Prologue

Latin (Vulgate) Though the title refers to the Latin Vulgate, this prologue acts as a general introduction to the entire polyglot project.

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Regarding the notes contained within it: we are about to give, as soon as possible, the Old Testament original: "vetus instrumentum," a common term for the Old Covenant or Old Testament (which is even now in the press), printed in the Hebrew, Chaldaic original: "Chaldaica," referring to Aramaic, and Greek languages with their individual interpretations. Behold, we send forth to you, as a foretaste and prelude to the work, a most copious dictionary of Hebrew and Aramaic words. This is a work truly most useful—more than can be said—for students of sacred literature, produced with the greatest labor and corrected with no less zeal and diligence. In it are contained, in order, not only the simple interpretations of words, both primitive root words and derivative, for the entire Old Testament; but also (which was the most laborious task of all) it shows in how many places in that same Old Testament each word, due to the richness of that language, has multiple meanings, with many concordances immediately subjoined. To each place, the proper meaning used by the Latin translator is assigned.

Furthermore, since a great part of the hidden mysteries of both Testaments lies concealed in the etymology of proper names, whether of men or of any other things, and provides no small power and help for solving the enigmas and figurative expressions of the Scriptures, there has been added in the second place a treatise on the interpretation of proper names. These names are found scattered throughout both Testaments in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek tongues. Thus, from the very imposition of names foreseen from eternity, all who are "taught by God" original: "docibiles dei" may be able to obtain not the "killing letter," but the mystic and hidden sense itself, which the Holy Spirit overshadowed within the womb of the letter, beholding with a revealed face once the veil of the letter has been removed.

Next, the art and instruction for reading Hebrew characters is appended, together with a grammar of the Hebrew language itself, most accurately collected from their greatest authors and arranged in such an order that the work of a teacher may nowhere (or certainly in very few places) seem to be needed. And since in the Hebrew and Aramaic idioms the primitive origins of words—which are very necessary for the knowledge of their derivatives—are difficult to recognize, it also seemed worthwhile to add some rules on this matter. By these, the studious reader may know which letters, when removed (which they call the "accidental" type of letters), leave the "theme" the root or the pure origin of the word to be sought in the dictionary. Although in the printing of the Old Testament itself (which is now in hand), these positions and origins of names are noted in the margin of the Hebrew and Aramaic text, it nevertheless seemed to contribute much to a complete knowledge of the language and to the curiosity of students if this were known through art and not by practice alone.

Finally, the last place in the volume is occupied by another Latin dictionary arranged in alphabetical order, which teaches how to produce all the Latin words of the Old Testament in Hebrew, citing the pages of the previous vocabulary. Thus, you may be able to pronounce not only Hebrew in Latin, but conversely, Latin in Hebrew. Receive all these things, studious reader, with a benevolent and grateful mind, and apply them to the knowledge of divine wisdom. For so it will happen, that the fruit of good labors will be glorious, and you will finally begin to understand how much the other readings of human wisdom are surpassed by the nectar of heavenly literature. Farewell.

The following section begins with a decorative initial 'N' depicting a scholar at a desk. It should be noted that there were many translators and interpreters of the Bible, as the Master says in the Histories Referring to Peter Comestor's Historia Scholastica. This is because 341 years before the Incarnation of the Lord, in the times of King Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt, the seventy LXX interpreters flourished, who translated the Law and the Prophets in this manner: Ptolemy, being studious and desirous of books, learned that among the Jews there was a Law issued by the mouth of God and written by His finger. Sending letters and gifts, he asked Eleazar, the High Priest

of the Jews, to send him elder men skilled in the Hebrew and Greek languages who would be able to interpret and translate it. Indeed, his desire was to have it translated into Greek and to have it placed in the royal archives. Eleazar, granting his petition, sent six law-bringers from each tribe. These are the seventy-two interpreters; although there were seventy-two, according to the custom of Holy Scripture they are commonly called "the seventy," because the two extra are a small amount in respect to seventy.

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Coming to the king and translating the Pentateuch the first five books of the Bible and the Prophets, they debated before the king about worshipping one God, and that no creature is God. Hence it is that wherever they encountered the Trinity in the course of translating, they either passed over it in silence or translated it enigmatically, lest they should seem to have handed down the worship of three gods. They did similarly regarding the Incarnation of the Word. Thus, the translation of the seventy-two is sometimes superfluous and sometimes diminished.

But 124 years after the Incarnation and Passion of the Lord, a certain Jew named Aquila, who had converted to the faith but later fell into heresy, was the first interpreter to make another translation from Hebrew into Greek in the time of Emperor Hadrian. Then, 53 years later, Theodotion made a translation under Commodus. Then, 30 years later, the interpreter Symmachus flourished under Severus. Then, eight years later, a certain translation was found in Jerusalem, the author of which is unknown, which is called the "Vulgate translation" or the "fifth edition" This "vulgata" refers to a Greek version found in a jar, not Jerome's Latin Vulgate.

Then, 18 years later, in the time of Alexander [Severus], came Origen. Seeing these translations were imperfect, he began to correct the translation of the seventy-two interpreters by means of the later translations already mentioned; or, according to some, he corrected and mixed only the translation of Theodotion, namely, supplying what was diminished and cutting away what was superfluous. Therefore, wherever he added something to the translation of the seventy-two from the subsequent translations, or where he added what was missing, he placed an astericus term: asterisk (*) or asteriscus, that is, a star or the form of a star. By this, he indicated that the additions "shone light" on what was previously missing. Astericus is said to come from aster Greek for star and icon image or sign, and the second-to-last syllable is long because among the Greeks icon is written with the diphthong ei. It is called astericos according to the moderns or asteriscus according to the ancients, and then it is said to come from astris (stars) and icon. But where there was something superfluous, he placed an obelus term: obelus (÷). Obelus is called "arrow" in Greek or "spit" original: "veru" in Latin, signaling by this that the letter there was superfluous. Afterward, Origen himself made another translation, complete in itself, without these signs.

All these translated from Hebrew into Greek. Then, some wishing to have all these translations together, wrote books arranging them so that in the middle of any leaf they placed six columns descending from top to bottom, placing in the first column the words of the first translation, in the second the second, and so on for the others. These books were called Hexapla term: Hexapla from hex, which is "six" in Latin, as if "six-fold"; or it is called Hexapla as a book having six right or rectified translations. Some, however, explain Hexapla simply as "copies" exemplars.

During these times, many people with a smattering of both languages made other translations from the aforementioned Greek translations into Latin. Most recently came Saint Jerome, skilled in three languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. First, he corrected the translation of the seventy-two interpreters in Latin with asterisks and obeli; but afterward, he translated the Bible directly from Hebrew into Latin without asterisks and obeli. This translation is now used everywhere by the entire Roman Church, though not in all books A reference to some books, like the Psalms, which retained older versions. His translation is deservedly preferred to the others because it is more tenacious of the words and clearer in the perspicuity of its meaning. The first translation, namely that of the seventy-two interpreters, was made in the city of Alexandria, which is the metropolis of Egypt. The other translations, however, were made in various parts of the world where teachers then flourished.