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Bibliography: S. Jelllicoe. The Septuagint and Modern Study
(1968); H.M. Orlinsky, in: Hebrew Union College Annual, 46 (1975):
89–114; S. Tov, in: Journal for the Study of Judaism, 15 (1984): 65–89;
M.K.H. Peters, in: Anchor Bible Dictionary 5 (1992): 1093–1104; M.
Harl et al. (eds.), La Bible grecque des Septanate: Du Judaïsme hellénistique
au Christianism ancien (19942); C. Dogniez, Bibliography of
the Septuagint = Bibliographie de la Septante (1970–1993) (1995); J.W.
Wevers, in: M. Saebø (ed.), Hebrew Bible, OT: The History of Its Interpretation,
vol. 1 (1996), 84–107; E. Tov, The Text-Critical Use of the
Septuagint in Biblical Research (19972); N. Fernández Marcos, The
Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek Version of the Bible
(2000); L.J. Greenspoon, in: A.J. Hauser (ed.), A History of Biblical
Interpretation, vol. 1 (2003), 80–113; L.J. Greenspoon, in: A. Berlin
and M.Z. Brettler (eds.), The Jewish Study Bible (2004), 2005–20; J.M.
Dines. The Septuagint (2004).
[Leonard J. Greenspoon (2nd ed.)]
Old Latin / Vulgate
The earliest evidence for a Latin translation of the Bible comes
from the scriptural quotations of the Christian writer Cyprian
of Carthage in the middle of the third century C.E. By the
end of the following century, different recensions of the Latin
Bible were circulating in Italy, Gaul, and Spain. Whereas some
modern scholars believe the evidence indicates that there was
a single original Latin text that underwent various developments
(corruption, revision, expansion) to produce these recensions,
the evidence is inconclusive and there remains no
consensus. In the face of such historical obscurity and textual
uncertainty, the term “Old Latin” or Vetus Latina (OL)
refers not to a single and complete translation of the Bible
but rather to the various Latin texts prior to Jerome’s new
translation from the Hebrew, production on which began
in the late fourth century. Until the late fourth century, the
OL was constantly being revised based on a growing number
of Greek versions produced during the first centuries
C.E. (e.g., those of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion). Indeed,
Augustine of Hippo complained that in his day so many
Christians were inserting Greek-based corrections into the
Latin text that there appeared to be as many Latin versions
as codices.
In contrast to the LXX and the Masoretic Text (MT), the
OL has not enjoyed rigorous and systematic study. Thus much
of what may be said about the OL in relation to these other ancient
translations is subject to revision, particularly as scholars
continue to study these ancient translations in light of the
biblical texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. While the OL Pentateuch
is assumed to have direct Jewish and Hebrew origins,
in general the OL is considered to be a translation of the LXX,
and as such, constitutes a secondary witness to the text of the
Hebrew Bible. Like the LXX, the OL is not a unified translation,
varying from book to book. At times, some texts of the
OL can preserve earlier forms of the LXX, often referred to as
the Old Greek (OG), that have not survived in Greek manuscript
form. It is here that the OL can be an important witness
to the textual criticism of the OG. Furthermore, the study of
the OL can be particularly valuable when considering a book
for which the LXX and MT may vary greatly like Samuel. In
these situations, it is possible that the OL can contain an earlier
Hebrew text than that found in the MT.
In 383, Pope Damasus I commissioned *Jerome (c. 347–
420), the leading biblical scholar of the day and his personal
secretary, to revise the OL Gospels in light of the LXX. He continued,
on his own initiative, by revising the Psalter according
to the LXX. This recension became known as the Gallican Psalter
because of its use by Charlemagne in Gaul. In 386, shortly
after relocating to Bethlehem, where he spent the last part of
his life, Jerome discovered Origen’s Hexapla in the library of
nearby Caesarea. The Hexapla was Origen’s edition of the Hebrew
Bible / Old Testament presenting most of the books in
six parallel columns, the fifth consisting of a critical text of the
LXX with signs indicating where the Greek differed from the
Hebrew. Jerome used these signs in his amended edition of the
Latin versions of the Psalms, Job, Chronicles, and the books
attributed to Solomon (viz., Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of
Songs). Through this work, Jerome found the LXX increasingly
unsatisfactory and became convinced of both the supreme authority
of the Hebrew and the necessity of producing a fresh
translation based on the original “Hebrew truth” (Hebraica
veritas). Jerome embarked on his new Latin translation “according
to the Hebrew” (iuxta Hebraeos) around 390 and by
405 had completed his work on the Hebrew Bible.
Because he accepted the Hebrew canon as authentic
Scripture (i.e., as Hebraica veritas), Jerome did not translate
the deuterocanonical books (with the exception of Tobit
and Judith). Thus, the Latin version of the Bible that became
the official text of the western Church from the early Middle
Ages and that was given the name Vulgate in the 16th century
was not produced entirely by Jerome. Rather, the Vulgate includes
Jerome’s translations from the Hebrew text (the Psalter
excepted), his versions of Tobit and Judith, his revision of the
Gospels, and his revision of the Psalter made from the Hexapla
(i.e., the Gallican Psalter). It is now generally believed that
the Vulgate version of the epistles, Acts, and the Apocalypse
is not the work of Jerome himself but rather that of an unknown
hand or hands.
From the early medieval period, the biblical text of the
Vulgate has exerted an incalculable influence not only on
Roman Catholic teaching and piety, but also on the languages
and literature of western Europe. This text remains the basis
for some modern translations (e.g., that of Ronald Knox into
English). In 1979, Pope John Paul II promulgated a new official
revision of the Vulgate according to the Hebrew and the
Greek. Furthermore, in 1987 Benedictine monks of the Monastery
of St. Jerome completed a critical edition of the Vulgate
that includes the most certain findings of modern biblical
scholarship and exegesis.
Bibliography: J. Trebolle Barrera, The Jewish Bible and the
Christian Bible: An Introduction to the History of the Bible, tr. W.G.E.
Watson (1998); A. Kamesar, Jerome, Greek Scholarship, and the Hebrew
Bible (1993); J.N.D. Kelly, Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies
598 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3