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Rabbinic Traditions in Jerome's Translation of the Book of Numbers
- Journal of Biblical Literature
- Society of Biblical Literature
- Volume 136, Number 3, 2017
- pp. 539-563
- 10.1353/jbl.2017.0035
- Article
- Additional Information
Although the possibility of rabbinic traditions informing Jerome's translation of the Bible "according to the Hebrews," the so-called Vulgate, has long been acknowledged, identification of these traditions remains a desideratum. Such identification involves challenging but manageable source-critical issues. We now know more about Jerome's more general methods from the works of Adam Kamesar, Hillel Newman, and Michael Graves. They indicate that Jerome's grammatically informed recentiores-rabbinic philology provides a basis for incorporating unreferenced oral rabbinic traditions in his translation. In this article, I examine several texts from the book of Numbers that reflect Jerome's practices, including his utilization of these Jewish traditions. In addition, I outline a method for securely determining rabbinic influences. Finally, the close textual analysis contributes to recent developments in translation studies and Hieronymian studies. Attention to the process of the translator offers a perspective that differs from a simple comparison between the source text and target text. Such a "thick" description of Vulgate Numbers shows how translation can create a bridge, not a wall, between Jews and Christians.