In this article we have tried to show St. Jerome’s knowledge of Hebrew language basing on selected fragments of Quaestiones Hebraicae in Genesim (PL 23, 935A - 1010A). First of all, we tried to show how St. Jerome deals with text during translation of the Bible from Hebrew into Latin. In his work, St. Jerome tries to give the etymology of almost every proper name that appears in a given verse commented by him. St. Jerome’s effort and merit in this field are of course enormous, but sometimes even he put wrong etymology. We have shown how the author of Vulgate explains the most common Hebrew expressions and how he attempts to improve the Septuagint, and we also put forward purely grammatical considerations that the commentator included in Quaestiones Hebraicae. St. Jerome’s knowledge of the sacred language – perfect for those times – is a reason that in case of any doubts he is in favor of the superiority of hebraica veritas over translations of the Bible.
In the history of exegesis three general models of the interpretation of the Servant of Yahweh Song can be outlined. The first one is a collective interpretation that considers the Servant to be Israel – the People of God – or its faithful part. The second interpretation was called by the scholars an individual interpretation according to which the Servant is an individual. The third one is a mixed interpretation. The Servant of Yahweh is a king who represents the nation. In this article we searched for an answer to the question who is the said Servant of Yahweh according to St. Jerome. Having analysed selected passages of St. Jerome’s commentary on the Servant Song it is not difficult to notice that the author of the Vulgate prefers the model of individual interpretation. More precisely, in his opinion the Servant of Yahweh is Jesus Christ whose suffering has a redeeming virtue.
Reading the ancient scriptures of Christians of the first centuries, one can easily notice numerous invectives. From among the Fathers of the Church there are three who in particular deserve the title of “fathers of Christian invectives”. One of those who best can be described as such is St. Jerome of Stridonius. It should not come as a surprise, because in ancient times one did not reach only for intellectual arguments when defending their views. A logical elucidation was merely a part of argumentation. The other part, of no less importance, were arguments ad hominem, including also invectives. Verbal insults were integral part of argumentation and the lack of them would decrease the value of debate. In this article, based on St. Jerome’s of Stridonius writings, I portrayed his reactions to the phenomenon of pelagianism, as well as to the person of Pelagius himself. This subject has been analysed in many articles, but I presented it from a different angle. Namely, I emphasized varied interesting invectives that St. Jerome – well-known for his sharp tongue – directed to Pelagius, basing on argumentum ad personam.
Artykuł przedstawia tekst Vita S. Pauli Monachi Thebaei św. Hieronima, który znajduje się w rękopiśmiennym kodeksie Vaticanus Latinus 13008, przechowywanym w Bibliotece Watykańskiej. W artykule wskazano i zaznaczono wszystkie warianty rękopisu, które różnią się od tekstu wydania krytycznego tego Hieronimowego dzieła (por. B. Degórski, Edizione critica della “Vita Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitae” di Girolamo, Institutum Patristicum “Augustinianum”, Roma 1987).
EN
The essay analyzes the text of the Vita S. Pauli Monachi Thebaei of St. Jerome contained in the Manuscript Code Vaticanus Latinus 13008, kept in the Apostolic Vatican Library. In particular, are indicated and highlighted all variations of the Manuscript differing from the text of the critical edition of this work by St. Jerome (see B. Degórski, Edizione critica della “Vita Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitae” di Girolamo, Institutum Patristicum “Augustinianum”, Roma 1987).
In this article we included St. Jerome’s standpoint on Gomer - the prostitute and wife of Hosea. This topic was presented in two stages. First, we analysed an issue of ideal woman according to St. Jerome. Then we presented a picture of Gomer in St. Jerome’s comment on the Book of Hosea 1–3. The main point of this article was an attempt to answer a question how St. Jerome deals with conveying the biblical meaning, according to which the prophet on God’s command marries an adulterous woman. This issue is very interesting, because the author of Vulgate had rather unfavourable attitude towards the institution of marriage and Gomer was not only married, but also a prostitute.
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