St. Jerome

• St. Jerome (347-420 CE) also known as Jerome, was born Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus and was a Priest, Theologian and Historian and a Doctor of the Church.
• He is most famous for producing the Vulgate, a revision of the old Latin Texts of the Vetus Latina, which became the standard Bible Text used by the Roman Catholic Church today.

The Vulgate

• In 382 CE Pope Damasus I commissioned St. Jerome to revise the Old Latin text of the four Gospels, known as the Vetus Latina, by using the Greek texts.
• He completed the translation by 384 CE when Damasus I died.
• In 385 CE he was exiled from Rome and moved to Bethlehem Judaea.
• Between 390-405 CE he translated the 39 Books of the Hebrew Bible from the original Hebrew.

Works by Jerome

• The Vulgate Bible
• De viris illustribus
• Chronicon

Ages of Man

• The Five Ages of Man in Greek Mythology were first described by Hesiod in c. 700 BCE. Later St. Jerome added specific dates:
  • Golden Age (c.1710-1674 BCE)
  • Silver Age (c.1674-1628 BCE) ended by the Ogygian Flood.
  • Bronze Age (c.1628-1472 BCE) ended by the Deucalion Flood.
  • Heroic Age (c.1460-1103 BCE)
  • Iron Age (1103 BCE-300 CE)