bible before he went to Rome and observed all the false practices at the very centre of Catholicism, Rome. Upon his return home, he vowed to read the scriptures. Luther recalls that once in a University Library, he saw a Bible chained to a lectern.
He opened to the First Book of Samuel and read the story of Hannah and how her son Samuel was chosen to be a “man of God.” At the time, he wished that he could possess and study a Bible. Evidently, all the Catholic schools which trained priests did not give them a background in the Bible.
Evidently, most graduated knowing only how to conduct the various rites of the church, how to conduct their Masses, weddings, funerals, absolve members from their sins, baptise infants and confirm children.
Jerome’s translation of the Scriptures into Latin could have been a great event, but with the church in control of the translation and Latin becoming a dead language, the people were ignorant of it. There has always been a need for new translations of the Bible because language changes over time. Today, many have opposed some of the modern English translations of the Bible.
Would it surprise you to know that the King James Bible used the Latin Vulgate primarily, along with very few available Greek manuscripts, to give us the KJV? The New KJV and other modern English translations attempt to bring the English up to how we use English today.
Would it surprise you to know that the old KJV of 1611 used the Latin Vulgate and a few Greek manuscripts to translate the KJV? Since then, a large number of Greek manuscripts have been discovered, thus enabling translators to have better access to the original language of the New Testament.
Jerome did a great work, but little did he realise his translation would be restricted to a privileged few. His work had a reverse effect in that it was kept in seclusion, preventing men from knowing the will of God. Had it been available, probably it would have led to newer and better translations much sooner.
Jerome’s Vulgate was held captive by the Catholic Church for many years. It should be obvious that many teachers and Bible scholars of that day were deficient in the scriptural truths found within God’s word.
The theme of these lessons is how men have changed the doctrine of the New Testament. To view the work of Jerome, most scholars would agree that he produced a good translation. By translating it into Latin, he put it in a language the people of Europe were unable to read.
Also, keeping it captive by the Catholic Church prevented it from having a wide circulation. It was available primarily only to a scholarly class of men in universities. The common people had no such access.
There would have been many who could read Latin, who were knowledgeable of Latin, who had no connection with universities. It has been said that many would pay a priest to read to them from the Latin. We do not know how widespread this was.
Also, there were a few Greek texts that were available even to the scholars. How thankful we should be that we live in a world where we are blessed with several versions of the Scriptures and that we can read for ourselves the Word of God.