Jerome was a noted scholar of Latin at a time when that statement implied a fluency in Greek. He knew some Hebrew when he started his translation project, but moved to Bethlehem to perfect his grasp of the language and to strengthen his grip on Jewish scripture commentary. A wealthy Roman aristocrat, Paula, founded a monastery for him in Bethlehem - rather like a research institute, today - and he completed his translation there. He began in 382 by correcting the existing Latin language version of the New Testament, commonly referred to as the Itala or Vetus Latina (the "Italian" or "Old Latin" version). By 390 he turned to the Old Testament in Hebrew, having previously translated portions from the Septuagint Greek version. He completed this work by 405. For the next 15 years, until he died, he produced a number of commentaries on scripture, often explaining his translation choices.
Jerome is a name shared across the European languages in remarkably unintuitive forms: Hieronymus (Latin) = Jerome (English, and with diacritical marks, French) = Girolamo (Italian) = Geronimo (Spanish)
Text to integrate from Schaff-Herzog Encyc of Religion:
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