The Book of Hebrew Questions on Genesis by Saint Jerome of Stridon, a Presbyter.
Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.
Translated into English using ChatGPT.
Table of Contents
Preface
In the beginning of the books, I should have presented the arguments of the work to be followed, but I am forced to respond to insults first, defending Terence, who gave prologues to his comedies in defense of his scenes. For he was being urged by Lucius Lanuinus, similar to our Lucius, and he was accusing him of being a thief poet of the public treasury. The same thing happened to the poet Mantuanus by his rivals, when he translated some verses of Homer word for word, he was called a compiler of the ancients. To which he replied that it required great strength to wrest the club from Hercules' hand. But also Tullius, who stood on the pinnacle of Roman eloquence, the king of orators, and an illuminator of the Latin language, is accused by the Greeks of extortion. It is not surprising, therefore, if against me, a lowly little man, foul swine grunt and trample pearls underfoot, when envy has flared up against the most learned men and those who should have surpassed envy with glory. But truly this happens deservedly to those whose eloquence resounded in the theaters, in the senate, in public assemblies, and from the speaker's platform. For courage always has rivals openly, and lightning strikes the highest mountains. But as for me, being far from cities, the forum, lawsuits, and crowds, envy found me even in hiding, just as Quintilian said. Therefore, I implore the reader...
... if anyone, however, will read these also, if anyone. Captivated by love, ...
...so that in the books of Hebrew Questions, which I have arranged to write on the whole Holy Scripture, he does not seek eloquence, nor the charm of orators, but rather he answers for us against our enemies himself, permission to grant to the new work. For just as we, being humble and poor, neither have riches, nor do we deign to accept those offered, so let them also know that they cannot possess a knowledge of the Scriptures, that is, the riches of Christ, along with the riches of the world. Therefore, our study will be to refute the errors of those who have various suspicions about Hebrew books, and to restore to their authority those things which seem lacking in Latin and Greek codices; also to explain the etymologies of things, names, and regions which do not resonate in our language, in the vernacular tongue. And so that the correction may be more easily understood, first we will present the testimonies themselves, as they are found among us, and from the comparison of what follows, we will indicate what is less, or more, or different in them. Nor do we point out the errors of the Seventy Interpreters, as the envious bark, nor do we consider our work as a criticism of theirs, since they did not want to reveal the mystical things in the Holy Scriptures to King Ptolemy of Alexandria, especially those things that promised the coming of Christ, so that they would not be seen as worshipping another God, which the Jews were accused of by the Platonists who were followers of the great Plato because they were said to worship one God. But both the Evangelists and our Lord and Savior, as well as the Apostle Paul, quote many things from the Old Testament that are not found in our codices. Moreover, in their respective places we shall discuss more fully the matter. From which it is clear that those examples are more true which are in agreement with the authority of the New Testament. Adding to this, Josephus, who includes ((or proposes)) the history of the Septuagint interpreters, mentions only five books of Moses translated by them: which we also confess to be in harmony with the Hebrew ones more than the others. But even those interpreters who came afterwards, I speak of Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotion, have a much different [version], than what we read. At the very end (which can also appease our detractors), foreign goods may only be traded by those who want to: balsam, pepper, and dates. But the country people do not buy them. But I stay silent about Adamantius (or Origen), whose name, if it is possible to compare small things with great, is more enviable than mine, because while in his homilies, which he speaks to the common people, he follows the common edition, in his volumes, that is, in his major disputation, having been overcome by Hebrew truth, and surrounded by his own troops, he sometimes seeks help from a foreign language. I say this one thing, that I wish to have not only the fame of his name, but also the knowledge of the Scriptures, disregarding the images and shadows of specters, which are said to be of some nature, in order to frighten small children and whisper in dark corners.
1:1
Chapter 1, Verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Many people believe, as it is also written in the Altercation of Jason and Papiscus, and Tertullian in his book against Praxeas argues: and also Hilary in the exposition of a certain Psalm affirms, that it is found in Hebrew: 'In the son, God created the heavens and the earth', which is false, as the truth of the matter itself proves. For even the Seventy Interpreters, and Symmachus, and Theodotion translated it as 'In the beginning'. And it is written in Hebrew, Bresith (); which Aquila interprets, in the chapter: and not Baben (), which is called ((Al. interpreted)), in the son. Therefore, it can be understood more according to the meaning than according to the literal translation about Christ: who is approved both in the very beginning of Genesis, which is the head of all books, and also in the beginning of the Gospel of John, as the creator of heaven and earth. Hence, in the Psalms (Psalm 39:9), he says about himself: In the chapter ((Al. chapter)) of the book it is written about me, that is, in the beginning of Genesis. And in the Gospel: All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made (John 1:3). But it should also be known that among the Hebrews this book is called B'reishit: having the custom of giving names to their volumes from their beginnings.
1:2
(Verse 2.) And the spirit of God was moving over the waters. Because in our books it is written 'was moving', in Hebrew it has 'Merefeth', which we can call 'hovering' or 'brooding', in the likeness of a bird, warming the eggs with the heat of life. From which we understand that it is not said to be the spirit of the world, as some suppose, but the Holy Spirit, who is also said to be the giver of life to all things from the beginning. And if a giver of life, then also a creator. But if You are the creator and God. For, He says, send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created (Psalm 103, 30).
1:10
(10) And he called the gatherings of waters seas. It should be noted that every gathering of waters, whether they be salty or fresh, according to the language of the Hebrews, are called seas. Therefore, Porphyry falsely accuses the Evangelists of ignorance in performing a miracle, because the Lord walked on the sea, that he called the lake of Genezareth a sea, when every lake and gathering of waters are called seas.
2:2
(Chapter 2, Verse 2) And on the sixth day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. Therefore, we will refute the Jews, who boast of the rest of the Sabbath, because even then, at the beginning, the Sabbath was dissolved, since God works on the Sabbath, completing his work in it, and blessing the day itself: because in it he has completed everything.
2:8
(Verse 8.) And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. Instead of paradise, in Hebrew it has the word 'hortum' which means garden. And Eden is translated as 'deliciae'. Symmachus translated it as a flourishing paradise. Also, what follows, 'in the east', in Hebrew it is written as 'Mecedem', which Aquila translated as 'ἀπὸ ἀρχῆς', and we can say 'from the beginning'. Symmachus, however, uses 'ἐκ πρώτης', and Theodotion uses 'ἐν πρώτοις', which also signifies not the east, but the beginning. From this it is most clearly shown that before God made heaven and earth, He had already established paradise, as it is read in Hebrew: But the Lord God had planted a paradise in Eden from the beginning.
2:11
(Verse 11.) The name of one is Phison. They believe this to be the river Ganges in India.
(Verse 12.) Where (or There) is the carbuncle and the green stone. Some have translated carbuncle as βδέλλιον and the green stone as ὄνυχα.
2:15
(Verse 15.) And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of delight. For delight, in Hebrew, it is called Eden. Therefore, the Seventy have interpreted it as delight. But Symmachus, who had just before translated it as flourishing paradise, here puts it as 'in the garden of the shore', which also signifies pleasantness and luxury.
2:17
(Verse 17) But on whatever day you eat from it, you shall surely die. Symmachus interpreted it better, saying, you shall be mortal.