Life and setting
Jerome was a scholar of Latin, Greek and Hebrew best known for the translation and revision work that became the Latin Vulgate. He also produced commentaries, letters and controversial works.
Latin Fathers • Western / Latin Christianity
Jerome
c. 347 – 419/420 • Biblical scholar and translator
Why this person matters
His insistence on Hebrew sources for much of the Old Testament was historically significant, and the Vulgate dominated Western Christianity for centuries.
What should not be sanitized
Jerome’s sharp polemical style and debates over the Hebrew canon, asceticism and translation choices remain part of his complicated legacy.