TRV
Jerome
Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500
5,299 passages across 63 books of the Bible · Who was this?
On Genesis
20 of 244-
Genesis 22:2
(Chapter 22, Verse 2.) And God said to him: Take your beloved son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the high land, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you. It is difficult to translate the Hebrew language into Latin. Where it is now said, go to the high land, in Hebrew it has Moriah, which Aquila translated as 'the visible', that is, clear, and Symmachus, 'the vision', that is, sight. Therefore the Hebrews say that this mountain is the one on which the temple was later built, in the area of Ornan the Jebusite, as it is also written in the Chronicles: 'And they began to build the temple in the second month, on the second day of the month, in the mountain of Moriah' (2 Chronicles 3:1). This is interpreted as "illuminating" and "shining" because there is the Dabir, that is, the oracle of God: both the Law and the Holy Spirit, who teaches people the truth and inspires prophecies.
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Genesis 22:3
(Verse 3) And he went to the place which God had told him about, on the third day. It should be noted that from Gerar to Mount Moriah, that is, the site of the temple, is a three-day journey, and consequently it is said that he arrived there on the third day. Therefore, some people mistakenly think that Abraham lived at the oak tree in Mamre during that time, when in fact the journey from there to Mount Moriah is barely a full day's journey.
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Genesis 22:12
We have heard enough on how God does not know the sinner, so we ought to consider now how the just man is known by him. God said to Abraham, “Leave your country, your kinsfolk.” Abraham accordingly came into Palestine; he was in Abramiri; he sojourned a long time in Gerar. When his son Isaac was born, he had received the promise: “In your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” He took Isaac and offered him to God, and a voice from heaven was heard to say, Spare him. Straightway, at the very moment that he offered his son, what does God say to Abraham? “I know now that you fear the Lord, your God.” Have you just now known Abraham, Lord, with whom you have communicated for such a long time? Because Abraham had such great faith in sacrificing his own son, on that account God first began to know him. Why have we said all this? Because it is written, “For the Lord knows the way of the just.” Let us put it another way: The way, the life, and the truth is Christ; let us walk therefore in Christ, and then God the Father will know our way.
HOMILIES ON the Psalms 1
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Genesis 22:13
(Verse 13.) And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. Emisenus Eusebius has spoken a silly thing in this place: Sabech, he says, is called a goat, which with straight horns is raised high to pluck the leaves from a tree. Again Aquila has interpreted as a bush, which we can call a thicket or briar: and to interpret the force of the word, dense and intertwined twigs. And Symmachus also expresses the same opinion, saying, 'And it appeared that a ram, after this, was caught in a net by its horns.' However, some have interpreted it better in this particular place, namely the Septuagint and Theodotion, who translated the word as 'Sabech,' saying, 'In the thicket Sabech with its horns.' For σύχνεων, that is, the net, which Aquila and Symmachus have used, is written with the letter 'Sin.' But here the letter 'Samech' is used. From this it is clear that the interpretation is not of thickened branches, and like the word 'Sabech' intertwined like a net with intertwined branches, but rather the name signifies a thicket, which is thus expre…
(Verse 13.) And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. Emisenus Eusebius has spoken a silly thing in this place: Sabech, he says, is called a goat, which with straight horns is raised high to pluck the leaves from a tree. Again Aquila has interpreted as a bush, which we can call a thicket or briar: and to interpret the force of the word, dense and intertwined twigs. And Symmachus also expresses the same opinion, saying, 'And it appeared that a ram, after this, was caught in a net by its horns.' However, some have interpreted it better in this particular place, namely the Septuagint and Theodotion, who translated the word as 'Sabech,' saying, 'In the thicket Sabech with its horns.' For σύχνεων, that is, the net, which Aquila and Symmachus have used, is written with the letter 'Sin.' But here the letter 'Samech' is used. From this it is clear that the interpretation is not of thickened branches, and like the word 'Sabech' intertwined like a net with intertwined branches, but rather the name signifies a thicket, which is thus expressed in Hebrew. But in my diligent investigation, I frequently found that the letter συχνεῶνα is often written as Samech (). -
Genesis 22:14
(Verse 14) And Abraham called the name of that place, The Lord will see: so that they say to this day, In the mount the Lord will be seen. For because he hath seen in this place, in the Hebrew tongue it is said, He shall be seen. And this hath passed into a proverb with the Hebrews, so that when they are in distress and desire the Lord's aid, they say, In the mount the Lord will be seen: that is, as He pitied Abraham, so will He have pity on us. Wherefore, even now, they are wont also to blow the horn for a sign when the ram is given.
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Genesis 22:20
(Verse 20) And they reported to Abraham, saying: Behold, Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor: Uz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Camuel the father of the Syrians, and Chesed. Uz was the firstborn of Nahor, brother of Abraham, by his wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran. From his descendants came Job, as it is written at the beginning of his book: There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. Therefore, some wrongly assume that Job is of the lineage of Esau, since that which is written at the end of his book, Because it was translated from the Syrian language, and he is the fourth generation from Esau, and the rest of what is contained there, is not found in the Hebrew volumes. Secundus was born to Melcha Buz, whom the Seventy wanted to translate as Bauz. And from this lineage comes Balaam the diviner (Numbers 24:3 et seq.; Joshua 13:22), as the Hebrews report, who is called Eliu in the book of Job: at first a holy man and prophet of God, but later, through disobedience and desire for gifts, while wanting to curse Israel, is called by the divine name. A…
(Verse 20) And they reported to Abraham, saying: Behold, Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor: Uz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Camuel the father of the Syrians, and Chesed. Uz was the firstborn of Nahor, brother of Abraham, by his wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran. From his descendants came Job, as it is written at the beginning of his book: There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. Therefore, some wrongly assume that Job is of the lineage of Esau, since that which is written at the end of his book, Because it was translated from the Syrian language, and he is the fourth generation from Esau, and the rest of what is contained there, is not found in the Hebrew volumes. Secundus was born to Melcha Buz, whom the Seventy wanted to translate as Bauz. And from this lineage comes Balaam the diviner (Numbers 24:3 et seq.; Joshua 13:22), as the Hebrews report, who is called Eliu in the book of Job: at first a holy man and prophet of God, but later, through disobedience and desire for gifts, while wanting to curse Israel, is called by the divine name. And it is said in the same book: And Eliu, the son of Barachiel the Buzite, was angry (Job 32:2), descending from this very Buzi lineage. Camuel is indeed the father of Damascus. For it is called Aran, which is written here for Syria: and it is read by the same name in Isaiah. Chased is also the fourth, from whom the Chaldeans, that is, the Chaldeans, were later called. -
Genesis 24:9
(Chapter 24, Verse 9) And the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him concerning this matter. The Hebrews say that he swore at his consecration, that is, at his circumcision. But we say that he swore by the seed of Abraham, that is, by Christ, who was to be born from him, according to the Gospel of Matthew, which says: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1).
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Genesis 24:22
(Verse 22.) And the man took a gold earring, its weight was two drachmas. Bace (), which is written here instead of drachma, is half an ounce. Secel (), which is inaccurately called a shekel in Latin, has a weight of one ounce.
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Genesis 24:43
(Verse 43.) Behold, I stand by the fountain of water, and the daughters of the city will come out to draw water. And there will be a maiden, to whom I will say, 'Give me a little water to drink from your jar,' etc. In Hebrew it is written: Behold, I stand by the fountain of water, and there will be a young girl who will come out to draw water. And I will say to her, 'Give me a little water to drink from your jar,' and so on. For the young girl, which in Greek is called νεανὶς, we also read Alma, which is found in Isaiah as well. For in that place where it is written in our books: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son (Isa. VII, 14), Aquila translated it as: Behold, a young maiden shall conceive, and bear. In Hebrew it is read: Behold, a young woman shall conceive, and bear. It should be noted that the word alma is never used except for a virgin, and it has an etymology, ἀπόκρυφος, which means hidden. For it is written in Job: Where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? And it will be hidden from the eyes of all living (Job 28:21). When we say 'it w…
(Verse 43.) Behold, I stand by the fountain of water, and the daughters of the city will come out to draw water. And there will be a maiden, to whom I will say, 'Give me a little water to drink from your jar,' etc. In Hebrew it is written: Behold, I stand by the fountain of water, and there will be a young girl who will come out to draw water. And I will say to her, 'Give me a little water to drink from your jar,' and so on. For the young girl, which in Greek is called νεανὶς, we also read Alma, which is found in Isaiah as well. For in that place where it is written in our books: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son (Isa. VII, 14), Aquila translated it as: Behold, a young maiden shall conceive, and bear. In Hebrew it is read: Behold, a young woman shall conceive, and bear. It should be noted that the word alma is never used except for a virgin, and it has an etymology, ἀπόκρυφος, which means hidden. For it is written in Job: Where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? And it will be hidden from the eyes of all living (Job 28:21). When we say 'it will be hidden,' in Hebrew it is expressed differently due to the declension of the word, it is said 'Naalma.' To what is this similar? Even though it is declined in the masculine gender, it is written in the books of Kings, spoken by Elisha to Gehazi: 'And the Lord has hidden it from me' (2 Kings 4:27). Therefore, Alma, which means hidden, that is, virgin, seems to me to be of greater praise than a virgin who is guarded with excessive diligence. For a virgin according to the Apostle can be a virgin in body, but not in spirit. However, a hidden virgin has the addition of virginity, so that she is both a virgin and hidden. And she who is hidden, according to the idiom of the Hebrew language, is consequently also a virgin; but she who is a virgin does not immediately follow that she is hidden. This same word is also read in Exodus about Mary, the sister of Moses, as a virgin (Exodus II, 8). Therefore, the Jews show somewhere in the Scriptures where Alma is mentioned, which signifies only a young girl and not a virgin; and we concede to them that what is said among us in Isaiah: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, does not signify a hidden virgin, but rather a young girl already married. -
Genesis 24:59
(Verse 59.) And they sent away their sister Rebecca, and her belongings, and Abraham's servant, and the men who were with him. In Hebrew, it says: And they sent away their sister Rebecca, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. For it was fitting that a virgin setting off for marriage without her parents should be comforted by the consolation of her nurse.
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Genesis 24:62-63
(Verses 62 and 63.) And he himself dwelt in the land of the south: and Isaac went forth to meditate in the field towards evening. The land of the south signifies Gerar, to which he had once been led by his father to be sacrificed. But when it says, And he went forth to meditate in the field, which in Greek is called ἀδολεσχῆσαι, in Hebrew it is read: And Isaac went forth to speak in the field, the evening already declining. That signifies, according to what the Lord alone prayed on the mountain, even Isaac, who in the type of the Lord, as a just man going out of his house, offered spiritual victims to God either at the ninth hour or before sunset.
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Genesis 24:65
(Verse 65.) And he took a theristrum, and covered himself. Theristrum is called a cloak, also a type of Arabian garment, with which the women of that province are veiled.
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Genesis 25:1
(Chapter 25, Verse 1) And Abraham added and took another wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. And Abraham gave everything that he had to Isaac. But to the sons of the concubines whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, to the east, to the land of the east. Cetura is interpreted in the Hebrew language as 'joined' or 'bound'. For this reason, the Hebrews suspect that, with a changed name, she is the same as Hagar, who, after the death of Sara, went from being a concubine to a wife. And it seems that the advanced age of Abraham is now being excused, so that he is not accused of indulging in new marriages after the death of his old wife. Leaving aside what is uncertain, we say this: the sons of Abraham born from Cetura, according to Hebrew historians, occupied Trogl…
(Chapter 25, Verse 1) And Abraham added and took another wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. And Abraham gave everything that he had to Isaac. But to the sons of the concubines whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, to the east, to the land of the east. Cetura is interpreted in the Hebrew language as 'joined' or 'bound'. For this reason, the Hebrews suspect that, with a changed name, she is the same as Hagar, who, after the death of Sara, went from being a concubine to a wife. And it seems that the advanced age of Abraham is now being excused, so that he is not accused of indulging in new marriages after the death of his old wife. Leaving aside what is uncertain, we say this: the sons of Abraham born from Cetura, according to Hebrew historians, occupied Troglodytis and Arabia, which is now called Idumea, up to the borders of the Red Sea. But it is said that one of the descendants of Abraham, who was called Apher, led an army against Libya, and there, after defeating the enemies, settled. And his descendants from the name of their ancestor were called Africa. This fact is testified by Alexander, who is called Polyhistor, and Cleodemus, nicknamed Malchus, who retell the barbarian history in Greek. And as for what he says, 'And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim': they think that Asshurim refers to merchants, Letushim to those who work with copper and iron, and Leummim to chiefs, meaning leaders of many tribes and peoples. Others claim that they are called Asurim, that they are Syrians, and that the regions of India have been occupied by most of the sons of Abraham from Keturah. -
Genesis 25:8
I am reviewing carefully the places in Scripture where I might find old age mentioned for the first time. Adam lived for 930 years, yet he is not called an old man. Methuselah’s life was 969 years, and he is not called an old man. I am coming down all the way to the flood, and after the flood for almost three thousand years, and I find no one who has been called old. Abraham is the first one, and certainly he was much younger than Methuselah, but he is called an old man because his old age had been anointed with rich oil. In fine, it is written there in the Scripture, “Abraham died at a good old age; full of days.” His was a good old age because it was full of days, for the whole of his life was day and not night.
HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 21
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Genesis 25:8
(v. 8) And Abraham died in good old age, an old man and full, and he was gathered to his people. A wrong addition is made by the Septuagint translators, that Abraham died lacking: for it is not fitting for Abraham to fail and diminish. Also, what we have proposed, an old man and full in good old age: in the Greek manuscripts it is written, full of days. While it seems to explain the meaning, because he has passed away full of light and the works of the day: nevertheless, it is more fitting for the spiritual interpretation if it is simply stated as full.
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Genesis 25:13
(Verse 13) And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations. The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, and Kedar, and the rest, up to the place where it is said: They lived from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go towards Assyria. He fell in the sight of all his brothers. Twelve sons were born to Ishmael, and the firstborn was Nebaioth, from whom the whole region from the Euphrates to the Red Sea is called Nebaioth until this day, which is part of Arabia. For both their families, towns and villages, fortified castles, and three of them, Cedar in the desert, and Duma in another region, and Theman to the south, and Cedema to the east, are celebrated with this name. But what we read in the final section of this chapter, according to the Septuagint, is that he dwelt opposite the face of all his brothers (Gen. XIII, 18): it is more accurate to say what we have put, he died in the presence of all his brothers, that is, he died in the hands of all his children, with his surviving children, and with no one dying before him. But to be…
(Verse 13) And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations. The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, and Kedar, and the rest, up to the place where it is said: They lived from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go towards Assyria. He fell in the sight of all his brothers. Twelve sons were born to Ishmael, and the firstborn was Nebaioth, from whom the whole region from the Euphrates to the Red Sea is called Nebaioth until this day, which is part of Arabia. For both their families, towns and villages, fortified castles, and three of them, Cedar in the desert, and Duma in another region, and Theman to the south, and Cedema to the east, are celebrated with this name. But what we read in the final section of this chapter, according to the Septuagint, is that he dwelt opposite the face of all his brothers (Gen. XIII, 18): it is more accurate to say what we have put, he died in the presence of all his brothers, that is, he died in the hands of all his children, with his surviving children, and with no one dying before him. But to be called brothers for the sons, Jacob also shows to Laban, saying: What is my sin, because you have persecuted me: and because you have searched all my vessels? What have you found of all the vessels of your house? Let it be placed before my brothers and your brothers: and let them judge between us (Ibid. 35). For we cannot believe, as Scripture recounts, that Jacob, apart from his children, had any brothers with him. -
Genesis 25:21
(Verse 21.) And Rebecca his wife conceived, and the sons within her were moved. Concerning this movement, the Seventy Interpreters rendered it as ἐσκίρτων, which means they were playing or kicking; which Aquila translated as they were breaking in the womb. But Symmachus rendered it as διέπλεον, which means they were carried on the surface like a ship.
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Genesis 25:25
(Verse 25) And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when Rebekah bare them.
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Genesis 25:30
(Verse 30) And Esau said to Jacob: Give me a taste of that red stew, for I am famished. That is why he was called Edom. Red or tawny is called Edom in the Hebrew language. Therefore, from the fact that he sold his birthright for red food, he obtained the name Edom, which means tawny.
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Genesis 26:12
(Chapter 26, verse 12) And Isaac sowed in that land, and in that year he reaped a hundredfold. Although Isaac sowed in a foreign land, I do not think that such fertility of barley would have been to him. Therefore, I think the Hebrew version is better, and even Aquila translated it: And he reaped in that year a hundredfold estimated, that is, ἑκατὸν εἰκασμένον. Although the same letters are used for both estimation and barley, the estimations are read as Saarim (), and the barleys as Sorim. But Scripture, however, seems to me to have shown in it the multiplication of all virtues, in that it has increased a hundredfold the type of fruits.