chapter three
Ecclesiastes(), he makes extensive use of rabbinical exegesis which he
probably picked up from a Jew with whom he was reading the book. His
translationalsomadeuseoftheHebreworiginalbutthewordingwas
still adjusted to the more familiar text of the Septuagint. Nevertheless,
the trilogy of books he published next,Hebrew Names,theBook of
PlacesandHebrew Questions, were dealing with the etymology of Biblical
names, sacred places—some of which he had personally visited—and the
interpretation of problematic texts in Genesis. Eusebius’Onomasticon
was an invaluable aid for Jerome, but he also worked with several name
lists of unknown origin, and for theHebrew Questions,heconsulted
Josephus and rabbinic exegesis. As a matter of fact, Jerome’s preface to
Hebrew Questionscontains a defense and unveiling of his program which
finds the ultimate truth of the Bible in the Hebrew language (hebraica
veritas). For instance, he points out that the evangelists, Paul and Christ
himself, when they were referring to the Old Testament, used texts that
differed from the one used in the church. He also noted that Origen, in
his scholarly studies, preferred the Hebrew original.^38 Interestingly, these
same ideas soon appear in hisOn Illustrious Men.
Jerome’sOn Illustrious Mencontains a list of his own publications. The
last items on the list are commentaries on the minor prophets: Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Haggai, which must have appeared
just beforeOn Illustrious Men. In practice, Jerome must have been work-
ing with them approximately at the same time he was preparingOn Illus-
trious Men.
The commentary on Micah contains Jerome’s first reference to his
translation of the Gospel according to the Hebrews:
... and who should believe the Gospel which is edited according to the
Hebrews and which we translated not so long ago, in which it is said of the
person of the Saviour: A moment ago my Mother the Holy Spirit took me
by one of my hairs. (Comm. Mich. .–; trans. Klijn ).
There are good reasons for believing that precisely this passage depends
on Origen’s wording: Jerome quotes this passage several times (Comm.
Mich..–;Comm. Isa. .–;Comm. Ezech. .) and it is also
found in Origen’s writings (Comm. Jo. .;Hom. Jer. .).
Jerome wroteOn Illustrious Menin order to provide a Christian coun-
terpart to the chronicles of secular authors. Jerome’s inspiration for writ-
ing becomes clear in the last paragraph of his introduction to the book:
(^38) Kelly , –.