Cooling Down Elijah

The Portrait of Elijah in the Vulgate in Comparison with Its Textual Sources

Abstract

This paper examines Jerome’s portrait of Elijah in the Vulgate in comparison with the textual sources on which his translation is based. Its central question is whether Jerome adheres to the vocabulary and interpretive tendencies of the Hebrew and Greek biblical traditions or – more likely – introduces his own emphases. Especially noteworthy is his treatment of Ben Sira 48:1–16, where Elijah’s character is noticeably moderated, perhaps to align him more closely with the ascetic and Stoic sensibilities of Late Antiquity. Whether this modification originated with Jerome himself or was already present in one of his sources remains uncertain.