How Jerome Dealt with Glosses

Abstract

Difficult or unusual words are often explained in so-called glosses (concise annotated descriptions). This method is a particularly frequent element of Jerome’s Hebrew scholarship, based on the grammatical tradition of the Classics. These appear quite frequently in his numerous commentaries, but it is remarkable that he regularly employs id est, quae est and other equivalents in the Vulgate. Jerome signals himself particularly clearly as a grammarian in the Book of Exodus, e.g. Ex 16:15 and Ex 15:23.