More questions about St. Jerome's translations

[Bithynian]

Proto-Masoretic means the inclusion of the 6 books excluded in the later Masoretic Text.

No, the proto-Masoretic excludes the deuterocanonical books.

Then it makes sense.

I’m a little confused about how you’re trying to make sense of what I initially wrote and the excerpt I included from Schiffman’s book. When the scholarship notes that a particular manuscript is ‘more proto-Masoretic’ or ‘more Septuagintal’, it has nothing to do with the canonicity of the books involved. It’s about whether variant readings in a document (rarely a complete book, most often a loose sheaf or a fragment) are more characteristic of the proto-Masoretic, Septuagintal, proto-Samaritan or whatever text-type. They are distinguished on the basis of individual words and sentences, not the inclusion or exclusion of an entire book.

In addition, the Septuagintal text type was not a single, harmonious tradition. There are many, many different recensions and translations. For example, the Church (including Orthodox) does not use the traditional Septuagintal book of Daniel, which is of the Old Greek text type. We instead use the later 2nd century AD translation by Theodotion, a Jewish scholar, whose translation is much closer to the Masoretic Text.

 

[BartholomewB]

Thank you, @Bithynian!

 

[tablecorner]

Jerome always asserted Hebraica Veritas ‘Hebrew Truth’, that the Hebrew text must take priority over the Greek…

does the Greek refer to the LXX?

 

[BartholomewB]

does the Greek refer to the LXX?

Yes.
…

 

[Montrose]

With apologies to @Tis_Bearself for going off topic, I’d like to ask @Bithynian a question that falls under the heading of history or biography. Jerome’s first journey to the Middle East ended in about 378 or 379, when he returned to Rome from either Constantinople or Antioch. Within a year or so of his arrival in Rome, he was in a top job as secretary or adviser to Pope Damasus. How did this come about? What prompted Jerome to return to Rome at that time? Did he travel at Damasus’ invitation? Had Damasus and Jerome met years earlier, before the journey to the East? These rather obvious questions don’t seem to be answered anywhere.

From new world encyclopedia:

Soon after, the Antiochene Church was riven by the Meletian schism, a circumstance that began to politicize the nearby desert. Although Jerome reluctantly accepted ordination at the hands of Bishop Paulinus (ca. 378-379), he disdained any calls to alter his scholarly, ascetic life. To this end, he soon departed from the contested territories of Antioch in favor of studying scripture under Gregory Nazianzen in Constantinople, where he remained for two to three years. Several years later, his studies came to an abrupt end when Pope Damasus enjoined him to return to Rome, in order to participate in the synod of 382, which was held for the purpose of ending the Antiochene schism.

 

[BartholomewB]

Thank you, @Montrose. It emerges, then, that we have two slightly different accounts of the events that led to Jerome’s elevation to a position of authority in the Lateran under Pope Damasus. Either Damasus already knew about him and specifically summoned him to Rome to advise him on dealing with the troubles in Antioch, or he traveled to Rome as a member of Epiphanius’ delegation and in that capacity was first introduced to Damasus, who was soon sufficiently impressed by his knowledge and abilities to recruit him as a top papal adviser. Perhaps both accounts have some historical truth in them.