Philological and Theological Explorations
The eight chapters of the present volume include four papers delivered at a journée d’étude hosted by the École biblique in Jerusalem, focused on the theme of “election” in the Latin Bible, as well as four additional, invited contributions. An attempt was made to include representative probes spanning the major life cycle of the Latin tradition: from its pre-Vulgate emergence, through its medieval peak in both the early and late Middle Ages, to a range of diverse voices from the humanistic moment. The arc traced by these studies illustrates that the theological culture produced by the Latin Bible was not philologically predestined. Although time- and culture-bound touches of the early translators do at times come to the surface, and creative turns are regularly seen, the general accuracy and nuance of the Latin translations is clearly on display, ensuring a basic transparency to the authentic biblical record.
