St. Jerome, the 4th Century Scribe to Have Brought Both Old and New Treasures from Storeroom

On the last day of September, we celebrate the feast of St. Jerome, 4^th century priest and doctor of the Church. He was contemporary to St. Augustine of Hippo, another doctor of the Church.

While both St. Jerome and St. Augustine were distinguished theologians, therefore, given the time of “doctor of the Church”, St. Jerome has been known for his contribution in translating both New Testament and Old Testament into Vulgate Latin (colloquial Latin). It made the Bible more readable to people in the Roman Empire, where Latin was the official language. Before that, only those who were highly educated to know Greek as the Old Testament had the Septuagint (LXX, denoting 70) Greek translation and the New Testament was in Greek. Those who were also educated enough to know Hebrew could read the original Tanakh (the official Jewish cannon in Hebrew).

St. Jerome was certainly with conviction that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ, as Christ himself is the Word, the Word incarnate (John 1:1, 14) to promote the understanding of the Word of God in the Scriptures by making them readable to Latin-speaking people of the Roman Empire.

The Gospel Reading for St. Jerome’s feast, Matthew 13:47-52, reminds us that the Word of God in Scripture provides the roadmap to the Kingdom of God. It means that ignorance of Scripture may cost us to forfeit the possibility to enter the Kingdom. The parable from this Gospel Reading indicates that those who remained ignorant to the Word in Scripture would be barred from entering the Kingdom as bad fish are thrown out.

Jesus said, “Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven

is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old”(Matthew 13:52).

 St. Jerome, for his abilities and insights in both the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek, could have been considered as Scribe – if he were living in the time of Jesus. Some Scribes even served king to interpret and explain the Word of God in Scripture for him. In case of Jehoshaphat’s judicial reform (2 Chronicles 17-19), scribes played important roles in bringing the refreshed interpretation of the Torah, to ensure justice in the Kingdom of Judah.

 In Nehemiah 8:1-12, we see how Ezra, priest and scribe of the post-exilic period, explained the Torah anew to the Israelites in Jerusalem upon restoration from the Babylonian destruction, evoking Moses explaining to the Israelites upon receiving it from God on Mt. Sinai.

 We need a good “scribes” to ensure that we understand the Word of God in the Bible – both Old Testament (including Apocrypha) and New Testament so that God’s justice prevails among us and therefore we are bound to the Kingdom of God. And, St. Jerome, who is considered to be a great scribe, has made it possible to have more qualified scribes for his work on the Vulgate Latin translation Bible, both Old and New Testaments, reflecting Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:52.

As Ezra was both priest and scribe to lead the Israelites during the post-exilic renewal period on the right path, we have bishops, priests, and scripture scholars, today to serve as scribes. Their pastoral responsibilities are in line with Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:52.

So, this is why Paul was ensuring one of his successors, Timothy, to be competent with Scriptures, as described in the First Reading (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

Since I myself teach Scriptures, I certainly understand that studying the Word of God is not easy, especially doing it alone. We all need a qualified Scripture teacher, scribe, to explain so that we can interpret correctly. Not to mention, teaching of Scripture must be guided by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21), as is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). One who is qualified to teach or serve as a scribe is only an instrument of the Holy Spirit to teach the living Word of God. Yes, the Word in Scripture is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, it is dynamic, not static. And the words in Jesus’ kerygma are full of life and the Holy Spirit (John 6:63). No wonder Peter called them the words of eternal life (John 6:68).

 In fact, Jesus himself is a great scribe, for interpreting his parable for his disciples to ensure their understanding – to let the Word sown in their hearts to sprout and grow into abundant good harvesting (Matthew 13:1-53).

We are truly grateful to St. Jerome for his contribution to make Scripture more readable by translating it in Vulgate Latin.  As a scribe, contemporary to St. Augustine, St. Jerome certainly brought both old treasure in Hebrew and new treasure in Greek from storeroom for us in Vulgate Latin.  And St. Jerome's love and commitment to Scripture is reflected to Dei Verbum, Vatican II Council dogmatic constitution on the Word of God. 

On the feast day of St. Jerome, we shall renew our commitment to the Word of God in Scripture, Old Testament and New Testament, as it is of eternal life, leading us to the Kingdom.